OT: weird DVOM failure

My not so fancy Fluke 73II started acting weird so I took it apart and noticed moisture in it. A ten minute bake in the oven on warm cured it. Steve

Flukes are good instruments, no doubt! I have taken a new approach. I purchased 10 digital multi-meters from the local dollar type store for $4.00 each. Each works perfectly. If and when one pukes, I won't shed a tear! Quality is not Fluke but I bought a handful of big thick rubber bands and with 2 bands on each meter, they have a better chance of surviving a fall. I dropped one from ten feet onto cement with no damage.

Sorta like buying 10 Chinese wire brushes instead of one of yours (:

Ok, I'll bite...If you can get a 10 to one price ratio, and they do the job...

A fluke is about $100??? ...that's a 25 to one ratio. Can you get a brush that I sell for $10 for 40 cents?

It was more of a metaphorical statement.

I don't know anything about brushes except that when I used cheap ones, I replaced them frequently and picked lots of little wires out of my hands. I bought a US-made one and have had no problems.

As to Flukemeters, counting the ones at work, I have 4 and I depend on them daily. I have a cheap copy in my rollaround that I use once in a while for unimportant stuff. I got it free when I bought $300 worth of cables from a company. I consider it hardly worth the time to change the battery in it when it goes dead.

Our biggest use: "If I touch this, will it hurt?" Followed by: "Is this connected to that?"

This may sound stupid, but have you tried replacing the battery? Digital meters can act REALLY weird when the battery is weak.

And check the fuses - the better ones have all inputs fused, and they're solid body high current interrupt fuses. You'll need another working ohmmeter to check them...

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Replace the battery! I have a 3 or 4 Fluke meters and every one goes flaky when the battery gets weak. If you do need to get it repaired, call Fluke. I have a Fluke that died a few years back. Fluke quoted a flat repair charge of $40 so I sent it in. A couple of weeks later I got a box from Fluke $50 or so UPS COD. Opened it up and there was a brand new meter and a copy of the bill stating the old one was beyond repair so Fluke replaced it with the came model for the repair charge. That alone Fluke the rest of my meter business! Greg

The analog inputs are referenced internally and that reference is based on the battery - This is why some functions act longer - have different input and general circuits. Less demanding...

I have a watch on my wrist now that ran out of batteries - silver oxide - not a super common value. So when I got the number - it 'unplugged' for an hour or so. Wife called - no joy - I put it all back together. Watch started. The discharge curve raised just above a cutoff. Now three days later - I still have to find a battery.

Martin Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Greg O wrote:

According to Greg O :

What model of Fluke meter? Most of them have internal fuses to protect against certain actions which qualify as "stupid", such as hooking an ammeter across a voltage. My Fluke 27 and my Fluke 67 both have two fuses -- one hefty one for the high-current range (10A?) and one much smaller for the lower ranges.

Does it work properly on DC ranges? If so, then it is probably not the fuses. But they can be easily tested by touching the hot probe on the ohmmeter range to the 10A and 100mA sockets. The resistance value should be quite small on both.

Look in the owner's manual. There should be a listing of authorized repair centers. (And look on their web site, if you don't have the manual any more.)

That sounds good to me.

Good Luck, DoN.

My Fluke 87 that I bought for like $250 back in '89 or so is still chugging along quite nicely. How many of those cheapies would I have gone through in ~16 years, how many problems from inaccuracy and how much wasted time going and getting another one off the shelf?

Pete C.

"Pete C." wrote: (clip) how many problems from inaccuracy and how much wasted time going and getting another one off the shelf? (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Pete, I buy these cheap digital meters when they are on sale at Harbor Freight. I actually SAVE time by having them scattered around in the places where they might be needed--one in my car, in my truck, my shop and my house. Plus, I have a Fluke for those times when real accuracy is needed, which turn out to be rare. Like Tom Gardner said, there are mostly questions of continuity and voltage presence.

BTW, one of the handiest electrical tools I have ever owned is a pocket tester that beeps when held close to AC. Saves me more walking and wiggling than I could possibly list.

As long as you have a Fluke available when you need it :)

I should probably get a cheapie to keep in the truck myself.

Pete C.

I'd prefer test equipment that works every time. I won't trust a $4 meter to tell me a circuit is off.

Depending on what you do, your meter may be almost be safety equipment.

You can't always trust a Fluke either. I forget the model number, but they had a row of buttons down one side rather than a knob. We had a bunch at my last job, and when the batteries got tired, they would merrily give you bogus answers with no warning. Hopefully the newer ones have a better low battery detector/warning.

Doug White

I still have my original EICO 274 that I bought for $139.50 WAYYY back in the early eighties or late seventies. It's outlived several fancier cheaper units. That said, I also keep a few cheapies floating around and use them where there is any chance of dropping/crushing/losing the meter.

I also have my Micronta 22-195A bench meter I bought for roughly $100 on sale about 10 or so years later. It doesn't leave the shop any more for use in the car etc since I got the cheap ones.