Found out my multimeter was lying to me for a year

Was troubleshooting a motor at a warehouse in Omaha last week. Voltage readings kept bouncing around. Turns out my Fluke 117 needed the leads replaced. The guy at the supply house told me lead resistance can drift over time. Has anyone else had a meter go bad on them without warning?

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jamiekim5mo ago

Got a Fluke 77 that started acting flaky on AC voltage last year and yeah @christopher594 you're right about assuming tools stay the same. For me it was the internal fuse holder getting corroded from being stored in a damp toolbox. Cleaned it with a pencil eraser and hit it with contact cleaner and it's been solid since. My old man always said to check the simplest things first like leads and fuses before blaming the main circuitry. Did you check the input jacks on your 117 mine had some gunk buildup that threw readings off too.

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christopher5945mo ago

Yeah I had an old Craftsman meter from the 90s that started showing wild readings on the resistance setting. Turned out the rotary switch had worn out from all the twisting. Couldn't get parts for it. That lead thing you mentioned is interesting though because it makes me think about how we assume tools stay the same forever when really everything drifts. Like my garage door opener remote started getting flaky after ten years and it was just the contact points getting dirty. Same with those old mechanical thermostats that always read a few degrees off after a while.

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