165 - A very sick Fluke 27 with a surprisingly simple fault

[@jwrtiger]

I bought the Fluke 27 DMM new and it still looks new because it has only been used on a work bench. Thanks for showing me the insides. When you showed the service manual I didn't know it was available. Did a search on the Internet, found the manual and downloaded it. Thanks for posting the video.

[@davidv1289]

Thank you for another interesting repair video. Another source of good quality multimeters is Wavetek (with less "sticker shock"). I have owned Wavetek 2025 for several years and have found it to be reliable and accurate. Regards, David

[@josephcote6120]

Nice video. I have a Fluke 37 (which is a 27's guts in a benchtop case.) Good to see how well it's built. I modded mine to put a 9VDC power supply in the probe storage compartment.

[@TheHWcave]

Wow, that's a tricky mod to do while maintaining electrical safety. I mean the measurement circuit is not isolated from its (normally) battery-based and floating (with respect to ground) power source.

[@josephcote6120]

@@TheHWcave If it was a switch-mode PSU I'd agree. This is a little 120 to 12 transformer, so I feel pretty safe.

[@TomSherwood-z5l]

I recently worked on a Fluke 8050A, sold very cheap as "not working". Many of this model have a battery option, using nicad cells. If the cells are bad the meter will not function, although plugged into an outlet. When turned on it takes power from the batteries exclusively. So had to buy new nicads and install them to restore normal function. Then I checked fuses since it was open. At first the 3 Amp fuse seemed OK, but then it displayed a variable internal resistance. Very strange behavior going from low ohms to hundreds. I replaced that fuse. It was not blown open, just defective.

[@geirendre]

Cool, yesterday I got a 27 from the local museum in to fix. It was just bad contacts on the sebra strips, but anyway.

[@m80116]

I saved a very badly neglected meter some months ago: it needed a switch, a button and a fuse and a good display screen polish... feel good repair, turning junk into something functional again. Beware of the fiber pens, they shed fibers... you don't want to breathe that. I use it wet for this reason.

[@TheHWcave]

Good point on the fibre pen. Thanks

[@TomSherwood-z5l]

My Fluke 79 has worked perfectly since new and holds cal. But recently I discovered the top of the case had cracks. It was always in the yellow protective case so I have no idea how it broke but I had to glue it back together. The gray plastic of the back of the case seems more durable and thicker than the front. No hopes of getting a replacement case now. Also the tab broke on the function knob so it will go past the stop if you try.

[@TheHWcave]

Yes, the best hope is to look out for non-working models on eBay and scavenge the parts