GCT-3304 Continuity Tester

I'm reviewing the GCT-3304 Continuity Tester: This tester is a gem. Multimeters and test lamps have their place. But sometimes you just need to know if point A has an electrical connection to point B. In that case, less is more. No bulk, no settings, no waiting for auto-range, no beeping. This tool simply and cheaply does the job it was designed for. As is, I give it 5 star minus. But it could be better. The test lead is very stiff vinyl 18 gauge wire. Wants to tangle and pull no matter how you treat it. And the alligator clip is covered by a stiff plastic boot that makes it tough to operate. Why? This device operates at 3 volts. It is not for probing high-voltage, so why shield the clip? Gardner Bender could spend literally less than 5 cents more for 2 feet of excellent, flexible silicon wire for the test lead. Would elevate it from good to great, something every person who works on electronics or electrical systems would have in their kit. To improve this tester: Get some ultra-flexible silicone-jacketed hookup wire (Amazon has lots of options) in 18-22 gauge. Remove the battery compartment cover and the batteries. Use pliers to remove the battery contact connected to the test lead wire from the body of the tester. Pull the plastic boot away from the alligator clip and use pliers to bend the clip so that the wire slides out (it is not soldered at this end -- but it will be). Use a soldering iron to remove the battery contact from the other end of the test lead. Get rid of the old test lead and plastic alligator clip cover. Cut a piece of silicon wire to an appropriate length. Strip one end and solder it to the battery contact just like the original test lead. Strip the other end and thread it into on of the attachments/holes in the alligator clip. Solder the wire to the alligator clip. Bend the end of the alligator clip around the insulated wire to take the strain off the soldered connection. Replace the battery contact into the tool and install new LR-44 batteries. If the batteries seem loose after this process, remove the contact and bend it so it puts more pressure on the batteries. Finally, the two batteries that come with this tool are likely to leak. Find some genuine name-brand LR-44 batteries if you want to keep this tool long-term. If you buy from Amazon, find batteries that are sold and shipped by Amazon, because there are a lot of fakes sold by third parties on Amazon (particularly Maxell brand). Then use this simple and effective tool for decades and hand it down to your grandkids.

Very compact. The red indicator light is nice and bright. Great price. I'm normally hooked on using a Fluke but this definitely has it's place for quick wire tracing.

Easy to use.

Very useful little tester. I work as a technician in thr entertainment industry and wanted a way to verify continuity in lamps, wires etc. without carrying around a multimeter all day. This tiny thing does that job. Bright red LED is super easy to see. My only issues so far have been: 1. The battery has been somehow shaken loose of its contacts a couple times. It's held in place by a somewhat flimsy plastic tab and I've had one or two instances where I thought the battery had died, but it was actually that it had come loose. An easy fix however. 2. The wire is a bit on the long side and can get tangled easily in a tool pouch or pocket (which this tester seems to be intended for, given the pocket clip). 3. The alligator clip doesn't exactly make it easy to probe very small components. I'm not sure what applications this would normally be used for, but it didn't work for what I needed. Thankfully I had an old voltage tester lying around and repurposed one of the leads by crimping it onto this tester as a replacement for the clip.

These are really great little continuity testers and I have a couple of them. Small size, easy to see light and decent length lead. Would be nice if the lead wire was silicone, but still work well.

The description states, 'uses AAA batteries. The Contintunity tester uses 3 LR44 button batteries. Test lead (wire) appears to be CCA and is quite stiff. For my purposes (work bench tests) this little tester works great. I guess I best get use to stocking a few button batteries now. Good tool

This is a simple tool for checking continuity. Don't even think about using this to check a live circuit, even a charged capacitor can blow this thing away. There is no way to change the lightbulb if it does burn out. I blew a few of these before modifying one with an in-line 250ma fuse. Now just the fuse blows and not the LED bulb.

Junk tester, lasted one week with limited use then quit. It was past return date like a week. I did get in touch with Garder Bender company and they sent me a new one free.

Exelente calidad del producto muy complacido con mi compra.

Electrical work.

Just used for simple continuity testing.

Great asset to have in every home

Todo bien