(

[@steve8395]

I was a technician on the line that built those meters. Your video brought back some fond yet frustrating memories. Those little tabs braking and misaligning the switch were common issues in manufacturing.

[@artysanmobile]

The Fluke 80 series meters are spectacularly reliable. They make the argument for spending more for tools instead of spending again. My 87 is 36 years old, virtually all in the field. At one point, Fluke became aware of a problem that mine did not even have and sent me an entire kit of parts and directions to repair it. Satisfaction!

[@railgap]

I had a 70 series until it got stolen, dropped it off ladders, left it on hot machines, blew its fuses. Never had a lick of trouble with it until it got stolen with the rest of my tool kit. Family bought me whatever 80 series I have no, I've had it at least 20 years, tho it receives a bit less abuse now that I'm retired and also not running haunted house attractions in my spare time. ;) Never had a segment go dead or any other malfunction.

[@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!

[@JimLambier]

I used to manage a business that manufactured electronic equipment and we all had Fluke meters. I honestly can say that I never encountered a problem with their LCDs. Unfortunately, our corporate overlords decided to get into the multimeter business and started to sell rebranded meters from China. We were no longer allowed to have the Fluke meters. The rebranded meters were junk. They were inaccurate, killed batteries quickly and had displays that flaked out like what you showed. To 'comply' we kept using the Fluke meters but whenever we had corporate visitors, I would collect the Fluke meters and the guys would display the junk meters on their bench. When the visitors left, they got the Flukes back.

[@railgap]

If you know, you know. :D I've lived similar stories.

[@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!

[@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!

[@VelcroElGato]

Back in the 1980s I owned a manufacturing business making silicone connector strips. Zebra was my competitor. They always made an inferior and cheaper product. The deflection design is critical to the assembly from the display to the circuit board(s). Few manufacturers understood how to use such connectors for reliable performance. I provided holders along with my connectors and assisted with design in reliability. No one gives a shit about doing the right thing these days. It is all deiven by greed, not pride and reliability. Thank you China.

[@spvillano]

It all comes down to quality of components for anisotropic connectors and the slightly older subclass of elastomeric connectors and the board contacts/display contacts. Of course, cheaper is better to many, which holds down the costs, but also limits the lifetime of the product. I don't blame China because someone wants a $20 meter, rather than a $200 meter, as China didn't invent the market they're catering to, the buyers create that market. My first experience with these connectors and failure modes was with my old Beckman 310, where the plastic clips stretched, allowing oxidation to interfere with the display connections. Fortunately, the Fluke 77 had entered the market around when I was tiring of fixing the meter repeatedly.

[@billdivine9501]

What did you do with your business?

[@billdivine9501]

@@spvillanomy first job as a technician at a defense contractor the company had a couple Beckmans and a Fluke 75. Not enough meters for the techs though. Very frustrating. I loved the Fluke. So much so that I bought a 75 in 1989 or so for I think $119. Still have it and the box it came in. Still works, made in USA. Got in trouble for bringing it into work because it didn’t have calibration stickers on it and it wasn’t property of the company.

[@Foxbat1155]

Thank the immigration act 1965 that replaced your people for outsiders

[@spvillano]

@@billdivine9501 we had a fairly decent spif on the 70 series when they were introduced and I was working sales at an electronics components and equipment wholesaler. Never sold a meter, I put our counter sample meter into a tech's hands with a few resistors and batteries, the meter sold itself. The company owner, notoriously cheap, complained how the meter was now used and he'd lose money - then he saw the sales figures and shut up. Made a sizable increase in my paycheck, but I sold nothing, the meters sold themselves. Bought two, one suffered water damage and the other's switch failed and shredded itself. Miss those workhorses though!

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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!

[@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.

[@artysanmobile]

The other 30% in 70% rubbing alcohol is water, the very last thing you want to leave behind. Either remove it carefully and completely or use 100%. It can be hard to find in a container but individual foil packets are readily found in electronics or photo supplies. It makes all the difference in the long run. Thanks for your excellent demo.

[@marridesign4108]

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

[@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?

[@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 ;)

[@rennethjarrett4580]

Just a few weeks back I found this old R S Micronta digital meter. I'm not sure how I got, but I think it was a defective one someone gave me years ago. I thought OK fix it or throw it out. I have to much stuff and much of it is not longer of use or is junk. So I opened it up and put batteries in it and nothing happened when I turned it on. Dead I thought. So I looked at the insides to see if there was anything on the board worth saving. Somehow in that process when I pulled the board off I noticed that the display panel was not attached with any wires. Weird, I thought, then I saw where contacted the board. Hum, those metal parts in there look like they are tarnished. I cleaned them, and put the batteries back in and the display worked fine. so I have another volt/ohm meter. Sadly, I have trashed several meters in the past due to the display issues. Your video here now confirms what I found out. This is a new type of connection for me. In the case of this current meter, it was in my junk collection I bet more then 20 years. So that alone will have these things tarnish and stop working now that I found this new connection issue. Now for test leads that will last longer and still flexible.

[@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.

[@fins59]

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

[@trhosking]

Some graphite from a 4B pencil does a wonderful job of restoring conductivity on those contacts after giving them a good clean.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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.

[@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...

[@G5Ckxew]

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.

[@aracon9721]

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

[@microtacc]

@TqSNv9R0iG5Ckxew 💪😁👍

[@garyjeffersii6735]

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

[@ThisOldMan-ya472]

A fiberglass tip electronic contact pen works better than a screwdriver.

[@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.

[@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.

[@chilo31416]

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

[@JamieHutchinsonTechUK]

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

[@georgenicholas5210]

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

[@james67693]

Cleaning the contacts with alcohol is good; but then, a very thin coat of silicon grease should be applied to prevent future micro contact corrosion problems. This has served me well thru the years for long term electronic fixes.

[@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

[@rabidfarmer9765]

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

[@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.

[@patrickgregory2826]

I have an old clock radio with this problem. So - I tried cleaning the contacts just like you - It Worked!

[@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

[@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.

[@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!

[@rachrub]

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

[@rogerfraser15]

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

[@BeleefmeemetJP-vd6ly]

Nice, fixed my (new out of the box) hygrometer by cleaning the contacts: rubbers, screen and print. Using your tips, cottontips and contactspray instead of isopropanol. Thanks for this 10yo video.

[@ClydeBoenke]

Wow! Thanks. Fixed my old Fluke 79.

[@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.

[@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.

[@tlapancovazquezguillermofr4869]

It worked very well for me, thank you

[@DrNickBailey]

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

[@ryugaknight]

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

[@sirajhussain791]

Excellent. I am having same problem in my Fluke 87

[@joostparent3774]

I have calibrated over a thousand Fluke 85s in the air force. Never found one off-spec. Found 1 with a broken fuse. And a hand full of display issues such as the one you describe here in this video. I used some alcohol as well and this worked very well for me. Fluke 85 is a very reliable high quality Multimeter. But with basic functionality. Absolutely love them.

[@arthouston7361]

An alternative to the alcohol is the small eraser on the end of a pencil. It cleans up those contacts very nicely.

[@fulviosetti6334]

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

[@DarkRedZane]

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

[@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

[@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.

[@arthurc3012]

Back in the 80’s when I was a.bench tech, we used “soft” rubber erasers to clean contacts. Any loose rubber could be brushed/blown off and there was no moisture or chemical residue.

[@gerardkenny8882]

Cleaned and now it works again thanks for the video

[@cainarnold1]

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

[@MervynPartin]

I wish that I had seen this video years ago. I junked my Fluke multimeter because of missing display segments. It had been my favourite meter.

[@aday1637]

My trusty old Beckman (now over 40 years old) still works fine. How do you suppose they were able to make a lasting digital display all the way back in the early 80's? Could it be they actually took the time to assemble them better? I do know when I purchased the meter (from Baynesville Electronics just north of Baltimore) the salesman told me the tested these by running over them with a truck and dropping them off a building to see if they survived. I own several other brands but when I want to be sure I always go back to the Beckman meter. The reliability is unparalleled. All digits are dark contrast on the background.

[@JustSayN2O]

The wall-mounted control unit of my swimming pool's salt cell / chlorine generator has one malfunctioning LCD segment. New units cost north of $1k. I will attempt this repair. First I will buy some of the Caig Labs Deoxit that others here recommend. Thank you for the suggestion.

[@beyondthegrave89]

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

[@user-rs8zg8ey2b]

A pink eraser on the PCB contacts, then clean with alcohol has worked wonders on almost all contacts like, switches, pots, mech encoders, TV remotes, etc. also, clean them rubber/carbon push buttons on the fluke with just alcohol.

[@aday1637]

I've got a multimeter with the same issue that I still use but have to deal with the missing portions of the numbers each time I use it. I'll have to take a look see at this solution. Thanks.

[@CookyMonzta]

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

[@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.

[@Mrmarginofsafety]

Worked a charm

[@hannazelman7259]

Amazingly simple. Thanks a lot.

[@jaja5870]

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

[@craigewing3054]

“.. ut.. ut-oh..” sums up a temporary disappointment perfectly 👍

[@bik3much]

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

[@juanramonmartinalbo3886]

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

[@robertkat]

Fluke never dies. 😊

[@MarkBush-en5cz]

Use 95% isopropyl for all electronic cleaning.

[@charly80years]

muchas gracias excelente video ..

[@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.

[@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 🙏

[@gregaravnik6957]

CONGRATULATIONS! 😍❤️💯👏🥇

[@lemons1090]

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

[@Scribblescrabbly]

Thank you! Tried your solution and it worked!

[@HeilmanHackatronics]

Nice repair. How long did you wait for the alcohol to evaporate?

[@ElectronicTonic156]

Thanks. It was only a few seconds to evaporate.

[@jonsanford0]

when the screen went bad as you accidentally lifted the other connectors also showed a place to look for corrosion.

[@gregandark8571]

+Eric Wasatonic hioki multimeter are so much mìbetter !!! fluke bullshit ,also for the price check out hioki and you will understood about what im talking ;)

[@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.

[@secret7agent540]

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

[@MrBonesawzall]

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

[@snowman0129]

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

[@3falexchina]

Thank you! Very useful especialy for FLUKE

[@hinspect]

Gently with an eraser works well sometimes, I used to keep one in my box. (Old radio engineer in my late 20s in 1981)

[@davecrabbe4579]

Nice video.. that system that Fluke and others (LEGO NXT) went to for their displays destroyed their product's lifespan. In my lab I had the generation of fluke meters before they switched to that PRESS carbon pad assembly and every single fluke meter failed within 5 years.. The old ones are still working 10 years later. Was same with Lego who used that system for their robot kits. Had 20 units.. every single one of them had to be replaced by LEGO within 3 years.

[@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.

[@premiummotorsmercedesservi7006]

great information, Thank you

[@howajo]

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

[@ravingcyclist624]

Excellent information and solution!