DIY repair of the ts4313 tester

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of the ts4313 tester from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

When repairing electronics, you have to carry out a large number of measurements with various digital instruments. This is an oscilloscope, an ESR meter, and what is used most often and without the use of which no repair can do: of course, a digital multimeter. But sometimes it happens that help is already required by the instruments themselves, and this happens not so much from the inexperience, haste or carelessness of the master, but from an annoying accident, such as happened to me recently.

DT Series Multimeter - Appearance

It was like this: after replacing the broken field-effect transistor during the repair of the LCD TV power supply, the TV did not work. An idea arose that should have come even earlier, however, at the diagnostic stage, but in a hurry it was not possible to check the PWM controller for at least a low resistance or a short circuit between the legs. It took a long time to remove the board, the microcircuit was in our DIP-8 package and it was not difficult to ring its feet on the short circuit even on top of the board.

Electrolytic capacitor 400 volt

I disconnect the TV from the mains, wait for the standard 3 minutes to discharge the capacitors in the filter, those very large barrels, electrolytic capacitors for 200-400 Volts, which everyone saw when disassembling a switching power supply.

I touch the probes of the multimeter in the mode of sound continuity of the PWM controller legs - suddenly a beep sounds, I remove the probes in order to call the rest of the legs, the signal sounds for another 2 seconds. Well, I think that's all: again 2 resistors burned out, one in the resistance measurement circuit of the 2 kOhm mode, at 900 Ohm, the second at 1.5 - 2 kOhm, which is most likely in the ADC protection circuits. I had already encountered a similar nuisance, in the past a friend hit me with a tester in the same way, so I did not get upset - I went to the radio store for two resistors in SMD cases 0805 and 0603, one ruble a piece, and soldered them.

Video (click to play).

Searches for information on the repair of multimeters on various resources, at one time, gave out several typical schemes, on the basis of which most models of cheap multimeters are built. The problem was that the reference designations on the boards did not match the designations on the found diagrams.

Burnt resistors on the multimeter board

But I was lucky, on one of the forums a person described in detail a similar situation, the failure of the multimeter when measuring with the presence of voltage in the circuit, in the mode of sound dialing. If there were no problems with the 900 Ohm resistor, several resistors on the board were connected in a chain and it was easy to find it. Moreover, for some reason it did not turn black, as is usually the case during combustion, and it was possible to read the denomination and try to measure its resistance. Since the multimeter contains precise resistors that have 4 digits in their designation, it is better, if possible, to change the resistors to exactly the same ones.

There were no precision resistors in our radio store and I took the usual one for 910 ohms. As practice has shown, the error with such a replacement will be quite insignificant, because the difference between these resistors, 900 and 910 Ohms, is only 1%. Determining the value of the second resistor was more difficult - from its terminals there were tracks to two transition contacts, with metallization, to the back of the board, to the switch.

Place for soldering thermistor

But I was lucky again: two holes were left on the board connected by tracks in parallel with the resistor leads and they were signed by RTS1, then everything was clear. The thermistor (RTS1), as we know from the pulse power supplies, is soldered in order to limit the currents through the diodes of the diode bridge when the pulsed power supply is turned on.

Since electrolytic capacitors, those very large barrels of 200-400 volts, at the moment the power supply is turned on and the first fractions of a second at the start of charging, behave almost like a short circuit - this causes large currents through the bridge diodes, as a result of which the bridge can burn out.

To put it simply, a thermistor has a low resistance in normal mode when small currents flow, corresponding to the mode of operation of the device. With a sharp multiple increase in current, the resistance of the thermistor also increases sharply, which, according to Ohm's law, as we know, causes a decrease in the current in the circuit section.

Resistor 2 Kom Ohm on the diagram

When repairing on the circuit, presumably we change to a 1.5 kΩ resistor, the resistor indicated on the circuit with a nominal value of 2 kΩ, as they wrote on the resource from which they took the information, during the first repair, its value is not critical and it was recommended to put it, nevertheless, at 1.5 kΩ.

We continue... After the capacitors are charged and the current in the circuit has decreased, the thermistor decreases its resistance and the device operates normally.

900 ohm resistor on the diagram

Why is a thermistor installed instead of this resistor in expensive multimeters? With the same purpose as in switching power supplies - to reduce large currents that can lead to the burnout of the ADC, arising in our case as a result of an error of the master conducting the measurements, and thereby protecting the analog-to-digital converter of the device.

Or, in other words, that very black drop, after the combustion of which the device usually no longer makes sense to restore, because this is a laborious task and the cost of parts will exceed at least half the cost of a new multimeter.

How can we solder these resistors - perhaps beginners who have not previously dealt with SMD radio components will think. After all, they most likely do not have a soldering hair dryer in their home workshop. There are three ways here:

  1. First, you will need an EPSN soldering iron with a power of 25 watts, with a blade blade with a cut in the middle, in order to heat both terminals at once.
  2. The second way, by biting off with side cutters, a drop of Rose or Wood's alloy, immediately on both contacts of the resistor, and flatten both of these terminals with a sting.
  3. And the third way, when we have nothing but a 40-watt soldering iron of the EPSN type and the usual POS-61 solder - we apply it to both leads so that the solders mix and as a result, the total melting temperature of the lead-free solder decreases, and we heat both leads of the resistor alternately, while trying to move it a little.

Usually this is enough for our resistor to be sealed off and stick to the tip. Of course, do not forget to apply the flux, it is better, of course, liquid Alcohol rosin flux (GFR).

In any case, no matter how you dismantle this resistor from the board, bumps of old solder will remain on the board, we need to remove it using a dismantling braid, dipping it in an alcohol-rosin flux. We put the tip of the braid directly on the solder and press it, warming it up with the tip of the soldering iron until all the solder from the contacts is absorbed into the braid.

Well, then it's a matter of technology: we take the resistor we bought from the radio store, put it on the contact pads that we freed from the solder, press it down with a screwdriver from above and touch the pads and leads located on the edges of the resistor with the tip of a 25-watt soldering iron, solder it in place.

Solder Braid - Applications

The first time, it will probably turn out crooked, but the most important thing is that the device will be restored. On the forums, opinions about such repairs were divided, some argued that due to the cheapness of multimeters, it makes no sense to repair them at all, they say they threw it out and went to buy a new one, others were even ready to go all the way and re-solder the ADC). But as this case shows, sometimes repairing a multimeter is quite simple and cost-effective, and any home craftsman can easily handle such a repair. Successful repairs to everyone! AKV.

Do you need a circuit?
Do you need a cutter?
Is the battery OK?
Is there anything to supply current? On all bands.

Try to check the current on all ranges

When repairing shooters (testers) of the USSR Zhytomyr bottling Image - DIY repair of the ts4313 tester

first of all, you need to check the constant current, i.e. turn on the tester in the DC current measurement and apply current (at all limits). The resistance measurement resistances are also tied to the current resistances.
Damn, better give me, I'll do it for you!

Set the largest limit on the 4313 DC current measurement (I do not remember, roughly-5 A). Connect a multimeter (digit) to the input terminals. The multimeter will show up to one Ohm somewhere (approximately). Switch 4313 to the next limit (somewhere 1A) The multimeter will show a resistance of the same number of times more (5 Ohm is approximately very). And so all the limits. Look for where the failure is hundreds of times the change in resistance

At the smallest current limit, this rule does not work.

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Repair of combined
devices.

During the operation of the combined device, various malfunctions may occur due to both wear and tear and the structure of its
elements and incorrect operator actions.

*
The following malfunctions are possible:

- loss of conductivity of additional
resistors;

- loss of ac conductivity
resistor "Set. 0 ";

- violation of contacts in the place
connections of elements;

- burning or deformation of contacts
switches;

- open circuit in the universal shunt circuit;

- loss of conductivity of adjustable
resistors;

- open or short circuit of diodes
rectifier;

- breakage of stretch marks or frame winding
measuring mechanism.

Do not rush to open the device. You must first try to install
the possible cause of the malfunction, for which the values ​​should be measured
on all measurement ranges, knowing the measured values ​​or controlling each of them with another device. Then,
using the data in the table of typical malfunctions of combined devices
and their reasons, a schematic diagram and a map of electrical circuits
for a specific device, identify suspected defective items, or
section of the chain based on the specific situation.

It is quite within the power of every user who is well acquainted with the basics of electronics and electrical engineering to independently organize and repair the multimeter. But before embarking on such a repair, you must try to figure out the nature of the damage that has occurred.

It is most convenient to check the serviceability of the device at the initial stage of repair by inspecting its electronic circuit. For this case, the following troubleshooting rules have been developed:

  • Image - DIY repair of the ts4313 testerit is necessary to carefully examine the printed circuit board of the multimeter, on which there may be clearly distinguishable factory defects and errors;
  • special attention should be paid to the presence of unwanted short circuits and poor-quality soldering, as well as defects on the terminals at the edges of the board (in the area of ​​the display connection). For repairs, you will have to use soldering;
  • factory errors most often manifest themselves in the fact that the multimeter does not show what it should according to the instructions, and therefore its display is examined first of all.

If the multimeter gives incorrect readings in all modes and IC1 heats up, then you need to inspect the connectors to check the transistors. If the long leads are closed, then the repair will consist only in opening them.

In total, a sufficient number of visually detectable faults can accumulate. You can familiarize yourself with some of them in the table and then eliminate it yourself. (to the address: Before repairing, it is necessary to study the multimeter circuits, which are usually given in the passport.

If they want to check the serviceability and repair the multimeter indicator, they usually resort to using an additional device that issues a signal of a suitable frequency and amplitude (50-60 Hz and units of volts).In its absence, you can use a multimeter type M832 with the function of generating rectangular pulses (meander).

To diagnose and repair the multimeter display, you need to remove the working board from the device case and select a position convenient for checking the indicator contacts (screen up). After that, you should connect the end of one probe to the common terminal of the indicator under investigation (it is located in the bottom row, on the far left), and alternately touch the other end to the signal outputs of the display. In this case, all its segments should light up one after the other according to the wiring of the signal buses, which should be read separately. Normal "operation" of the tested segments in all modes indicates that the display is working properly.

Additional Information. The indicated malfunction most often manifests itself during the operation of a digital multimeter, in which its measuring part fails and needs to be repaired extremely rarely (provided that the instructions are followed).

The last remark concerns only constant values, when measuring which the multimeter is well protected against overloads. Serious difficulties in identifying the reasons for the failure of the device are most often encountered when determining the resistances of the circuit section and in the dialing mode.

In this mode, typical malfunctions, as a rule, appear in the measuring ranges up to 200 and up to 2000 Ohm. When an extraneous voltage enters the input, as a rule, resistors under the designations R5, R6, R10, R18 burn out, as well as the transistor Q1. In addition, the capacitor C6 often breaks through. The consequences of exposure to extraneous potential are manifested as follows:

  1. Image - DIY repair of the ts4313 testerwhen the Q1 triode is completely "burnt out", when determining the resistance, the multimeter shows one zeros;
  2. in case of incomplete breakdown of the transistor, the device with open ends should show the resistance of its junction.

Note! In other measurement modes, this transistor is short-circuited and therefore has no effect on the display.

With a breakdown of C6, the multimeter will not work at the measuring limits of 20, 200 and 1000 Volts (the option of a strong understatement of the reading is not excluded).

If the multimeter constantly beeps when dialing or is silent, then the reason may be poor-quality soldering of the pins of IC2. The repair consists in careful soldering.

Inspection and repair of an inoperative multimeter, the malfunction of which is not related to the cases already considered, is recommended to start with checking the voltage of 3 Volts on the ADC supply bus. In this case, first of all, it is necessary to make sure that there is no breakdown between the supply terminal and the common terminal of the converter.

The disappearance of indication elements on the display screen in the presence of a supply voltage converter with a high degree of probability indicates damage to its circuit. The same conclusion can be made when a significant number of circuit elements located near the ADC are burned out.

Important! In practice, this node "burns out" only when a sufficiently high voltage (more than 220 Volts) hits its input, which manifests itself visually in the form of cracks in the module compound.

Before talking about repairs, you need to check. A simple way to test the ADC for suitability for further operation is to dial its terminals using a known working multimeter of the same class. Note that the case when the second multimeter incorrectly shows the measurement results is not suitable for such a check.

When preparing for operation, the device is switched to the diode “dialing” mode, and the measuring end of the wire in red insulation is connected to the “minus power” output of the microcircuit. Following this black probe, each of its signal legs is sequentially touched. Since there are protective diodes at the inputs of the circuit, connected in the opposite direction, after applying a forward voltage from a third-party multimeter, they should open.

The fact of their opening is recorded on the display in the form of a voltage drop across the junction of the semiconductor element. Similarly, the circuit is checked when a probe in black insulation is connected to pin 1 (+ ADC power supply), followed by touching all other pins. In this case, the indications on the display screen should be the same as in the first case.