Author Topic: Fluke 28 II Battery life (Read 26889 times)

Janne · « **Reply #25 on:** January 02, 2015, 08:55:53 pm »

Got my Fluke 28 / 2 back from warranty repair a few days before Christmas. They had swapped the PCB, and also calibrated it. Not bad

retiredcaps · « **Reply #26 on:** January 02, 2015, 11:03:39 pm »

Quote from: Janne on January 02, 2015, 08:55:53 pm

They had swapped the PCB, and also calibrated it.

Can you share a picture of the new PCB if there are no stickers that say "void if removed"?

Handyman32 · « **Reply #27 on:** January 26, 2015, 05:34:45 pm »

I just bought a Fluke 28ii and was impressed by the build quality.
Of course I tested the continuity test with backlight on.
There was no battery warning message but the buzzer was sounding puny (with the higher backlight level), quite similar to a dying 5 dollar meter. It was annoying and disappointing for a meter of such caliber.
I opened the battery case. Cleaned all contacts (batteries and metal contacts). Put 3 old/half used batteries just for a test. Problems gone.
Put back the original batteries and no more buzzer problems.
Hope this will help.
Also I had to screw back the cover with a torque screwdriver.
If you don’t have a torque screwdriver, just put some silicone grease around all rubber gaskets and fasten appropriately. This should work just fine for waterproofing.

electrolust · « **Reply #28 on:** December 18, 2015, 10:54:08 pm »

My 28 II has this same problem. It's especially annoying to me now because I'm using it on the bench for lots of measurements, as opposed to in the field for 1-2 measurements. I guess it's still worth reporting on fixes so I'll see about getting it repaired and report back on my experience.

electrolust · « **Reply #29 on:** February 19, 2016, 11:15:23 pm »

Had this repaired in January. Took about a week and they also calibrated it free of charge.

roli_bark · « **Reply #30 on:** September 06, 2016, 09:48:26 am »

Does anybody have access to the 28-II Service Manual ?

retiredcaps · « **Reply #31 on:** September 06, 2016, 04:45:03 pm »

Quote from: roli_bark on September 06, 2016, 09:48:26 am

Does anybody have access to the 28-II Service Manual ?

If by service manual, you mean schematics, bill of materials, theory of operation, etc like the olden days of the original Fluke 70 and 80 series, then NO.

AFAIK, Fluke has never released a service manual with any of those attributes listed above for any of their modern handheld meters.

roli_bark · « **Reply #32 on:** September 07, 2016, 06:36:06 am »

I have the same "bAtt" Alarm & DMM Total Freeze problem with a 28-II bought brand new in mid-2013.

It freezes over after either of the following:
1. Doing Continuity test after pressing the 'SOUND Beep' button, or
2. After pressing TWICE the 'SOUND Beep' button, or
3. After pressing the "Min/Max" button.

The only way to get it out of this catatonic state is to turn the DMM Off & then On again.
Fluke doesn't respond to my emails to Customer Service.

I was thinking about installing a 9v Li-Ion rechargeable battery to replace the 3 AA in the compartment.
A 9v Li-Ion consists of 2 Li-Ion cells, with 3.7v to 4.2v nominal voltage level each.
So the DMM will see a 7.4v to 8.4v on its DC supply.

Question is - Am I risking any damage to my 28-II DMM doing that ?
TIA

retiredcaps · « **Reply #33 on:** September 07, 2016, 05:28:04 pm »

Quote from: roli_bark on September 07, 2016, 06:36:06 am

I have the same "bAtt" Alarm & DMM Total Freeze problem with a 28-II bought brand new in mid-2013.

If you bought it brand new from an authorized dealer, you should get it replaced under Fluke warranty. From other posts, Fluke will change out the PCB and do a calibration check.

Quote

Fluke doesn't respond to my emails to Customer Service.

You should give them a phone call. Perhaps your email ends up in the junk folder or is filtered out as spam?

Quote

So the DMM will see a 7.4v to 8.4v on its DC supply.

Question is - Am I risking any damage to my 28-II DMM doing that ?

Don't know for sure, but the meter is expecting 4.5V from 3 AA and feeding it 7.4V or higher seems like a potentially bad idea. If you do damage it with this modification, your chances for getting it repaired under warranty for free is close to zero.

The best course of action is to phone Fluke's support number.

roli_bark · « **Reply #34 on:** September 08, 2016, 10:39:38 am »

I see here several reports of the same.
Is there an official Fluke 28-II DMM recall for this specific problem ?

willb · « **Reply #35 on:** September 08, 2016, 11:34:32 am »

I had a Fluke 27-II which was doing the exact same thing. I procrastinated for at least a year before I decided to do something about it. I bought the 27-II used, on eBay, and it came from the USA. Fluke Canada replaced it with a brand new full retail box Fluke 28-II, with calibration! No questions, no issues. I was expecting my 27-II to be repaired or replaced with a refurb of some sort, but they gave me a brand new free upgrade. The best part was the turnaround was less than a week! Contact them, you've got nothing to loose.

PowerNet · « **Reply #36 on:** May 17, 2017, 07:03:05 am »

Sorry to bump this old post but safe to say this is now resolved yeh, its 2017

ElektroQuark · « **Reply #37 on:** May 17, 2017, 07:32:23 am »

And the solution was...

PowerNet · « **Reply #38 on:** May 17, 2017, 07:59:49 am »

so its not resolved ?

hmmmzz

tyreman1 · « **Reply #39 on:** May 17, 2017, 01:05:28 pm »

I have one of these meters 28 II TRMS about 2011 one
Never had that specific issue but just sent it in to Fluke service in Mississauga Canada to get checked

Added question any Canadian form member(s) know if Fluke Canada charge to check meter over under warranty or you pay?

JPERU · « **Reply #40 on:** October 12, 2017, 10:44:39 pm »

Hello, everyone after finding information about the problem that the teams found the solution, is anyone still interested?

JPERU · « **Reply #41 on:** October 19, 2017, 07:10:22 pm »

After checking FLUKE equipment (289,287,115,87V, 1587,374, etc.), I concluded that the current buzzer's current consumption is too high, so the multimeter is frozen, I presume it is a manufacturing / design failure. the card.

To solve the problem they have to replace the SWP QSI27C4 buzzer with one of the AC SERIES series.

In this link you will find more detail of the buzzer:
http://www.buzzer-speaker.com/manufacturer/magnetic%20buzzer.htm

I just did the replacement and the equipment works very well !!!.

2X · « **Reply #42 on:** February 05, 2018, 09:18:36 pm »

Quote from: JPERU on October 19, 2017, 07:10:22 pm

After checking FLUKE equipment (289,287,115,87V, 1587,374, etc.), I concluded that the current buzzer's current consumption is too high, so the multimeter is frozen, I presume it is a manufacturing / design failure. the card.

To solve the problem they have to replace the SWP QSI27C4 buzzer with one of the AC SERIES series.

In this link you will find more detail of the buzzer:
http://www.buzzer-speaker.com/manufacturer/magnetic%20buzzer.htm

I just did the replacement and the equipment works very well !!!.

Hello,
do you have any part number for the right buzzer so to buy it from mouser or farnel? Thanks in advance.

BC7333 · « **Reply #43 on:** February 27, 2018, 08:43:18 pm »

Last week I sent a 28II that I bought cheap on ebay a couple years ago with the BATT problem to fluke for repair. They just replaced it with a free brand new one without any questions at all. I must say that's great service.

Ondre · « **Reply #44 on:** March 08, 2018, 02:54:35 pm »

Same here! I bought my Fluke 28 II quite a few month ago used on eBay and noticed the battery problem just recently. I've sent an e-mail to Fluke explaining the problem and today they just sent me a brand new one. Awesome! And I really like the new test leads that came with the meter as they are quite thin and flexible and tend not to entangle themselves so easily.

I wonder how many units with the battery issue were sold and how many they had to replace.

jerry_gao · « **Reply #45 on:** June 24, 2019, 01:57:41 am »

my 28ii-ex have the same issue, I am going to send it to fluke for repair.

zoiasso · « **Reply #46 on:** June 08, 2021, 01:46:49 pm »

I have a fluke 28ii with this same problem, i contacted Fluke Brazil in 2018 (sent a video), and they admitted its a known problem but they won't solve my problem cause i bought it used and i dont have the "invoice" (my english is bad, i dont know if it is the correct word).

This is so stupid, it's clearly a factory problem, i have a fluke 87-v, the current consumption of the meter is about 20mA with full backlight on + buzzer on. The fluke 28 ii goes over 130mA with full backlight + buzzer and shut down. Seems like i will need to fix it my self by replacing the buzzer or limiting it's current.

zoiasso · « **Reply #47 on:** June 08, 2021, 08:25:06 pm »

Tried to replace the buzzer by a ps3 buzzer i had here, didn't work cause the ps3 need higher frequency to work. The frequency that the meter send to the buzzer is around 2.5khz.

So i placed a 100 ohms resistor to limit the current using the original buzzer in order to make the meter usable for now. It's working but soon i will look into some buzzer to replace it

admiralmaggie · « **Reply #48 on:** December 12, 2022, 01:00:05 am »

I was having the same problem and as it was suggested here, adding a resistor in series to the speaker fixes the issue. I cut off the "+" trace, scratched off solder mask and soldered a 120 resistor. I have attached a picture. The volume is lower but good enough for me. No more BATT prompt..

BeBuLamar · « **Reply #49 on:** December 12, 2022, 12:19:03 pm »

I think all the 28 II are under warranty why not simply send it back for repair? In the case of the OP who already got it fixed did Fluke asked for proof of purchase like receipt or anything like that? I sent quite a few Fluke in for repair and they never asked me that so those who bought it on Ebay still can have Fluke repair it I think.


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Author Topic: Fluke 28 II Battery life (Read 26889 times)

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