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Cleaning LCD Contacts on a Fluke 85 DMM.

[@martindeblois6952]

Use your experience to repair an expensive digital caliper. Turns out the seal around the case had been misplaced in the plastic die cast seat. After dusting off and a clean install, display is back to life! THank you for the tip!

[@TheGordy1950]

Those Zebra strips have always been a problem. What you did was the proper way to correct the problem. Some people will even go a little too far and take the Zebra strips off the LCD display which is a big mistake. Oils from handling Zebra strips can cause all kinds of problems. I used to replace them on all kinds of test equipment and learned the hard way.

[@jackwalker4887]

Surprisingly easy fix, in fact for me just opening the case and fastening the screws was enough! Who knew. This saved my small kitchen clock and made my day (surprising how hard it is to find a small unobtrusive battery powered radio controlled clock that reliably shows the time and nothing else). Thank you so much!

[@coryroberts8910]

Thank you! This helped save my Oxo kitchen scale by visualizing the issue. The LCD was display just like the in the video. The design was different, this used a ribbon cable (not the clip in kind). I squeezed it into the circuit board and the display worked great. To fix the issue, I placed a thin piece of plastic so that it would increase the pressure by a little bit, enough that the display is now perfect.

[@100nortonfan]

Just to thank you for posting this repair video. My Fluke 77 had the same issues, and I cleaned the LCD circuit board contacts as you've indicated. Presto! This cleared the issues up completely! Thanks!

[@ElectronicTonic156]

+100nortonfan Your welcome!

[@KiwiGran1]

I fixed the broken LCD display on my alarm clock by heating it with a hair dryer and then giving it few taps with my knuckles. Completely restored now.

[@stuartracing1]

Gonna try this one on my motorcycle....

[@Tom-bf6nm]

@@stuartracing1 How did that go, Paul?

[@stuartracing1]

@@Tom-bf6nm I didn't get any change.. I wish I did,but nothing...

[@garyjeffersii6735]

Thanks much for this. I ended up lightly scraping the contacts with a precision flathead screwdriver and all segments came back.

[@colinpovey2904]

Thanks to your video, I was able to repair my Fluke 85. Display is better now than it was 20 years ago.

[@ruthreebel9079]

My contacts were slightly different than yours but I followed your logic and actually fixed 95% of my screen! Thank you so much.

[@michaeldoak4678]

WOW My fluke 83 has been doing that for about 4 years and its 25 years old. So I asked a question why does it have this problem. In the time it took to watch this video I had it fixed. I can't thank you enough thank you thank you thank you!

[@srinivasandevarajan9772]

Thanks a lot, we have the same LCD issue with Casio DQ - 750F Digital clock and we did a alcohol cleaning on BUS from LCD to PCB and it did worked.

[@TqSNv9R0iG5Ckxew]

alcohol.... the solution to all of life's problems

[@ferndog1461]

Hobbyists can get 99% Alcohol from Amazon. Pure acetone can be used to clean connections or left over flux.

[@RFWMusic]

Hahaha !

[@aracon9721]

The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems - Homer Simpson

[@rwtyler]

Thanks for the info. I have a Fluke 87 that has been tucked away for about 8 years because of the ghost numbers on the LCD. I always figured it needed a new LCD so I used another meter. Came across your video, gave it a try and brought the LCD back to life. Now I can use the Fluke 87 again. Easy to do and a cheep fix for an expensive meter.

[@onrivertime]

It worked - Thanks! I looked at three different videos and each showed a different method (alcohol, silver conductive grease & buying aftermarket connectors) - might as well start with the easiest and see what happens. Glad to have the display back on my 27 year old Fluke 87.

[@LostinMND]

I use one of those pencil eraser to clean the contacts first and then I use acetone to clean them. I also clean the ends of the contact strip with acetone and air blast everything clean and dry. Fixes it right up.

[@barrykelleher4735]

Superb instructions. I followed step by step with a Fluke Automotive (Fluke 88) and it has restored it perfectly

[@ElectronicTonic156]

Glad to help.

[@sadfur8728]

Did Fluke have a lifetime warranty on their meters a while back when they were more premium? Is that no longer offered because the construction quality has been revised for affordability?

[@spooktasticaparanormal]

I have the same issue with a cb radio but the practical application is exactly the same. Thanks for sharing this video. Kind regards. Paul.

[@daisyv2110]

Thank you for this video, I was able to fix my 9-year old digital scale. Followed your instructions to wipe the connectors with alcohol and now the lcd display is as good as new.

[@MrkWil1234]

Pencil eraser is a great contact cleaner, especially for battery contacts.

[@rodneyjackson622]

I am so happy, You have taught me how to fix or repaired my Fluke 87 multimeter, I am so please. My digital display is showing , just like new. You is a great teacher. Thank you very much.

[@greg9198]

Thank you so much Eric! I managed to fix my watch's LCD that somehow popped out of its plastic latch. As its was my first watch from many years ago, it means a lot to have it up and running again.

[@GSMSecure]

Just followed your video and was just about to dispose of my FLUKE 73 III It worked brilliantly so thank you for taking the time to help others. I now have a brand new meter ;)

[@marridesign4108]

Thanks so much! You just fixed my jewelry scale just cleaning the adhesive and adding electrical tape. Genius!

[@DrNickBailey]

I have exactly the same issue with my multimeter and thought all was lost, but no! Thanks for the tip.

[@georgenicholas5210]

Nice job, one minor suggestion. I avoid 70% isopropyl. Use denatured, or at minimum 90%. It leaves less residue than 70.

[@JamieHutchinsonTechUK]

Worked for me nicely on my poorly designed exercise bike LCD screen, thank you! :)

[@marciodeamorim8472]

Hey man, thank you very much for helping! I'm not fluent in english so my daughter is helping me, but your video helped lots!

[@carlitosredsky]

I know a little of English language, because in my work I have to Know English and French Languages, but I understand your problem, cause I also have sometimes problems with technical words! Then I used to go to the "configurations": in the "right corner of the video Image", click on the "wheel" and after the opening of the "new image", select "legends", click on it and there you have a new "image" with: all the word translation languages, where you can choose your preferred language. I hope have helped you a little, Marcio Amorim Rego ! An embrace from: carlitos

[@sirajhussain791]

Excellent. I am having same problem in my Fluke 87

[@Timmmmm14]

Works like a charm. ALSO I'm sorry you broke off one of your little retaining clips (in your video) But that too was instructive and cautioned me to be watchful because I may have done the same thing as well as being mindful to orient the mode selecting rotary switch during reassembly, So let that be a lesson to would be posters in a "how to video" that your "mistakes can be equally informative and should not be "edited" out Great job and thanks for saving me money and frustration TIM

[@RetroGameModz]

Totally agree! It's probably not too uncommon for people who are making videos like this to edit out all the little mistakes, simply because they have too much pride to include the mistakes in their videos. But just as we can learn from our own mistakes, we can also learn from other people's mistakes as long as they are being presented to us.

[@rcari0687]

Thank you so much, I had that problem for a few months now and lately I was getting frustrated with it that I thought of throwing it in the garbage and buy another one even though they are pricey, thank you again so much😀😀👍👍👍

[@TheRubbertube]

Just saved an old expensive Digital Vernier Caliper from the scrap heap using this method. Thanks.

[@DrivelineMaster]

I also use contact cleaner on the pink contact pad that makes contact with the circuit board. It's very amazing how sensitive those LCD's are to a minute amount of voltage drop.

[@friedmule5403]

A wary old and effective trick that are being used in the PC repair industri is to use the brown and blue ballpen eraser and some 90-95% Isopropyl-alcohol.

[@fins59]

Good video, no time wasting and contains usefull information, liked & subscribed.

[@StogieBill]

Really well put together Eric. I like the way you fast forward through the boring bits (that other people make us watch) and get right to the essential points. A good learning experience.

[@transcanada9028]

I find with the zebra strips on LCD displays and carbon contacts in remote controls it's always better to use methyl hydrate then rubbing alcohol though it did work well for you and that's great. Also you might try 99% instead of 70% alcohol. Looks good though.

[@chilo31416]

My fluke 87 was saved by this video. Thank you uploader, for sharing this video.

[@peccantis]

Thank you! Fixed the display on my fish scales with this. Adding a bit of sponge on the back of the display works well to keep it flush to the screen.

[@ianhopkins8076]

had one of these fluke 85 with a issue with screen for over 30 year and 5 min after watching your video its fix thank you

[@4umata]

Fixed my old 7-segment clock thanks to this, much obliged good sir!

[@Szmeterlog]

Thank you for making that video. I could finally fix the display of my kitchen scale I really depend on!

[@jeffchen1180]

Thanks for putting this up ! I have a fluke 88 that was doing the exact same thing and the cleaning of the contacts fixed it.

[@ryugaknight]

Thank you! You just saved me from having to buy a new LCD watch!

[@5hawks]

Just replaced the "elastomeric strips" in my Fluke 77 after 30 years due to missing character segments in the display but that wasn't the fix. One of the PCB solder connections to the elastomer strips had rotten lead which didn't respond to contact cleaner. Scraped it with an Exacto knife then more cleaner. Works good now. Save your money and remove the 4 screws holding the LCD tower ass'y so you can examine the PCB contacts and clean them. If that doesn't help then try new strips.

[@douglas2lee929]

Nice. You got lucky. The process of cleaning the zebra's and solder pad surfaces is always a crapshoot. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So, you won this time. The amount of pressure against the strip is CRITICAL. Can't be too much, can't be too little. Sometimes the strips deform slightly or "shrink" slightly over the years, which can be enough to cause them to loose good contact. Even a few thousandths of an inch of dimensional change is enough for them to not work. So the shimming approach does sometimes work (but use only a TINY amount of shimming. If there is too much, the strip will get "squeezed" too much when reassembly, causing deformation, and the same poor contact problem). By the way, although Fluke no longer sells replacement strips (the woman in Service Parts actually laughed at me when I called--"Sir, your meter is 28 years old, we don't have parts for it anymore"), the strips for SOME models of Fluke DMM's are available from one or two places on the Net if you search hard enough. I bought a few for my 87's a few years back. Heartbreaking to consider trashing a $400 (more now) meter because of 20 bucks worth of silicone. Best wishes.

[@fulviosetti6334]

GREAT !!! I make exactly what you show and ... my Fluke 85 display return OK !!!! Thanks a lot !!!!!!! (& GOOD YEAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!)

[@rabidfarmer9765]

Thanks so much - this gave me hope on an old machine.

[@CookyMonzta]

Excellent! I hope I can fix my pedometers for my stationary bike. The digits are completely screwed up.

[@rachrub]

Genius! Thanks to you I found a simple fix to my exercise bike speedometer. Many thanks!

[@DarkRedZane]

Thank you. Cleaning its contacts worked with my digital watch. 👍

[@rogerfraser15]

Thanks. Your video helped me bring back my FLUKE87 display. Thanks again!!!

[@cainarnold1]

Thanks for your help..... I used alcohol and cleaned up the strips really good and it all works perfect. Thanks again...

[@bik3much]

Very helpful! Cleaned mine with alcohol on both the board and spongy pad and it made the segments stronger; less faint!

[@igeorge688]

Thank you very much. You saved me 332 USD from the pirates at Fluke. They want 200 for service ?!?!? and 132 for mandatory calibration. CROOKS

[@mechadrake]

couple years ago i fixed gearbox position (automatics -prnd321 thing) displays in my cars. for some reason it had zebra strips too, lcd like that could be with soldered wires, but no! still works (at least one shows proper gear, another car has offset position indicator for some reason now) , learned that from playing with some calculator doing things like in the beginning in the video.

[@jaja5870]

This method worked for me on different make multimeter. Thanks for sharing.

[@gerardkenny8882]

Cleaned and now it works again thanks for the video

[@beyondthegrave89]

Awesome video, worked perfectly. 8sed a hair dryer instead of toaster and the screen is perfect again

[@umbra700r]

just got one off eBay and that saved me money and a headache! thank you

[@chriscarter4100]

Thanks Eric, fixed my Fluke 73 perfectly using your vid

[@civednoel1388]

Great tips Mr. Eric! very useful and informative. I'll try that with my bushnell yardage pro 1000 where the middle digit is getting washed out.

[@MrBonesawzall]

Just tried this on 2 fluke 87 meters and it worked great on both. Thank you for posting.

[@angusmacsac]

thx to your experience and a few other youtube videos covering "Zebra" rubbery conductive contact strips that are used to connect circuit board contacts to LCD contacts and how to clean them - i was successfully able to restore my LCD display functioning on a very expensive race car digital dash display - cost $0 - just 10 minutes of my time and some research and patience

[@hannazelman7259]

Amazingly simple. Thanks a lot.

[@lemons1090]

Using this to fix a faulty meat thermometer :) thanks for the video!

[@schumy1975]

Thanks for your video. My JBL Horizon clock has a similar problem with its LCD display, I'll give it a try

[@Raven4122]

used alky and works like new again! not fluke brand it is innova but same principle..nice vid..

[@howajo]

Instead of alcohol, I'd use "tuner cleaner" to remove and neutralize any oxidation on the contacts.

[@Guerrero729]

Gracias me sirvió este video era lo que necesitaba para mi reloj tenía lo mismo solo apreté bien los tornillos y me aparecieron el resto de números que faltaba gracias 🙏

[@tlapancovazquezguillermofr4869]

It worked very well for me, thank you

[@RFWMusic]

Very cool ! I'm trying to fix the LCD on my car radio. I don't see a rubber connector piece though, like here and on other videos. It instead seems to have a tiny row of female/male connector pins . I'm not sure if that's the right term - I'm just starting to learn more about electronics...

[@snowman0129]

This works perfectly and very easy to do. Fixed my motorcycle digital cluster. Do not use a cotton swab, use a cotton shirt.

[@secret7agent540]

This worked for me on the Fluke 87 True RMS !!!

[@premiummotorsmercedesservi7006]

great information, Thank you

[@gregaravnik6957]

CONGRATULATIONS! 😍❤️💯👏🥇

[@3falexchina]

Thank you! Very useful especialy for FLUKE

[@juanramonmartinalbo3886]

Congratulations and thanks a lot for your video, sir. Greetings from Madrid...!

[@charly80years]

muchas gracias excelente video ..

[@billys2416]

This worked for me. Fluke 29

[@AlainHubert]

So much for Fluke's reliability and durability of their overpriced products. BTW, that solution will only work for a while and then the problem might come back again, much like some TV remote control buttons.

[@ElectronicTonic156]

It is now over 6 years since the repair, and it has not failed. Just used the DMM last night. But, having said that, it will no doubt fail tomorrow.

[@AlainHubert]

@@ElectronicTonic156 Good to know, thanks for the follow-up. But many times those elastomer strips fail at some point because of poor contact with the PCB due to shrinkage or hardening after many years. Some of them might also lose some of their conductive properties over time, too. I'm a little surprised that just one cleaning with alcohol six years ago managed to fix it permanently.

[@AlainHubert]

@Kevin W Sure, Brymen BM869s.

[@armandine2]

just done my Fluke 73 - this must be one of the easiest wins in electronics. I had put if off for too long and it only takes 5 minutes. NB pcb screw under fat HRC fuse.

[@Scribblescrabbly]

Thank you! Tried your solution and it worked!

[@ravingcyclist624]

Excellent information and solution!

[@cainarnold1]

Oooooh ya.. I broke the same tab too... No biggie.... It working great now

[@bhaskarbanik6716]

Will use in BP monitor display... Same problem here

[@ChubbaBoastinTone766]

Great video. I looked into repairing an old 15 kb digital diary. Not so lucky with mine, my ribbon traces were basically petrified when I opened the case and one little touch knocked the whole ribbon connection off the board :(

[@jaykemm3472]

Great! Now I can get back to 1985 without worrying.

[@stevenA44]

Interesting. I've got a few electronic devices that the same problem is going on. I'll have to try this. One of them is my Icom IC-735 HR rig. The very bottom of the display is blank.

[@tubical71]

Thanx, i need to try this on my Beckman 3020 as it has the same problem, and i "fixed" it the same way (putting more pressure onto the LCD) but the LCD went dark at some places, so i´ll give your kind of fix a go, as it won´t get whorse...;)

[@NITROSALEEN]

If you really want to improve conductivity use Silver conductive grease on the bottom of the elastomer strips. Use a little & wipe off so that you only have residual left over.

[@Mrmarginofsafety]

Worked a charm

[@paulsizeland6089]

Nice, now going to try this with my jumbo sailing watch... 😕

[@Dosbomber]

Nice video. I'm going to have to try this with my bench PSU that's developing some LCD issues.

[@danielrottino6230]

I just tried your fix, it worked perfict thank you so mutch

[@milkmilk286]

這是 FLUKE 87 的通病，斑馬膠條導電位用得太幼細了，造成變形短路，拆下，清潔拉張膠條幾下，裝回又正常了，最佳是換導電位疏一點的。

[@0dete]

thank you! I'm going to try this with my landline phone. Thx.

[@NiNjaTurtLe697]

I'm curious how the rubber strip comes into play to push allow display on lcd? Is there light shining through the rubber strip? Does the rubber strip have to be perfectly aligned with slots/holes on the strip? etc

[@dronillon2578]

There is no light. It is about electrical contact. The rubber is basically a conductor (the black stripes are conductive). The same could be achieved with a ribbon cable or a bunch of individual wires. Each segment of the display requires one wire, plus one more wire for the common ground (or rather common plus contact).

[@ElectronFunCom]

Nice tutorial, thanks!

[@MrRicardonz15]

Thanks for your advice man, helped me a lot :)

[@idoyqtqt7843]

Very thanks sir. It such a big help ❤❤❤