I read through your posts. First, I am not understanding why you would have posted in this thread of all places vs starting a new one. There is even a repair section that had you used, may have brought more attention/help.
Is there some reason you keep buying the same meter with the same problem?
There is a word for that.
Then again, I have bought more than one of the same meter just to damage them so, welcome to the the club.
Have you tried to contact Brymen directly about what you are seeing? If so, what was their response? What about contacting AMPROBE or the distributor you procured them from?
A bit late, but I can say, every Meterman PM55 or Amprobe PM55A I have has failed.
What happens:
- Auto mode freaks out and doesn't work (a short shows an unstable high resistance for example)
- Short detect mode shows shorted
- EF (power stick) mode works
- I can't remember what Low-Z volts does
- Hi-Z voltage works
- Diode mode acts like a short
- High ohms varies from not working to usually sounding the "shorted" beeper; IIRC high ohms will not give a stable reading
- Haven't tested current
What causes this?
The only similar thing I could find was a dying battery.
I purchased a new unit after my PM55A had failed, only to find a PM55 I gave to a friend also failed. I tested a PM55 I had and it too had failed. The replacement? Well, it tested good (testing 5V in auto mode, and shorting probes, that's it...); after a month when I went to use it to test a low voltage DC circuit again, it showed low battery ... and sure enough it failed too.
I'd like to fix them but have no idea where to start or what could have failed.
> Is there some reason you keep buying the same meter with the same problem?
I think Joe is doing a great work we are or will apprciate. See 87V two tests - two results ...
For sceptics - see autopsy of FK87V. Joe tests are very delicate I would say.
Unfortunately not mine, no idea how this has happened. Anyway prvoked my head to some questions:
- Majority of damage is caused by this fused resistor, it fired PCB, internal plastic protection and even the case. Hmm... this looks like this resistor was too slow to cut connection and made huge explosion and fire. Shuould fused resisitor really explode? Is plastic protection a correct protection from fire?
- PTC was compeltely melted and changed to cloud of smoke. Maybe it shuld be heatshrinked to react faster on overrload (heat cumuates faster when PTC is shrinked?)
- MOVs exploded, but PCB trace to MOVs surrived intact, hmmm ... why?
- None of fuses exploded or broke connection, hmm ...all were just fine. No they were not repalced after damage, all were nicely smoked.
Wow that is a toasted meter .
Did some put DC voltage , MOT on that meter? Maybe a higher spike. this looks like a result of the half cycle simulator but with even more energy.
i have seen a similar chared mess in a cheaper meter once.
some idiot thought it would be a good idea to diagnose an engine problem by metering the voltage at the spark plugs!
i laughed my ass off when he told me how he killed his meter.
constant stream of high current sparks from an oil-cooled transformer can do a lot of damage.
how are you driving the coil?
modern cars use capacitive discharge to give the coil a good kick.
Agree that any transformer that can put out high voltage and high current could do a lot of damage but my ignition coils don't put out a lot of current. I could try to burn a meter down with one.
Agree that any transformer that can put out high voltage and high current could do a lot of damage but my ignition coils don't put out a lot of current. I could try to burn a meter down with one.
Clearly we need to see a meter hooked up to the ~10 kV circuit on the high side of a mains distribution transformer. Though it would have to be a disposable meter as I think it would be completely vaporized in a fireball of epic proportions...
how are you driving the coil?
modern cars use capacitive discharge to give the coil a good kick.MSD racing ignition systems provide far more power than anything from 'consumer' automotive manufacturers.
how are you driving the coil?
modern cars use capacitive discharge to give the coil a good kick.MSD racing ignition systems provide far more power than anything from 'consumer' automotive manufacturers."systems", yes.
not just the coil - it's all about the drive circuit.
Clearly we need to see a meter hooked up to the ~10 kV circuit on the high side of a mains distribution transformer. Though it would have to be a disposable meter as I think it would be completely vaporized in a fireball of epic proportions...