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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Richard-the-Ninth" data-source="post: 559896" data-attributes="member: 23472">[USER=38318]@Mike Smith01[/USER] The average "DIY Multi meter" is high impedance, which in turn means that it can easily read "induced voltages" You will often get an induced voltage (also called ghost voltage) when you have a light(s) controlled by two switches (Typically on a landing, this is called two-way switching) An electrician would use his Multi-function Tester (MFT) which has a low impedance and will not see the voltages you are seeing, also an MFT is made to be used on mains voltages, it has inbuilt protection that the average multimeter doesn't have, also the test leads on an MFT are made to a higher standard and also offer more protection should anything go wrong. (There is more to it, but that is a summary)You really should not use an average multimeter on mains electricity, yes you can use it to figure out how a (not connected to anything) switch works, or does the switch on that gadget work, and yes they are great for electronics (What they were designed for) but keep it away from the mains, as we would all like to see you post again another day.</blockquote>