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How to Determine a Capacitor's Condition Using a Multimeter

Capacitors are found on all types of electronic devices. They are a component of a circuit that is used to maintain voltage and to discharge electrical current. The discharge of this current from a capacitor is called its "performance characteristic." This is done within seconds when the power is turned off to a device. If you have a device that does not turn on, a capacitor may have burned out.

Instructions

- 1
  Turn on the power for your multimeter, and set the measurement dial to the "Capacitance" setting.
- 2
  Discharge the capacitor by touching the "positive" terminal with a 50-ohm resistor. A "+" sign indicates the positive terminal and a "-" sign indicates the negative terminal.
- 3
  Keep the resistor in place on the capacitor for at least a minute to ensure it has fully discharged.
- 4
  Set the resistor aside to cool down as it will be hot to the touch.
- 5
  Touch the red-colored probe of the multimeter to the "positive" terminal. Touch the black colored probe to the "negative" terminal. Read the display to see the capacitance of the capacitor. The value that is on the display is in microfarads.
- 6
  Divide the tolerance value on the multimeter by 100. If the tolerance is 5 percent the resulting decimal is 0.05.
- 7
  Multiply 0.05 by the capacitance value of the capacitor. If the capacitance value is 15 then the resulting decimal is 0.75 microfarad.
- 8
  Add the microfarad in step 7 to the measured microfarad in step 5. If the capacitance of the capacitor is not within the proper range, the capacitor is bad.

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