It may have been that some of the Cleaning Fluids that you used to remove the Crud and Solder Mask may have gotten under the multipin square chips near the LCD to create havoc until the liquid dried. I've seen this before on some of my own designs while repairing.
I have an HP which suffer similar battery leak. After cleaning the board the multimiter was turning sporadically on and of on its own. I took an ultrasonic glasses washer and sokaed the board in distilled water (the affected area only). Turned the ultrasound for 15 mins, then dried it and ultimately it works as new.
That's the quality they made 20 years ago. May not be indicative of the quality they have today. (Although I'd be surprised if they don't have better quality now).
@@BenMitro They are made in China in the "B" or "C" grade factories, hence not that reliable. "A" grade has highest quality control (eg iPhones and Casio calculators up to 2012-), and "D" grade have poorest mfg standards.
Mr Fluke 233 from the first video here. I was lucky enough to have some brush on coating. I thought it was funny you still had the protective screen cover on your meter. I’ve had my 233 for as long as I can remember and still have that piece of plastic on the display as well.
If I recall, you had a good amount of alcohol dousing the board which may have gotten beneath the display chip. That may have taken a bit to evaporate. That may be why the display was not working immediately.
@@EEVblog2 It likely would have had stuff in solution after working it's way across the board, there was still a fair bit of that corrosion shit esp on the other side. We'll never know
I could be wrong about the IPA, my experience is with marine electronics. A lot of conductive impurities like sea spray and salt to wash out of the electronics in that environment. We used sonic cleaners and alcohol or trichloroflouroethane back in the '80s before the Coast Guard told us it was carcinogenic. Before MSDS. I do wonder what the conductivity of the battery outgassed acid crystals might be if wet. I have seen moisture accumulation from rapidly evaporating alcohol form condensation. But that is in high humidity environments, like near the coast. We sometimes would flush and scrub with alcohol then WD-40. I am sure your HVAC keeps your shop humidity low. Even after 45 years in electronics repair, I can always learn something new.
i would clean it up the best i could maybe even some acetone around the area where the solder mask is already gone, maybe a little picking around any crud between traces then just cover all the exposed copper in nail polish and not worry about it again i did the same thing with a multimeter that got bad water damage with the batteries in, still works fine
I have recently attached a USB Power supply to my infrequently used Multimeters, to eliminate the possibility of Battery acid leakage inside the meter. Available in USB 5V DC to 6, 7.5, 9 or 12V Boost & 1.5, 3 or 4.5V Buck, Converters Plug size similar to a USB Memory stick. Cost around US$5 each, on EBay. For the small inconvenience of having to attache one of these Multimeters to a USB Charger, I don't have to worry about Battery leakage in any of these meters.
any good tips on material or fluke search terms for replacing the actual battery contacts when they get corroded? Just snipping some tin in the right shape good enough?
great lucky job , a very nice instrument back from alkline destroyers , to know the time to wait for drying , just smoke a cigare like at the old times of making wafers in pseudo clean rooms , and big advantage the smoke will gather particules that you will filter out after when coughing !! once finished the cigare just spray the thing with IPA to be sure its dry ...
Wow -- I'm surprised at the final bid on the eBay listing -- you can buy them new on eBay for less money, and new from a retailer for only $17 more. What conformal coating spray did you use?
Lesson learned is to never leave an expensive device you depend on with any single cell alkaline battery inside for long periods. Only type of alkaline battery that has been designed and proven to be safe for long term instillation is the 9V alkaline. If a leak should occur with a 9V, it's double sealed to prevent it from leaking the magic liquid.
I truly hated when avionics issues in production flight testing were irreproducible on the ground. Can't sign them off without describing the fix. Occasionally wrote "Cleaned and straightened pins on [whichever connector]" and let it fly again. (Meaning pulled a box out of the rack and put it back in usually, unless it was a canon plug).
Another corollary of Murphy's Law: When something has gone wrong, it will repair itself just in time to embarrass you in the presence of the repair technician.
Someone will wind up getting a deal on this meter. I was tempted to bid on it but I noticed the $40 for shipping via DHL. I don't deal with courier companies due to the high charges for customs clearance and brokerage fees.
Even the Energizer Rabbit can not kill a Fluke meter. :) Perhaps you were not holding your tongue in the proper position when you were working in it in the past video.
Fluke meters are tough as this one proves. I've had plenty of cheapies, but splashed out one day several years ago for a fluke. I still have it, and it still works perfectly, despite being dropped and havig soft drink spilled on it (I cleant it inside and out with IPA after the soft drink spill).
It hurts me a lot that you didn't coat these exposed, bare resistors. You should seriously consider doing this because the destructive forces from the outside (moisture, mold, etc.) do not sleep
Hey all; if trying to coat some electronics like this & on a budget, would nail polish work? Or does the solvent damage stuff? How about yacht varnish? I have a project that will need a complete water proof coating.
Have always thought that film resistors have that.. huh.. film right under the top enamel. Also probably calibrated by trimming the film before applying the enamel on top. Very surprised that this is not the case.
Perhaps the push button switches had contamination on them and were making contact on power on confusing the microprocessor? Cleaning them may have fixed the problem? If I am in the states and bid and win the |Fluke, how much extra will I owe for Austrailian taxes, shipping whatever to get it to 45140, Ohio|? is it a deal breaker for me??" Thanks. Dennis
Well, I guess I'll have to take back my previous RSVP fluke multimeter comment. It'll probably eventually die again, but it could at least last for a few years. Corrosion will probably eat a via from the inside, then it'll need another repair. At least it looks relatively easy to work on.
Anyone want to start a betting pool on how long that'll last? So long as the corrosion doesn't spread beyond where it is, I reckon it's got a decade of life left in it.
i had a similar with an older model in that range it got soaked and i mean drowned shook the water out of it some ranges worked i was totally gutted about it , took it apart allowed it to dry gave it a clean off with isopropel let it dry again , some ranges worked some didn't , i really was miffed , then a week or so later came back to it and the bloody things working and has been now for several years are these that indestructible
Probably last time he was still too wet when testing with batteries then weird things happen.... And well you already have the death head on your shirt :))
I can take that off your hands if you want brother. I donated all my dmms to a local charity and literally drove over my ut61e + by mistake and turned it to garbage. Hahah wah wah. It's true though. I've never heard of that fluke tbh
I missed the first test video. I hope this doesn't come across as insulting--I'm only mentioning it because it is a dumb mistake I made the other day cleaning up after a leaky battery. Whatever I was working on would function intermittently after a good cleaning with isopropyl. After much wiggle-wiggle testing of the PCB, Eventually I realized the contacting surface looked like foamy metal and metal oxides and the stuff seemed almost as hard as metal but only conducted in a few little spots. It was insoluble in everything I had handy so I ended up using a metal file on it😕 I left it open to future corrosion at the drop of a hat, but it does work perfectly for now.
155.00!!! dollars. Somebody wants this bad boy bad. Meanwhile....Dave goes back to the stash to find more stuff he can 'alkaline' to destroy and then eBay at a good price! Genius!
...should have given you a $ for it before...like everyone else, I have found when I do an alcohol dredge, it has to completely dry before I can work on it, like 2 days.....Acetone? With RF stuff, even acetone residue de-Q's the circuits, etc.....don't get me on to orange juice, etc.
Should have coated the damaged resistors as well.. Would not have harmed them as the conformal coat is literally designed to go over components and live electrical traces and plastic and epoxy without causing damage.
The stuff which comes out is potassium hydroxide. Some of which can react with the air to produce potassium carbonate. Both of which can convert PCB traces into copper hydroxide and copper carbonate.
i wonder if the corrosion on the other side on the button pads caused the no display?... like if a button is held down while its switched on, it doesnt show the display...(might even be a feature!)
@@EEVblog2 only other thing i can think of is ...the batteries ya put in it where crap.. not enough voltage to power up the display..but enough to flash the leds...(ya didnt show which batteries ya used to test it!)...or maybe that extra volt is needed now? have you tried it again with batteries?! (AAs are 1.5v..so 2x is gonna be 3v...but you injected 4v)... yeah yeah clutchin at straws!
"The warranty does not cover manuals, fuses, disposable batteries, damage from neglect, misuse, contamination, alteration, accident or abnormal conditions of operation or handling, including failures caused by use outside of the product's specifications, or normal wear and tear of mechanical components."
@@Okurka. Not the fluke warranty. The energizer packaging has a 0800 number for NZ and a 1800 for Aussie on it. I have made a claim in the past. They replaced the damaged item. The batteries in Daves first video showed the batteries expire in 2024 so they should not have leaked. Energizer should cover a replacement.
@@EEVblog2 It's not because the shipping price, the shipping price is perfectly fine 40$ to canada. Every time DHL deliver something there an extra fee to pay when the driver knock at my door from 20 to 40$. Yes they are fast but I can wait one more week and avoid to pay that fee with an other shipping company.
Pure IPA does not really dissolve the chemicals that come out of the batteries. I usually use rubbing alcohol or water for cleaning. Then rinse with pure IPA and put it in a warm place to dry. Some of the chemicals probably remained after cleaning and dried out then it worked. Some of the vias look damaged, it would be good to repair them.
It is a Fluke meter, Dave. Made in the...USA...USA...You know the rest. Go back to your earlier videos, when you dropped the Fluke from a large height...or took it swimming with you! Lol.
Maybe the cause of the error was the water in the isopropyl and now that it dried out it all works correctly.
That's my thought as well. Especially since it went wonky with just skin resistance. It just needed a longer time to completely dry.
It was 99.9% isoprop. And absolutely no way a tiny amount of water is going to stop this booting up or displaying stuff.
And it was already there for a day before I tried it on the bench the first time.
Could have been bad solder joints on the battery leads from the acid
@@EEVblog2 It wasn't just IPA, it was IPA plus battery fluid etc.
Behold the self healing multimeter
It's always nice when the equipment comes with self re-correcting fault protection.
Dave, don't forget to sign it. Instant value upgrade. Lol
It may have been that some of the Cleaning Fluids that you used to remove the Crud and Solder Mask may have gotten under the multipin square chips near the LCD to create havoc until the liquid dried. I've seen this before on some of my own designs while repairing.
I guess it just took a while for it to forgive you for leaving those old batteries in it.
I have an HP which suffer similar battery leak. After cleaning the board the multimiter was turning sporadically on and of on its own.
I took an ultrasonic glasses washer and sokaed the board in distilled water (the affected area only). Turned the ultrasound for 15 mins, then dried it and ultimately it works as new.
think it took a few more days for connections to LCD to dry out. now you're golden.
Nail polish, cheapest one at the store, pic a color of your taste, works a treat as conformal coating.
I would put the board in a hot ultrasonic cleaner to clean out all the Via's , then re coat the whole thing....been there done this
Glad you got it working again! Looks a decent meter, I like the dot matrix display!
Let's try this again to see if it was not a Fluke! Nice to see the thing back up and running.
Wow, really did not expect it to work perfecly like that, they keep proving their reputation over and over again. Glad you saved it Dave :)
That's the quality they made 20 years ago. May not be indicative of the quality they have today. (Although I'd be surprised if they don't have better quality now).
@@BenMitro They are made in China in the "B" or "C" grade factories, hence not that reliable. "A" grade has highest quality control (eg iPhones and Casio calculators up to 2012-), and "D" grade have poorest mfg standards.
I always enjoy your repair videos Dave. I wish you did more of them. We can all learn a lot from them
Mr Fluke 233 from the first video here. I was lucky enough to have some brush on coating. I thought it was funny you still had the protective screen cover on your meter. I’ve had my 233 for as long as I can remember and still have that piece of plastic on the display as well.
Ii like these repair videos. Very practical.
i use that conformal coating on my RC receivers. Especially the caseless ones and I have yet to fry one in when they get wet. good stuff.
Cool, I hope it gets repaired in the end so we can learn :-)
God bless.
If I recall, you had a good amount of alcohol dousing the board which may have gotten beneath the display chip. That may have taken a bit to evaporate. That may be why the display was not working immediately.
It was left on the bench as you see it and was powered it up a day later just like this and it didn't work.
@@EEVblog2 sometimes it can take quite a while for alcohol in tight areas to evaporate. At least a plausible explanation.
@@LB-fx1kn I used 99.9% IPA. There is no way that is going to be low enough impedance to cause it not to boot up and not display anything.
@@EEVblog2 It likely would have had stuff in solution after working it's way across the board, there was still a fair bit of that corrosion shit esp on the other side. We'll never know
I could be wrong about the IPA, my experience is with marine electronics. A lot of conductive impurities like sea spray and salt to wash out of the electronics in that environment. We used sonic cleaners and alcohol or trichloroflouroethane back in the '80s before the Coast Guard told us it was carcinogenic. Before MSDS. I do wonder what the conductivity of the battery outgassed acid crystals might be if wet. I have seen moisture accumulation from rapidly evaporating alcohol form condensation. But that is in high humidity environments, like near the coast. We sometimes would flush and scrub with alcohol then WD-40. I am sure your HVAC keeps your shop humidity low. Even after 45 years in electronics repair, I can always learn something new.
i would clean it up the best i could
maybe even some acetone around the area where the solder mask is already gone, maybe a little picking around any crud between traces then just cover all the exposed copper in nail polish and not worry about it again
i did the same thing with a multimeter that got bad water damage with the batteries in, still works fine
I guess AvE wasn't joking after all when he calls it the "healing bench".
I have recently attached a USB Power supply to my infrequently used Multimeters, to eliminate the possibility of Battery acid leakage inside the meter.
Available in USB 5V DC to
6, 7.5, 9 or 12V Boost &
1.5, 3 or 4.5V Buck, Converters
Plug size similar to a USB Memory stick. Cost around US$5 each, on EBay.
For the small inconvenience of having to attache one of these Multimeters to a USB Charger, I don't have to worry about Battery leakage in any of these meters.
any good tips on material or fluke search terms for replacing the actual battery contacts when they get corroded? Just snipping some tin in the right shape good enough?
Thank You for doing this, Dave!
Give ya $300 AUS for that meter, $400 if you sign it. lol
Came here to say this... Autograph it and it'll sell for some decent money 👍
great lucky job , a very nice instrument back from alkline destroyers , to know the time to wait for drying , just smoke a cigare like at the old times of making wafers in pseudo clean rooms , and big advantage the smoke will gather particules that you will filter out after when coughing !! once finished the cigare just spray the thing with IPA to be sure its dry ...
Why _wouldn't_ you coat the resistors? Given the coating is high k and the original epoxy coating did serve as a layer of protection?
Someone might want to remove and replace them later.
The first video made me take the batteries out of a spare Simpson 260 and and older medium quality radio shack meter. Got them out in time.
Wow -- I'm surprised at the final bid on the eBay listing -- you can buy them new on eBay for less money, and new from a retailer for only $17 more. What conformal coating spray did you use?
Wow, what did it sell for?
Maybe the mix of lye with alcohol on the pcb shorted some high impedance inputs. I´ve seen a video were a urea containing flux did the same.
Why not tin those damaged via's? Seams it would clean them up and make them stronger.
Lesson learned is to never leave an expensive device you depend on with any single cell alkaline battery inside for long periods. Only type of alkaline battery that has been designed and proven to be safe for long term instillation is the 9V alkaline. If a leak should occur with a 9V, it's double sealed to prevent it from leaking the magic liquid.
I truly hated when avionics issues in production flight testing were irreproducible on the ground. Can't sign them off without describing the fix. Occasionally wrote "Cleaned and straightened pins on [whichever connector]" and let it fly again. (Meaning pulled a box out of the rack and put it back in usually, unless it was a canon plug).
Another corollary of Murphy's Law: When something has gone wrong, it will repair itself just in time to embarrass you in the presence of the repair technician.
Love it. Saved from calculator heaven.
I thinkni dont get the jokr or whatever but thats a multimeter
@@309electronics5 Its a quote from a British SciFi Series called Red Dwarf. "Calculator heaven" is where all electronic gear goes after it dies.
Send it to me Dave and I will send you a definitely broken one :)
With current inflation running rampant, maybe $1.10 on ebay.
Someone will wind up getting a deal on this meter. I was tempted to bid on it but I noticed the $40 for shipping via DHL. I don't deal with courier companies due to the high charges for customs clearance and brokerage fees.
That $40 is cost price for the US. I'll be eating some cost if it goes to a more expensive country.
Remember Yankees! When Dave says "Torch" he means "Light" or "Flashlight". I'm a Yankee.
He's NOT going to put fire to anything. 😀💥
Even the Energizer Rabbit can not kill a Fluke meter. :) Perhaps you were not holding your tongue in the proper position when you were working in it in the past video.
Fluke meters are tough as this one proves. I've had plenty of cheapies, but splashed out one day several years ago for a fluke. I still have it, and it still works perfectly, despite being dropped and havig soft drink spilled on it (I cleant it inside and out with IPA after the soft drink spill).
Was the soft drink sugar free?
Maybe the meter was feeling sorry for itself!!.. But today it feels better! :D
Nature is healing itself!
Even though its not nature whatsoever electronics can sometimes heal themselves
It hurts me a lot that you didn't coat these exposed, bare resistors. You should seriously consider doing this because the destructive forces from the outside (moisture, mold, etc.) do not sleep
This meter may not be 10,000 Space Bucks but it is between 200 and 300 Yankee Bucks.
Nice.
Easy fix, this one....!!!
Hey all; if trying to coat some electronics like this & on a budget, would nail polish work? Or does the solvent damage stuff? How about yacht varnish? I have a project that will need a complete water proof coating.
Have always thought that film resistors have that.. huh.. film right under the top enamel. Also probably calibrated by trimming the film before applying the enamel on top. Very surprised that this is not the case.
Perhaps the push button switches had contamination on them and were making contact on power on confusing the microprocessor? Cleaning them may have fixed the problem?
If I am in the states and bid and win the |Fluke, how much extra will I owe for Austrailian taxes, shipping whatever to get it to 45140, Ohio|? is it a deal breaker for me??"
Thanks. Dennis
Well, I guess I'll have to take back my previous RSVP fluke multimeter comment. It'll probably eventually die again, but it could at least last for a few years. Corrosion will probably eat a via from the inside, then it'll need another repair. At least it looks relatively easy to work on.
Anyone want to start a betting pool on how long that'll last? So long as the corrosion doesn't spread beyond where it is, I reckon it's got a decade of life left in it.
I say a decade and then another with a knock in between ;)
Where can I get those sweet crocodile clips ?
Does Flukes warranty cover something like this? :P
Keep it and report back in half a year if it still works.
"SELLER REFURBISHED" 😆
Fluke meter was just shy the first time. It had never been on camera before. Needed some time to work up the courage.
Wow, bids up to $155.00 already, nuts
So much for my comment offer (in the previous vid) or $1.50 - after $1.00 mentioned in the vid
i had a similar with an older model in that range it got soaked and i mean drowned shook the water out of it some ranges worked i was totally gutted about it , took it apart allowed it to dry gave it a clean off with isopropel let it dry again , some ranges worked some didn't , i really was miffed , then a week or so later came back to it and the bloody things working and has been now for several years are these that indestructible
Probably last time he was still too wet when testing with batteries then weird things happen....
And well you already have the death head on your shirt :))
It took some time to recover from an ESD discharge? Were you shuffling your feet the first day? 🙂
But will the meter still be calibration certification worthy?
I can take that off your hands if you want brother. I donated all my dmms to a local charity and literally drove over my ut61e + by mistake and turned it to garbage. Hahah wah wah. It's true though. I've never heard of that fluke tbh
I missed the first test video. I hope this doesn't come across as insulting--I'm only mentioning it because it is a dumb mistake I made the other day cleaning up after a leaky battery. Whatever I was working on would function intermittently after a good cleaning with isopropyl. After much wiggle-wiggle testing of the PCB, Eventually I realized the contacting surface looked like foamy metal and metal oxides and the stuff seemed almost as hard as metal but only conducted in a few little spots. It was insoluble in everything I had handy so I ended up using a metal file on it😕 I left it open to future corrosion at the drop of a hat, but it does work perfectly for now.
155.00!!! dollars.
Somebody wants this bad boy bad.
Meanwhile....Dave goes back to the stash to find more stuff he can 'alkaline' to destroy and then eBay at a good price!
Genius!
Maybe it still had battery crap on it's PCB.
If Fluke DMMs could talk....."right, lets wind this guy right up".....
Can't you just use clear nail varnish?
...should have given you a $ for it before...like everyone else, I have found when I do an alcohol dredge, it has to completely dry before I can work on it, like 2 days.....Acetone? With RF stuff, even acetone residue de-Q's the circuits, etc.....don't get me on to orange juice, etc.
Annoying when things don't stay broken long enough to get repaired! ;)
Should have coated the damaged resistors as well.. Would not have harmed them as the conformal coat is literally designed to go over components and live electrical traces and plastic and epoxy without causing damage.
You should have resoled the traces. Vias and pins.
It would be interesting to know weather the stuff coming out of the energizer batteries will eat away the compound on cob chips
The stuff which comes out is potassium hydroxide. Some of which can react with the air to produce potassium carbonate.
Both of which can convert PCB traces into copper hydroxide and copper carbonate.
Could i offer, the cost of postage and make an offer of $10 to 20. As always wanted a fluke but rather costly.
Well you could say that one was... a Fluke!
i wonder if the corrosion on the other side on the button pads caused the no display?... like if a button is held down while its switched on, it doesnt show the display...(might even be a feature!)
Nope, holding down buttons at power on doesn't stop the LCD working.
@@EEVblog2 only other thing i can think of is ...the batteries ya put in it where crap.. not enough voltage to power up the display..but enough to flash the leds...(ya didnt show which batteries ya used to test it!)...or maybe that extra volt is needed now? have you tried it again with batteries?! (AAs are 1.5v..so 2x is gonna be 3v...but you injected 4v)... yeah yeah clutchin at straws!
I love my flukes.
Fluke: An unlikely chance occurrence, especially a surprising piece of luck.
Safety third!
That one time it didn't work was just a Fluke
whack it in the freezer. see if that will get it to flake out on you.
Maybe all the alcohol was shorting something before.
Look on the packaging for a 1800 number they should replace it for you. They are not cheap.
"The warranty does not cover manuals, fuses, disposable batteries, damage from neglect, misuse, contamination, alteration, accident or abnormal conditions of operation or handling, including failures caused by use outside of the product's specifications, or normal wear and tear of mechanical components."
@@Okurka. Not the fluke warranty. The energizer packaging has a 0800 number for NZ and a 1800 for Aussie on it. I have made a claim in the past. They replaced the damaged item. The batteries in Daves first video showed the batteries expire in 2024 so they should not have leaked. Energizer should cover a replacement.
@@David5467 Those batteries came with the meter.
Well you had just IPA with acid on the board.
quick sell it on ebay
And the Government had nothing to do with this 'mystery'? AS IF!
I'd Buy that for a dollor !!!
I'll give you $5 for it :)
Bidding currently at $61. No low ballers, I know what I've got here.
I might have been interested but when I saw DHL for the shipping... Not interested anymore
That's cost price to the US.
@@EEVblog2 It's not because the shipping price, the shipping price is perfectly fine 40$ to canada. Every time DHL deliver something there an extra fee to pay when the driver knock at my door from 20 to 40$. Yes they are fast but I can wait one more week and avoid to pay that fee with an other shipping company.
It was a fluke.
Must be a fluke!
solter the traces, hot glue the resistors , cover the mask with some enamel paint and call it a day. maybe fill vias with fresh solder?
Fluke is the "shite".
Pure IPA does not really dissolve the chemicals that come out of the batteries.
I usually use rubbing alcohol or water for cleaning.
Then rinse with pure IPA and put it in a warm place to dry.
Some of the chemicals probably remained after cleaning and dried out then it worked.
Some of the vias look damaged, it would be good to repair them.
It is a Fluke meter, Dave. Made in the...USA...USA...You know the rest. Go back to your earlier videos, when you dropped the Fluke from a large height...or took it swimming with you! Lol.
This one isn't. I believe it's made in Singapore.
@@douro20 Might be. I have a Asian Fluke meter, that works great for current readings!
Seems that all American goodness is being outsourced. Time to take it...BACK!!!
bloody murphy strikes again!
It seems to be a bit of a flook
"coppah", That's all she wrote!
It may have been a bit wet from the alcohol when you first tested it, now you have another functioning meter
What about lithium cells which are not supposed to leak? Can we see an analysis on those?