Stock Multimeter Explosion

[DDunker51]

I am a retired Broadcast Engineer. Once, about 1964, we had a tech using a Simpson 260 meter try to measure the voltage of a 3000 volt circuit, only he didn't use a high voltage probe! He just ran the regular test leads and touched the HV line! Of course, the 260 is only rated for 1000 volts max. BIG explosion in the meter. When I took it apart, it was missing part of the circuit board, near where the red lead plugged in! It had incinerated the board! He was lucky to be alive!

[bjtaudio]

Even with fused leads, able to clear the fault current, damage could be still done to the meter and leads from the huge current spike, it's a horrible experience. Many technicians engineers have made this mistake accidentally having the meter plugged in to measure current when testing the voltage, resulting is a violent short circuit.

[headachecream]

my multimeter does that every time. Is that normal?

[icdoo]

It all depends on the interrupting capacity of the fuse on the meter. Most meters like the ones in our tests have cheap fuses that can't interrupt the fault. Google interrupting capacity

[dvu90]

So if you have a fused meter, would there still have some amount of sparks/fire?

[Ryantron9000]

@dvu90

If you have one that is correctly fused and it has a High Rupture Capacity fuse you will never have this happen. Eventually everyone tries to measure volts with the amperage setting. With a good fused multimeter you won't do any damage.

[icommand]

what the hell were u doing?

[nfpa70e1]

Love to have this for training! Every electrician should see this! Why you wear your gloves when testing!

[HARIMAXD]

poor multimeter :(

[towbinJosh]

Looks like a UEI!! Typical.

[Calliber50]

Ok, I guess I will go buy a new fuse for my multimeter. Too bad, the penny I had jammed in there was working fine!

[mightymax1983]

those things stink when this happens

[icdoo]

anothamustangman, current almost unlimited (limited by the transformer feeding you)when you put an ameter phase to phase, it is no differnt than putting a wire from phase to phase.

[elgavilan2000]

um, no.

absence of amperage=absence of electricity. There are at least 10,000 amps that could surge out of there if it is shorted without overcurrent protection.

I hope you're not an electrician.

[tahoeclimber]

I've tested pole to pole voltage on three phase systems this way nothing has ever happened but I always wondered how safe this was to do. My employer never explained the potential dangers of this. We always used inductive meters for getting amps.

[antienjigglement]

there are poor people around the world that do not have multimeters.

[BenHutchinson1]

Where's the sound?!

[therealromster]

what not to do with a multimeter!

[aflacduky]

its set for amps BOOOOOM!

[valandillossehelin]

aha ... you forgot to put a load in series when using the ammeter function :P

[jrcstudios]

when I was a young electrical "engineer" learning about ohms, volts, and amps, I decided to measure how many AMPS were in the wall socket in my bedroom.... After that evening, I had a much better understanding of amperage and the soothing effect of aloe too!!

[ChromeXk]

haha you know I have a similar experiance, A few years back I bought a new multimeter as I was starting college and taking my A-levels in electronics, physics etc and I decided to measure the current and voltage at the wall socket... obviously it didnt go to plan, the multimeter blew up tripping the circuit breaker in my house. Now i've graduated university with a degree in power electronics and I realise that hooking two electrodes into the wall socket wasnt, and still isnt, a good idea :D