Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I was just starting to take a shine to this meter when it suddenly stopped working, with the display becoming intermittent depending on the hinge position.
I'm wondering if mine had the ribbon cable snagged in the hinge or a mounting post during manufacture, or if this is a common weakness. It does appear to be a standard ribbon cable though.
If you pause the video just as I take the second part of the case off, you can see the complex way the ribbon cable is first zig-zag folded to get to the hinge, and then has a spiral loop inside the hinge to make it tubular and give it rotary movement.
For the fix I chose to replace the full ribbon with eight thin wires, but note that there is a design inconsistency and if you also use the eight wires going between identically labelled contacts, the display backlight will swap the red and green modes. The two wires to swap on the display PCB are PT2.2 and PT2.3. It may be easier to keep the original ribbon cable and just thread through a single new wire if only one ribbon cable track has broken.
While it's nice that the wiring interconnection is serviceable, it would be annoying if this was a common fault in these meters. let me know if you've had a similar problem.
If this video hasn't put you completely off this meter then here's a link to the item on AliExpress (not a sponsor).
This is an affiliate link, but that will not affect the price you pay.
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3BjSwmj
Shop around for the best price, as it fluctuates widely. It should cost about £30.
If you enjoy my videos then the easiest way to support the channel is to subscribe for more good video content. But if you would like to contribute a dollar or two for coffee, cookies and gadgets to take apart, you can do so by supporting me on Patreon. I release videos without adverts for critique and feedback on Patreon as soon as they have been made. I also do Patreon live streams, which are much more relaxed and chatty than the busy public ones.
patreon.com/bigclive
Alternatively, for a single coffee contribution you can use PayPal:-
paypal.com/paypalme/bigclive
#ElectronicsCreators
I was just starting to take a shine to this meter when it suddenly stopped working, with the display becoming intermittent depending on the hinge position.
I'm wondering if mine had the ribbon cable snagged in the hinge or a mounting post during manufacture, or if this is a common weakness. It does appear to be a standard ribbon cable though.
If you pause the video just as I take the second part of the case off, you can see the complex way the ribbon cable is first zig-zag folded to get to the hinge, and then has a spiral loop inside the hinge to make it tubular and give it rotary movement.
For the fix I chose to replace the full ribbon with eight thin wires, but note that there is a design inconsistency and if you also use the eight wires going between identically labelled contacts, the display backlight will swap the red and green modes. The two wires to swap on the display PCB are PT2.2 and PT2.3. It may be easier to keep the original ribbon cable and just thread through a single new wire if only one ribbon cable track has broken.
While it's nice that the wiring interconnection is serviceable, it would be annoying if this was a common fault in these meters. let me know if you've had a similar problem.
If this video hasn't put you completely off this meter then here's a link to the item on AliExpress (not a sponsor).
This is an affiliate link, but that will not affect the price you pay.
https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3BjSwmj
Shop around for the best price, as it fluctuates widely. It should cost about £30.
If you enjoy my videos then the easiest way to support the channel is to subscribe for more good video content. But if you would like to contribute a dollar or two for coffee, cookies and gadgets to take apart, you can do so by supporting me on Patreon. I release videos without adverts for critique and feedback on Patreon as soon as they have been made. I also do Patreon live streams, which are much more relaxed and chatty than the busy public ones.
patreon.com/bigclive
Alternatively, for a single coffee contribution you can use PayPal:-
paypal.com/paypalme/bigclive
#ElectronicsCreators
