Fluke 289 consuming 48mA when OFF

[orbiter]

Hi guys,

Just got myself a Fluke 289. It was from eBay but was sold as new from a reputable seller.. It just came as described without the box. But in a genuine Fluke
case.. The DMM looks brand new with screen cover etc, and also included were all accessories, leads, croc clips, cd, carry case, user guide and straps .

Now I knew these things had a desire for battery's so I stuck in some freshly charged Eneloop's yesterday and the meter performed as I would
have expected. Accuracy according to my calibrated Keysight 34465A was fine.

I gets up this morning, turned the meter on, and a great big NOTHING happened. Yep Batts totally dead! I've measured the OFF state current draw
which is showing as 48mA.. Is this the norm for a 289 or do I have an issue here?

Thanks guys

[kg4arn]

Measured mine yesterday at 117 uA.
It started out a little higher then slowly tracked downward making me think a cap was charging.
Purchased in USA from Tequipment.

[dr.diesel]

Likely a dead supercap, see this thread:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/fluke-189-with-leaking-surface-mount-coin-cell/

Common problem and easy to fix.

[orbiter]

@kg4arn.. Wow that is nice and low.  What does it consume turned ON, but idle on DC, AC ranges please?

@ dr.diesel.. Yea that's what I thought.. My Fluke 289 has a rechargeable battery though as opposed to a super-cap.. I suppose that could be old and dead though.

The thing is the battery is bonded to the PCB with Araldite or something and seems like a right bugger to get off.

Thinking about it.. Would the 3v 5mAh battery make such a difference to the Fluke 289's OFF power consumption?

[kg4arn]

Sorry I didn't test the power-on current drain.
I was replacing batteries and I was just curious.
It's easy to test the standby current but I would have to set up some sort of way to hold the unit and turn it on while holding the power to the tabs.
I am sure others have measured it.

[testpoint]

try to desoldering C145, in manual it is a supercap, EECEN0F204,  looks likes a small battery, if the power off current back to normal, try to replace the EECEN0F204

[orbiter]

OK so I've just done another little test... It's not the battery or supercap issue. I've disconnected the internal clock battery on my Fluke 289, and in it's
OFF state it's still pulling 48mA ... Anybody else had this issue with the 289? 

[stj]

check it's not logging in the background or anything like that.

[orbiter]

Nope.. Nothing like that.

[IanB]

Now I knew these things had a desire for battery's so I stuck in some freshly charged Eneloop's yesterday and the meter performed as I would
have expected. Accuracy according to my calibrated Keysight 34465A was fine.

I gets up this morning, turned the meter on, and a great big NOTHING happened. Yep Batts totally dead! I've measured the OFF state current draw
which is showing as 0.49mA.. Is this the norm for a 289 or do I have an issue here?

0.49 mA overnight would be in the order of 0.49 mA x 10 h = 5 mAh. This would not drain a fresh set of batteries.

OK so I've just done another little test... It's not the battery or supercap issue. I've disconnected the internal clock battery on my Fluke 289, and in it's OFF state it's still pulling 48mA ... Anybody else had this issue with the 289? 

48 mA on the other hand is a different issue. That would indicate a serious fault in the meter.

So... 0.49 mA or 48 mA?

[Jwalling]

OK so I've just done another little test... It's not the battery or supercap issue. I've disconnected the internal clock battery on my Fluke 289, and in it's
OFF state it's still pulling 48mA ... Anybody else had this issue with the 289?

Bring back the days when equipment had REAL power switches that cut the AC or DC power directly. Who needs this soft power-on crap?

You certainly have a problem @ 48mA.
Return it (if at all possible after opening it.)

[mzacharias]

OK so I've just done another little test... It's not the battery or supercap issue. I've disconnected the internal clock battery on my Fluke 289, and in it's
OFF state it's still pulling 48mA ... Anybody else had this issue with the 289?

If it's really pulling 48 mA (as opposed to 0.49mA) when OFF, something should be getting warm. Feel around and find out what.

[orbiter]

Ian.. When it's turned OFF it pulls 48mA (0.048A) ..And when ON it pulls about 74mA..  It drained an almost  fully charged set of Eneloops overnight, well in about 18 hrs.. Also I've just noticed
that if I remove the batteries for even half a second the internal clock time is lost.. So the clock battery isn't charging either. Or perhaps it is and whatever
the fault is, is pulling that down too.

I can't believe it.. The meter works great in every other way as far as I can tell, and as mentioned is accurate too. Pffff. Oh well
time for my money back I guess ..

I may open it up one more time just to see if anything hot jumps into view.

EDIT....  Tried the thermal imager on the pcb, but nothing to report really apart from a couple of larger tantalum caps
and the main processor rising to about 35°C, and that's with an ambient room temp of 27°C.

[BravoV]

It drained an almost  fully charged set of Eneloops overnight, well in about 18 hrs..

My Eneloops charged last year, used sparingly, are still giving me 2 battery bars in my 287, something is very wrong with yours.

[orbiter]

It drained an almost  fully charged set of Eneloops overnight, well in about 18 hrs..

My Eneloops charged last year, used sparingly, are still giving me 2 battery bars in my 287, something is very wrong with yours.

Thanks Bravo, and all you guys for the assistance. I did sort of know I'd bought a dud here, but didn't want to believe it.. I was even thinking 'well perhaps one of my Eneloops is faulty etc' .. However I can't argue with the current draw figure. No matter what batteries I chose, a 48mA drain is going to kill'em. Fast!

Anyway.. Thanks again fellas.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Muttley Snickers]

I read somewhere once that with these meters you need to log the off state current consumption over time to verify whether the super capacitor was causing problems, 20 minutes or so from memory, anyway here are my figures which were also posted in the thread mentioned earlier.   

[orbiter]

I read somewhere once that with these meters you need to log the off state current consumption over time to verify whether the super capacitor was causing problems, 20 minutes or so from memory, anyway here are my figures which were also posted in the thread mentioned earlier.   

Thanks Muttley.. I've actually packed this meter up now ready to be returned, but I do also remember a couple of current draw figures.

Powered off = 48mA
Powered on, Ohms range = 72mA
Powered on Ohms range, backlight full =107mA.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[IanB]

Note that your subject title and first post still say 0.49 mA. This is confusing if you really mean 48 mA.

[orbiter]

Note that your subject title and first post still say 0.49 mA. This is confusing if you really mean 48 mA.

Fixed [emoji106]