My rant is about me and a bone head move. About this time last year, I was finishing up rewiring most of my house.
I’ve had a fluke 115 multimeter for about 8 or 10 years, suits my needs although I still miss my old fluke 87. My dad fried it trying to measure starter current on a tractor.![Mad :mad: :mad:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
![Mad :mad: :mad:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I usually take the battery out of my meter if I don’t intend to use it in the foreseeable future. I had intended to put one more outlet in my herb room which I didn’t get around to. The battery never got removed.
Today I tried to use my meter to make sure a circuit was off. I was replacing an old ballast florescent light with a new led light.
The 9v battery was dead. As I pulled out the old battery the metal pressure tab against one of the poles snapped off. I now have a useless fluke 115. The odds of successfully repairing a pressure tab are slim and none. I once watched a co-worker waste 1/2 a day trying to repair one before tossing his pile of junk into the trash.
I now have a fluke 117 in my amazon wish list. Tonight, I picked out a good set of leads and a hard case. I’ll order them in a few days.
How did I find out if the circuit to the florescent light was off? I disassembled the receptacle just enough to connect a small jumper wire across the hot and ground wires. No sparks or melting plastic is a good sign!![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Not pulling out a 9v battery cost me about $225, bonehead!![Mad :mad: :mad:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I’ve had a fluke 115 multimeter for about 8 or 10 years, suits my needs although I still miss my old fluke 87. My dad fried it trying to measure starter current on a tractor.
I usually take the battery out of my meter if I don’t intend to use it in the foreseeable future. I had intended to put one more outlet in my herb room which I didn’t get around to. The battery never got removed.
Today I tried to use my meter to make sure a circuit was off. I was replacing an old ballast florescent light with a new led light.
The 9v battery was dead. As I pulled out the old battery the metal pressure tab against one of the poles snapped off. I now have a useless fluke 115. The odds of successfully repairing a pressure tab are slim and none. I once watched a co-worker waste 1/2 a day trying to repair one before tossing his pile of junk into the trash.
I now have a fluke 117 in my amazon wish list. Tonight, I picked out a good set of leads and a hard case. I’ll order them in a few days.
How did I find out if the circuit to the florescent light was off? I disassembled the receptacle just enough to connect a small jumper wire across the hot and ground wires. No sparks or melting plastic is a good sign!
Not pulling out a 9v battery cost me about $225, bonehead!