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ComponentsCheck

UnderstandingElectronic
Components
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11.CheckingComponents
So you've put a circuit together and as far as you know everything appears to be ok, but it doesn't work as
expected. Even worse, it refuses to give any signs of life. What do you do? First, check the circuit for
mechanicalfailures,likenonconnectedwires,brokenviasontheboard(theseareholesontheprintedcircuit
boardthathaveametalcoatingdownthelengthoftheholetoconnectonesideoftheboardtotheother),bad
batterycontactsinsidethecase,brokenpinsonacomponent,coldsolderjoints,etc.
Ifthisdoesn'tcomeupwitharesult,youshouldcomparevaluesofcomponentswiththeschematic.
Youmayhaveputacomponentinthewrongplace,orreadvaluesthewrongway.Maybeyouforgotkinfront
ofOhms.MaybeyouconnectedthesupplytothewrongpinofanIC.
Thenextstepistotesteachcomponentontheboard.
Start troubleshooting by measuring DC voltages at certain points of the board, and comparing these values to
the schematic. So, by knowing the operation of the circuit you start the process of elimination to find the
suspectcomponent.
Ifthereareseveralsuspects,andthisisnotarareoccurrenceincomplexdevices,thetestingisdividedinto
groupsofcomponents.Youstartcheckinginreversesolderingorder,thismeansyoustartwithcomponentslast
soldered, because those are the most sensitive components on the circuit like integrated circuits, transistors,
diodes,etc.
Thefastestandsimplestmethodtotroubleshootistouseanohmmeter.
Inmostcasesyoudon'thaveanohmmeterbyitselfasitisusuallyadedtoanammeterandvoltmeterinone
instrument,calledAVOmeterormultimeter.
The safest and most accurate method is to desolder the component from the board when testing it, because
othercomponentscouldleadtoawrongdiagnosis,soyouhavetobeverycarefulwhentestingincircuit.
Ok, you should know something about multimeters
now.Therearetwokinds:analoganddigital.Analog
ones are items of the past, and since they use a
needle to tell you values, it can be difficult
determining the right value. Digital meters, on the
other hand have a display. You should go for this
type, although both come in different sizes and with
differentranges. Their price is from several dollars,
to several hundreds of dollars for really good
professionaltypes.
Twoinstrumentsareshownin11.1.

11.1DiodesandTransistors
Whenusingananaloginstrumenttotestadiode,the needle will swing almost fully across the scale when the
diodeisplacedinonedirectionandhardlymovewhenthediodeisreversed.
Theneedledoesnotmeasuretheresistanceofthediodebutrathertheflowofcurrentinonedirectionandno
currentflowintheotherdirection.
If the value is equal to or near equal, either low or high in both directions, the diode is faulty, and should be
replaced.

Digitalinstrumentshaveapositiononthedialtomeasurediodes,asshownin11.1b.Whenweconnectprobes
toeachother,themultimetershouldbuzz,whichsignalsashortcircuit,anddisplaytells0.Whenweseparate
the probes the buzzing stops, and a
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the probes the buzzing stops, and a

symbol for open circuit is displayed
(thiscanbeeither0Lor1).Nowwe
connectprobestothediode(11.3a).
Then we reverse the diode and
connect it again (11.3b). If the
measured diode was ok, one of the
two measurements would have
shown a value which represents a
minimum voltage that could be
conducted through the diode
(between 400mV and 800mV), and
the anode is the end of the diode
which is connected to probe A (red
one).Thediodeisfaultyifyouhear
abuzz(closedcircuit)orsomevalue
whichrepresentsinfinity.
Transistors are tested in a similar
fashion, since they act as two
connected diodes. According to
11.4b, the positive probe is
connected to the base, and the
negative probe is first connected to the collector
andthentheemitter.Inbothcasestheresistance
should be low. After that, you do the same thing,
only with switched probes. The negative probe is
connected to the base and you test the collector
andemitterwithapositiveprobe.

Bothcasesshouldproduceahighvalueonthemeter.
WhentestingPNPtransistors,allstepsarethesame,butthe
measurements should be opposite: on 11.4a they are high,
andon11.4ctheyarelow.
Ifyoutesttransistorsusingadigitalinstrument,theprocess
remains similar to the one with diodes. Each diode should
produce a value between 400mV and 800mV. Many modern
digital multimeters have a socket for testing transistors.
There is, as displayed on 11.5, a special socket where low
and medium power transistors fit. If you need to test high
power transistors, thin wires (0.8mm) should be soldered to
transistor's pins and then plugged into the socket. As
displayed on 11.5, a transistor is plugged into the socket
accordingtoitstype(PNPorNPN)andtheswitchwithahFE
markingisbroughtintoposition.Ifthetransistorworks,the
display shows a value which represents the current
amplification coefficient. If, for example, a transistor is
tested, and the display shows 74, this means the collector
currentis74timeshigherthanthebasecurrent.

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11.2Transformersandcoils
Transformers are tested by measuring the resistance of
the copper wire on the primary and secondary. Since the
primaryhasmoreturnsthanthesecondary,andiswound
usingathinnerwire,itsresistanceishigher,anditsvalue
is in range of tens of ohms (in high power transformers)
toseveralhundredsofohms.
Secondary resistance is lower and is in range between
severalohmstoseveraltensofohms,wheretheprinciple
ofinverserelationsisstillinplace,highpowermeanslow
resistance.
Ifthemultimetershowsaninfinitevalue,itmeansthecoil
iseitherpoorlyconnectedortheturnsaredisconnectedat
somepoint.
Coilscanbetestedinthesamewayastransformersthroughtheirresistance.Allprinciplesremainthesame
aswithtransformers.Infiniteresistancemeansanopenwinding.

11.3Capacitors
Capacitorsshouldproduceaninfinitereadingonamultimeter.Exceptionsareelectrolyticsandveryhighvalue
block capacitors. When the positive end of an electrolytic capacitor is connected to the positive probe of an
analoginstrument,andanegativeendtoanegativeprobe,theneedlemovesslightlyandgraduallycomesback
towards infinity. This is proof the capacitor is ok, and the needle's movement is charge being stored in the
capacitor.(Evensmallcapacitorsgetchargedwhiletesting.)
Variable capacitors are tested by connecting an ohmmeter to them, and turning the rotor. The needle should
pointtoinfinityatall times, because any other value means the plates of the rotor and stator are touching at
somepoint.
There are digital meters that have the ability to measure capacitance, which simplifies the process. With this
said,itisworthmentioningthatcapacitorshaveconsiderablywidertolerancethanresistors,(about20%).

11.4Potentiometers
Totestapotentiometer,(pot),oravariableresistor,theprocessisrathersimpleyouconnectthecomponent
totheprobesofametersettoohmsandturntheshaft.
(Anoisypotcanberepairedusingaspecialspray.)

11.5Speakersandheadphones
Whentestingspeakers,theirvoicecoilcanbebetween1.5and32Ohms.Thevaluemarkedonthespeakeris
an impedance value and the actual DC resistance will be lower. When measuring a speaker with an analogue
meter,youshouldhearaclickwhentheprobesareconnected.

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