Multimeter help

[abunaitoo]

Craftsman 82139, 8 function, digital, multimeter.
Had this for a long while, and it never let me down..............until now.
I think it's broke.
Lots of smart people here, so I just thought I'd ask.
The display numbers keep on changing when trying to check voltage. AC or DC.
Temp is not working also.
Changed to new batteries with no change.
I never leave the batteries in it when not in use, so no corrosion.
Checked the fuses, just because, and both were fine.
Opened it up and everything looks fine.
No leaking caps, corrosion, burn marks.
Any ideas???????

[Winger Ed.]

Some of that floating numbers/drift is normal if you don't have a good hard connection to what you're testing.

I sometimes test mine on known things-- 1 1/2 V batteries, 120V AC, touch the leads together to see if there is no ohmns of resistance.

If its little brain is dead,, that might show ya.
I've got one super cheap one that I can't remember when I got it, and it still works.
I've had a couple of them that just rolled over and died way sooner than I thought they should.

[varmintpopper]

Try rotating all the knobs and switches several times, this will scrub the contacts clean. check the
leads physically for loose connections. Good Luck !

Good Shooting

Lindy

[abunaitoo]

Numbers going crazy without anything connected.
When I try to check the volts on a battery, number just keep on going.
I think it done, but hoping it has some kind of reset or recalibrate button.

[Rcmaveric]

Most the meters i have used weren't calibratable. Once they are done they get trashed. Its a rare occurrence though.

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[tinsnips]

This is why I still have an analog meter. Even my expensive digital meters act up once in awhile.

[GasGuzzler]

I had the fanciest Craftsman there was at the time back in 2000 and it did well until ... it didn't. No one will fix them it seems. I then got a Fluke 88 V/A and never looked back. Flukes can be calibrated and fixed too...

Sorry for your loss.

[Hossfly]

Flukes are almost boolit proof, unless you drop em in a bucket of refrigeration oil.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Moving parts...

The only moving parts is the dial that make contact with PCB.
Take it apart, look for damage, and maybe clean the contacts carefully.
There is photos of one taken apart in this linked discussion thread and you can see all the contact surfaces it has...and you can compare the contacts on the dial of your's to see if there is damage.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/craftsman-82139-multimeter-teardown/

[MaryB]

Deoxit Red can sprayed on switch contacts and all connectors. It is possible the measuring chip bit the dust.

[bangerjim]

DVM's are soooooooo inexpensive these days.....look for a new improved one that will have a ton more functions for very little $$. That model was not a high end one anyway. Gave you good service, right? Now time to lay it to rest and buy a sooper-dooper-looper one!

You will be amazed at what is out there for under $50........Just not Fluke.

[Petrol & Powder]

dvm's are soooooooo inexpensive these days.....look for a new improved one that will have a ton more functions for very little $$. That model was not a high end one anyway. Gave you good service, right? Not time to lay it to rest and buy a sooper-dooper-looper one!

You will be amazed at what is out there for under $50........just not fluke.

/\ this /\

[abunaitoo]

Moving parts...

The only moving parts is the dial that make contact with PCB.
Take it apart, look for damage, and maybe clean the contacts carefully.
There is photos of one taken apart in this linked discussion thread and you can see all the contact surfaces it has...and you can compare the contacts on the dial of your's to see if there is damage.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/craftsman-82139-multimeter-teardown/

That the same one I have.
I will try and clean it.
Thank you

[fatnhappy]

Flukes are almost boolit proof, unless you drop em in a bucket of refrigeration oil.

That made me laugh, because I know it to be true. We had a chiller at work that used to like blowing softplugs.

[jim147]

That made me laugh, because I know it to be true. We had a chiller at work that used to like blowing softplugs.


But neither a fluke or an h-10 enjoy a quick trip off a roof.

[bangerjim]

Harbor Freight #98674 ~$70.00

We have several of these in our company. If one gets burned out or damaged, we just throw it out and buy another one. Not a Fluke (which we have in the lab) but this thing does amazing things for a very few dollars.


Go0d reviews on-line.

banger

[DougGuy]

Horrible Freight blecchhhhhh (spits out the bad taste)..

The bay has several NIB 82141 for $60 ish.

[David2011]

If all you do is check continuity, voltage and resistance and don’t need certifiable results the free/cheap Harbor Freight works fine.

[Mal Paso]

Harbor Freight #98674 ~$70.00

We have several of these in our company. If one gets burned out or damaged, we just throw it out and buy another one. Not a Fluke (which we have in the lab) but this thing does amazing things for a very few dollars.


Go0d reviews on-line.

banger

I have that meter for when I don't need 60HZ, it won't read that. Darn thing measures light, sound and temperature too. I used the thermocouple to set up my dry mount press. Even better deal back when they had 25% off coupons that brought the price to $45 and someone here got me to buy one.

Hint: The battery compartment is counterintuitive.

[abunaitoo]

Cleaned it up and still the same.
Need to look for another one.
Was hoping to keep on using this one because it's a Craftsman.
Made in china, but still a Craftsman.

[Mal Paso]

Craftsman was only ever a group of Purchasing Agents. There was never a Craftsman Company in the traditional sense, it was a brand put on Other Peoples Products.

[.429&H110]

We had a game at refrigeration school. Was hours of fun. Grab a multitester lead and work it round and round the plug until the wire broke. It will still make maybe contact. You may just have bad leads. A Fluke set of leads is pricey and worth it... You are betting your butt on the insulation.

[abunaitoo]

Not had by Craftsman, not eve made in the USA.
But it has the Craftsman stamp on it.
A few years from now, when everyone forgets who Sears was, these will be cool to have.
If it worked.

[.429&H110]

Sears could have been Amazon. They had the catalog, the organization, they were on-line, and they blew it. They thought they should fix cars and build towers. They had a warranty. Don't get me started.

[Scrounge]

If all you do is check continuity, voltage and resistance and don’t need certifiable results the free/cheap Harbor Freight works fine.

And if you drop one in a toilet, you can afford to just flush it. (as long as you do your own plumbing, too!)

[Scrounge]

Craftsman was only ever a group of Purchasing Agents. There was never a Craftsman Company in the traditional sense, it was a brand put on Other Peoples Products.

What was true, but no longer is, is that that group (Sears, then, not just Craftsman) once upon a time was interested in selling reliable products. My dad and I were particularly fond of their hand tools, and the Kenmore appliances. That was long, long ago, and far, far, away, and in another universe, though. I no longer buy Craftsman or Kenmore. Of course, back in those days, Whirlpool was a good brand, too. Now you're hard pressed to find a good brand of much of anything.

[jim147]

Whirlpool, Frigidaire and most others started using the Kenmore brand as a test bed years ago. The big bosses were fine with it.

[Petrol & Powder]

I have several multimeters but the one I grab the most is marked Sperry DM-350-A (no idea who really made it).
I have a high end meter for checking line frequency and a couple of cheap ones.

That Sperry model has been a trooper. I suspect whoever made that model sold it under different names and it's likely Asian made.

My father had a Heathkit meter (remember Heathkit? ) that was about 5 times the size of a modern digital meter. I think it had vacuum tubes in it.

In today's world, I would buy an inexpensive digital meter with a display and controls that suit me. I doubt there's much difference inside those things.

I wouldn't spend time trying to troubleshoot or repair a basic multimeter. One, it isn't worth the time. Two, they're pretty cheap these days. Three, I'd never really trust it.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

The first Digital meter I bought, when I started technical college in 1983 was a pocket model Beckman. Made in Missouri.
and it's still working, Besides measuring capacitance, the DC ammeter function has a neat setting for measuring a Battery's ampacity. I use it all the time.

[Blanket]

a cheap VOM is in the same class as a cheap rubber

[MaryB]

I always get the Harbor Freight freebies. When friends want to borrow one they get one of the cheapies and NOT my good bench meter(I repair electronics...). If they blow up the HF meter oh well, it was free. I have 4-5 of them.

[jim147]

I have an old Heathkit sitting beside my scope on the electronics bench. I can't remember the brand of my everyday meter but I got it at one of the HVAC supply stores. It was under a hundred bucks and has worked well for over ten years.

[bdicki]

My Harbor Freight meter died, and I loaned out my good meter so I just ordered a new Fluke 117.

[mrmachinist]

I had a bunch of cheap meters over the years. I bought a used fluke (115 rms I believe) on ebay a few years ago for $60 and it’s night and day different. I didn’t need calibration or certified but I wanted a good quality meter that works.


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[Mal Paso]

I'll stick with my Triplet 630. A real jeweled movement, none of that digital, RMS, bla bla bla.

[.429&H110]

I have been reading this thread with great interest.
We want to use our old multitester, and I have a few.
They are sensitive to poor batteries.
That means connections, corroded contacts.
Clean up the battery box, new real batteries
put on new leads, spin the wheel slowly about twenty times.
DCV, try a 9V battery.
ACV, try a socket.
Ohms, rub the leads.
If the display still dances,
donate it to the 12 year old of your choice for dissection.
Great practice for removing surface mount components.
You need a big magnifying glass and a bright light. Scrape off the shellac.
A desoldering challenge. Remove resolder and test some tiny caps.
A steep learning curve.
Multitesters don't last forever.
But they can be organ donors.
Someone has to train the kids.
Can you find the display driver?

[MaryB]

The main chip that does all the measuring/math in them is what tends to fail and I have replaced a few. It might be obsolete and hard to find though if the meter is old. NOT for the non experienced, hot plate removal so if you bump the board all your other parts move. I don't have a hot air station that can handle the bigger chips.

[upr45]

Did you try different leads? Swinging voltages or ohms often can be due to broken/loose lead connections.

[Rockzilla]

My father had a Heathkit meter (remember Heathkit? ) that was about 5 times the size of a modern digital meter. I think it had vacuum tubes in it.

I wouldn't spend time trying to troubleshoot or repair a basic multimeter. One, it isn't worth the time. Two, they're pretty cheap these days. Three, I'd never really trust it.


I have an old Heathkit sitting beside my scope on the electronics bench. I can't remember the brand of my everyday meter but I got it at one of the HVAC supply stores. It was under a hundred bucks and has worked well for over ten years.

Heathkit...remember them well...Dad had just about all the test equipment scopes, meter, Power supplies, tube testers, etc.
and the computers...H8, H89, H100...

Have several of his Simpson 260's a Tektronics dual trace scope
Amp Probes, Fluke meters.. and some "gas" refrig..gauges and other stuff...

-Rock

[myg30]

I was wondering reading this if I’d be finished with my coffee before someone mentioned a Simpson 260 ! When I started in a TV repair shop in the early 70’s, the 260 was the general bench meter. Precision I think was the name of the test equipment that the boss had wall mounted over the test bench.
I still have a multi meter that came in wood box. I think 2 or 3 rows of push buttons for function/range and it may also be a precision brand. Now I need to find it.

Mike

[Hossfly]

I still have a Simpson 260, bought with my own money in 1972. Needed to read dc volts in hundredths, couldn’t with 260. Made co. Buy a fluke.

Company bought an a Amprobe digital, would measure up to 1000 amps a/c, really early model,led read out. But one flaw, if you were checking ohms and forgot to set on VAC and tested for 480 volts, that high a voltage would jump the internal fuse and explode in your hand,good by amprobe. Did same with Fluke several times and nothing happened. Been using flukes for past 35 years with good results. Only failure was dropping in bucked of ref. Oil LOL

[Rockzilla]

Dad, worked on TV's, did PC board layout work, main business was Electrical wiring (Industrial / Residential) also did Refrigeration work, basically jack of
all master on none. worked many years with him in electrical industrial wiring, grain dryers 3 phase stuff, refrig work compressors, computer controls. etc.
High voltage stuff I stayed away from...

-Rock

[jaysouth]

Cleaned it up and still the same.
Need to look for another one.
Was hoping to keep on using this one because it's a Craftsman.
Made in china, but still a Craftsman.

Sears and Craftsman abandoned honest tradesmen like you years ago.

[GasGuzzler]

I'll stick with my Triplet 630. A real jeweled movement, none of that digital, RMS, bla bla bla.

Use that on a 320V DC hybrid automobile?

[Mal Paso]

Use that on a 320V DC hybrid automobile?

Sure! Goes to 6,000 VAC or VDC and 100,000 Ohms. None of those transistor thingies to fail. Still works, THEY haven't changed electricity YET.

I learned electricity with that meter from my father and it was the only Volt meter we had before I left home. Dad was an electronics engineer into Ham Radio so there were lots of meters, the Triplet was the only Volt/Ohm meter. Dad got more modern meters later on but it was used well into the era of integrated circuits.