Blew out a control board before I figured out my meter was set wrong

Been killing boards on these Samsung fridges for about 6 months before I noticed my multimeter was reading 12V on a 5V line. Turns out the probe tips were worn down and making bad contact with the test points. Anyone else ever chase their tail because their test gear was the problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

wood.john6d ago

Man that's rough but it happens more than people want to admit. I've noticed this pattern where we always blame the thing we're working on first before checking our tools. Like when my kitchen scale started giving weird readings and I spent an hour messing with recipes only to find out the battery was almost dead. Or how my car's check engine light was on for weeks and I kept buying sensors and stuff but it was just a loose gas cap the whole time. We just naturally assume the gear we trust is fine because it worked last time. Really makes you question how many problems we've made worse by not double checking the basics first.

victor2196d agoMost Upvoted

Oh yeah, the loose gas cap trick got me too. I was ready to take my car to the shop and pay a fortune, but my buddy just walked over and twisted the cap and the light went off. Made me feel like a real genius. But your point about the kitchen scale battery is spot on too. We're always looking for the complex answer when the simple one is right in front of us. I swear half my life is just me yelling at something that works fine after I put new batteries in it.