How to Test Ceramic Disc Capacitor

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Ceramic disc capacitors are units used to manage voltage for various dielectric functions in the computer industry. The role of ceramic layers is to dissipate heat which may occur due to high voltage, while protecting the environment — both internal and external — from damage. With these capacitors, volumetric efficiency is inversely proportional to stability and accuracy, thus making the testing process difficult.

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Step 1

Testing ceramic capacitors is important, because, when exposed to high voltage, the capacitors may short out. If this occurs, your monitor may blink or be absent. You can solve this problem by replacing the ceramic capacitors all together. However, if you have the proper equipment you can test the ceramic capacitors.

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Step 2

Use a digital multimeter to test a ceramic capacitor. If the voltage is constant, the capacitor functions properly. However, you cannot measure it properly if the ohmmeter's output and digital capacitance don't correspond to the capacitor's voltage, in which case the second solution is preferable.

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Step 3

Test using an analogue insulation tester to find the short circuit or to determine cases where digital capacitance meters fail to show shortened readings. Adjust the analogue meter to 10 Kohm in order to achieve an output of 12 volts. This step is needed in order to test the ceramic capacitor. Also, if you still want to avoid replacing the capacitor and to test it onboard, you can use both methods to increase the measurement accuracy.

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