I just did some testing of some of the caps that I have with a DMM to see if the caps will charge. Half of my caps showed flat 0's while others charged fine. That's completely crazy since these are all brand new.
How in the world can I be sure I'm getting a reliable cap when it seems that you risk buying a bird in the bush till you get them home to test them?
Capacitors
Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal
Re: Capacitors
DMM's aren't the best tool to use for measuring caps.
They don't put very much current at all on the cap.
A LCR meter or bridge is needed to have any accuracy.
But you could jury rig a bread boarded tester of sorts that puts high voltage on a cap then test it for leakage.
Years ago when all meters were analog with the needle meter, they would show the charging of the cap better.
Here is some information about testing.
http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/fun ... _caps.html
They don't put very much current at all on the cap.
A LCR meter or bridge is needed to have any accuracy.
But you could jury rig a bread boarded tester of sorts that puts high voltage on a cap then test it for leakage.
Years ago when all meters were analog with the needle meter, they would show the charging of the cap better.
Here is some information about testing.
http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/fun ... _caps.html
Tom
Don't let that smoke out!
Don't let that smoke out!