Fluke 289 became useless after a simple battery pin broke - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: Timur Born
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2018, 04:08:37 pm
content: Hello everyone!Some time ago I changed the batteries of my Fluke 289 and broke a small metal pin when I closed the battery compartment with too much force. Those pins connect the battery compartment to the main body, so no pin = no power.My guesstimate for the material cost is in the vicinity of cents and I would gladly pay a couple of EUR for getting the spare part. Unfortunately it is not offered at all, instead I would have to buy the whole compartment "door".Fluke Germany does not offer to sell spare parts to end customers. They only offer repairs, for a flat price of about 350 EUR, incl. about 50 EUR for analyzing the damage and deciding whether it is covered by warranty or not.They also couldn't tell me where to get any spare parts other than pointing me to their list of distributors, wholesalers and catalog companies. From there you have to ask each of these whether they are able and willing (for a single part) to sell spare parts.Fortunately the company where I originally bought the Fluke 289 offered to sell me a new compartment door for about 50 EUR (+ VAT and shipping). Another company I tried asked for 100 EUR for the same part, two pieces of moldered plastics plus the metal parts for the battery that is.Given how flimsy the broken part in question is, I am really stumped that no cheap replacement is available?!

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2018, 04:10:16 pm
content: It's the Fluke Premium. The fact that I consider 50 euros to be a fair price probably says enough.

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2018, 06:00:50 pm
content: Try eBay or perhaps any local online classifieds. I couldn't find anything, but I am in the US.With that said, $50 is a "reasonable" price for a Fluke accessory.(not long ago there was a discussion about how flimsy this battery compartment was - especially the black screw).

author: CopperCone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2018, 06:48:07 pm
content: that shit happened to me on the same meter.Honestly, I used a bent piece of copper that I tension-ed with a springy walnut shell piece. It works. It is reliable too. And shock resistant. I think I soldered the copper to the metal then put the bent walnut shell fragment under it, since I did not have springy brass or somethingI would not pay 25 cents for that bs. It's fucked.

author: Daruosha
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2018, 08:24:09 pm
content: Have you seen this?https://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-A-FLUKE-189-ii-287-and-Fluke-289-Battery-Door-OEM-Part-NEW-/252426486098

author: MadTux
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2018, 08:39:01 pm
content: What's the big deal with that one? I don't get it.Get some thin metal sheet from somewhere, e.g. the snappy metal thingy on floppy disks, use some old scissors to cut a small strip and bend it at like an 160° angle, like the remaining good one.Then A: Press that piece between the plastic and the metal, or B: Disassemble that battery box and solder it to the metal strip, where it belongs.Shouldn't be too hard

author: Timur Born
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2018, 09:27:03 pm
content: And then - after all the DIY soldering - you check again how much you paid for said professional meter and wonder again why such a flimsy piece of bent metal is not readily available as spare part.

author: tkamiya
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 04, 2018, 10:57:51 pm
content: Looks like those contacts will mate with another piece, and that's the only function. Can you not take a piece of wire and hard wire them together? Not the cleanest solution but it will work just the same.

author: dacman
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2018, 01:33:29 am
content: Keystone makes a lot of battery contacts, and one that might be easily bent into shape and pounded in is this one:https://www.alliedelec.com/keystone-electronics-57/70182258/

author: Timur Born
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2018, 09:32:16 am
content: Thanks for the hints everyone. But it's not that I cannot come up with creative DIY solutions. I rather disapprove of having to buy the whole battery door part for 50 EUR instead of being able to replace a simple - yet essential - 5 cent part that can very easily break to begin with.Here is a paperclip solution that works and cost me nothing. Still better than the non-solution given by Fluke, other than offering to repair the unit for 350 EUR or telling me to ask around if any vendor is willing to sell me a single spare part.

author: ahbushnell
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2018, 11:43:19 pm
content: Find a broken meter?Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

author: darkstar49
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 07, 2018, 11:43:29 am
content: personally, I'd spot-weld a little metallic strip on the remaining part... you could eventually try conventional solder, but it's likely to be more difficult (but requires no spot welding equipment...)

author: aterren
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 16, 2020, 03:11:37 am
content: Sorry for bringing an old thread up but I have 2 battery holders that failed in the same way, both on first battery change. Today, I had the battery tab break (the one in the back right corner in the original post). So I am at 3 trays for probably 6 battery changes. Inspection of the battery contacts shows corrosion starting too. To say it is disapointing to have a this recurring issue with a premium product is an understatement.Maybe I need to buy an EEVBlog meeter afterall...

author: RolandK
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2020, 11:34:18 am
content: Look at ebay for: fluke 289 Positive Negative Shrapnel

author: snoopy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2020, 12:33:09 pm
content: Use a bit of tin foil

author: Acecool
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 16, 2020, 11:20:08 pm
content: Just take an old multimeter, or a free one from harbor freight... or any type of device which uses batteries or even those battery containers ( you can buy these from Amazon, eBay, and elsewhere - small self-contained boxes which can house batteries and plug into a socket )...Desolder the piece of metal and solder it to the sheet metal. You can lift those out of those grooves. Take it out so you don't melt the plastic. You don't need to pull it all the way out - but take all the batteries out. It doesn't hurt to clamp a heatsink to it in the form of simple vice grips or needle nose grips... a few inches from where you want to solder so the heat doesn't go beyond that, but not so close that most of the heat immediately dissipates into the grips.Then, tin the metal, and make sure it will fit into the area... then tin the spring bit... this helps because the solder will be easier to heat up on each individual piece and it will stick to one another without having to heat the spring bit up super hot... although once it is connected - using tweezers you'll want to heat up the spring a bit so the solder flows through and makes a solid connection which won't go anywhere. You can also stretch it out so a small piece of the wire is what makes the connection.If you don't have a soldering iron - you can buy a T12 soldering iron ( KSGER ) from AliExpress or whatever it is called, for like $20 to $50. 2.1 or 3.1 should be fine. You can get the mini one, or the full size. The blue plastic one with the black cover and no screw cap is pretty good to use. Doesn't heat up in the hand, the tips are easy to replace, etc... You can get the kind which uses the 24v 3 or 4 amp adapter, or the kind which has the power supply inside the unit. Either will work - I would recommend a few mods to the unit but for this quick thing it would be fine.You could also drill a hole through the piece of metal in your fluke, and a hole in a flat piece of spring plate and connect them with a small screw - or even solder through that... You could use a simple mechanical crimp without using a soldering iron too but you may lose power as it oxidizes over time.There are so many options available - most of them are under $1 completed. Many under $5. If you have a soldering station then just salvage a spring in the form of a battery spring or the flat spring type - whichever was on your unit - and attach it with solder. You can also drill a hole which will help heat the area up quicker and having a solder blob go through both pieces will aide in the connection. If you use a spring plate, attach a vice grip to the spring face - not sure if the spring will lose its springiness if you heat it so having the vice grips will prevent heat from getting too hot up in that area... it will make it harder to heat the bottom part up so heat furthest away...Avoid cold soldering - ie: don't put solder on the tip and then drag it off onto the metals as that won't actually bind to the metals. You want to ensure the metals are hot enough that the solder wire will flow onto them... ie: you should be able to take the solder wire and touch the piece of metal you want to solder and that piece of metal should melt the solder... not the soldering iron tip. It doesn't hurt to put a little bit of solder on the tip as this can help with heat transfer - but don't flood the tip as flowing from the tip to the metal usually leads to a bad joint. you want the metal / wire itself to be hot enough to melt the solder.whether you use a mechanical connection or soldering - both will work.If you do drill a hole in both.. You can make a hole in one, then use a hole punch or a crescent punch to cut the hole with a mallet / hammer and push it through the hole in the other piece. You can do this to create a rivet. You can also use an actual rivet to attach the metals. Then you can hammer them thin.There are many many many ways to fix this issue. You can also contact fluke to see if they have that piece of metal as a replacement. If they do not, you can find someone to make it by measuring how long it is in each direction, which folds, etc... - they are not complicated. You can make them yourself too using a pure nickel roll of metal. You can also use plated, but pure or close to pure is better. But you have a very small issue - you don't need to go this route.Just get a battery holder, or salvage the spring you need off something... or if you have the one that fell off this unit - just solder it back if you can't rivet it... ie if it cracked along the edge or something then soldering would work really well. just remove the piece from the plastic.IF you are in North Carolina - near Asheville... I could fix this for you if you bring it by. just bring the entire thing and any pieces which fell off. shouldn't take more than a few minutes and I wouldn't even charge.Edit: Yeah - spot welding would also work if you have the full spring, but those can come off over time. Solder joints can crack too if the connection isn't that good and isn't fully wrapped, etc... Spot welding usually survives for a long time though. You would need enough material - you could do it along the edge... You could also spin weld it across an edge which wouldn't even melt the metals, technically... and the metals wouldn't lose their characteristics if done properly. It is how rockets are assembled. Quite fascinating actually.So yeah... you have plenty of options available. You can make a spot welding tool just by using a battery, 2 contacts, a switch between ground and positive. I would recommend using youtube to look up how to make one.... then tap the button. That would create a short and weld the pieces by getting really hot for a very very short amount of time so you wouldn't even have to worry about the plastic melting, etc... If it cracked and you have to spot weld the edge... start on one edge and get it aligned and hover the contacts ( 1 on top, 1 below - best to tape them close together so the metal can slide between easily ) and then tack it on one side, then the other... then do all the way in between. Then you put a bolster on it with thin nickel sheet...plenty of options. and can be done very quickly / easily.

author: aterren
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 17, 2020, 07:58:10 pm
content: Quote from: RolandK on August 16, 2020, 11:34:18 amWow, thanks, I would have never found these parts!

author: aterren
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 17, 2020, 08:20:16 pm
content: Quote from: Acecool on August 16, 2020, 11:20:08 pmYes, there sure are and your thoughtful and comprehensive reply lists almost all of them!I made a temp fix before I made my post (the toughest part was holding the broken part while I used my other two hands to hold the iron and solder).I have no expecation the repair will last but it got be through my immediate need. I hadn't thought of repurposing a battery holder spring. That is a very good idea and likely what I will do long term.Quote from: Acecool on August 16, 2020, 11:20:08 pmThat is very kind. Thank you.Some 20 years ago I was involved with some similar stamped parts as part of work for two different companies (Amphenol and an automotive electronics supplier). We were well versed in these failure modes and engineered them out -- in parts that cost pennies that went into in assembles that cost less than $10. Fluke fell down in their design of this part. They made it more complicated, more expensive, and more failure prone than it needed to be.

author: aterren
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 17, 2020, 08:21:43 pm
content: Quote from: snoopy on August 16, 2020, 12:33:09 pmNo can do. All used to protect my head from 5G mind control experiments.

author: bd139
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 17, 2020, 09:05:42 pm
content: China has your back here. Search for "fluke 289 battery" on ebay and there are manufacturers selling replacement contact kits.Example:https://www.ebay.com/itm/Battery-Compartment-Positive-Negative-Shrapnel-for-FLUKE287-289-Multimeter-Parts/114013087146?hash=item1a8bb5a5aa:g:7~IAAOSwcJVd81sh

author: Acecool
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 25, 2020, 03:24:49 pm
content: Any time... and yeah, I listed quite a few just because... it is just hooking conductive material to conductive material... the best option seems to be listed by @RolandKI didn't know what they are called - but if you've had this issue, then others have too... Just buying this piece of metal would be a lit easier and cheaper, and would likely last longer than a home-made fix. Also, if you contact Fluke ( Is it 5 year or lifetime with them ?? ) I wonder if they would send you that piece?I hope my post wasn't too long, though. I just like offering solutions / help; and for quick fixes - if you have something like it in the future it could help until you have a replacement part, etc..