Hi Guy,

Thanks for the description. I think the part you’re describing is this one:

Which is part of this circuit:

This is there to protect the meter from the batteries being reversed. Clearly this component has failed on your PCB, and it sounds like it has failed in a short circuit. This should not have happened. Email me with shipping info and I’ll get you a replacement. Or if you’re comfortable soldering and want to attempt a repair, the rest of the circuit might be intact: remove the offending component and bridge across these pads:

This will bypass the reverse battery protection. Best
~James