Fluke 87 Display Repair (PWJ187)

[@madbstard1]

More realistic dumpster diving than Dave Jones :D Really cool find. No doubt you have plenty of multimeters already, but you can never have too many!!

[@PlaywithJunk]

I can definitively dump one of the crappy multimeters now... :-)

[@CassegrainSweden]

Bought on of these cheap a couple of years ago as the seller thought it was faulty. Just some cleaning of the contacts and elastomers and it was as new :) Us it almost daily.

[@johnmartinez202]

Thank you. Watched to get the steps for replacing the pink contacts because I was about to purchase replacement parts. Just cleaning the contacts fixed my display!

[@PlaywithJunk]

I'm always glad to help :-)

[@Thingsthatgopew22]

I doubt that you have the old zebra strips, but if you have them, try boiling them in water for 5 minutes and let them cool squeezed between a flat surface and some books.

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

One problem with the tracks on the display is that they can get removed by electrolysis if you spill a conducting fluid on them. The tracks are so fine it don't take much to deplate them completely.

[@PlaywithJunk]

yeah... fortunately there was no sign of liquid damage. It was just a first assumption :-)

[@IvanStepaniuk]

Nice score!

[@yuui7154]

I had the same problem and it helped. Thank you very much

[@mumiemonstret]

The most shocking thing was that the fuses weren't scavenged before it was thrown away! Those are insanely expensive.

[@PlaywithJunk]

If someone throws a working Fluke 87 away, he doesn't care about fuses...

[@jgildert]

Never had much luck cleaning zebra strips. They’re only one better than hot bar connections which I despise with the utmost passion. I think Dave did a video about the driver circuit of LCD’s , I wonder if it could be support circuitry causing the weakness on certain LCD elements.

[@FJL4215]

My Fluke 77 had some weak segments like that but works fine now after just cleaning the zebra strips a year ago using isopropyl alcohol. :)

[@graemedavidson499]

My Fluke 87 goes that way every few years. A quick clean up of the zebra strip contact surfaces and it’s good for a few more years!

[@PlaywithJunk]

Other Fluke meters don't have that problem. I have a 77 (mark-1) that never had any issues. I wonder what they did wrong on the 80 series...

[@graemedavidson499]

@@PlaywithJunk My Fluke 77 series 1 is still going great too. It was my first serious workshop purchase back in the day! I made the mistake of buying a cheap DMM prior to that and been using Fluke ever since.

[@PlaywithJunk]

@@graemedavidson499 :-) and you change the battery every 5 years or later...

[@graemedavidson499]

@@PlaywithJunk Very true. Unlike the 87 where despite its auto-off feature, still seems to run the battery down! The only Fluke I regretted buying was the 289 which suffers from a slow refresh rate. I have a feeling these meters will last a lifetime.

[@pauldeboer]

"What did you buy today?" "Rubbers"

[@PlaywithJunk]

extra stiff rubbers ;-)

[@zx8401ztv]

I hope the fluke is working well after 2 years (if you still have it). People and company's can be so wasteful :-( I was given a free fluke 111 multimeter (basic), it was very dirty and i took it apart. The pcb had some minor track damage (battery leak) easy fix. After cleaning the whole pcb, it worked perfect :-D i was chuffed :-D. The case i put in warm water and dish washing soap, a little scrub with a tooth brush made it look new. The yellow rubber jacket looked like it came from a coal mind, very very black lol. I have a few old multimeters but the fluke has become my standard. Sorry, i talk a bit too much.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Oh yes, I still have it and I use it from time to time when I'm too lazy to boot up my bench multimeter ;-)

[@colinstu]

Wouldn't finger oils interfere too? Cleans off with alcohol swab and then touches it again!

[@phreapersoonlijk]

Yea, I was worried about that too. Doubt it, but I'd still wouldn't've touched it.

[@PlaywithJunk]

did i touch the contact area?

[@colinstu]

@@PlaywithJunk it appeared so, at least from the camera angle. maybe not, but it looked that way at least.

[@phreapersoonlijk]

@@PlaywithJunk Yes, when you put the zebra connectors in.

[@pauldeboer]

@@PlaywithJunk Yes, @9:04

[@AmitChaudhry27]

WT heck i did not got notification for this. now youtube wants me to prevent watching PWJ

[@cbmsysmobile]

I prefer the 802x Flukes myself. Still good after 30+ years

[@PlaywithJunk]

We have one in the company workshop. Still works without an issue. Some people just don't know how to use it. But that's good because nobody takes it away :-)

[@zouma7734]

Hello, please I am looking for fluke 87 lcd screen. You know a site that sell spare parts for fluke. Regards

[@PlaywithJunk]

Yeah...! Try *Ebay* that's where I found the spare rubbers fot my Fluke :-)

[@autolancegega599]

My Multimeter 87VI display is botched up, does anyone know where i can get a Display for the multimeter.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Have you tried "The Internet"?

[@ChipGuy]

The mass production price for these rubber contacts when you buy 2000 pcs made to your specs is 320€ for the entire lot including shipping. Makes 16 cents per piece.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Sure but what shall I do with the other 1998 pieces? :-)

[@ChipGuy]

@@PlaywithJunk That's the problem. Sell them on ebay for 6 EUR/piece instead of 12 :)

[@jms019]

I sooo wish I had access to your rubbish

[@kurnma3776]

When solving problems, always try the simplest solution :)

[@PlaywithJunk]

...try the simplest solution *first*

[@simonstergaard]

ze zebra stripes... better than ze direct on-glass press soldered connectors...

[@PlaywithJunk]

are you making fun about my accent? ;-)

[@RandomPsychic]

wow thats wasteful to throw out....

[@PlaywithJunk]

You know how thist works.... some guy turns it on, sees a faulty display, thinks "that's an old thing" and throws it away.