Beware of Cheap Alligator Clips

Good alligator clip leads are expensive. I bought some cheap ones a few years ago. They seemed OK and I never thought about them. One by one, they have been failing. It is very unfortunate when they fail because one normally does not suspect that such a simple thing would fail. They manufacturers didn't bother to properly attach the wire to the alligator clip. They used clips that are supposed to be soldered, but they just stripped the insulation from the last few millimeters of each end, folded back the bare wire, shoved it into the clip, and folded the strain-relief over it to hold it in place. After a few years, I guess things oxidized. The clip leads no longer passed current. So I disassembled them and soldered them as they should have done at the factory. Next time, I'd rather just buy the alligator clips and the wire and assemble it myself. It just takes an minute and it will last basically forever.