Products > Test Equipment

Rigol's DM3058E Not Working, Yet Again!

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olliepee:
Rigol DM3058E won't power on--AGAIN. My Rigol multimeter just died on me.  Don't even get that annoying flashing green light anymore.  Looked over at it one day while working at my electronic bench and there was nothing happening with the Rigol.  The first time this happened was earlier this year.  Of course, I did this and that with it (checking fuse, voltage, power cord, etc.) trying to electronically resuscitate my dying/dead friend but it was DOA on the workbench.  Sent it back to Rigol and they sent it back to me saying "it was a bad fuse."  Not blown mind you--just bad.  They included some new fuses when they returned it and said it's now working fine.

Well, it's gone and done it again!  No annoying green intermittent beacon, no powering on--no nothing.  So, I have sent it back again with a sharply worded request for a new unit to be sent to me.  Why keep passing this junkie box between us via FedEx every 6 or so months?

HAS ANYONE ELSE SUFFERED THROUGH SUCH PROBLEMS WITH THE DM3058E CONCOMMITANT WITH LAME REPAIR JOBS BY RIGOL?

xrunner:
I have one here, had it for something like 8 years maybe. Been plugged in for most of that time with no issues. I'm curious about your troubles of course. It's interesting that you got it back the first time working, with new extra fuses.

I know this is going to sound really stupid, but did you replace the fuse again, with one of their new fuses they sent? If they made it work again the first time, seems like they wouldn't lie about it being a fuse issue. That is, if they replaced say the mainboard, it would be a much more "gratifying" thing for you to know about, i.e. they did a more expensive thing for you rather than just say it was a fuse. I don't see why they would claim it was a fuse when it was something else ... and it did work when you got it back.

Well anyway good luck.

olliepee:
The passage below is verbatim from the Rigol technician:

"After I replaced the fused (250V 250mA S) on the AC input, the instrument booted fine.  I tested DC voltage fine.  I checked the 250V 10A F fuse  for the current channel before doing a DC current measurement, it had a 250V 250mA S in it.  I replaced it with the proper fuse and tested DC current usccessfully.  I am not sure if the fuse mismatch was the root cause of the AC fuse blowing but the instrument is functioning without any issue."

Apparently, there was this problem of a fuse mismatch.  I never messed with the fuses except, after it died on me the second time, I replaced the fuse on the back of the unit with one of the fuses they sent me.  Of course, nothing happened--it was still a dead multimeter.  I'm worried about any damage that might have been caused by the mismatched fuse, how did this originate in the first place, and why wasn't caught when I sent it back the first time.  And what gets my goat is that he's not sure he's found the "root cause"; hence, we don't know if the problem has been or will ever be solved.  I can't but help think that I should have listened to the other bloggers who advised buying a plain ol' handheld and not craved for this unit's data logging and data transmission-to-computer features.  As Trump once wrote, "sometimes less is more".

Kean:
As I read the technicians report, the mismatched fuse was the fuse for 10A current measurement - i.e. 250mA instead of 10A - and the mains fuse was the correct rating.

It is not clear if the original mains fuse was actually found to be faulty, so I have a suspicion the problem may have been a bad contact in the fuse holder.  If so, maybe it is the same again.

Have you done any troubleshooting of the power supply?

Apart from checking the AC voltages on primary and secondary of the transformer, I see a few DCV test points/labels (+/-15V, +5.5V, +3.3V) in the photos in this post:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/disassembly-of-rigol-dm3058-and-dm3058e/msg5477323/#msg5477323

olliepee:
I am happy to report that Rigol has been the adult in the room about this matter as they have informed me they will replace my multimeter with a new one.  According to Rigol support, in response to my question about when I should expect to receive a new multimeter:

"I already started the process.  I estimate 5-10 business days."

This will certainly be a satisfying resolution to a vexing yearlong problem.  But, all's well that ends well.  Yeah, Rigol!  And thanks to you guys who supported me with replies.

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