Have multiple technicians at work have this or similar and find myself all ways asking for these to borrow. It's time invest in one but want one with the magnet. The other A & E 1129 doesn't come with a magnet and is only 10 feet. This one is 30 feet and has magnet at the base. The only problem with this one is, this one is twice the price so i did hesitate to purchase. When i did receive it, much larger than expected but awesome that it is 30 feet as on larger trucks it can unwind to the back of the vehicle. This has to the most useful tool i have used it a while as i get the whole point of the Powerprobe where you have a power and ground in your hand but this can do a step further. Meaning when i connect the leads (red and black) to the battery i now have a good ground and good power source. It's becoming increasing difficult to find a ground underneath a vehicle due to plastic pieces or under coat so having the good ground source for testing it awesome. The magnet is especially nice because i just stick it underneath my hoist arm and now the unit doesn't touch the ground in water and dirt. I have seen these come with 3 sets of leads but found really no use for the third lead but using one with 3 leads you need to pull out all them. I personally love this because i can illuminate the entire vehicle harness for testing. One lead at one end and the other at the other end and connect a multimeter and measure resistance. Excessive resistance or O.L then i know i have a broken wire or high resistance. Fantastic use for this tool, and many uses for it. The alligator clips are small and sometimes hard to connect to a battery but it's workable. Unwinding is not a challenge, pull both ends and set to the desired length. Winding up, takes some time but it's not impossible. The only con i would have to say is when unwinding to it's max length, sometimes the wire likes to pull out from the bottom of the coil. So it makes it impossible to wind up, a simple fix i found is the wires sticking out at the base. Use a zip-tie around them (a decent size one) and when unwound to make length it stops and holds on the zip-tie.
Otherwise overall, a very helpful and useful tool. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase this as this could be save hours of diagnosing.
| Manufacturer | A & E HAND TOOLS |
|---|---|
| Place of Business | Mississauga, ON L5N 2W6, CA |
| Brand | Kastar |
| Model | KAS1138 |
| Product Dimensions | 24.46 x 18.75 x 1.91 cm; 453.59 g |
| Item model number | 1138 |
| Is discontinued by manufacturer | No |
| Manufacturer part number | 1138 |
| Item Weight | 454 g |
| Country of origin | China |
