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How to Check a Capacitor and Measure Capacitance with a Digital Multimeter
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00:00:07.060 --> 00:00:12.040 Welcome To G-TV! Today I will be showing you how to measure capacitance with a digital 00:00:12.040 --> 00:00:19.040 multimeter. Capacitance is measured in a unit called farads and the capacitors used in circuitry 00:00:19.230 --> 00:00:26.230 are measured using sub units of microfarads, nanofarads, and picofarads. Many digital multimeters 00:00:27.589 --> 00:00:33.540 will display the reading with one of these sub units. Testing with a multimeter is the 00:00:33.540 --> 00:00:40.390 safest way to measure capacitance with the capacitor removed from any voltage source. 00:00:40.390 --> 00:00:45.560 There is a method that can be used while the capacitor is connected to a power supply, 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:50.820 but this should only be done by a qualified electrician that has had experience in checking 00:00:50.820 --> 00:00:56.960 capacitors. Instead of focusing on this method, I will be showing two other ways to measure 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:03.960 capacitance with a multimeter. Some digital multimeters have a capacitance measurement 00:01:04.420 --> 00:01:11.040 feature. Capacitance could be represented by the letter C, or CAP, or the electrical 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:17.619 symbol for capacitor. When the dial is turned to one of these, the sub unit of farad should 00:01:17.619 --> 00:01:23.869 be indicated within the screen. I will connect my red probe to the bottom port that has the 00:01:23.869 --> 00:01:30.749 represented symbol for capacitance and also connect my black probe to the common. My red 00:01:30.749 --> 00:01:36.630 test lead will connect to the positive side of the capacitor as my black test lead will 00:01:36.630 --> 00:01:41.460 need to connect to the negative side. The reading on the screen should be similar to 00:01:41.460 --> 00:01:47.590 the value found on the side of the capacitor. The value may not be exact, but if there is 00:01:47.590 --> 00:01:51.670 a significant difference then your capacitor may need to be replaced. The other method 00:01:51.670 --> 00:01:51.810 with a digital multimeter is used for multimeters that do not have a capacitance test function. 00:01:51.810 --> 00:01:52.079 I will instead set the multimeter to the Ohm range to test for resistance. I will make 00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:52.999 sure that my red and black test leads are placed in the correct ports. Once I place 00:01:52.999 --> 00:01:53.719 the test leads on my capacitor, a number should quickly appear before switching to OL. I will 00:01:53.719 --> 00:01:53.990 repeat this a few times and I should be getting the same number each time before OL. The consistency 00:01:53.990 --> 00:01:54.249 tells me that this is a good capacitor. If no reading appears each time, the capacitor 00:01:54.249 --> 00:01:56.979 may need to be replaced. Multimeters along with thousands of products and services are 00:01:56.979 --> 00:02:03.319 available at galco.com. Also, don't forget to sign up for our newsletter by following 00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:04.270 the link below.
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