ESR meter (MK-168) not showing ESR readout on certain capacitors?

[JimBanville]

I'm doing a recap job. I measured three Rubycon 50v 33uf electrolytic capacitors and they all showed about 31uf of capacity on the MK-168 transistor tester (ESR meter) but no ESR reading at all. I then measured some brand new caps with ratings around these rubycons and the meter correctly gave both a capacitance AND an ESR readout. Any ideas?

[sam_sam_sam]

Re: ESR meter (MK-168) not showing ESR readout on certain capacitors?

Yes they are bad. I will check later to see what you should expect

[JimBanville]

Re: ESR meter (MK-168) not showing ESR readout on certain capacitors?

Yes they are bad. I will check later to see what you should expect

Thanks. I rechecked them and it was user error. Haha. They were all measuring 31pf, not 31uf. They are REALLY bad. Because that "number" was so close to their rating, I guess my brain didn't register the pf versus the uf part of the reading. Duh! Lol. So I read that this meter won't display an ESR for capacitors below some range...like 100pf. Thanks again!