Fluke - Defective Probes

[aaronkondziela]

I recently received a new Fluke 289 from TEquipment.net. The probes that came with it were deformed, the black one primarily, so I contacted them for replacements. Theresa at TEquipment was very helpful, contacted Fluke, and I ended up with a new set of TL71 probes, the same type included with the 289. However, both of those new probes are also deformed, and worse than the first set! As you can see from the photo, it looks like there's some problem in the plastics injection molding process.

While I'd certainly like a proper set of probes, that's not my real concern here. It's a concern of safety, for myself and others. These are Category IV rated, designed to work in very high-power environments where stuff like arc blast is a serious and deadly safety concern. If the plastic molding is defective, it's entirely possible that the probes may not meet their designed safety ratings, and may pose a danger to users and a legal liability to Fluke.

What I'd love to see come of this is an official action from Fluke, to determine and correct the source of the problem, and some kind of statement - either a recall on the probes so people can get them replaced with known-safe ones, or a (legally-binding) statement that even if deformed, every probe is guaranteed to meet the safety specifications. (Given that they seem to deform to differing degrees, I don't see how that can be said of all probes, sight-unseen) Of course, these are just my thoughts, and I leave it to Fluke to know the best thing to do. Fluke is a good company, and I am optimistic they will care and do the right thing by their customers.

Has anyone else seen this issue? More data points would probably be useful for Fluke to track down the source of the issue.

I'm hoping that someone here can help get the message to the right people at Fluke, so this defect can be handled in whatever way is best.

[tequipment]

Hi.  This is Evan at TEquipment.NET.

I'll drop Fluke a link to this to see what they have to say about it.

Best Regards,
Evan Cirelli

Vice President
TEquipment.NET

[aaronkondziela]

I've been able to get in touch with Fluke about this, and they are promptly responding.  I'll be sending them the defective probes and complete documentation as requested, so they can investigate the situation. Always happy to deal with good companies that truly care.

And if anyone else runs into this issue, it's probably a good idea to make sure Fluke hears about it so they can investigate.

[Someone]

Thats a typical characteristic of overmoulded products, when getting a flush finish between the two shots with a sharp angle the edge will wander a little. These arent tools that have safety moulding that wears through to show when they're worn out, its not affecting their function or safety.

[melvar]

I just registered to say I've had this same issue. I ordered two different TL81a test lead sets from Amazon (not a third party seller), and they both had quality control issues. The first set had the exact same issue you describe with the black probe, and the red insulation piercing tip didn't have the needle sticking out far enough to actually pierce insulation. I returned that one, and the replacement TL81a set had a defective red grabber. Instead of closing properly it would stick in the extended position for a second or two before suddenly snapping closed. There were also lots of little plastic pieces still stuck to the molding seams on both sets, sometimes in problematic places like the end of the shrouds. Examining the stuff, it seemed like the metal bits were good quality and they were using good quality plastic, but someone was running the molding line too fast and ruining everyone else's efforts at the last minute.

I had similar safety concerns (though not for myself, I don't do high energy stuff); It doesn't look like they are paying close enough attention to actually know that these things are safe. How can they have serious quality control and not notice a product isn't even the right shape?

Hopefully it's just a bad batch. Thanks to Amazon's shipping practices, it took two tries to get a good condition set of AC285's, and neither set had obvious production issues.

[FlukeCorp]

Hello melvar - we'd like to hear more about the test leads you received. Will you please email us at communityadmin@fluke.com or send us a private message on here with your contact information? Thanks!

[rollatorwieltje]

Just for the record, my TL71 set bought in 2012 or 2013 is fine. No moulding issues at all.