[dad911]

Many of the Electrical threads I read about here are determining excess battery draw, or 'is it my battery or alternator' or "why is my wire hot/smoking"

That's why I highly recommend a clamp-on DC (many mutimeters are AC only) meter. Just clamp it around the wire, and measure current. Many meters & fuses smoked with people trying to measure current.

For temps a decent IR Temp gun ($20ish on amazon) is far more useful than a multimeter with a probe.

Also, As I posted earlier, the 12v test light is often more useful than a meter. It will determine not only if there is voltage present, also if it is at a reasonable enough current to light the bulb. For example, a circuit with alot of resistance(corrosion) may still measure 12v on a high impedance meter, but drop to zero under load.