Practical Methods for Judging Capacitor Quality with a Multimeter
Everyone is familiar with capacitors, but how to judge the quality of capacitors is unknown to everyone. A multimeter can be used to judge the quality of capacitors. A multimeter is an indispensable measuring instrument for power electronics and other departments. The brands of multimeters can be divided into Fluke multimeter, Jishili multimeter, Agilent multimeter, etc.. Before testing the quality of capacitors, they should be discharged immediately.
Usually, when measuring the quality of capacitors, the R × 10, R × 100, and R × 1K ranges of a multimeter are selected for testing and judgment. Connect the red and black probes to the negative terminal of the capacitor respectively, and judge the quality of the capacitor by the deviation of the probe.
1. If the pointer quickly swings to the right and then slowly returns to its original position to the left, generally speaking, a capacitor is good.
2. If the pointer no longer rotates after swinging, it indicates that the capacitor has broken down.
3. If the pointer gradually returns to a certain position after swinging up, it indicates that the capacitor has leaked electricity.
4. If the pointer cannot be raised, it indicates that the capacitor electrolyte has dried up and lost its capacity.
It is difficult to accurately determine the quality of some capacitors with leakage using the above methods. The R × 10K gear can be used to reverse charge the capacitor and observe whether the pointer stays stable to determine the quality of the capacitor, with high accuracy.
