Fluke 87 repair.

[aargee]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone knows where to buy the input jacks (Fluke 826214) at a reasonable price here in Aus?



The solder tags on this one seems to be un-recoverable, just need this and the 1500V E1 MOV to get the meter back together again.

- Rob.

[poida_pie]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fluke-87-4-89-4-187-189-Input-Jack-Receptacle-New-FREE-S-H-/281207280096?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41794291e0

$31 US plus expensive postage at $25 to AUS.
Free shipping to US locations.

[aargee]

Yes, thanks, I've seen the ebay offerings, I was hoping for something a little closer to home.

[retiredcaps]

I'll send modemhead a PM to see if he has ideas.

[ModemHead]

3/16-inch OD K&S brass tubing happens to make wonderful DIY banana jacks.  Given my fix-it-or-die mentality, I'd be inclined to get out the Proxxon (Dremel-type tool) and some epoxy to set a new tube in place.  But there could easily be safety issues with such a repair.  If your time is valuable and you don't enjoy this sort of tedious work, a new assembly is the way to go. Might be worth a call to Fluke Service to see if they can send one cheaper than the eBay price.

[Vuk]

info@celemetrix.com.au

Celemetrix is Authorised Fluke Service centre in Australia.
Email and ask for price.

[aargee]

My Fluke 87 III is now fixed and working!     

The fault was "continuous beeping" which turned out to be the "you've left probes plugged into the current socket and you're now in V/Ohm" alarm. The Fluke uses split conductor input receptacles the sense the banana plug is inserted and this was faulty.

There are a few other little issues - the display clips are broken on one side but once the meter is back together, the pressure keeps the display working a treat and the Capacitance range seems a bit off - but everything else checks out in comparison to my Flukes from work.

Just a big thanks to VUK for his assistance in getting parts and for Celemetrix for being local and able to supply them at a better price than anywhere. Also thanks to ModemHead for his interesting and useful website. 

[calexanian]

Did you buy that fluke brand new? Or used? They should have a lifetime warranty.

[aargee]

It was given to me in a rather abused condition. I doubt it would be covered by any lifetime warranty given it's treatment.

[retiredcaps]

They should have a lifetime warranty.

Lifetime is a marketing term.  From the 87 III user manual ...

[calexanian]

A guaranty as valuable as the paper its printed on I see..  Oh well.. I will still continue to buy their meters every 20 years or so!

[retiredcaps]

the Capacitance range seems a bit off

Since you got this meter in abused condition, I suggest checking your PTC (RT1).  It should read around 1.5 kohm *.

The service manual for the 87 I (original) shows the signal flow (figure 5-7) for the capacitance measurement and it goes through R1 and RT1.  R1 is a 1 kohm fusible resistor and is likely okay.

http://assets.fluke.com/manuals/83_85_87smeng0500.pdf

Also make sure to check low range resistors like 100 ohms.  I thought I had an used working 77 III until I checked a 100 ohm resistor and found it fluctuating.  My PTC measured 110 kohms instead of 1 kohm.  Once I replaced the PTC, the 100 ohm reading was stable and perfect.

Robomeds had a similar problem with the 87V as per

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-87-v-mystery-low-impedance-input/

* PS. For the 87V, the PTC is around 1 kohm.  For the III, I'm not 100% sure, but it should be either 1.5 kohm or 1.0 kohm.  If it is something like 4 kohm, then it is obviously bad.

[retiredcaps]

3/16-inch OD K&S brass tubing happens to make wonderful DIY banana jacks.  Given my fix-it-or-die mentality, I'd be inclined to get out the Proxxon (Dremel-type tool) and some epoxy to set a new tube in place.

Documented with pictures and details at

http://mrmodemhead.com/blog/fluke-80-series-jack-assembly-rebuild/