Voltage Indicator Fault

[derek preece]

I got a free voltage indicator (which came with an MFT) which has stopped working. It has a self test function which lights up all the LEDs and when I test it with a DC source it works but when I test it on an AC source there is only a barely perceptible flicker (for a 50th of a sec at a guess). I was just wondering if anyone else has one that has developed this dangerous fault. Also I was wondering if a proving unit would have shown this fault i.e. do they have an AC output or do they only test with DC?

 

[MarkieSparkie]

What make and model is it?

 

[derek preece]

VCT-GS38 Compliant Voltage Indicator - Safety Voltage Tester
It is one of these I think, it doesn't have any branding on it but I shall double check when I go to work today.

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

Hi Derek, I'd rather you have a voltage tester that you can trust - as you said the tester you have may have developed a fault.

I've literally just tested one on a single phase AC supply - if you PM me your details I'll have this one shipped out to you with a pre-paid returns envelope for you to send me your faulty tester back in.

Cheers

 

[Engineer54]

Now, ...There's service for you!! ...lol!!

Always good to see companies looking after there customers....

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

Now, ...There's service for you!! ...lol!!

Always good to see companies looking after there customers....

We try our best!!!

 

[derek preece]

Thanks very much, I shall send a pm forthwith

 

[MarkieSparkie]

Excellent service again by our sponsor Test-Meter. Well done, it's much appreciated.

 

[bathroomrenovat]

You have to take a suggestion from a professional guy.

Do not have so much information about this.

 

[MarkieSparkie]

You have to take a suggestion from a professional guy.

Do not have so much information about this.

Lost in translation maybe ... you point is ... what?

 

[derek preece]

I received my replacement voltage indicator today, it was actually delivered on saturday but the postie obviously decided not to come on to site to deliver it. Thanks once again to Testmeter

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

Anytime, Derek

 

[DurhamSparky]

Not your day Test-Meter

my exact same product that was supplied with a product i purchased also has exactly the same fault!!

when tested on a known supply the 2 red dots at lower end of scale light up only...!

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

Hi DurhamSparky, can you PM me your delivery details please and I'll send out one which I'll test now for you.

I'm also going to test the rest of the voltage indicators that we have in stock

 

[Selfmade]

Hi, I have the same problem. Again, my voltage tester came free with an MFT bought from Test-Meter. It's a HandyMAN TEK900 and looks identical to the one linked to by Derek, except for being red instead of yellow (I think these are all made by Metrel and sold under various brands).


The Auto Test lights up all the lights, but when testing with a known supply only the polarity and single pole phase LEDs light up - not the voltage lights. There is also no indication of continuity when the probes are shorted together.


I didn't get a warranty with this so opened it up to see if I could fix it myself - am I still entitled to a free replacement? It's 10 months old. I did find that the lead insulation was damaged inside the casing (strange?) but wasn't able to fix it.


Sam

 

[Amp David]

What would you think numb nuts

 

[oldtimer]

10 month send it back

 

[MarkieSparkie]

...and my sales receipt was destroyed in a localised bonfire in the filing cabinet!

 

[oldtimer]

Hi, I have the same problem. Again, my voltage tester came free with an MFT bought from Test-Meter. It's a HandyMAN TEK900 and looks identical to the one linked to by Derek, except for being red instead of yellow (I think these are all made by Metrel and sold under various brands).


The Auto Test lights up all the lights, but when testing with a known supply only the polarity and single pole phase LEDs light up - not the voltage lights. There is also no indication of continuity when the probes are shorted together.


I didn't get a warranty with this so opened it up to see if I could fix it myself - am I still entitled to a free replacement? It's 10 months old. I did find that the lead insulation was damaged inside the casing (strange?) but wasn't able to fix it.


Sam

What do you mean you did not get a warranty ? if you bought it online then you will have an online account as proof of purchase or the invoice they emailed you as well . These things dont get stripped down and fixed they get binned and replaced.

Sorry mate nothing is adding up for me here.

 

[Selfmade]

10 month send it back

Thanks for the advice - reckon I'll wait until Monday and see if Test Meter are offering a prepaid envelope (as they have to others) to send it in - the cost of postage would be a fair proportion of the cost of a new tester!

 

[Selfmade]

What do you mean you did not get a warranty ? if you bought it online then you will have an online account as proof of purchase or the invoice they emailed you as well . These things dont get stripped down and fixed they get binned and replaced.

Sorry mate nothing is adding up for me here.

Yes indeed I do have the receipt and account. Just nothing that specifically says "if this breaks within X amount of time we will repair or replace it" - i.e. no explicit warrantee as such. Of course they may still choose to for the sake of reputation etc and there may even be statutory rights, but none of these things are quite the same as a warrantee. Looking online I see that most voltage testers are not advertised as having a warrantee.

I understand that economically it makes more sense for manufacturers and suppliers to replace than repair these things. But for me it made more sense to see if there was something simple like a loose connection that I could fix myself than to make a special trip to the post office, pay to send it, be told that it was not covered by any warrantee, then have to buy a new one anyway!

 

[Guitarist]

Did everyone try replacing the batteries? I've often had weird faults, even on brand new units, which turned out to be a rubbish pre-installed battery (often older stock at a guess).
Just a thought...

 

[Selfmade]

Did everyone try replacing the batteries? I've often had weird faults, even on brand new units, which turned out to be a rubbish pre-installed battery (often older stock at a guess).
Just a thought...

Hi, I tried rechargeables - unused, pre-charged and about three months old to be precise. Still same problem.

 

[Guitarist]

Remember, rechargeables are 1.2v (whereas alkaline are 1.5v) so unless you can choose the voltage, some gear will think the battery is low.
Also, rechargeables do NOT hold their charge for very long, so not great for low-drain applications, and definitely won't be full after 3 months.

 

[Marvo]

Rechargable batteries are great for some things but I wouldn't use them in test equipment due to their voltage being 20% lower than normal batteries.

 

[Silly Sausage]

As Guitarist, that was my thinking as well.
I've had trouble with an old Megger Loop/RCD tester on rechargers. Just flags up noise on the line when doing loops, and basically ends up being a random number generator! (May as well sit in the local cafe and write out the reports! )

 

[Guitarist]

Rechargable batteries are great for some things but I wouldn't use them in test equipment due to their voltage being 20% lower than normal batteries.

Unless the tester has a specific setting for rechargeables, such as the Megger MFT1730

 

[Guitarist]

As Guitarist, that was my thinking as well.
I've had trouble with an old Megger Loop/RCD tester on rechargers. Just flags up noise on the line when doing loops, and basically ends up being a random number generator! (May as well sit in the local cafe and write out the reports! )

You mean like a lot of these large firms who end up in the papers, when someone dies....

 

[Marvo]

Unless the tester has a specific setting for rechargeables, such as the Megger MFT1730

Every day's a school day, I don't own a tester that's less than 10 years old and I had no idea that some of the more newfandangled testers were designed to use rechargables.

 

[telectrix]

As Guitarist, that was my thinking as well.
I've had trouble with an old Megger Loop/RCD tester on rechargers. Just flags up noise on the line when doing loops, and basically ends up being a random number generator! (May as well sit in the local cafe and write out the reports! )

thought that was your normal practice. :bucktooth:

 

[Silly Sausage]

thought that was your normal practice. :bucktooth:

Normal practice is while I'm sat at home perusing EF!. :tounge_smile:

 

[Selfmade]

I did wonder if the lower voltage might be an issue, but none the less, my voltage tester has damaged insulation on the lead (inside the casing - I don't know how this happened, and can't see any way I could have caused it). I'm not happy about using it in the state, so I contacted Test Meter by email over the weekend but haven't had a reply. I don't seem to be getting quite the same customer service from them as others have!

As a slight aside, my MFT (a Metrel MI3000 easy plus) was actually supplied with rechargeable batteries, which seem to work OK as long as I keep them above half full, but I guess this is a rather more high-tech piece of kit than the voltage tester!

 

[Former Sponsor TM]

Hi - We've received no email over the weekend regarding a faulty voltage tester??

Can I please ask you to PM us with your original delivery address so that we can find you on our system. We will see what we can do for you. Alternatively, please resend the email now to [email protected]

test-meter

 

[Selfmade]

Hi - We've received no email over the weekend regarding a faulty voltage tester??

Can I please ask you to PM us with your original delivery address so that we can find you on our system. We will see what we can do for you. Alternatively, please resend the email now to [email protected]

test-meter

Hi, thanks very much for your reply, address PMed. Not sure why you didn't get the email.

 

[Selfmade]

Excellent service! Received new tester on Friday and sent old one back on Saturday, so all sorted.

 

[Marvo]

Glad to here it's resolved, thanks for letting us know.