Grubby Fluke 124 case cleaning - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 11:34:57 am
content: Hi,i just bought a very cheap and very grubby Fluke 124 :-) on eBay. It was owned by a car mechanic before I think and was so dirty that you could not touch it without getting very dirty hands. :-)So I cleaned it up - and took some pictures of the progressCleaning was done with plenty of WD40 on kitchen roll and micro fibre cloth plus lightly soapy wet wipes to get WD40 oil off.Result - is close to perfect I think.Judge for yourself - check the pictures. Unfortunately I did not get a good image of the front before I got started on the cleaning - so that shows after a bit of grub has been removed.But Fluke 124 is from 2004 - and seem to have had a hard life. Display have a few "pressure" stars in the outer glass - but invisible when screen is on. All in all - a happy Fluke 124 owner for < $450.But it is amazing how well Fluke cases and cables stand up to the test of mechanics hands.

author: plunger
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 05:28:03 pm
content: That mechanic probably never heard of Scrubs in a Bucket. Would have gotten that off in a few wipes.www.amazon.com/Scrubs-Bucket-42230-Cleaner-Towels/dp/B000BYE9RK

author: ron
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 06:49:31 pm
content: I wouldn't have used WD40 because it doesn't evaporate and can migrate to the inside. It looks like there is still some WD around the sockets. I have tried all kinds of cleaners and solvents to clean scopemeters and meter holsters. I have found a clean, coarse rag moist with naphtha (lighter fluid) works best. Alcohol, water based detergents and hand cleaners don't work so well. The yellow material Fluke uses seems to have a special affinity for dirt, grease and grime.

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 07:04:01 pm
content: I know WD40 is a penetrating oil - but I was careful and it is not WD40 around the sockets - everything is very dry and no oil. But WD40 "lifts" out deep stains of which there was a few. The soapy wipes takes of WD40 very well - and fine weave Micro fiber was used for "final" touch.WD40 Works wonders for pollen drops from lilies as well :-) which else are a pain go get out.I would like to try the wipes - but I live in a pseudo 3rd world country (in regards to product availability) - so was not an option.But it is still impressive that a 8 year old "abused" instrument can get back to a clean nice looking state. Many seem to be afraid of a greasy Fluke on eBay - else I would not have gotten it for such a low price. But why the previous owner did not clean it before advertising it... i do not know.

author: ron
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 07:25:19 pm
content: Well your meter looks great now. I know several people that swear by WD and I suspect one of them even brushes his teeth with it! The 124 is a fine instrument like the 123 with cursors! Congratulations on your bargain. I just rebuilt a couple of battery packs using 3000 mAH Tenergy NiMH cells with original ID resistors, NTCs and thermo switches. They work great for 7+ hours continuous trend plot. I bought 2 Chinese battery packs off eBay and both of them were wired wrong with the ID and NTC switched at the connector. They claim 3000 mAH but only plot for ~ 4.5 hours.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 07:42:44 pm
content: A cleaner sometimes suggested is that "orange" hand cleaner for getting oil and paint off your hands. It's water soluble, so you can just carefully apply it with your fingers and rinse it off afterwards. If possible the item should be disassembled for cleaning and the rubber shield separated from the electronics so it can be immersed without worry.

author: kaz911
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 07:53:03 pm
content: I looked for that as well. But not here. But WD40 worked fine and is available everywhere. I would not suggest using it on everything - or things not as well sealed as the Flukes.The other thing that usually works on hard stains and grease is "crunched" dishwasher tablets in a bucket with hot water - The enzymes in dishwasher tablets are hungry buggers and are very efficient. But I have not done a meter cleaning test with dishwater tablets (yet)

author: plunger
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 08:46:11 pm
content: Could one use a PCB cleaner on this type of stuff?

author: lavo-1
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 08:52:18 pm
content: Quote from: ron on January 20, 2012, 07:25:19 pmHey Ron,I am sure myself and fellow members of the EEV forum who use the Fluke ScopeMeters, would be interested on a "how to" rebuild a replacement Fluke cell.I think that would make a really informative post (even a sticky) as it is common knowledge that the Fluke ScopeMeters weakest point is the Ni-Cad cell.Would you be a gentleman and post a walk through for the forum?

author: ron
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 20, 2012, 09:36:53 pm
content: There is not much to it really. If you have an old battery just note how it's wired and replace the cells with new ones of the same type. I seal the packs with 67mm (flat) heat shrink tubing but a good tape would probably work as well. Just try to get good physical contact between the thermo switch and the cells. There are 3 types of packs for the 120 series -- 120 (NiCd), 130 (NiMH) and the current 120MH. The ID resistor for both NiMH packs is 820 and I think it is 0 for the old NiCd packs. They are also wired differently at the connector. Do you have a specific question?BTW the biggest problem with scopemeters is customer service -- but I don't want to rant.