So I picked up a 12" nightshade a few weeks ago and today I just happened to be switching the box I had it in so I figured I would put my dmm on the coils just to see what it read. The first one came out right at 1.0, but then the second one reads 1.5. Is that normal? I let it sit for a while too, they would both go up and down by .1, but would eventually rest on the resulting numbers. Is that an issue, or is it fine?

They should read nearly identical.

Make sure the batteries in your DMM aren't low to start with.

Brand new batteries. Brand new dmm too.

Anybody else got any input.

brand of dmm?

coil have any discoloration?

tinsel leads make solid connection or look frayed?

Everything looks good, no burning, or tearing anywhere, I've played it and it sounds good too, not really sure whats up with this though.

Might be a loose solder joint or poor connection somewhere.

For giggles you can try testing the impedance at different points, such as right at the tinsel leads instead of at the connectors. See if the readings change any.

Didn't think about trying that. Will do. I did check all of the solder points when I was testing it, everything seemed tight and well connected, but I will definitely try your suggestion.

the second pick the inputs look corroded? or something? idk if that would even make a difference.

I just attributed that to the sometimes brownish tint you get when soldering. I've had it happen to me before when soldering stuff. I'm pretty sure it's not corrosion though. I would have picked up on that. I've spent some time working with metal.

The solder or the terminals may have an issue right at the terminal -- test on the tinsel leads directly.