Capacitance showing on plate reading

[musicfixerupper]

Hello all, while measuring plate voltage on an EL84 I can't get a reading and capacitance "uf" appears on the DMM screen. would this just be a bad solder joint?

[FYL]

Is your DMM set for voltage measurements? On which scale? Do you use the right sockets for your test leads?

[musicfixerupper]

Yes everything is hooked up properly. One of the power tubes read good but the other get the wonky reading.

[sluckey]

Which meter? Got fresh batteries? Can you try another meter?

[musicfixerupper]

Again, I'm still getting a good reading on one power tube.

[sluckey]

OK, I got that. What about my ???s

[musicfixerupper]

oops sorry, Wavetek meterman 35xl, batteries are fresh and its the only meter i have.

[sluckey]

I occasionally get bad readings on pa tube plates too using a Fluke 87V. Many times the tube will start oscillating. It is usually caused by a bad probe connection to the tube pin. Sometimes you can see a small blue arc at the probe tip. I now use meter leads with needle point probes that seem to work better. Try connecting the probe to the socket pin with a gator clip lead BEFORE turning on the plate voltage. Does that help?

Are you having any problems with the amp other than being able to measure the plate voltage?

[musicfixerupper]

Nope same result. The amp also starts a hum when the probe is on the plate.

[musicfixerupper]

I removed the phase inverter tube and i was able to get a reading on the power tube. Things get haywire again after i plug the phase inverter tube in. Different PA tubes didn't help

[sluckey]

Tell us about the amp. New build? Does it work? Got a schematic?

[musicfixerupper]

Its actually a fender blues JR that i am working on. I am going to clean up the lead dress and see if that makes a dfference.