Fluke 123 Scopemeter and battery replacement

[wptski]

This thread is a bit old but my post is on the same topic.

I have a Fluke 120 and maybe it's a bit different.  I have 18650 cells and a PCB type holder coming.  I first tried using a power supply raising the voltage to 8.4V and watch the current decrease just like mentioned above.  I used a harness from a BP120 Ni-CD pack and connected two old 18650's I had which worked fine.  The charging part of the mod "might" be too much for my old soldering skills so keep that in mind.

I had another Ni-CD pack still wired up so I connected that.  Connect the OEM power supply at it charged at 400mA.  Now with the 18650's connected, the battery drain increased by almost 100mA.  Either the 120 is different or that's what the charging part of the mod cures.  I'll just use battery power and charge the cells with another charger.

I've been having a guy that builds packs build them for me and I just add the old harness.  Been doing this for a Fluke 199B, 43B and the 120 going back to 2011.

The user that posted this mode hasn't been here since that time so I'm guessing this post won't be answered.

[rsivan]

Hello guys,my fluke still working fine no fire no explosion so mod was ok ;-)
if you look at service manual for scope also search for f199 or f99 you see all circuit, to adjust charge current just hack the 3 shunt resistors ,increasing it will be decrease charge current,
only important things: do not overcharge, so without battery connetcted to  fluke voltage on battery plug must not go over 8,4v.....(this based to li-ion batt 3.7v main rule...)

[wptski]

I'm affraid my old soldering skills aren't for surface mounted components.

I received the protected holder(s) and the same 18650 cells that you used for your mod.  Wired my Fluke 120 and working on a Fluke 43B PQ meter which is basically a 120 with different buttons.  Without any internal circuits being modified, cells nearly fully charged, connected to AC power, current still draws from cells.  It appears(monitoring that right now), as cells deplete near 7.3V which is the OEM charging voltage the cells "should" switch to CV mode.  Right now at 7.5V, current is at 140mA down from 300mA>.

Battery only mode for me is okay.  The catch is one either charges the cells while in the holder as a pack removing it every time or remove the cells and charge them however.  The PCB in the holder has to be RESET after cells are removed more than a few seconds.  Plugging in the AC power will RESET the PCB as well.

Seem to bottom out drawing around 40mA from the pack so I halted the test.

EDIT
After several hours the draw on the batteries the current goes to zero so the pack never goes below 7.5V so not that bad really.

[f11]

@rsivan , Thank you very much ! My Fluke 123 is powered by Li-Ion battery.
 
 f11

[EIKA]

Hi folks!

I am in the same boat as you. Dead batteries and no power on even after long charge. Device is BNIB, but 5 years old

What is the name of cells used in BP130 battery (OEM one for Fluke 124)?

Sub C (23x43 mm)? 4/5 Sub C (23x34 mm)? Or something else?

Thanks & have a nice weekend!

[mojoe]

I took my dead battery pack to a Batteries Plus store to have it rebuilt. It only costs me $12. If you have something similar in your country, I would take it there.

[EIKA]

I took my dead battery pack to a Batteries Plus store to have it rebuilt. It only costs me $12. If you have something similar in your country, I would take it there.

I can do it by myself. Why not?

[wptski]

They are SUB C cells.

[EIKA]

Yes. Just measured them. 22.4 mm diameter and 42.5 mm height w/o + tip. With tip it might be ~43 mm. So, it's usual SUB C 

[EIKA]

Hi all!

I've bought the BP130 battery off eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/161759037081, from cellephone-express seller based in Germany.

It's aftermarket one, I know. And after I got it I immediately found out that It’s 4 wires only, but not 5 as OEM one.

And all looks like it can't be charged when installed into Fluke 124. Nothing changes after 20 hours plugged to PSU. No charging process, no battery warming, etc. it was flat and it's now flat. Battery refresh can't be run - device switches off immediately. Looks like it's cheap Chinese junk / rip-off.

PSU is OEM, device is brand new. Wall socket is 100% working and switched on all the time.

Picture of this battery attached below.

DON'T BUY THIS JUNK!

[EIKA]

After some time of reviewing both batteries I decided to swap wire harnesses with all components (excluding the thermistor). Installed old harness on fresh cells battery and left the rest stuff on the shelf. As result I got 5th line (additional positive), proper connector with locking tab, and proper ID resistor as well. BTW, old resistor was 3,9 MOhm instead of OEM's 821 Ohm.

Now it takes charge well.

Damned Chinese guys, what the hell they doing? Reported to seller, but I am not sure that it will follow me.

[BFX]

Yes I bought also this battery but I found soon that there is chinese bug as usually
For me is only surprise that this product sell german company.
I warned them about it about half a year ago.

[EIKA]

I think that they will ignore and it's a reason why I already left negative for them.

[teksturi]

I also buy that same battery pack. Put new resistor and change positive connector to other hole in the connector. When I go to battery refresh page my unit say that battery refreshing take only 12 hours. My unit software version is 01.02.


Edit:
I found a answer from fluke web page http://www.fluke.com/fluke/tten/support/software/ScopeMeter_Firmware_Upgrades.htm
Version 2.02 update notes says:
"Battery refresh time changed from 12 to 19 hours to reflect the real situation (V2.02)"

[EIKA]

Thanks! Good to know.

[EIKA]

And small offtotic: what I need to perform FW upgrade? One of extremely expensive Fluke cables? Serial or USB one? Something like $200 for any one...

[teksturi]

Check this out. http://omapalvelin.homedns.org/fluke/
find CP2102 on that page and you will get your cable  I just started to design my own adapter.

[teksturi]

Just ordered my own version https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/nLb7niLM I will tell how it works.

[patrickdevos]

Hi I have also purchased a Cameron Sino battery from e bay. I tried a refresh cycle and had no luck. After using Google I ended up here.

I also think my battery is wired incorrectly but I have no reference to relocate the wires. Can someone confirm the location of pin 1. I have tried to attach a picture and it is with the security tag facing upwards. In the op's it doesn't show a tag on the connector, does this mean its facing downwards or it doesn't have one.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Hy
I have same problem. Did you solved it? Can you post photo with correct wiring. Where is 1 on the plug. Maybe the colours on the plug photo
Thank you




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[patrickdevos]

Hi,

I bought a cheap Fluke 123 scopemeter from ebay with lines on the screen and a flat battery. No problem I thought, I can live with the lines and I will just get a new 3rd party battery for £15 from Amazon here in the UK.

This is where all the fun and games starts!

The original Fluke battery is a BP120 and is a 2000mAh NiCd unit. It would not charge in the scopemeter and would only maintain the unit for 30 second or so before it powered down.

The new replacement battery is made by Cameron Sino and is a BP130 Equivalent 3000mAh NiMh unit.

But on comparing the wiring on the 6 pin connector for the two batteries the new 3000mAh one is wired wrong and will not work at all in the scopemeter. As it was low cost and not worth the hassle of changing it. I have investigated further and resolved all of the problems with it.

This is the correct pin wiring for the scopemeter battery connector.

Pin 1 Not Connected
Pin 2 +
Pin 3 -
Pin 4 I Identification (0 Ohms=NiCd) (825 Ohms=NiMh) Return on Pin 3
Pin 5 Not Connected
Pin 6 T Temperature Sensor (NTC Resistor) Return on Pin 3

So I swapped the connector pins round in the plug on the new battery and then the meter would power on with it. But it still would not charge fully or perform a battery refresh operation.

After a bit of Googling and a look at the Fluke service manual I found the above pinout information and I also discovered the correct resistance value for the NiMh battery.

I measured the value on my battery Identification resistor and I got a resistance of 0.8301 Meg Ohms not the 825 Ohms it is supposed to be. So the manufacturer not only wired the plug wrong they also compounded the problem by putting the wrong resistance value in as well!

So I have now cut open the heat shrink and corrected their mistakes as you can see in the pictures below.

Battery


Original and pending replacement resistor


Crap insulation on the opposite side of the original resistor


Removed resistance value


Replacement Resistance Value


Correct Plug wiring


Repaired and heatshrink added for a slightly better insulation


Red insulation tape as I have run out of larger heatshrink. This may get replaced in future if I can be bothered!


Original Battery pack


Refresh now detects the NiMh and changes from 12 (NiCd) to 19 Hours! Result.

Hello
Please could you show with photo pin layouts? Or photo so to see clear all wired coulours in plug
I dont have original batt to compare wired on plug
Thanx



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[Barniboy]

Dear "Cones"
Like "patrickdevos" I also feel some confusion about the actual pinout numbers for the connector plug itself.
Could it be as per attached (as seen from the rear, i.e. where the wires come out) ?
From your picture "correct Plug wiring" it seems that only the top black wire (terminal 4 if I am correct in the attached sketch) goes definitely to the identifying resistor.
The white wire (terminal 2 if I am right in the attached sketch) seems to go the NTC resistor, hidden in the shrinked tube, I think. But this should go to batt. plus directly ?
The other black wire, and the red can not be determined from your photo.

Is it possible for you to clarify the actual connector pinout ?

[carl_lab]

Dear "Cones"...
Is it possible for you to clarify the actual connector pinout ?

Is this the battery side or instrument side connector?



(PS:
Correction (see my next posting): This is the battery side connector view from the "holes" side, not from the "wires" side, as you wrote)

[Barniboy]

Hello Carl_lab
First, please note that my attached sketch is my question, not my statement.
My reply to your question: As the sketch indicates in text, it is a question regarding battery connector pinout, as seen from the rear of the connector where the wires come out.
Have I got his numbering right, with respect to the numbering in the Fluke Service Manual ?
Again: The Fluke SM schematic is very clear on terminal connector numbering, but no clue is given as to what numbering the corresponding terminal pinout on the instrument PCB are, nor the battery connector receptacle.
This is probably the reason why almost every aftermarket replacement battery is wired wrong, according to many posts in internet media.

[carl_lab]

Hi Barniboy,
I did not open my battery yet, but if I look at this photo, I'm pretty sure the red wire is battery+.
The next (thinner black) wire in the middle of the upper row is connected to the "ident resistor".
The white wire seem to be connected to the NTC.
The last wire (black) must be battery- and goes to the middle position on the lower row of the connector.


 (c) Cones

So your sketch seems to be correct, but mirrored battery connector side (or in other words: your sketch shows the connector from instrument side correctly).

You can compare with your original battery connector!

[carl_lab]

Has anybody tried a single LiIon cell (3.0-4.2V)?

At which battery voltage does the low battery indicator appear and when will the scopemeter shut down?