Hi Denis,

I’ve seen this happen before. The cause is too much pressure applied to the end terminals of the battery. This causes an internal short within the battery, which makes it heat up. The internal short can happen when the meter is dropped on its end.

Your meter is probably fine if you put in new batteries and don’t tighten down too tightly. Sometimes the spring contacts are bent out of shape and exert extra pressure – please inspect them as well.

I hope this resolves the issue, let me know how it goes. Best
~James