Problem with tester after calibration

[meady]

I have just had my fluke 1652 calibrated and it passed no problems. I got to a job this morning and started to carry out a few tests. when I came to the ze test all i got 0.0, bit odd so i carried out a zs on a socket. It also read 0.0.

When I got home i carried out the same tests on my installation and got the same readings:C Im just wondering if it may have been damaged during the calibration procedure and if so where do i stand in getting it sorted as it was working fine before i took it in. Has anyone else had problems after calibration?

 

[kme]

Assuming the leads Zeroed okay, then I would think your two options are:

1. Get back onto the calibration company, and explain the problem to them.

2. Get in touch with ISSWWW - they`re Fluke specialists.

edit: my 1652 went back to them for repair - and is 100%

KME

 

[Apache]

Have you tried new batteries?

 

[loonytoon]

As Path says, try new batterys, my Fulke gives funny redings when batterys are low, also, check it is doing loop test on L-E not L-N.

 

[ISSWWW]

''Im just wondering if it may have been damaged during the calibration procedure?

I very much doubt that this is the case, nothing in the calibration procedure would cause this fault or any other for that matter.

Kme and Apache may have the answer for you in either batteries or Nulling, if you select the battery check and it is below around 5.5 then it will struggle to null and you may get strange readings, not normally 0.0 though.

You may also want to check your leads, did you send them with your tester?

If you want to give us a call on Monday i will get one of the lab guys to advise you. Both my technical staff are ex Fluke and know the inside and out of these testers.

 

[NozSpark]

I very much doubt that this is the case, nothing in the calibration procedure would cause this fault or any other for that matter.Kme and Apache may have the answer for you in either batteries or Nulling, if you select the battery check and it is below around 5.5 then it will struggle to null and you may get strange readings, not normally 0.0 though.

You may also want to check your leads, did you send them with your tester?

If you want to give us a call on Monday i will get one of the lab guys to advise you. Both my technical staff are ex Fluke and know the inside and out of these testers.

I don't doubt that your company have some very well trained and experienced calibrators,,, however I used to work in a place that had it's own "in house" cal lab and every now and then a piece of previously perfectly working test equipment would come back bust with a cal sticker on it and would then have to go back for repair and re-cal!

My first port of call would be the batteries, followed closely by the leads!

 

[meady]

Thanks for all the advice lads, I checked the battery and got 6.5 reading. I thought I best change them and made sure all leads were nulled. It seems to be working fine now. Got my yearly assesment on Tuesday week and was starting to panic lol.

 

[a1]

Glad it is sorted now Mate - Thanks for the Update.

 

[milovisk]

Assuming the leads Zeroed okay, then I would think your two options are:1. Get back onto the calibration company, and explain the problem to them.

2. Get in touch with ISSWWW - they`re Fluke specialists.

edit: my 1652 went back to them for repair - and is 100%

KME

ISWWW are not Fluke specialists and cannot repair Fluke 1652's etc without sending them back to Fluke as they do not have the spares or adjustment procedures, only Fluke have that.

 

[steptoe]

did you leave the zero function on.?

had that exact problem today with one of our guys saying his fluke was giving 0.00 readings on Ze.

 

[Apache]

ISWWW are not Fluke specialists and cannot repair Fluke 1652's etc without sending them back to Fluke as they do not have the spares or adjustment procedures, only Fluke have that.

I'm sure Megger Mark will confirm, but if his guys used to work for Fluke I imagine they can do pretty much anything.......

 

[kme]

`Pache. He is (half) correct.

Milvisk: I know this - they handled the repair of my Fluke perfectly - and I was informed by Megger Mark that it would be sent back to Fluke themselves if a particular fault existed; which it did ( )

What is your point, exactly? They have two ex-fluke techs, including a guy who, as I understand it, was part of the 165x series design.

I trust `em. end of.

 

[ISSWWW]

ISWWW are not Fluke specialists and cannot repair Fluke 1652's etc without sending them back to Fluke as they do not have the spares or adjustment procedures, only Fluke have that.

Milovisk:O

Perhaps you would like to tell the rest of the forum your credentials to make such a comment, do i know you? more to the point do you know me?

I have two superb tech guys at my place, both ex-Fluke. One was the cell leader for more than 5 years and the other worked on 1650 series repairs.

We actually do have some spares, but of course do send equipment back to Fluke and have never said any differently.

All the comments I have ever made are as experts in advice and if we can help we do, Free of charge mostly!! What do you bring to the forum?

I am not one to rant so i will stop now, however if anyone would like to call or visit me to discuss my or my engineers credentials please feel free anytime.

.

 

[milovisk]

No I don't know you but I am a partner in a very well established instrumentation and calibration company and know through our own dealings with Fluke that they will not release 165X procedures to anyone and I mean anyone including your guys who I imagine from your company details must work for SIS

I was merely correcting a post that says that you were "the experts" in Fluke which was an incorrect one, sorry if it offended you. And congratulations on giving free advice , and on sponsoring the forum, I am sure you just do that from the goodness of your heart.

 

[m4tty]

^^^^ WTF LOL ^^^^ unhappy competition??! Megger Mark is THE MAN always happy to help and give advice.

 

[meady]

Not had much dealings with Megger Mark but I haven't heard a bad word against him. From the comments and posts on here he knows his stuff, happy to help and very reasonable on price. That reminds me I need a new voltage and continuity tester lol, some scumbag pinched mine :-(

 

[steptoe]

No I don't know you but I am a partner in a very well established instrumentation and calibration company and know through our own dealings with Fluke that they will not release 165X procedures to anyone and I mean anyone including your guys who I imagine from your company details must work for SISI was merely correcting a post that says that you were "the experts" in Fluke which was an incorrect one, sorry if it offended you. And congratulations on giving free advice , and on sponsoring the forum, I am sure you just do that from the goodness of your heart.

I would have thought you would have been more open about who you and your company are in that case,

after all, you are getting free advertising,

as meggermark can I am sure attest to, and that is probably why he now sponsors the forum, a regularly hit internet advert for a (probably)good deal less than he might have to pay otherwise.

we are all grown ups and know it is obviously beneficial to both parties when sponorship deals take place.

no slight to anyone intended.

 

[gselectrical]

Had my Fluke back and it did the same.

I nulled all 3 leads on the earth loop function (not the usual continuity function) this seemed to sort the 0.0 problem out.

Its ******** up again since then though!

GS

 

[meady]

Had my Fluke back and it did the same. I nulled all 3 leads on the earth loop function (not the usual continuity function) this seemed to sort the 0.0 problem out.

Its ******** up again since then though!

GS

Hhmmm I might splash out and get a Megger in the new year, they seem mote realiable than the flukes. Problem is they are so expensive.

 

[milovisk]

Let me assure you tthat the Megger is no more reliable than the Fluke, there is no difference between the meters themselves that is a myth. The difference is in the leads.

Megger supply their meters without unfused test leads that are required for GS38 they claim to get around it buy using internal fuses which is rather dubious as to if this conforms or not. In any case many people send their Meggers to us for repair because they have blown an internal fuse, we do not charge for repair merely for a fuse and minimal inspection fee but it is a big inconvenience for the customer as he needs to send his meter away just to change a fuse as most people don't know how to open the megger up.

Fluke do supply fused leads that conform to GS38 however this is where Flukes problems lie, the leads are made up of several moving / screw in parts and if not well maintained can cause problems when zeroing, however if you blow a fuse at least you can change it without sending your meter away.

Problems with Fluke all revolve around the leads and the zero function, basic problems are

1. The ends are not tightened properly and can give intermittent readings

2. People just clip all 3 leads together haphazardly which is not the ideal way

3. People ignore the low battery warning sign and carry on using the meter which can cause problems with zeroing and other measurements

On a fluke 165X series you should be looking for the following

With the test leads without the fused ends approx 0.05 ohms per lead, with the fused ends aprrox 0.09 ohms per lead and the mains lead is aprox 0.15 ohms

When you zero the Fluke leads the display shows that resistance that you are zeriong and you should use the above guidelines to know that you have a good zero. The very maximum you should get with all 3 leads (and fused ends) shorted out is 0.3 ohms.

What happens is that when clipped together haphazardly the jaw of the croc clip that has the fixed wire is not in contact with the metal of the next croc clip and the resistance path is through the hinge giving a higher reading. This means that when people zero them if they looked at the display they will see it reads about 0.5 ohms, this means that the leads have been "over-zeroed" by approx 0.2 ohms. When you then take a true measurement the first 0.2 ohms will not be measured because you have overcompensated so any reading below this will give the 0.0 reading on the tester as some people have been experiencing.

The best way to zero your leads is to use either the zero adaptor supplied by Fluke or use a strip of flat bar with the leads clipped side by side and note that the reading is 0.3 or less, if not ensure that the ends of your crocs are fully tightened.

If you used unfused megger leads on a fluke tester and the fused leads on the megger then you would get the same problems in reverse.

There is nothing wrong with the Fluke meter neither the megger they are both very comparable, the problems usually revolve around the user not fully familiarising themselves with the quirks of the respective meters before starting to use them.

Any more questions I am always happy to help