Found out my multimeter was off by 0.5 volts for 2 years

I was chasing a weird compressor start issue on a Whirlpool fridge last week and finally decided to check my Fluke against a known good unit. Turns out my meter was reading 0.5 volts low, which explained why I kept swapping parts that weren't actually bad. How often do you guys calibrate your tools without relying on the factory sticker?

3 comments

3 Comments

west.richard4d ago

Swapped out a $200 control board before I realized my meter was reading .3 high on resistance. That hurt. Now I check mine against a fresh battery every six months. No sense chasing ghosts when a cheap reference point saves you the headache. Factory stickers are just marketing to me.

ruby_henderson363d ago

Has anyone else had that sinking feeling when you realize you were the problem, not the part? I once replaced a perfectly good thermostat three times before my buddy tested my meter and found it was off by half an ohm. Now I keep a cheap resistor in my toolbox just to sanity check before I buy anything expensive.

cole_baker2d agoMost Upvoted

@west.richard beat me to the exact same point about checking your meter. I fried a compressor once because I trusted a meter that was reading .4 low on capacitance. Cost me a whole weekend and a lot of cuss words before I figured it out. Now I keep a known good capacitor and a 100 ohm resistor in my meter case. Takes five seconds to check before I start blaming parts. Saves SO much time and money in the long run.