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Went to let my nephew play with my new Spirit PKE meter while I got stuck watchin him for a few hours yesterday and it wouldn't turn on. Tried changing the batteries but no dice... so I took it apart (ditched the belt clip too...) and rewired it bypassing the on/off switch and it works fine now.... apparently after a few days of light use the switch took a dump.

Anyone else have any issues?

Not yet....

I had this same issue. Took it out of the box and it worked like a charm, then suddenly it stopped working for no reason. I changed the batteries and that didn't help, I even took it apart to see if there were any obvious wiring issues but everything looked fine.

I was about to send it back but then I tried one more time. I turned the device OFF, then I replaced the batteries, then I turned it back on and it worked fine. I'm not sure why that would matter at all, but making sure it was set to the OFF position before swapping batteries seemed to do the trick for me.

Again, I have NO CLUE why that would work, but it's been working now for over a week so maybe give that a shot?

4 Leds are out on mine. 2 on each side. Looked inside and it all looked good tested the power to leds and no power going to them. Going to call on monday see about a replacement.

themikereda wrote: ↑September 18th, 2018, 7:25 pm I had this same issue. Took it out of the box and it worked like a charm, then suddenly it stopped working for no reason. I changed the batteries and that didn't help, I even took it apart to see if there were any obvious wiring issues but everything looked fine.

I was about to send it back but then I tried one more time. I turned the device OFF, then I replaced the batteries, then I turned it back on and it worked fine. I'm not sure why that would matter at all, but making sure it was set to the OFF position before swapping batteries seemed to do the trick for me.

Again, I have NO CLUE why that would work, but it's been working now for over a week so maybe give that a shot?

I think the on/off switches in these meters are junk. I have found that if I switch mine off then back on again it tends to not work. But if I just leave the switch on when it's working and not mess with it then it's fine. I have just left mine on. I put some good batteries in it and have decided that it probably isn't eating battery unless I activate all the stuff anyway. You could probably rewire it to bypass the switch but I don't know how to do that.

Just run the wire from the switch directly to the neg battery terminal

I've seen some people complain that some have had lights not working on the arms. I havent seen where it was all lights but some. I decided to fire up my pke meter today. I had 1 light on each wing not work. I took the meter apart and for the heck of it, where the led is soldered to the circuit board I decided to hit with a soldering iron just to reheat the solder that was already there and the lights worked again. I'm rather happy that it was a relatively easy and quick fix.

It does seem that sloppy soldering may be the main cause of most of the wing lighting issues. Another fan noted a bit of a short between a couple of LEDs on one wing due to the solder spilling over between two contacts.

I took mine apart and there is an excessive amount of lubricant used to assemble them. Mine completely stopped working for a few hours until I cleaned it off and allowed everything to dry. Now works fine.

The day of Halloween and mine decides to die on me. I tried everything I could think of and couldn't figure it out. After reading what you've all been through I realized it was the cheap on/off switch. As soon as I bypassed it everything started working again.

Thank you so much for this discussion. You guys saved me!

marr0w wrote: ↑October 31st, 2018, 3:32 pm The day of Halloween and mine decides to die on me. I tried everything I could think of and couldn't figure it out. After reading what you've all been through I realized it was the cheap on/off switch. As soon as I bypassed it everything started working again.

Thank you so much for this discussion. You guys saved me!

Glad you were able to get it working. Today is the day you need it the most. I've personally experienced a tremendous surge in PKE valences in my own town today!

My son's pke meter died completely. Tried changing the batteries...no change. Tried wiring around the switch...no change. Any ideas?

Clayton5370 wrote: ↑November 1st, 2018, 6:17 pm My son's pke meter died completely. Tried changing the batteries...no change. Tried wiring around the switch...no change. Any ideas?

All I can suggest is check to see if any wires have come loose, or if there's any discoloration on the circuit board.

Update....my wife dropped the meter and it flew apart. When she put it back together it worked fine.

I had bought three, the first one I received had a total of four LEDs out on the wings.
The second one I took apart and did the led in the correct GB1 sequence.

It worked fine for a day then it stopped all together. After sitting on a table for a couple of days and then getting a fresh pair of batteries it worked but the buttons would only make it come on and not go off .

I realized that the wing wasn't pushing down the little switch located towards the bottom of the wing so I started sanding the plastic thinking that when I took it apart it wasn't lining up.

Turns out the metal bar on the switch looses it shape when the meter is off.
So I bent it a little out and I've had no problem since.

Good day everyone. Just wanted to give an update regarding the broken pke Spirit meter. I just received mine today. Ran it a few times and played with the switches on it. Then it failed on me. I am an electrical engineer by trade so I decided I would take it apart and figure out what I had done to it. I am guessing the module that holds the program is not a very smart one. I had to wait for the capacitor to discharge below 1 volt DC before I can put the batteries back in and get it to work. Back up and running in no time. Actually took about 20 minutes for the for the capacitor discharge that low. I do agree with a lot of people talking about removing the switch from the circuit. However, keep in mind if you are constantly leaving the batteries in the circuit, the possibility of acid venting from the batteries is more likely.

Wish I had known about that trick last year. My spirit PKE stoped working after a week and was only on a handful of times. Needless to say I no longer own one. To make matters worse when I took mine back to exchange it the remaining 2 in stock at my local store were also defective returns that the manager used cheap super glue on, ruining the plastic. To make matters even worse they still were charging full price.

Sorry to bring back an old thread, but most of the newer ones are focused on individual members' specific problems and I didn't want to detract from those, but mine isn't worthy of it's own thread.

I see that some of you have been able to open the wings to do repairs on the LEDs inside. Did you have difficulty getting the wings to come apart? The outer 3 lights on one wing on mine have stopped working but when I attempted to open the wing it wouldn't open all the way. About half way up it's length it's quite solid, and I think there may be glue or something holding the two halves together. I don't want to try forcing it too much in case I snap the plastic; better to have 2 wings and 3 bad lights than 1 wing and 3 bad lights.

Any tips?

For some reason, idk maybe I got a dud one, but one of the lights on the PKE meter doesn't work, it feels like I may have to go out of the way and desolder that and resolder a new one. Rest of the lights work, which is odd.

My wings have trouble closing. The motor keeps running when the wings return and i have to tap them in to make it stop. I opened her up and it works fine with without the face but once you put it back together it has trouble again.

DoctorPepper wrote: ↑November 18th, 2022, 11:47 am My wings have trouble closing. The motor keeps running when the wings return and i have to tap them in to make it stop. I opened her up and it works fine with without the face but once you put it back together it has trouble again.

I encountered a similar problem when I was modding a Spirit meter. I think the fit of the wings and the shell is just not great., Particularly if you open one up and put it back together, you can end up with things being too snug, obstructing the wings. I ended up sanding the openings on the sides of the shell to give the wings a little more clearance.