Capacitor Testing

[freelander]

A simple question for the more electrically inclined than me...

I had to get a new multi-meter recently and this one has a CAP setting for capacitors which measures uF. It also says that it can be used for diodes and transistors but I'm not sure what it would do. The limit of my repairs so far have been replacing capacitors and CCFLs but would any of these features ease my troubleshooting instead of the replace and see method that I have used?

[PlainBill]

Originally Posted by freelander

A simple question for the more electrically inclined than me...

I had to get a new multi-meter recently and this one has a CAP setting for capacitors which measures uF. It also says that it can be used for diodes and transistors but I'm not sure what it would do. The limit of my repairs so far have been replacing capacitors and CCFLs but would any of these features ease my troubleshooting instead of the replace and see method that I have used?

The capacitance feature won't be much help. A capacitor can gave a high ESR while still showing normal capacitance.

Of course, the ohmmeter function and the diode test will be useful for finding shorted transistors and open fuses.

The Voltage function will qouckly show if the power supply is working.

PlainBill