In Most Electrical and Electronics troubleshooting and repairing, we face this trouble that how to test electrolytic capacitor ? Is it Good, Bad, Short or Open?
Below we will introduce three methods to test that a Capacitor is Good, Bad, Open, Dead, or Short.
Method 1. Check & Test a Capacitor By Analog Multimeter.
1.Make sure the suspected capacitor is fully discharged.
2.Take an AVO meter.
3.Select analog meter on OHM (Always, select the higher range of Ohms).
4.Connect the Meter leads to the Capacitor terminals.
5.Note The reading and Compare with the following results.
6.Short Capacitors: Shorted Capacitor will show very low Resistance.
7.Open Capacitors: An Open Capacitor will not show any movement (Deflection) on OHM meter Screen.
8.Good Capacitors: Initially, it will show low resistance, and then gradually increases toward the infinite. It means that Capacitor is in Good Condition.
Method 2. Test & Check a Capacitor By a Digital Multimeter
1.Make sure the capacitor is discharged.
2.Set the meter on Ohm range (Set it at lease 1000Ohm = 1k).
3.Connect the Meter leads to the Capacitor terminals.
4.Digital meter will show some numbers for a second. Note the reading.
5.And then immediately it will return to the OL (Open Line). Every attempt of Step 2 will show the same result as was in step 4 and Step 5. It’s mean that Capacitor is in Good Condition.
6.If there is no Change, then Capacitor is dead.
Method 3. Checking Capacitor By Multimeter in the capacitance Mode
1.Make sure the capacitor is fully discharged.
2.Remove the capacitors from board or circuit.
3.Now Select “Capacitance” on your multimeter.
4.Now connect the capacitor terminal to the multimeter leads.
5.If the reading is near to the actual value of the capacitor .
6.Then the capacitor is in good condition. .
7.If you read a significantly lower capacitance or none at all, then capacitor is dead and you should change it.
