Testing caps

[smiddy1980]

Hello, is my meter ok for testing caps ? or should I buy an ESR meter?

[SteveNielsen]

Re: Testing caps

It depends on what you plan to work on and if the ESR of the caps is of concern, usually matters in circuits using high frequencies, such as computer motherboards, power supplies, monitors, and TVs.

[smiddy1980]

Re: Testing caps

Ok so I will probably want to buy one, thanks for the input

[mariushm]

Re: Testing caps

The capacitance doesn't tell you anything about the quality of a capacitor.

The ESR and the visual aspect of the capacitor are the two most important things ... if a capacitor looks bad, it's probably bad.

If the esr is too big (compared to what's expected from that series of capacitors) then the capacitor is also bad.

Proper ESR readings would be measured with a LCR meter with ESR measurement function, but you don't need super exact results to know if a capacitor is good or bad.

A cheap $20-50 esr meter (from eBay for example) will give you a good enough result to spot a bad capacitor.

[smiddy1980]

Re: Testing caps

Cheers Mariushm