I don't kill Flukes, I acquire them in critical condition. Well to be perfectly honest, I did kill a Fluke 177 once, by allowing an alligator clip powering the board to come loose while I was tracing out the power supply. The clip contacted some arbitrary point. It heated up and killed the processor. Some lessons learned there...
The following pix are from a near-death 189 I bought on eBay for $29, shipped.
First, an interesting fuse modification, which might give a clue as to the previous owner's mindset.
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/do-you-kill-flukes/?action=dlattach;attach=583721;image)
The fusible resistor had obviously failed in a spectacular event, presumably instigated by attaching the meter to an energetic source with a potential above the device's ratings.
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/do-you-kill-flukes/?action=dlattach;attach=583727;image)
In addition to that, some philistene had been inside doing bizarre things. None of this handiwork is mine. I can't even explain it. The remaining red varistor measured 53 ohms.
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/do-you-kill-flukes/?action=dlattach;attach=583733;image)
The unit had more problems unrelated to the spectacular event, not the least of which was two missing rotor contacts. A fellow EEVblog forum member sold me a spare parts collection with an extra rotor in it, so I was eventually able to complete repairs.
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/do-you-kill-flukes/?action=dlattach;attach=583739;image)
The unit has been in service on my bench for several months now with no problems. Don't worry, I have no intention to sell this meter or transfer it to anyone without disclosure that the Fluke specs have been compromised.
![](https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/do-you-kill-flukes/?action=dlattach;attach=583745;image)