Veteran tech told me to skip the DMM and just use a test light for troubleshooting pitot static heat systems... who's right here?

So I was talking to a guy who's been doing avionics since the 90s. He told me he never uses a digital multimeter for pitot static heat checks, just a simple 12v test light. Said the DMM gives false readings with the resistance fluctuations and a test light shows real load. I tried it his way on a Cessna 172 last week and the light was dim on one side, swapped the element and it was fine. But my trainer says that's hack work and I need to use the Fluke and follow the manual. Who's actually right here? Any of you old timers use test lights for that?

2 comments

2 Comments

lisa51mo ago

Old timers knew their stuff, a test light tells you the real story every time.

wyattrobinson1mo ago

@lisa5 nailed it, same thing as when torque specs fight real feel.