- AC output
- 0.10 to 5.00 kV, 0 to 20.00 mA
- DC output
- 0.10 to 6.00 kV, 0 to 10.00 mA
- Insulation resistance
- 0.1 MΩ to 50.0 GΩ at 0.10 to 1.00 kV
- Current accuracy
- ±(2% of reading + 5 counts) on both AC and DC
- Scanning channels
- Four on LK7142-S4, eight on LK7142-S8, with the original output terminal kept as a common terminal
- Arc detection
- Nine levels, factory default level five, mapped to currents from 2.8 mA to 20 mA
- Timing
- Rise and fall 0.1 to 999.9 s; test 0.2 to 999.9 s; insulation wait 0.2 to 999.9 s
- Display
- Colour LCD with a guided menu, showing the measured value and the sorting result together
- Storage
- Ten programs on LK7142 and LK7162; one hundred on LK7140P and LK7142P; nine on the scanning models
- Interfaces
- HANDLER, RS232, USB device and USB host; PLC connector on the rear panel
A multi-terminal component is slow to test one point at a time, and the slowness is where mistakes come from. The scanning models in this range route the test voltage to four or eight terminals in turn, so a transformer or a multi-pin assembly is checked at every point from a single program.
Product overview
Six models share the same measuring engine and differ in body size, current range, program memory and channel count. The two compact models are 230 mm wide; LK7142 and LK7162 are 425 mm wide with ten programs; the two scanning models are 340 mm wide with four or eight channels and 18 kg.
All six cover 0.10 to 5.00 kV alternating and 0.10 to 6.00 kV direct, measure insulation resistance from 0.1 MΩ upwards, and run their timing from 0.1 s to 999.9 s in steps. The front panel is a colour screen with a keypad, and the rear carries HANDLER, RS232 and PLC connectors plus a USB host port.
How the multi-channel hipot tester works
The instrument ramps the output to the programmed voltage over a set rise time, holds it for the test time, and compares the resulting current with an upper and a lower limit. Above the upper limit the item is recorded as HIGH FAIL, which means the insulation broke down. Below the lower limit it is recorded as LOW FAIL, which usually means the item is not connected; the material notes that the lower limit has to be switched off for a component whose leakage is genuinely below the floor.
Insulation resistance is a separate measurement at 0.10 to 1.00 kV. The reading is taken after a waiting time that the operator sets, because a capacitive item draws a charging current that would otherwise be read as leakage.
On the scanning models a switch network connects the high-voltage source to one channel at a time, and the screen shows which channels are selected. The original output terminal stays connected as a common terminal, so the same instrument can still run a single-point test.
Arc detection watches for a fast current step that a normal current measurement would average out. The nine levels are mapped to currents from 20 mA at level one down to 2.8 mA at level nine, with level five as the factory setting.
How to select the right multi-channel hipot tester
Start with the number of test points. A single-point test on a completed appliance is served by LK7140P, LK7142P, LK7162 or LK7142. A transformer with several windings, or a connector with several pins, is where the S models earn their place, and the choice between four and eight channels follows the terminal count rather than the price.
The second question is current. The 20 mA models cover most components; LK7162 is quoted at 12 mA AC and 5 mA DC on its own card, which suits smaller components but limits the capacitance it can drive at full voltage.
The third is program memory. Ten programs suit a bench that runs a few products, one hundred suits a line with frequent changeover, and the scanning models hold nine.
The fourth is how the fixture talks to the instrument. All six offer HANDLER, RS232 and USB, and the rear PLC connector is available for a controller, so the interface decision is about the fixture rather than about the instrument.
Measurement limitations and selection considerations
The current reading includes the charging current of the item and its leads. At 5 kV a lead of a metre has enough capacitance to make a small component read higher than its true leakage, so the limit has to be set with the fixture in place.
The insulation measurement is only as good as its waiting time. Set too short, it reads the charging current; set too long, it slows the line without improving the result. The right value depends on the capacitance of the item, and the material gives the range but not a rule for choosing within it.
Scanning adds lead length and stray capacitance at every channel. The readings from different channels are therefore not directly comparable unless the leads are of equal length and routed the same way, which is a fixture design question rather than an instrument one.
Finally, arc detection is a diagnostic. It reports that a flashover occurred, not where in the item it occurred, and a component that trips the detector needs to be examined rather than simply retested at a lower sensitivity.
Every value below is taken from source documentation. Where a parameter is not stated in the available material it is marked as information required rather than estimated.
