Is my multimeter broken/in need of recalibrating?

[alex h]

I bought a fluke 87v multimeter about 2 years ago, it's barely been used as I use the company's test equipment on site. Recently got it out to check some electronics for a home project an i'm not sure if it's reading properly. When testing on ohms, the leads won't zero when touched together, eventually settling at .6 of an ohm and when I tried to measure the resistance of a headphone jack, the readings were very erratic and wouldn't settle for ages. Is this usual? Can't believe a fluke tester would be so inaccurate...

 

[tony mc]

Try changing the battery first in the meter !!

 

[alex h]

cool. Cheers mate. Been looking all over the net to see if that was the problem but couldn't find any mention of low battery causing problems with fluke meters. Will give it a go an see.

 

[tony mc]

When testing resistance your battery needs to be up to it,my fluke gives silly readings once the batterys is on its way out..!!!

 

[telectrix]

and put a decent alkaline battery in. also check your leads by trying another set. you might have a bad connection in one of the plugs.