LC103

''ReZolver''TM
: Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
Operation and Application Manual

LC103 R~r CAPACITOR & INDUCTOR ANALYZER

COMPONENT SETUP COMPONENT TEST RESULTS
~-~-~-~-~_~,

! iCiC.. . Ep.F 0= :::·3~~ ~

GOOD !
...._" - -~ - - -- --

COMPONENT TYPE COMPONENT PARAMETERS COMPONENT TESTS

NUMERIC INPUT ENTER IN·CIRCUIT OUT-OF.CIRCUIT

[J(J(J(J000 CAPACITOR
GOOD/BAD
CAPACITOR
VALUE
CAPACITOR
ESR

(J(J(J(JEJGO DIELECTRIC
BSORPTION
CAPACITOR
LEAKAGE

OOOEJBB8
INDUCTOR

EJ GOODIBAD INDUCTOR INDUCTOR

I
VALUE RINGER

LEAD FUSE TEST LEAO LEAD ZERO

& WARNING; Flashing llghl lndiCllteS 25-1000Y

@ ~ f·o~ 88 © •pplied to test lead s when leakage button Is pressed.

& STOP TESTING: Protection circuit or fuse Is open.

-t=} 1A, TT
2AG, SLOBLO
0-1000V
SOOmA
© C.pedt0t being tested may be charged. C.retully
diKNr99 capacitor and check fuse.

RANGES: 1pFto 20 F. 0.1 p H to 20 H Pa tent Hos. 4258315, 4267503, 4795966, 482514 7, '!f117338, OttHtrs Pe nc:ll09

PULL CHART

S E NCORE
3200 Sencore Drive, Sioux Falls, SD 57107
 LC103 Temporary Addendum
In order to insure the highest quality, there has been a delay in the availability of the Adjustable In-
Circuit Test Probe (AP291). The Touch Test Probe (39085) has been temporarily substituted. When the
Adjustable In-Circuit Test Probes are available, one will be immediately sent to you at no charge. We
sincerely apologize for any inconvenience.

39G85 Touch Test Probe Instructions

At the rear of the Touch Test Probe are two recessed terminals. After zeroing the Out-
of-Circuit Test Leads, as explained in the LC103 Operation and Application Manual or
Pull Chart, connect the red clip to the red (R) terminal and the black clip to the green (G)
terminal. Touch each of the needle points to the board foils for each component lead.
The sharp needle points will penetrate any solder flux or coating on the board for good
contact. In cases where polarity needs to be observed, touch the red banded needle point
to the positive terminal and the green banded needle point to the negative terminal.
Once contact has been made, perform the desired in-circuit test function.

E3El'JC:::C>RE
3200 Sencore Drive, Sioux Falls, SD 57107 www.sencore.com
#6916
 WARNING
PLEASE OBSERVE THESE SAFE1Y PRECAUTIONS

There is always a danger present when testing electronic equipment. Unexpected high vol.tages can
be present at unusual locations in defective equipment. Every precaution has been taken in the design
of your instrument to insure that it is as safe as possible. However, safe operation depends on you, the
operator. Become familiar with the equipment you are working with, and observe the following safe-
ty precautions:

1. Never exceed the limits of this instrument as given in the specifications section and the additional
special warnings in th is manual.

2. A severe shock hazard can result if the chassis of the equipment being serviced is tied to the "hot"
side of the AC line. An isolation transformer should always be used with hot-chassis equipment. Also,
be sure that the top of your workbench and the floor underneath it are dry and made of non-conduc-
tive materials.

3. Remove the circuit power before making connections to high voltage points. If this cannot be done,
be sure to avoid contact with other equipment or metal objects. Place one hand in your pocke t and
stand on an insulated floor to reduce the possibility of shock.

4. Discharge filter capacitors (after removing power) before connecting to any part of the circuit
requiring power to be removed.

5. Be sure your equipment is in good order. Broken or frayed test leads can be extremely dangerous
and can expose you to dangerous voltages.

6. Remove the test lead immediately after the test has been completed to reduce the possibility of
shock.

7. Do not work alone when working on hazardous circuits. Always have anoth er person close by in case
of an accident. Remember, even a minor shock can be the cause of a more serious accide nt, such as
falling against the equipment, or coming in contact with high voltages.

8. Improper Fuse(s) Void Warranty. Fuses are for your protection, so always replace fuse with proper
type and current rating. The proper fuse type description is marked near the fuse holder and in the
m anual. Always:

A. Be sure you are replacing the right fuse. On units with more than one fuse, be sure you are
placing the proper fuse value in the fuse holder.

B. Have the proper size replacement fuse in stock. With each new instrument, be sure to
update your fuse inventory with any special value fuses your instrument may req uire.

9. Explanation of symbols.

This marking indicates that the operator must refer to an explanation in the
operating instructions. -

A terminal at which a voltage with respect to another terminal or part exists or

may be adjusted to 1,000 volts or more.
 LC103
''ReZolver''
Capacitor & Inductor Analyzer
Operation and Application Manual

,
~•~r CAPACITOR & INDUCTOR ANALYZER
LC103 R~ c1..•:PC··n'11Es1R£~ 1 s

l 02 , t,~1f 0, 89n
GOOD

3200 Sencore Drive • Sioux Falls, SD 57107

 TABLE OF CONTENTS
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS ..................... .Inside Front Cover Measuring Inductor Value ........................................ 25
Automatic GOOD/ BAD Inductor Value Testing ............26
DESCRIPTION Inductor Ringer Test ..... .......... ......... .......... ..... .......... . 26
Introduction .......................................... .............................. 4
Features ........................................ ....................... ............... .. 4 Error Messages ............................................................... .. . 27
Specifications ........................... ......... ......... .................. ....... 5 RS-232 OPERATION ............................... .... ......... ......... .. . 28
Front Panel Controls ....... ................................................... 7 Connecting To The Computer ................................ ..... ... 28
Rear Panel Features ................................................ ............ 8 Sending Data To The LC103 ............................................ 28
Supplied Accessories ....................... ............. ...................... 8 Component Type Commands ....... ............................ .29
Optional Accessories ................... ............................. .. ........ 9 Value Multipliers ................................... ........... ..... ....... 29
Setting The Leakage Voltage ...................................... 30
OPERATION Test Function Commands ..................................... ..... 30
Introduction ..... .............................................. ............ ..... .. 10 General Codes .............................................................. 30
AC Power Operation ....................... ................................. 10
Battery Operation .............................................................. 11 Receiving Data From The LC103 .............. ...................... 31
Battery Test.................................................................. 12 Data Format. .............................. ................................... 31
Recharging the Battery .... ... ............... ........................ 12 Error Testing ................................................................ 32
Auto-Off ................................................. .... ................. 12 Shorted Capacitors ...................................................... 32
Open Inductors .................... .......... .............................. 32
STOP TESTING Indication .............................................. 13 Making Leakage Tests ................ ................................ 32
Test Lead Fuse ............................................................ 13 Making ESR Tests ... ......................... ...................... .... .. 33

Test Leads ... ..... ........................................ .... .. ............ ... ..... 13

Adjustable In- Circuit Test Probe .............................. 13 APPLICATIONS
Test Lead Mounting Cli p ... .. ..................................... 14 Introduction .............................................. ........................ 34
Lead and Probe Zeroing .............. .......... ......... ........... 14 Identifying Capacitor Types ............... .. ............................. 34
Aluminum Electrolytics .............................................. 35
Entering Component Data ................................................ 15 Tantalum Electrolytics ................................................ 35
Component T ype ................................... ..................... 15 Double Layer and "High R" Electrolytics ... ............... 36
Component Value ...................................................... 15 Ceramic Capacitors .................................. .. ........... ..... 36
Tolerance ......... ....................................... .................... 15 Other Capacitor Types .............................................. 36
Leakage Voltage ......................................... ............. ... . 16
Identifying Inductor Types .............................................. 37
In-Circuit Capacitor Testing ...... ......... ..................... ........ 17 Yokes and Flybacks ............................... .. ...... ............... 37
VaJue and ESR T esting ...... .................. .................. .... 17 Switching Transformers ................................... .. ..... .. 37
Automatic EIA GOOD/ BAD T esting ................. ....... 17 Coils .............................................. .............................. 37
SUGGEST REMOVAL Indication .............................. 17
Identifying Unknown Components ........... .......... ........... 38
Out-of-Circuit Capacitor Testing .. ...... .............................. 18 Capacitor Testing ................. ............. ........... .......... ....... .... 38
Capacitance Measurement Accuracy ............. .... ....... 38
Out-of-Circuit Capacitor Parameter Testing .... .............. 18 Measuring Small Capacitance Values
Component Test Results ............................................ 18 In oisy Environme nts ......... .......................... ....... 38
Measuring Capacitor Value ........................................ 18 Interpreting Capacitor Value Readings .................... 39
Measu1ing Capacitor ESR .................. .................. ..... . 18 In-Circuit Capacitor Test.. ................... ..... ... ............... 39
Measuring Capacitor D/ A .......................................... 19 Testing 1 o n-Polarized (Bi-Polar) Electrolytics ........ 40
Measuring Capacitor Leakage .................................... 20 Checking Leakage in a Mul ti-Section Electrolytic .... 40
Leakage In Pape r, Mica and Film Capacitors ....... ... 21 Dielectric Stress .......................................................... 40
Leakage In Ceramic Capacitors .... ..... .................... ... .. 21 Intermittent Capacitors ......... ...... ................... ............ 40
Leakage In Aluminum Electrolysis ........ .................... 2 1 Checking Ceramic Capacitor
Leakage In Tantalum Electrolysis ................ .............. 21 Temperature Characteristics .................................. 40
Leakage In on-Polarized (Bi-Polar) Electrolyti cs .... 2 1
Leakage Charts ............................................................ 22 Inductor Testing ...... ...................... ............... ................. .... 41
In-Circuit Inductor Test ........ ..... .......................... ... .. 41
Automatic GOOD/BAD Capacitor Testing ............ ....... . 24 Mutual Inductance ........ .... ........................................ 41
In-Circuit Inductor Testing ............... ....................... ........ 25 Ringing Peakin g Coils ... ............................................. 41
Out-of-Circuit Inductor Testing .......... ............................ 25 Ringing Metal Shielded Coils .................. ... ............... 41
2
 Testing Flyback Transformers
and Deflection Yokes ........... ... ..... ..................... .... .. 41
Ringing Flyback Transform e rs ...... ........... ..... ..... ... 41
Leakage Tes ting Flyback Transformers ................ 42
Ringing Deflection Yokes ... ... ........ ........ .......... .... .. 43

Transmission Cable Testing .......... ... ........ ........... .... .... .. .... 43
Tes ting Coaxial Cable ...... ............ ..... ... ........ .......... .. .. 43
Determinin g a Cable's Le ng th or
Distance T o An Open ........... .................... ............. 44
Locating A Short In Coaxial Cable ........................... . 44
Determinin g Capacitance and Inductance
Per Fool ... ... ....... ............. ............. ............................ .45
Identifying Aging Cable .... ...................... ........ ...... ...... 45

Testing High Voltage Diodes ........ ... ........ ... ... .......... ... ...... 46
High Potential Testing ... ...... ......... ... ... ..... ... ........ ........ ..... . 46
Measuring High Voltage Resistors to I Gigohm ........... ... 47

APPENDIX
Introduction .. .. ....... ................. .... ... ........ ........... ............. ..... 48
Capacitor Theory ..... .................. ........... .......... ... ............... 48
Capacitor Types .. ....................... ... ..... ............. ...... ..... ....... 49
Alum in um Electro lytics .. .... ......... ...... ... ... ..... .............. 49
T antalum Electrolytics ............. ...... .... .......... ............... 49
Cera1nics ....... .................... ............... ........ .. ...... ....... ..... 49

Capacitor Failure Modes ..... .. ........................ ............... ...... 51

Val ue Cha nge ......... ..................... .............................. .. 51
ESR ............ ............. ..... ..... ......... ............... .......... ......... 51
D/ A ..................... ..... ... ..... .. ..................................... ..... 52
Leakage ..... .... .......... ......... .............. .... ..... ... .... .... ........ .. 52

GLOSSARY .................................................................... 57

WARRANTY AND SERVICE ......... ........ .Inside Back Cover

3
 DESCRIPTION

Capacitors a nd inductors are widely used in e lectronic The Sencore LC103 ReZolver takes th e guesswork out of
sys tems. Capac itor and inductor usage contin ues to capacitor and inductor testing. I t provides in-circuit
increase s in ce neither of these compon e nts can b e capacitor value and ESR tests along with automatic out-of-
physically incorporated into ICs on a broad basis. Though circuit tests for capacitor value, leakage, ESR, and dielectric
capacitors a nd inductors have changed in physical size, they absorption. Inductors are automatically analyzed in-circuit
still perform the same basic functions. In today's hig h tech for valu e or out-of-circu it for value a nd qual ity wi th
electron ic circuits, capacitors and inductors are critical to patented tests.
no rmal circuit o peration.
The LC103 is a complete , a u tomatic, mic ro processor-
In to d ay's high p e rformance circuits , va lu e, lea ka ge, controlled capacitor a nd inductor an alyzer. Its features
dielectric absorption, and ESR are important indicators of make it ideally suited for both single component analyzing
a capacitor's a b ili ty to perform prop e rl y in-c irc uit. in service or maintenance work, or for large volume, batch
Inductors too, must be of proper value and quali ty. Unless testing in a lab o r incoming inspection .
all of these parameters are thoroughly analyzed, problem
capac ito rs a nd indu ctor s ma y b e mi ssed a nd
troubleshoo ting becomes a guessing game.

The Sencore LC 103 ReZolver is a d ynamic, portabl e, Automatic lead zeroing bala nces o ut test lead cap acitance,
automatic, in or out-of-circuit capacitor and indu ctor r esistance, and inductance for accu rate test results. The
anal yzer. It is d es ig n e d to quickly id entify defect ive LC103 is protected from externa l voltages applied to the
capacitors a nd inductors by providing fast in-circuit tests test leads by a fuse located o n the fro nt panel. Stop-testing
and comple te analyzing out-of-circuit. The test results are circuitry locks out all test buttons when voltage is sensed on
displayed o n an easy-to-read fluoresce nt display in common the test leads.
terms. All capacitor and inductor test results m ay also be
displayed as GOOD/ BAD compared to standards ado pted Batteq operation makes th e LC103 completely portable for
1

by the Electro nic Industries Association (EIA). on-location troubleshooting in a ll types of servicing
including industr ial equipme nt, avionics, and cable fault
In add itio n to testing capacitors for value up to 20 Farads, locati ng. An o ption a l SCR250 SCR & T RIAC TEST
the LC 103 ch ecks ca pacito rs for leakage at the ir r a ted ACCESSORY extends the LC103 test capabilities to provide
workin g voltage, up to 1000 Volts. ESR is checked with a a fast, accurate test of these com ponen ts. The LC103 m ay
patented test, a nd an a utomatic, patented test checks for be u sed with an RS-2 32 com puter interface for fu ll y
excessive dielectric absorption . A pate nte d indu ctan ce a utomatic, computer controlled testing in a laboratory or
value test provides a fas t, accurate test of true inductance. A incoming inspection area.
pate nted rin g ing tes t c h ecks coils, defl ec tion yokes,
switching power supply transformers, and o the r no n-i ro n
core inductors with a fast, reliable GOOD/ BAD test.

4
IN-CIRCUIT TESTS (Capacitors and Inductors) EQUIVALENT SERIES RESISTANCE (ESR)
Dynamic in-circuit tests to determin e whether th e (U .S Pate nt #4,795,966)
cap acitor or inductor is good or bad. ACCURACY: +/ -5%; +/-I digit
COMPONENT TYPES: Electrolytic, double laye r lytic, CAPACITOR RANGE: 0.01 uF to 19.99 F
tantalu m , ceramic, and other capacitors. Yokes, RESOLUTION AND RAt"IGES: 0.1 o hm to 1999 o hms, fu lly
flybacks, switching transformers, and coils. autoranged for capacitor values greater than o r eq ual
RAt"IGE: IN DUCTORS- 3.18 uH to 3.18 H to 1 uF
CAPACITORS: 0.01 o hm 0.1 o hm to 1.99 o hms
Y ALUE: 0.002 uF - 20,000 uF O.lohm 2.0 o hms to 19.9 o hms
ESR: 0.02 uF - 20,000 uF l ohm 20 ohms to 1999 ohms
ACCURACY: Sarn e as Out-of-Circuit tests fo r known good fo r capacitor values less than 1 uF lohm lohm to
inductors and capacito rs with no parallel components. 1999 o hms

CAPACITORS (Out-of-circuit) DIELECTRIC ABSORPTION (U.S. Pate nt #4,267,503 )

ACCURACY:+/ - 5 % o f reading+/ - 1 count
VALUE
RANGE: l to 100 %
Dynam ic test of capacity value is d etermined by applying a
CAPACITO R RANGE: 0.01 uF to 19.99 F
constant cu rre nt to the capacitor and measu ring the
dV/ dt:
10 uA 1.0 pF to 0.2 uF INDUCTORS (Out-of-Circuit)
100 uA 0.2uF to 2 uF VALUE (U.S. Patent #4,258,3 15)
60 mA 2.0 uF to 2,000 uF A dyna mic test of value d etermined by measuri ng the EMF
4 16 mA 2,000 uF to 20,000 uF produced when a c hanging current is applied to th e
capacitors from 20,000 uF to 20 Fare pulsed with 100 mA coil unde r test.
ACCURACY:+/ - l %; +/ - 1 pF; +/ - 1 d igit for values to CURRENT RATES: a utomati cally selected
1990 uF; +/- 5 %; +/ - 0.1 % of range full scale for values 19.5 mA/ uSec 0.1 uH to 18 uH
2000 uF to 19.99 F. 1.95 mA/ uSec 18 uH to 180 uH
RESOLUTION AND RAt"IGES: 1.0 pF to 19.99 F, fully 0.195 mA/ uSec 180 u H to 1.8 mH
auto ranged 19.5 mA/ mSec 1.8 mH to 18 mH
0.1 pF 1. 0 pF to 199.9 pF 1.95 mA/ mSec 18 mH to 180 mH
1.0 pF 200 pf to 1999 pF 0.195 mA/ mSec 180 mH to 1.8 H
0.00001 uF 0.002 uF to 0.01999uF 17.5 mA/ Sec 1.8 H to 19.99 H
0.0001 uF 0.02 uF to 0. 1999 uF ACCURACY: +/ -2%; +/-1 digit +/-0. l uH
0.001 uF 0.2 uF to 1.999 uF RESOLUTION AND RAt"IGES: 0.10 uH to 20 H , fully
0.01 uF 2.0uF to 19.99 uF autoranged
0.1 uF 20.0 uF to 199.9 uF 0.01 ul-1 0.1 uH to 19.99 uH
1.0 uF 200 uF to 1,999 uF O.luH 20.0 uH to 199 .9 uH
10 uF 2,000 uF to 19,990 uF 1.0 uH 200 uH to 999 uH
100 uF 20,000 uF to 199,900 uF 0.00 1 mH 1.000 mH to 1.999 mH
0.001 F 0.2 F to 1.999 F 0.01 mH 2.00 mH to 19.99 mH
0.01 F 2.0 F to 19.99 F 0.1 mH 20.0 mH to 199.9 mH
l mH 200 mH to 999 mH
LEAKAGE 0.00 1 H 1.000 H to 1.999 H
ACCURACY:+/ - 5 %; +/ - 1 digit 0.01 H 2.00 H to 19.99 H
APPLIED VOLTAGE: Keyboard entry; 1.0 to 1000 volts in
0.1 volt steps; accuracy +0 % -5% . Short circuit current RINGING TEST (U.S. Patent #3,990,002)
limited to 900 mA, power li mited to 9 Watts. A d ynamic test of inductor quali ty determined by applying
RESOLUTION AND RANGES: 0.01 uA to 20 mA, fully an exciting pulse to th e inductor and co unting the
a u toran ged nu m be r of cycles th e inductor r ings before reaching a
0.01 uA 0.01 uA to 19.99 uA preset d ampin g po int.
0.1 uA 20.0 uA to 199.9 uA INDUCTOR RANGE: 10 uH and larger, non-iron core
1.0 uA 200 uA to 1999 uA ACCURACY: +/ - 1 count o n readin gs between 8 and 13
0.01 mA 2.00 mA to 19.99 mA Rings
RESOLUTION: +/ -1 co unt
EXCITING PU LSE: 5 volts peak

5
SPECIFICATIONS CONTINUED~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DISPLAY
COMP01 E T TEST RESULTS
1YPE: 2 x 17 Alphanumeric Vacuum Fluorescent
READ I GS: Fully autoranged with auto decimal
placement. One or two place holding zeros added as
need e d to p rovide standard value readouts of p F, uF,
uH , o rmH.
COMPO ENT SETUP
1YPE: 2 x 20 Alphanumeric Vacu um Fluorescent
READINGS: All compo nent types, component value,
tolerance, and voltage rating.

GENERAL
TEMPERATURE: operating range: 32° to 104° F (0° to
40 ° C) range for specified accuracy (after 10 minute
warm-up): 50 ° to 86° F (10° to 30° C)
H UMIDITY: 0-90%, no condensation
MAXIMUM ALTITUDE: 4,000 meters
PO\IVER: 105-130V AC, 60H z, 30 watts with supplied PA251
power adapter. Battel)' operation with o ptional BY289
rechargeable ba ttery. 2 10-230V AC operatio n with
optional PA252 Power Adap ter.
AUTO-OFF: Removes power during battery operation if
unit sits idle longer than 5 minutes.
BATTERY LIFE: 2 ho urs for typical operation.
SIZE: 6" x 9" x 11.5" (15.2 cm x 22.9 cm x 29.1 cm) HWD
WEIGHT: 6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) witho ut battery, 7.6 lbs. (3.4 kg)
with battery
GOOD/ BAD IN DICATIO : Functions on all tests.
Requires user input of componen t type and value, or
input of d esired limi ts.

Specifications subject to change without notice

6
 1
13 12

LC103 R /Jler CAPACITOR & I DUCTOR ANALYZER

COMPONENT SETUP COMPONENT T EST RESULTS
2 AlUfi'I LYt.. iC i00p.F i02 . 6µF 0 . s9Q
+20% -20X 50V (:iOOD

COMPONENT PARAMETERS COMPONENT T ESTS

NUMERIC INPUT EHTER IN.elA CUIT OUT-OF-CIRCU IT

[JEJEJ[J~~t]
a a CAPACITOR
CAPACITOR VALUE
GOOD/BAD

c DIELECTRIC
[JtJEJEJEJa0 b
e
BSORPTION

tJtJDBBBE:J
INDUCTOR
GOOD/BAD INDUCTOR
VALUE

LEAD FUSE LEAD ZERO

REMOT E

0 88 11

4
Fig. 1: Location of front panel controls. 10
6

FRONT PANEL CONTROLS·- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

1. POWER Button - Press to power unit on or off. Press and hold s-u Inductor Value Multipliers: Use after nume ric input to
for Banery T est. e nte r inductor value.
2. COMPONENT 1YPE Buttons - Use to select component type 8. & WARNING LED - Flashes to indicate leakage voltage has
to be tested. bee n set to 25 volts or more. Vol tage is only present when
a-f Press to select desired capacitor type CAPACITOR LEAKAGE bu tton is pressed.
g- i Press to select desired inductor type 9. & STOP TESTING LED - Flashes along \\~ th an a udible alarm
3. LEAD FUSE- Unscrew for access to the test lead fuse. a nd "FUSE OPEN" message to indicate test lead fuse is ope n .
4. TEST LEAD Jack - BNC type jack to connect test leads to unit. 10. IN-CIRCUIT Test Buttons - Press to test capacitors or inductors
5. LEAD ZERO Buttons - Use to compe nsate for test lead in-circuit.
impedance. 11. OUT-OF-CIRCUIT Test Buttons
a. OPEN - Press to compensate for test lead capacitance with a. Capacitor GOOD/ BAD- Press to measure capacitor
test leads open. value and ESR in-circuit.
b. SHORT - Press to compensate for test lead inductance and b. Inductor GOOD/ BAD- Press to measu re inductance
resistance with test leads shorted. value in-circuit.
6. PULL CHART - Provides simplified ope rating instructio ns and c. Dielectric Absorption - Press to m easure percentage
quick reference tables. of dielectric absorption.
7. COMPONENT PARAMETERS Buttons - Use to enter d. Capacitor Leakage - Press to measure the amounl of
compon ent parameters for limit testing. leakage afler a voltage h as been entered with the
a-k Use to en ter numerical portion of parameters. COMP01 ENT PARAMETERS keypad (6).
I. CLR- Press once to clear numeric input. Press twice to clear e. Inductor Value - Press to measure inductance value.
all component parameters. f. Inductor Ringer - Press to activate Ringer Lest after
m- o Capacitor Value Multipliers: Use after numeric input to selecting inducto r type (2g-i) .
en ter capacitor value. 12. COMPONENT TEST RESULTS Display - Displays the resultant
p-q Pe rcentage buttons: Use after numeric input to e nter value of test.
com po nent tolera nce. 13. COMPONENT SETUP Display - Displays e ntered compone nl
r. Volts: Use after numeric input to e nter voltage for type, value, tolerance, a nd voltage rating.
capacitor leakage tesl.
7
REAR PANEL FEATURES 1
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Fig. 2: Location of rear panel features. 1

1. BATTERY COMPARTMENT COVER - Provides access 3. POWER ADAPTER Jack - Connects to supplied PA251
to th e (optional) BY289 rec h argeable battery. PO,'\lER ADAPTER for 110 VAC operation, or to
(optional) PA252 for 220 YAC operation.
2. RS-232 SERIAL CONNECTOR - Allows connection to a
computer for automated operation.

SUPPLIED A C C E S S O R I E S - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1. Out-of-Circuit Test Leads (39G219) -
Special low capacity cable with E-Z
H ook® clips. Connect to TEST LEAD
jack.

2. Adjustable In-Circuit Test Probe

(AP291) patent pending- Exclusive
in-circuit probe with width adjustment
wheel and test activation switch.
Connect to TEST LEAD jack.

3. Test Lead Mounting Clip (64G37) -

Use to hold test leads when not in use.

4. Power Adapter/ Charger (PA251) -

Plugs into PO\'\lER INPUT to power
unit from 105-130 VAC line. Also
recharges the (optional) BY289 battery
when installed inside th e LC103.
Fig. 3: Supplied Accessories

8
1. Test Lead Adapter (39Gl44) - Use to ada pt Out-Of- 6. SCR/ TRIAC Test Accessory (SCR250) - Use to test
Circuit Test Leads to large, screw term inal capacitors. SCRs and TRIACs.

2. 220 VAC Power Adapter/ Charger (PA252) - Plugs into 7. Carrying Case (CC254) - Provides pro tecti o n and easy
POWER INPUT to power the unit fro m 210-230 VAC carrying for th e LC103 and its accesso ries.
line. Also recharges th e (optio nal) BY289 batter)' when
insta lled inside the LC103 . 8. Component Holder (CH255) - Use to hold compon en ts
fo r fast tests wh en doing volume testing.
3. Touch Test Probe (39G85) - Use for Hi-Pot testing of
circu it board traces. 9. Chip Component Test Lead (CH256) - Special shielded
test leads fo r testin g sm all surface m o unt (chip)
4. Field Calibrator (FC221) - Use to periodically check the compo nen ts out-of~c irc uit .
calibratio n of the LC103.

5. Rechargable Battery (BY289) - Lead acid ba ttery

provides p ortable o per atio n fo r th e LC103.

Fig. 4: Optional Accessories

2
5 3

9
 OPERATION

Before you begin to use the LC103 ReZolver, take a few cap abilities of your instrument. After you have fa miliari zed
minutes to read this section and the Applications sectio ns yourself with the general operati on of the LC 103, most tests
of this m a nual to become fa miliar with th e features an d can be performed with the info rmation on the front panel.

AC POWER O P E R A T I O N - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
For co ntinu o us ben ch op eratio n , the LC 103 is powe re d
from a ny standard 105-130 V (50-60 Hz) AC line using the
P A25 1 P owe r Ad a p t er. W h en 22 0 VAC ope r ation is Utilisez seulement le PA251 ou PA252 de Sencore comme
r equired , p ower the LC103 with the o ptio n al PA252 220 adaptateur secte ur. L'utilisation d'un adaptateur secteur
VAC Power Ad a pter. Con nect the Power Adapte r to the pour le LC103 different du PA251 ou du PA252 peut
POWER IN j ack loca ted on th e rear panel of the LC I 03. endommager l 'appareil, peut empecher la batterie (si
installee) de se charger correctement et peut alterer les
T h e power adapter sen1es as a battery charger to recha rge mesures en affichant des resultats bas.
the (optio nal) BY289 battery when it is installed in the unit.
The BY289 may be left installed in the LC103 at all ti mes
witho ut d an ge r of over charging. Conn ecting the Power To ope rate the LC103 from an AC line:
Adapte r byp asses the a uto-off circui try in th e LC 103 and 1. Connect the AC line cord of the power adapter to an
allows uninterrupted operation. adequa te so urce of AC power.
2. Connect the power adap te r to the POWER INPUT JACK
o n the back of the LC103, as shown in Figure 5.
3. Push th e POWER button o n the LC103 and release. The
WARNING LED sh o uld momen tarily blink to in dicate it
is operational and the d isplays will reset and read
"LC103 ReZolver" - "Read y."
4. T he LC103 is now ready fo r use. If precise measure-
ments are r equired, allow the unit to operate for 20
minutes to reach specified accuracy.

The STOP TESTING indicator LED should m omentarily

blink when the POWER button is first pressed turning the
Fig. 5: Connect the PA251 to the 12 VDC input for AC bench operation LC103 on. Failure of the light to flash indicates a problem
and to recharge the optional battery. with the LED or safety circuits. DO NOT operate the
LC103 in this condition, since it may expose the operator
to dangerous voltages without adequate warning.

- - - - - - - - ATTENTION - - - - - - - -
Only use a Sencore PA251 or PA252
Power Adapter for AC operation. Using an La LED d'indication d'erreur doit clignoter pour quelques
AC adapter other than the PA251 or PA252 instants lorsque le bouton de marche/ arret est utilise pour la
may cause damage to the LC103, may cause mise en marche du LC103. Si cette LED ne clignote pas, cela
the optional battery (if installed) to improperly indique un probleme avec la LED ou le circuit de securite.
charge, or may cause measurement errors on NE PAS utiliser le LC103 dans ces conditions, car l'utilisateur
low value components. peut etre expose a des voltages eleves sans le savoir.

10
The LCl 03 is designed to operate as a comple tely portable 5. Do not charge the battery b elow 0 ° C or above +40° C.
unit wiLh the optional BY289 rechargeable baltery installed . (32° to 104° F).
The opera tion of the LC103 when it is battery powe red is
the same as when il is AC p owered except that the disp lay
will dim sligh tly lo red u ce t h e power co n sumption a nd ~~~~~~~ ATTENTION

in c rease battery life. T h e le ngth of tim e th e LC103 will

oper ate before th e battery n eed s rech arging d e p e nds o n Prenez ces precautions lorsqu e vous utilisez des batteries a
several fac tors: l. the test functions used ; 2. te mpera tu re; 3. acide de plomb:
battery age. 1. N e pas jete r les batteries a acide de plombs dans le fe u.
Cela peut entrainer leur explosion e t d es jets d'acides.
Leakage tests place the heaviest c urre nt drain o n the battery 2. Ne pas court-circuiter le "+" e t le "-" . Cela grille
- greater c urrents resu lt in sh or ter battery life betwee n l'inte rieur d e la batterie et rend la batterie inutilisable.
c h arging. Value Lests place th e least d rain o n th e battery. 3. Ne pas charger l a batterie 12V avec un voltage superie ur
The LC 103 provides approx imate ly 2 h o urs of typi ca l a 13,8 V. Un voltage trop eleve peut e ntrainer
operation using battery power. These limes, o f course, will !'explosion de la batterie ou p e ut l'abimer.
vary with temperature and battery age. 4. Ne pas laisse r tomber la batte rie. Me me si les batteries a
acide d e p lomb sont hermetiques, elles peuvent se
As t h e tempe rature of the battery decreases, its cap acity also casser si on les laisse tomber ou on les soumis a un
decreases. T h e operating tim e betwe e n r ec h a r ging shock m echanique important. Si la batterie se casse e t le
decreases at th e rate of app roximately 1 hour fo r every 20° F produit se repent, neutralisez l'acide avec d e l'eau et du
drop in te mperature below 70° F. T h e BY289 baltery is a bicarbonate d e soude.
sealed , lead acid type that requires no maintenance other 6. Ne p as charger la batterie en-dessous d e 0° C ou
than rec h arging. As a battery ages, it will require more au-dessus de +40° C. (32° - 104° F).
fre qu e nt re charging. If u sed properly, the BY289 will
provide several years of service before need ing rep lacement.

You can maximize the life time of the BY289 several ways:
1. Never allow the ba ttery to deeply discharge. T h e LC103
has a built-in battery Lest and low batlery shut off
circuitry. C h eck the re maining c h a rge periodically and
recharge th e battery before th e low battery circui t shu ts
th e unit off.
2. Keep the bauery fully ch arged. The BY289 will not be
harmed if it is left installed in th e LC103 during AC
operation. Instead, this will keep the battery fresh a nd
ready fo1- use and will actually lengthen its useful lifetime.
3 . Recharge the battery before using it if it has sat idle for
more Lh an a couple of weeks. Lead acid batteries may
lose so me of their charge if they sit idle for a period of
tim e. Fig. 6: The optional BY289 is installed in the LC103 for portable
operation.

Observe these precautions when using lead acid batteries: To install the optional BY289 Battery:
1. Do not dispose of old lead-acid batteries in fire. This 1. Open the BATTERY COMPARTMENT COVER located
m ay cause them to burst, spraying acid through the air. on the rear of the unil by unscrewing th e thumbscrew.
2. D o not short the"+" and"-" terminals together. This Fold the cover clown on its hinge .
will burn open internal connections, making the battery 2. Slide the battery encl th at does not have the co nn ecLOr
useless. attach ed in to the battery compartment. (Th e wire
3. Do not charge 12 volt lead-acid batteries with a voltage sh ould be facing o ut after th e battery is in place.)
greater than 13.8 VDC. High charging voltage may 3. Connect the plug from the battery to the jack inside th e
damage the battery or cause it to explode. battery compartmen t. Close the battery compartmenL
4. Do not drop the battery. While lead-acid batteries are cover and tig hte n the t humbscr ew to h o ld th e door and
well sealed, they may break if dropped or subjected to a battery in place.
strong mechanical shock. If the battery does break and
the j elled electrolyte leaks out, neutralize the acid with Note: Rechaige the BY289 overnight before using it for the first time.
baking soda and water.

11
Battery Test To operate the LC103 using the optional BY289 battery:
1. Install tile BY289 battery into the LC103 battery
The LC103 has a built-in battery test feature that shows the compartment.
remaining battery charge. A reading of 100% indicates that NOTE: If you are using the B Y289 for the first time, be sure to
the battery is fully charged. As the battery charge is used charge the battery· before using the LCJ 03. Though factory tested,
up, the reading will drop. The low battery circuits will turn the BY289 ma)' not be charged when you receive it.
the unit off shortly after the battery test reading drops to 2. Press tile POWER button and release. The WARNING
0%, and before the battery, level drops too low for reliable LED will momentarily blink to indicate it is operational
operation. The LC103 never fully discharges the battery, and tile displays will read "LC103 ReZolver" and
which helps extend the life of the BY289. "Ready."
3. The LCl 03 is immediately ready for use. If precise
To perform the battery test: measurements are required, allow th e unit to operate
1. With a BY289 installed, press and hold the POWER for 20 minutes to reach specified accuracy.
button.
2. Read the graph and numerical percentage of remaining Auto-Off
battery charge in the DISPLAY.
3. If the reading sh ows 0%, t11e unit may not operate, or To conseive battery charge, the LC 103 contains an auto-off
operate for just a short time since the low battery circuit circuit. This circuit keeps the battery from running down if
turns tile LC103 off at tllis battery level. yo u should forget to turn the unit off, but keeps the

LC103 Re r CAPACITOR & INDUCTOR ANALYZER

COMPONENT TEST RESULTS

..
HOl.DFOA
"""'
T£ST

Fig. 7: Press and hold the Power button to read the remaining battery charge.

Recharging the Battery ReZolver powered up during use. T he auto-off circuit will
shut the LC103 off after approximately 5 minutes if none of
The BY289 battery should n ever be allowed to r ema in the front panel buttons have been pushed. Pressing any
discharged for more than a few hours, since t11is will shorten COMPOt E . T TYPE button, COMPONENT
its li fetime. The battery must be recharged wh e never the PARAMETERS b u tton, COMPONENT TEST button, or
battery test reads 0%. However, you should recharge the the POWER button reset t11e auto off circuits. The auto-off
battery more often than this to lengthen the battery's circuits are bypassed when the LC103 is operated from the
lifetime and keep the LC103 ready for portable use at all AC Power Adapter.
times.

To recharge the battery, simply leave it instaHed inside tile

LC103 while tile unit is connected to the AC Power Adapter
and the Power Adapter is conn ec ted to a so urce of AC
power. The charging time required to r eturn the battery to
100 % depends on how far it is discharged. The battery wi ll
trickle charge while tile LC103 is in use and powered fro m
the AC adapte r, but it will r echarge the quickest if the
POWER is turned off. ormally, a battery will comple tely
recharge in about 8 hours with the POWER off.

12
~ STOP TESTING I N D I C A T I O N S · - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- --

The LC 10 3 is d es igned to provide yo u with the safest 3. Replace the Lead Fuse if blown (see below) .
possible method of testing cap acitors and in ductors. The 4. Resume testing.
STOP TESTI G indi cations of the LC l 03 in c lud e a
flas hin g LED indicator on th e front panel, a warning Lead Fuse
m essage in the disp lay, a nd an audible a la r m. These
important features alert you when a potential shock hazard A l amp, Slo-Blo (2AG) fuse is located o n the front panel
exists in the component or circuit being tested. A hazard of the ReZo lver. T his fuse protects th e unit fro m external
may be caused by a blown Lest lead fuse wh ich prevents the vo ltages and current overl oads. For your safelJ', the LC103
ca pacitor from discharging, o r a circuit charge of 10 volts ReZolve r is equipped with a stop testing alarm. This a la rm
or more. is tri ggered wh en e ith er the fuse blows or th e protection
circu its open . ff e ither of these conditio ns occur, the STOP
TESTING LED will nas h and a n aud ibl e a larm will be
activated.
vVhcn the STOP TEST! G LED nashes an d the ala rm
sounds, sto p al l testing with the LC103. The capacitor may Fuse Replacement
be charged. Follow the procedure be low.
The Lead Fuse is located on the front panel fo r ease of
ATTENTION replaceme nt. Always replace the fuse with a fuse of the
same type and rating.
Lorsque la LED d 'arret du Lest clignote ct que l'alarm e
sonore est ac tive, arre ter taus les tests avec le LC ! 03. La To replace the fuse:
capacite pe ut Ctrc charge. Suivre la procedure su ivame. I. Re move power from the LC103.
2. Use a small blade screwd river to turn the fuse ho lder
co unterclockwise until the fuse releases.
If the STOP TESTING indicators activate: 3. Replace th e fuse with the sam e type a nd rating. (1 amp,
1. Stop all tes ting with the LC103. 2AG Slo-Blo)
2. Carefull y discharge th e cap acito r you are tes tin g by 4. Use the screwdrive r to ge ntly push inward while turning
co nn ec ting a 10 kilohm 1 Wa tt r esistor across the th e fuse holder clockwise back into place.
terminals o r remove the vol tage fro m the circu it po ints
the test leads are con nected to.

TEST LEADS-------------------------~
The two set5 of test leads supplied with the LC ! 03 are made
of special, low capacity coaxial cable . t.:sing any o the r cable
may add extra capacity, inductance, and resistance, which Always remove AC power from the circuit when
may no t be within the range of the LCI03's lead zeroing performing any of the LC103's In-Circuit test functions.
circ uiL~. Attempting to zero the leads with another, h igher Failure to do so may result in a shock hazard and
capacitance cable connected may cause the COMPO E, T damage to the test instrument.
TEST RESULTS DISPLAY to sh ow a "VALUE BEYO 11)
ZEROI 1 G LIMIT" message. Th is indicates that the cable's ATTENTION - - - - - --
resistance, capacitance, or inductance is beyond the ze roing
limits of th e LC I 03. Toujours retirer la prise secteur lorsque vous faites des
tests dans le circuit. Si cela n'est pas realise, l'utilisateur
Adjustable In-Circuit Test Probe peut recevoir des chocs electriques et l'equipem ent peut
etre endommage.
The In-Ci rc uit T est Probe was designed to test as man)'
components in-circuit as poss ible . The spac ing width is
ac!j usted using the knurled wh eel. A test activation switch is The test activation button on ly activates the in-circuit tests,
mo lded into the probe to make in-circuit testing easier. Whe n it will not ac tiva te a nr o r th e o ut-of-circuit test functio ns.
a COMPONENT 1YPE is selected , pressing th e actiYation Whe n an in-circuit test is activated by the test activation
switch activates th e In-Circu it Capacitor or Inductor tes t button on the probe, the LC103 will d isplay th e results for 3
d epending on COMPONENT TYPE se lec ti o n. rr n o seco n ds after th e button is re le ased. This a llows for
COMPONENT 1YPE is selected the LC103 will d isplay an com ponent testing without havin g to look away from th e
error message stati ng that you need to e nte r the type of circuit. I n add ition , a short beep wil l be h eard once th e
component under tes t. LC103 has fini shed th e first comple te measurement.
13
 Do not use the Adjustable In-Circuit Test Probe (AP291)
to perform the Leakage test. Always use the Test Leads
(39G219) when performing the Leakage test.

~~~~~~~ATTENTION
I/Ill ·
Ne pas utiliser la sonde ajustable pour les test en circuit i
pendant le test de fuite. Toujours utiliser la sonde
(39G219) pour les tests de fuite.

To use the In-Circuit Test Probe:

1. Remove power from the circuit.
2. Connect the In-Circuit Test Probe (AP291) to the LC103. Fig. 9: The test lead mounting clip holds the test leads out of the way,
3. Zero the test probe. yet ready for use at anytime.
4. Select a COMPO NE T 1YPE.
5. Connect the probe tips to the leads of the component
under test.
NOTE: Mounting the TEST LEAD MOUNTING CLIP to the sides
6. Press and hold th e In-Circuit Test Probe's test activation
of the ReZolve1~ will inteifere with the handle movement.
button. When the LC103 has finished the first comple te
update, three short beeps will sound.
Lead and Probe Zeroing

The Adjustable In-Circuit Test Probe and Out-Of~Circu i t

Test Lead s used with th e LC l 03 have a small am o unt of
capacitance, r esistance, and inductance. These must be
balanced out before measuring small value capacitors and
inductors or before measuring capacitor ESR. The test lead
im p edance sho uld b e zeroe d wh e n the L C103 is firs t
turned on. It remains zeroed as lo ng as the unit is powered
on. If the LC103 is battery operated and is turned off by the
auto-off circuits, however, the leads must be re-zeroed. You
will need to re-zero the leads when switching from the in-
circuit to out-of circuit leads and vice-versa.

To zero the test leads:

Fig. 8: The test activation button molded into the In-Circuit Test Probe
allows easy in-circuit testing without taking your eyes off the circuit. 1. Turn the LC 103 on by pressing the POWER button.
2. Connect the In-Circuit Test Probes or Out-Of-Circuit
Test Lead s to the TEST LEAD INPUT j ack on the front
of the ReZolver.
Test Lead Mounting Clip
3. Open the In-Circuit Test Probe or place the Out-of-
Circuit T est Leads on the work area with the red and
A TEST LEAD MOUNTING CLIP (64G37) is supplied with
black test clips next to each other, but not touching.
the LC103. This clip is useful to hold the test leads o ut of
4. Press the LEAD ZERO "OPEN" button.
the way wh e n not in use, but keeps them r eady and within
5. The LC103 will display "Lead Zero Open In Progress"
reach at an y time. The mounting clip may be attached o n
and "Done" when finished .
th e to p of th e LC103 , o n th e sid e of th e handl e o r
wherever it is most convenient. T o mount the clip, peel off 6. Close the In-Circuit T est Probe o r connect th e red and
black test clips together.
the backing, place the clip in the desired location and press
it firmly in place. 7. Momentarily press the LEAD ZERO "SHORT" button.
8 . The LC103 will display "Lead Zero Short In Progress"
and "Done" when finished.

14
ENTERING COMPONENT D A T r i - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -

LC103 R!°?. er CAPACITOR & INDUCTOR ANALYZER

COMPONENT SETUP COMPONENT TEST RESULTS

AlUffi LYtiC 100µF 102u6µF 0.89Q

+20% -20% 50V GOOD

COMPONENT TYPE COMPONENT PARAMETERS COMPONENT TESTS

NUMERIC INPUT ENTER IN-CIRCUIT OUT-OF-CIRCUIT

CJ[][JCJGGO CAPACITOR
GOOD/BAD
CAPACITOR
VALUE
CAPACITOR
ESR

0080EJGO DIELECTRIC
ABSORPTION
CAPACITOR
LEAKAGE

OOOEJBB8
INDUCTOR
GOOD/BAD INDUCTOR INDUCTOR
VALUE RINGER

LEAD FUSE TEST LEAD LEAD ZERO

f1l WARNING: Flashing light indicates 2S-1000V
((ii;\ ©
~
-£::3- 1 A, TT
2AG, SLO BLO
0-1000 v
500 mA
88 © applied to test leads when leakage button Is pressed.

& STOP TESTING: Protection circuit or tuse is open.

Capacitor being tested may be charged. Carefully
discharge capacitor and check ruse.

RANGES: 1pFto20F, 0.1 ~1 H to 20 H Patent Nos. 4258315, 4267S03, 4795966. 4825147, 5717338, Others Pending

PULL CHART

Fig. 10: Controls used for entering component data.

To pe1-form the automatic EJA GOOD/ BAD tests with the To enter component value:
LC103, yo u must enter data abo ut the component under I. Enter a number, up to 6 characters, equal to the value
lest. (All compone nt tests can be performed without o f the capacitor o r inductor. Each character will appear
entering component data if automatic EIA GOOD / BAD in the display as a key is pushed.
test indications are not desired). The compone nt data is a. The LC103 accepts numbers up lo 6 places before
used by the LC103 to make GOOD/ BAD determinations. the decimal. (Example: "123456") .
b. The LC103 accepts numbers up to 4 places after the
The component data, wh ic h can b e entered into the decimal. (Example: " l .2345").
LC103, includes: component type, val ue, tolerance, and c. Push the "CLR" button once to clear the value entry
rated working voltage for capacitors, and component type, and start over.
value, and tolerance for inductors. These parameters are 2. Enter the desired ca pacitor value multiplier or inductor
usually marked on the component, or can be determined value multiplier.
by looking the component up in a parts list or replacemen t a. The capacitor value range is 1 pF to 20 F. The
guide. The APPLICATIONS section of th is m anua l inductor value range is 0.1 uH lo 20 H.
contains information on h ow to identify capacitor and b. The LC103 accepts non-conventional value notations,
inductor types. such as ".0000 1 F", "00002 uF", or "100000 pF"
3. After entering th e multipli er, the val ue will now be
NOTE: All component data can be dmred bJ pressing thP "CLR" shown on the COMPONENT SETUP display. The
button twire on the gray COMPONENT PARAME11~RS keypad. LC103 is now ready for the next parameter entry.
4. To change an entered value parameter, repeal steps 1 & 2.
To enter component type:
I. Press the desired COMPONENT lYPE button. Use the To enter component tolerance:
beige color coded buttons when checking capacitors I. Enter a 1, 2, or 3 d igit number up to 100 wh ich equals
and the blue buttons when checking inductors. the"+" value tolerance of the capacitor or inducto1-
2. The COMPONENT 1YPE selected will be shown on the under test. If a decimal is included, the LC103 will
COMPONENT SETUP display. round to the nearest whole number.

15
2. Press the white "+%" COMPONENT
PARAMETERS button. T h e"+" tolerance will a. Enter Component Type
now be shown on the COMPONENT SETUP SEl'JCC>FtE::.' LC103 ~ c"""'CfTOR • INDUCTOR ANALY2EJll I
display.
3. Enter a 1 or 2 digit number up to 99 which
- - I
equals to the"-" value to le ran ce of the capacitor
or inductor. Ifa decimal is included, the LC103
will round to the nearest whole number.
4. Press the white " - %" COMPONENT
PARAMETERS button. T he"-" tolerance will
now be shown on the COMPONENT SETUP
display.
NOTE: If the "+" and "-" tolerances are the same, simpl)'
enter that value and press the "+ % " bu tton followed by the
"-% " button. b. Enter Component Value OOOEJ

--
To enter leakage voltage: ~ CA.PACtTOR & INDUCTOR ANALYZER

1. Enter the desired voltage from 1 to 1000 using I ~--

~=
the gray keys on th e NUMERIC INPUT keypad.
A decimal, followed by one digit may be entered,
but is not necessary.
2. Push the white "V" key to enter the voltage. The
voltage will be shown on the COMPO NENT
SETUP display. For values greate r than 25 volts
the red WARl"\TING indicator LED will blink.
NOTE: The voltage is applied to the component Test Leads
when the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE test button is pushed.
3. To enter a different voltage, rep eat steps 1 & 2.
c. Enter Component Tolerance OOBG
~

6 WARNING INDICATION 6
CAPACITOR & INDUCTOR A.HALY2t:R

-
1 ~=:: ~.~~-
- -
-~·"~" -
The Warning Indicator LED on the LC103 front panel
alerts the user that 25-1 ,000 V will be applied
·lfao
EJEUJGGG
to the test leads when the leakage button is pressed. 8808

d. Enter Leakage Voltage 0000

SEf'..K::c:>AE:: L C103 ,,,,.,., C ....CfTOR & I NOU<:TOR ANALV'ZER

COMrQN~HTWl\lr ~nn ..........u I

~=;;;: -­
OOOG~
E:JGEJEJ 0
Gff.H.38

Fig. 11: Example of entering component data for an Aluminum

Electrolytic (a) Component Type= Aluminum Lytics {b) Valve = 100 uF
(c) Tolerance= +20%, -20% (d) Leakage Voltage 250V.

16
IN-CIRCUIT CAPACITOR T E S T I N G - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The LCl 03 d ynamically tes ts and measures capacitors NOTE: The TEST ACTIVATION button on the probe can be used
greater than 0.002 uF in-circuit for value and greater than if a capacitor COMPOJ\TENT TYPE is selected.
0.02 uF for ESR. Two ch ecks for parallel components that
may impact the accuracy of th e in-circuit tests are also Automatic EIA GOOD/ BAD Testing
performed. If parallel components are indicated the LC103
disp lays a "SUGGEST REMOVAL" message in the To perform the automatic EIA GOOD / BAD test simply
COMPONENT TEST RESULTS disp lay. Both a basic test e nter the capacito rs value, toleran ce, and voltage ra ting.
and an auLOmatic EIA GOOD / BAD test can be performed. When the LC103 returns a GOOD reading that capacitor
under test is good. If th e display shows BAD, the capacitor
When perform ing the basic test, the LC103 will give a should be replaced. If SUGGEST REMOVAL is displayed,
GOOD??/ BAD??/SUGGEST REMOVAL indication. The the capacitor should be removed from the circu it to be
question marks a re included because wi thout knowing the tested.
component type, value, tolerance, and rated voltage the
LC103 cannot determine if the measurements are within To perform the automatic EIA GOOD/ BAD in-circuit
specifications. capacitor test:
1. Connect and zero the test probe.
COMPONENT TYPE COMPONENT PARAMETERS COMPONENT TESTS 2. Enter the COMPONENT TYPE, rated VALUE,
TOLERANCE, and VOLTAGE.
3. Connect to the capacitor und er test.
4. Press and hold the TEST ACTIVATION button on the
probe or the IN-CIRCUIT CAPACITOR TEST button
Fig. 12: Controls used for in-circuit capacitor test. on the front panel. When using the TEST
ACTfVATION button on the probe, wait for the short
beep to sound, release the button, and read the display.
5. Read the VALUE and ESR (if the value is greater than
0.02 uF) measu reme n ts on the MEASUREMENT display
Always remove AC power from the circuit when along with the GOOD/ BAD indication.
performing any of the LC103's In-Circuit test functions.
Failure to do so may result in a shock hazard and SUGGEST REMOVAL Indication
damage to the test instrument.
The LC103 may display SUGGEST REMOVAL along with
the value and ESR readings. This indicates that the parallel
component tests h ave determined that th e r e is a
Toujours retirer la prise secteur lorsque vous faites des component that h as a lter ed the capacito1- meas urements.
tests dans le circuit. Si cela n'est pas realise, l'utilisateur Remove the capacitor LO test it more accurately.
peut recevoir des chocs electriques et l'equipement peut
etre endommage.
r ~
IMPORTANT
Value And ESR Testing Do not hold in the CAPACITOR GOOD/BAD
button or Adjustable In-Circuit Test Probe
To perform the basic in-circuit capacitor test: switch while connecting to an In-Ci rcuit
1. Remove power from the circuit. capacitor. The LC103 circuitry may be damaged
2. Connect the in-circuit test probe to the LC103. because capacitor discharge protection is lost.
3. Zero tl1e test probe. ' ~

4 . Acijust the probe width to the lead width of the

capacitor under test.
5. Touch the probe tips Lo the capacitor leads.
6. Press and hold the IN-CIRCUIT CAPACITOR TEST
button and read the value, ESR, (if the value is g reater
than 0.02 uF) and component evaluation results in the
COMPONENT TEST RESULTS display.

17
OUT-OF-CIRCUIT CAPACITOR T E S T I N G - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
COMPONENT TYPE COMPONENT PARAMETERS COMPONENT TESTS
NUMERIC INPUT ENTER OUT-OF-CIRCUIT

ALUMINUM
LYTICS
DOUBLE
LAYER
LYTICS
HIGHR
DOUBLE
LAYER [][J[J0008 CAPACITOR
VALUE
CAPACITOR
ESR

TANTALUM
CAPS
CERAMIC
CAPS
ALL
OTHER
CAPS [J[J[][JEJG8 DIELECTRIC
ABSORPTION
CAPACITOR
LEAKAGE

Fig. 13: Controls used for out-of-circuit capacitor tests.

T h e LC103 ReZolver checks cap acitors out-of-circuit for For automatic GOO D/ BAD testing, yo u first e nter the
value from 1.0 pF to 20 Fin 12 automatically selected parameters of the capacitor b efore performing the test.
ranges. T h e a utomatic features of the LC 103 ReZolver Then the LC103 will display the test results along with a
allow yo u to perform two levels of automated capacitor GOOD/ BAD indication of the capacitor. O nly selected
testing: basic parameter testing, a nd auto m a tic GOOD / parame te rs need to be entered into the LC103, depending
BAD tes ti n g. For basic parameter testin g, you simply upon whi ch tests you desire a GOOD/ BAD readout for.
connect the comp onent to the test leads and push the test
button. The LC103 measures the capacitor and displays the
test result. You must look up the values of leakage, ESR and
dielectric abso r pti on in a table to determine if the
capacitor is good or bad.

OUT-OF-CIRCUIT CAPACITOR PARAMETER T E S T I N G - - - - - - - - - -

The LC103 checks ca p acitors out-of-circui t for value , Measuring Capacitor Value
l eakage, d ielec tri c a bsorptio n a n d e qu ivale nt series
resistance (ESR). Th ese tests are made directly using the To measure capacitor value:
fo ur beige col ored OUT-OF-CIRCUIT TEST buttons . I. Connect the Out-of-Circuit test lead s.
Simply connect th e component to the Out-Of-C ircuit Test 2. Zero the test leads.
Leads, push the desired CAPACITOR TEST button, a nd 3. Co nn ect the capacitor to the test leads. If the capacitor
read the test result in the display. You can determine if the is pola1ized, be sure to connect the black test clip to the
component is good or bad by compa rin g the measured "-" terminal of th e cap acitor and the red test clip to the
ESR an d leakage values to the standa rd values listed in the "+" capacitor terminal.
tables in this manual and in the PU LL CHART located 4. Press the CAPACITOR VALUE button .
convenie ntly in the LC103. 5. Read the value of the capacitor in th e COMPONENT
TEST RESU LTS display.
NOTE: Except for the capacitor leakage test, no component
j1arameters need to be entered to perform any out-of-circuit NOTE: The "SHORT" message appearing in the display when the
capacitor parameter test. If any blue Inductor Component Tyj1e CAPACITOR VALUE button is depressed indicates a resistance of
button is se/,ected, "Component Type Se/,ection Error" will appear in I ohm or /,ess at the test /,eads. Check the test /,eads. If they are not
the disf1lay when you atiempt to make a capacitor test. Push the shorted, the capacitor is bad.
"CLR" key on the gray NUMERIC keypad twice to clear any
parameters. Measuring Capacitor ESR

Component Test Results Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) occurs when a capacitor
d evelops a bnormally high internal resista n ce. The LC103
The following pro ced u res provide a ll the ne cessary tests capacitors for abnormal a m ounts of in tern al resistance
in fo rma t i on required to perform th e out-of-circu it using a p atented ESR test.
capacitor parameter tests. A more d etailed description of
each of the capacitor tests a nd failure modes can b e found T o test a capacitor for excessive ESR, simply press the
in the APPLICATIONS section of this m a nual.

18
C'.APACITOR ESR buuon and compare the measured ESR Measuring Capacitor Die lectric Absorption
LO the maximum al lowable ESR liste d in Table 1 for
aluminum electrolyti c capacitors, and Table 2 for tantalum Dielectric Absorption is ofte n called "battery action" or
capac itors. Th ese values a r e wors t-case co nditions as "capacitor m emory" and is the in ability of the capacitor to
defined by the EIA. Som e circuits m ay malfunction due to a com pletely di scharge. W hi le a ll ca pacito rs h ave some
capacitor's increasing ESR even if it falls within these li mits. minute amounts of d ie lectric absorption, e lcctrolytics may
If the ca pacitor is questionable , com pare it to a known- often develop excessive amoun ts which affect the operation
good capacitor of the same typ e, value, and voltage rating. of the circuit they a rc used in.

To measure capacitor ESR: To ch eck a capaci tor for die lectric ab orption , press the
1. Connect the out-of-circuit test leads. DIELECTRIC ABSORPTION button a nd co mpare th e
2. Zero the test leads. value to the chart. A full y a utomatic EIA GOOD/ BAD test
3. Connect the capac itor to the test leads. If the capacito r may a lso be used to test for dielectric absorption when
is polarized, be sure LO con nect the black Lest clip to the COMPO ENT TYPE a nd COMPONE t T PARAMETERS
"-" terminal of the capacitor and the red test clip to the arc entered.
"+"capacitor te rmina l.
4. Press the CAPACITOR ESR button and read the To measure capacitor dielectric absorption:
amount of ESR in oh ms on the COMPO E T TEST 1. Connect the out-of-circuit test leads.
RESULTS display. 2. Connect the capacitor to the test leads. If the capacitor
5. Compare the measured ESR to the value listed in the is polarized , connect the 1·ed test clip to the"+"
foll owing ESR tables for the capacitor type, value, and capacitor terminal and the black test clip to the"-"
vo ltage rating of th e ca pacitor yo u are testing. term inal.
3. Press and hold the DIELECTRIC ABSORPTION button.
NOTE: By enteri ng the comfJonenl l)1pe, working voltage, and An arrow(->) will appear a nd slowly move through the
value /1ammetn:s for the capacit01~ the LCJ 03 will automatirnll)' display indicating that the test is in progress.
d is/JlaJ the measured ESR along with the same GOOD/ BA.D 4. Read the pe rce ntage of dielectric absorption on the
indication as the ESR tables. COMPONENT TEST RESULTS display.

Standard Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors

Capacity 1.5V 3.0V 6.0V 10V 15V 20V 25V 35V 50V 100V 200V 300V 400V 600V hooov
In uF 500V
<1.0 1411 1411 1411 1411 988 988 988 705 705 564 564 564 564 564 564 564
1.0 663 663 663 663 464 464 464 464 332 332 265 265 265 265 265 265
1.5 442 442 442 442 310 310 310 221 221 177 177 177 177 177 177 177
2.2 302 302 302 302 211 211 211 151 151 121 121 121 121 121 121 121
3.3 201 201 201 201 141 141 141 101 101 80 80 80 80 80 80 80
4.7 141 141 141 141 99 99 99 71 71 56 56 56 56 56 56 56
6.8 98 98 98 98 68 68 68 49 49 39 39 39 39 39 39 39
10 66 66 66 66 46 46 46 33 33 27 27 27 27 27 27 27
15 44 44 44 44 31 31 31 22 22 18 18 18 18 18 18 18
22 30 30 30 30 21 21 21 15 15 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
33 20 20 20 20 14 14 14 10 10 8.04 8 .04 8.04 8.04 8 .04 8.04 8.04
47 14 14 14 14 9.88 9.88 9.88 7.06 7.06 5.65 5.65 5.65 5.65 5.65 5.65 5.65
68 9.76 9.76 9.76 9.76 6.83 6.83 6.83 4.88 4.88 3.90 3.90 3.90 3.90 3.90 3.90 3.90
100 6.63 6.63 6.63 6.63 4.64 4.64 4.64 3.32 3.32 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.65
150 4.42 4.42 4.42 4.42 3.10 3.10 3.10 2.21 2.2 1 1.77 1.77 1.77 1.77 1.77 1.77 1.77
220 3.02 3.02 3.02 3.02 2. 11 2. 11 2.11 1.51 1.51 1.21 1.21 1.21 1.21 1.21 1.21 1.21
330 2.01 2.01 2.01 2.01 1.41 1.41 1.41 1.01 1.01 .804 .804 .804 .804 .804 .804 .804
470 1.41 1.41 1.41 1.41 .988 .988 .988 .706 .706 .565 .565 .565 .565 .565 .565 .565
680 .976 .976 .976 .976 .683 .683 .683 .488 .488 .390 .390 .390 .390 .390 .390 .390
1000 .663 .663 .663 .663 .464 .464 .464 .332 .332 .265 .265 .265 .265 .265 .265 .265
1500 .442 .442 .442 .442 .310 .310 .310 .221 .221 .177 .177 .177 .177 .177 .177 .177
2200 .302 .302 .302 .302 .211 .211 .211 .151 .151 .121 .121 .121 .121 .121 .121 .121
3300 .201 .201 .201 .201 .141 .141 .141 .101 .101 .080 .080 .080 .080 .080 .080 .080
4700 .141 .141 .141 .141 .099 .099 .099 .071 .071 .056 .056 .056 .056 .056 .056 .056
6800 .098 .098 .098 .098 .068 .068 .068 .049 .049 .039 .039 .039 .039 .039 .039 .039
10000 .066 .066 .066 .066 .046 .046 .046 .033 .033 .027 .027 .027 .027 .027 .027 .027
15000 .044 .044 .044 .044 .031 .031 .031 .022 .022 .018 .018 .018 .018 .018 .018 .018
22000 .030 .030 .030 .030 .021 .021 .021 .015 .Q15 .012 .012 .01 2 .012 .012 .012 .012
33000 .020 .020 .020 .020 .014 .014 .014 .Q10 .010
47000 .014 .014 .014 .014 .Q10 ,010 .010
56000 .012 .012 .012 .012
68000 .Q10 .010 .010 ,010

Table 1 · Maximum allowable ESR for aluminum electrolytics per EIA standards.

19
 Dipped Solid Tantalum Capacitors
Capacity 1.5V 3 .0V 6.0V 10V 15V 20V 25V 35V 50V 100V 200V 300V 400V 500V 600V 1000V
In uF
<1.0 282 282 282 169.3 169.3 169.3 169.3 141 .1 141 .1 141.1 141.1 141 .1 141.1 141.1 141.1 141.1
1.0 133 133 133 79.6 79.6 79.6 79.6 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3 66.3
1.5 88.4 88.4 88.4 53.1 53.1 53.1 53.1 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2 44.2
2.2 60.3 60.3 60.3 36.2 36.2 36.2 36.2 30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1 30.1
3.3 40.2 40.2 40.2 24.1 24.1 24.1 24.1 20.1 20.1 20.1 20.1 20.1 20.1 20.1 20.1 20.1
4.7 28.2 28.2 28.2 16.9 16.9 16.9 16.9 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1 14.1
6.8 19.5 19.5 19.5 11.7 11 .7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11.7 11 .7 11.7 11.7
10 13.3 13.3 13.3 7 .96 7.96 7.96 7.96 7 .96 7.96 7.96 7.96 7.96 7.96 7.96 7 .96 7.96
15 8 .84 8.84 8.84 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31 5.31
22 6.03 6.03 6.03 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62 3.62
33 4.02 4.02 4.02 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41 2.41
47 2 .82 2.82 2.82 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69 1.69
68 1.95 1.95 1.95 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.1 7 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17 1.17
100 1.33 1.33 1.33 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80 0.80
150 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.88 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53
220 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.36
330 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.24 0 .24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0 .24 0.24 0.24 0.24
470 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17
680 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12
1000 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0 .13 0.13 0.13 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0 .08 0.08
1500 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
2200 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04
3300 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0 .02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02
4700 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0 .02 0.02 0.02
6800 0.02 0.02 0.02 0 .02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 O.Q1 O.Q1 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01

Table 2 - Maximum allowable ESR tor tantalum electrolyfics per EIA standards.

Compare the measured D/ A to the amount listed in Table Measuring Capacitor Leakage
3 for the capacitor type you are testing to determ ine if the
capacitor is good or bad. Capacitor leakage occurs when currenl fl ows (leaks) from
one plale through the dielectric to the olher p late. The
NOTE: JHeasurement time varies with the capacitor's value, type, amount of leakage currenl through the dielecuic depends
and actual D/ A. Most DIA measurements take onl)' a few seconds on the voltage applied across the plates. You should always
but on occasion the reading may take up lo 10 seconds. check a capacitor for leakage at (or as close as possible to)
its rated voltage. Voltages up to 1000 volts may by applied
with the LC103.
Maximum Allowable Percent Of D/A
Although the EIA specifies th e amount of leakage in uA, at
times it is useful to know th e amount of capacitor leakage
Capacitor type Maximum% of D/A
in lerms of resislance. For example, it is oflen easier to
visualize what effect a 1 Megohm res istor will have on a
Double Layer Lytic Meaningless. D/A may
high impedance circuit than it is to translate the effect of a
normally be very high
capacitor having 1 microamp of leakage. Yet, as far as the
circ uit is concerned, the DC loadi n g is th e same. The
Aluminum Lytic 15%
LC103 uses a regu lated DC power supply to provide
vol tages for checking capacitor leakage . Because a DC
Tantalum Lytic 15%
voltage is used, the leakage currents can easily be converted
to a resistance. The ReZolver simultaneously displays the
Ceramic 10% leakage in both uA a nd Ohms.

All others 1% To check capacitors for leakage, enter the working voltage
of the capacitor and press the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE
Table 3 - Maximum amounts of Dielectric Absorption. button. Compare th e m easured leakage curre nt to the

20
maximum allowable amounts in the leakage ch arts. The a cross th e test lead s. Th e refo r e , whe n you re lease the
ca pac ito r is goo d if the m easured leakage is be low th e CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button after checking a la rge value
amount shown in the chart. A full y a utomatic GOOD/ BAD capac itor, or afte r appl ying a high leakage vo ltage, th e
test may also be used to check capacitors for leakage . display may show "DISCHARGING CAPACITOR" and the
STOP TESTING a la rm may activate until the volta ge is
To measure capacitor leakage: go ne from the test leads. All data input and test buttons will
1. Connect the capacito r to th e test leads. If the capacitor be locked o ut until th e d isplay returns to "Ready."
is po larized , co nnect th e red tes t clip to the"+"
capacitor terminal and the black test clip to the "-" Leakage In Paper, Mica and Film Capacitors
te rminal.
2. Ente r the rated wo rking vo ltage o f the capacitor. Pap e r, mica and film capacitors should have extremely sm all
amoun ts of leakage. Measuring any leakage whe n checking
th ese types o f capacitors indicates a bad componen t. The
leakage test takes seve ra l seconds to charge th e capacito r
The LC103 is designed to be operated by a technically befo re an accurate leakage reading is displayed.
trained p erson who understands the shock hazard
of up to 1000 volts applied to the test leads during Leakage In Ceramic Capacitors
the capacitor leakage test. DO NOT hold the capacitor
in your hand, or touch the test leads or capacitor Lea kage in ce r a mi c cap ac i to r s is ge n e r a ll y ve ry lo w.
leads when making the leakage test. Ceramic disc capacito rs, h owever, may have small amo unts
of no rm al leakage . Cerami c disc capacitors with vo ltage
ra lin gs ab ove 5 0 WVD C should have less th a n 1 uA of
leakage . So me di scs with work ing voltages less than 5 0
WVD C m ay have a lo we r in s ulation res is ta n ce, a nd
Le LC103 est fait pour etre utilise par une personne qui the refo re may sh ow som ewh at m o r e leakage, d e pe nding
est techniquement capable e t qui comprend les chocs que upo n manufac turer. In ge ne ral, a 10 WVDC ceramic disc
peut produire l'equipe m e nt (jusqu'a 1000 V) lorsque le capacitor may show as much as 16 uA of leakage, and 25
test d e fuite est utilise. NE PAS tenir la capacite dans la WVDC ceramic disc m ay read up to 2.5 uA of leakage and
main ou toucher la sonde ou la patte de la capacite still be con sidered good.
pendant le test d e fuite.
Leakage In Aluminum Electrolytics

3. Press th e CAPACITOR LEAKAGE bu tto n and read the Beca u se of t h e ir large r va lu e a nd h ig h e r lea kage
amou nt of leakage curre n t o r d ielecu-ic resistance in the c harac te ri sti cs, a luminum e lec trol ytics ta ke longe r to
CO MPO NENT T EST RESULTS d isplay. charge. v\lh en the capacitor r eaches full charge Lhe LC103
4. Com pare the measured leakage to the m aximum displ ays a curren t and r esistan ce readin g. The lea kage
allowable amo unt listed in th e Leakage Charts o n pages curre nt p rogressively decr eases as th e di electric r eforms.
22 and 23 fo r the type, value, a nd voltage ra ting of the IniLial reading pro pe rly indicates leakage curre nt. Co mpare
capacito r you are testing. readings to the maximum amount shown in leakage ch ar t.

NOTE: By entering the Component Ty/Je and Value /Jaramelers for Leakage In Tantalum Electrolytics
the caparitor, the L CJ 03 will automatically disjJlay the measured
leakage along with the same G OOD/ BAD indication as the Tantalum electrolytic ca pacitors h ave much lower leakage
L r>ctkage Charts. tha n aluminu m elec trolytics of Lhe same size a nd voltage
rating. The refore, tantalum lytics will give a leakage reading
Voltage wi ll be a pplied to th e capaci tor as lon g as the in a much sho rter time tha n a n alumi nu m lyti c - typically
CAPACITOR LEAKAGE butto n is p ressed. The lea kage wi thin 2 to 5 seconds. Compare th e m easured leakage with
readi ngs will decrease as th e ca pacitor nears full charge. the am o unts shown in th e leakage charts to determine if
Some capacitors ta ke only a few seconds to charge up to the capacito r is go od o r bad.
the app lied voltage, while o the rs take lo nge r. The display
shows a ba r g ra ph estima ting the ch arge on the cap acito r. Leakage In Non-Polarized (Bi-Polar) Electrolytics
Conti n ue to depress th e CAPACITOR LEAKAGE butto n
until th e bar graph shows a full charge. Read th e leakage Electrolytic ca pac itors which are non-po lari zed sho u ld be
reading and co m pare it to the m aximum allowable amo unt checked fo r leakage in both directions. T his requires that
listed in the Leakage Chart. you m easu re leakage twice, reve rsing th e LC103 test lead
connectio ns for the second test. The maximum allowable
v\The n the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button is released , the leakage fo r a non-po larized electrolytic in eithe r directio n
LC103 discharges the capacitor throug h a n active load. T he is twice th at of a simila r polarized e lectrolytic of similar
LC 103 contains safe ty c irc uits whi ch sen se th e voltage capacita nce value and vo ltage ra tin g.

21
 Aluminum Electrolytics

Capacit~ 1.5V 3.0V 6.0V 10V 15V 20V 25V 35V 50V 100V 200V 300V 400V 500V 600V 1000V
<1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 3.5 4.9 6.1 7.0 7.8 8.6 11
1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 3.5 4.9 6.1 7.0 7.8 8.6 11
1.5 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.0 2.0 4.3 6.1 7.4 8.6 9.6 11 14
2.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.8 1.2 2.0 5.2 7.3 9.0 10 12 13 16
3.3 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.2 2.0 3.0 6.4 9.0 11 13 14 16 20
4.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.6 2.5 3.5 7.6 11 13 15 17 19 24
6.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.0 6.5 9.1 13 16 18 20 22 29
10 1.6 1.6 1.6 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0 7.8 11 16 19 22 25 27 35
15 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.5 3.0 4.0 7.0 5.0 9.6 14 19 23 27 30 33 43
22 2.8 2.8 2.8 3.0 5.0 9.5 10 10 12 16 23 28 33 37 40 52
33 3.4 3.4 3.4 5.0 7.5 15 10 11 14 20 28 35 40 45 49 64
47 4.0 4.0 4.0 10 10 15 15 16 17 24 34 42 48 54 59 76
68 5.0 5.0 5.0 15 15 20 15 17 20 29 41 50 58 65 71 91
100 10 10 10 15 20 20 17 21 25 35 49 61 70 78 86 111
150 15 15 15 20 20 19 21 25 30 43 61 74 86 96 105 136
220 20 20 20 20 20 23 26 31 37 52 73 90 104 116 127 164
330 20 20 20 20 25 28 32 38 45 64 90 110 127 142 156 201
470 24 24 24 24 29 34 38 45 54 76 107 131 152 170 186 240
680 29 29 29 29 35 41 46 54 65 91 129 158 183 204 224 289
1000 35 35 35 35 43 49 55 65 78 111 157 192 221 247 271 350
1500 43 43 43 43 53 61 68 80 96 136 192 235 271 303 332 429
2200 52 52 52 52 64 73 82 97 116 164 232 284 328 367 402 519
3300 64 64 64 64 78 90 101 119 142 201 284 348 402 450 492 636
4700 76 76 76 76 93 107 120 142 170 240 339 416 480 537 588 759
6800 91 91 91 91 112 129 144 171 204 289 408 500 577 645 707 913
10000 111 111 111 111 136 157 175 207 247 350 495 606 700 783 857 1107
15000 136 136 136 136 166 192 214 254 303 429 606 742 857 959 1050 1356
22000 164 164 164 164 201 232 260 307 367 519 734 899 1038 1161 1272 1642
33000 201 201 201 201 246 284 318 376 450 636 899 1101 1272 1422 1557 2011
47000 240 240 240 240 294 339 379 449 537 759 1073 1314 1518 1697 1859 2399
68000 289 289 289 289 353 408 456 540 645 913 1291 1581 1825 2041 2236 2886
100000 350 350 350 350 429 495 553 655 783 1107 1565 1917 2214 2475 2711 3500
150000 429 429 429 429 535 606 678 802 959 1356 1917 2348 2711 3031 3320 4287
200000 495 495 495 495 606 734 783 971 1100 1570 2210 2710 3130 3500 3830 5191

Table 4 - Maximum allowable leakage for aluminum electrolytics per EIA standards.

Leakage charts Electronic Industries Association (EIA) standard RS-395. The

values are determined by the formulas: L = 0.05 x CV (for CV
The fo llowing leakage charts list the maximum amount of products less than 1000) or L = 6 x square root of CV (for CV
al lowable le akag e for the most common aluminum products greater than 1000. (The CV product is equal to the
e lectrolytics and dipped solid tantalum capacitors. These capacitance value multiplied by the voltage rating).
charts a re duplicated on th e PULL CHART below th e T he tantalum capacitor leakage values listed in Table 5 are
LC103. Good capacitors (as far as leakage is concerned) will fo r the most common type of tantalu m capacitors - dipped
measure lower than the amou nts shown in the Leakage solid, type 3.3. These values are specified by EIA standard
Charts. v\Then m easuring leakage, you do not need to wait RS-228B, following the formula: L = 0.35 x square root of
for the readings to drop to zero or to its lowest point The CV. In a few app lications outside of consumer service,
capacitor is good for any leakage reading which is lower than tantalum capac itors other than type 3.3 may be
the amount shown in the chart. encountered. Refer to the manufacturers specifications for
the m aximum allowable leakage for th ese special capacitor
Leakage values shown in Table 4 for alumin um electrolytic types.
capacitors are the worst-case conditions, as specified by the

22
 Dipped Solid Tantalum Capacitors

::;apacity 1.5V 3.0V 6.0V 10V 15V 20V 25V 35V 50V 100V 200V 300V 400V soov 600V 1000V
<1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 3.5 4.9 6.1 7.0 7.8 8.6 11
1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 3.5 4.9 6.1 7.0 7.8 8.6 11
1.5 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.4 1.0 2.0 4.3 6.1 7.4 8.6 9.6 11 14
2.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.8 1.2 2.0 5.2 7.3 9.0 10 12 13 16
3.3 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.2 2.0 3.0 6.4 9.0 11 13 14 16 20
4.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.6 2.5 3.5 7.6 11 13 15 17 19 24
6.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.0 6.5 9.1 13 16 18 20 22 29
10 1.6 1.6 1.6 2.0 2.5 3.0 4.0 5.0 7.8 11 16 19 22 25 27 35
15 2.2 2.2 2.2 2.5 3.0 4.0 7.0 5.0 9.6 14 19 23 27 30 33 43
22 2.8 2.8 2.8 3.0 5.0 9.5 10 10 12 16 23 28 33 37 40 52
33 3.4 3.4 3.4 5.0 7.5 15 10 11 14 20 28 35 40 45 49 64
47 4.0 4.0 4.0 10 10 15 15 16 17 24 34 42 48 54 59 76
68 5.0 5.0 5.0 15 15 20 15 17 20 29 41 50 58 65 71 91
100 10 10 10 15 20 20 17 21 25 35 49 61 70 78 86 111
150 15 15 15 20 20 19 21 25 30 43 61 74 86 96 105 136
220 20 20 20 20 20 23 26 31 37 52 73 90 104 116 127 164
330 20 20 20 20 25 28 32 38 45 64 90 110 127 142 156 201
470 24 24 24 24 29 34 38 45 54 76 107 131 152 170 186 240
680 29 29 29 29 35 41 46 54 65 91 129 158 183 204 224 289
1000 35 35 35 35 43 49 55 65 78 111 157 192 221 247 271 350
1500 43 43 43 43 53 61 68 80 96 136 192 235 271 303 332 429
2200 52 52 52 52 64 73 82 97 116 164 232 284 328 367 402 519
3300 64 64 64 64 78 90 101 119 142 201 284 348 402 450 492 636
4700 76 76 76 76 93 107 120 142 170 240 339 416 480 537 588 759
6800 91 91 91 91 112 129 144 171 204 289 408 500 577 645 707 913
10000 111 111 111 111 136 157 175 207 247 350 495 606 700 783 857 1107
15000 136 136 136 136 166 192 214 254 303 429 606 742 857 959 1050 1356
22000 164 164 164 164 201 232 260 307 367 519 734 899 1038 1161 1272 1642
33000 201 201 201 201 246 284 318 376 450 636 899 1101 1272 1422 1557 2011
47000 240 240 240 240 294 339 379 449 537 759 1073 1314 1518 1697 1859 2399
68000 289 289 289 289 353 408 456 540 645 913 1291 1581 1825 2041 2236 2886
100000 350 350 350 350 429 495 553 655 783 1107 1565 1917 2214 2475 2711 3500
150000 429 429 429 429 535 606 678 802 959 1356 1917 2348 2711 3031 3320 4287
200000 495 495 495 495 606 734 783 971 1100 1570 2210 2710 3130 3500 3830 5191

Table 5 - Maximum allowable leakage tor solid tantalum electrolytics per EIA standards.

23
AUTOMATIC GOOD/BAD CAPACITOR T E S T I N G - - - - - - - - - - - -

CAPACITOR TYPE TESTS TO PERFORM

Value Leakage D/A ESR

Aluminum Lytic x x x x
Double Layer Lytic x
-

Tantalum
-
x x x x
Ceramic x x x
All other caps
(paper, film, mylar, etc.) x x x

Table 6 - The LC103 will provide an automatic GOOD/BAD test of the capacitor parameters shown here.

T h e LC103 Re Zo lver can a utom atica ll y display a according to value, you m ust also enter the desired "+%"
"GOOD / BAD" indication for capaci tor parameter tests. and "-%" value tolerances. The value tolerances, however,
Th e au tomatic tests are much faster than manual do not need to be entered for autom atic GOOD/ BAD tests
parameter tests, since you do not have to look up the result of leakage, ESR, or dielectric absorption.
in a ch art, o r interpola te between listed values. T h e LC103
compares the measured values of die lectric absorption , To perform an out-of-circuit, automatic GOOD / BAD
leakage, and ES R to ta bl es and formulas stored in its capacitor test:
microprocessor m emory. The tables an d formulas in the 1. Connect the out-of-circuit test leads.
ReZolver memory are the same as those in figures 1 and 2, 2. Zero the test leads.
and are based on EIA standards and m an ufacturers data. 3. Connect the capacitor to the test leads.
Not every parameter for some capacitor types are specified 4. Enter the compo nent type, value, tolerance, and voltage
by EIA standards or manufacturer's data. The LC103 will rating of the capacitor to be tested.
n ot produce a "GOOD / BAD" d isp lay for capacitor 5. Press and hold the d esired capacitor OUT-OF-CIRCUIT
parameters not covered by industry accepted standards. TEST button.
The capacitor types and param e ters which will produce a 6. Read the test result in the COMPONENT TEST
"GOOD/ BAD" indication are listed in Table 7. RESULTS display along with the GOOD/ BAD indication.
7. The display must show a "GOOD" reading for all of the
T h ese values are worst-case conditions as defined by t he tests listed in table 6 under the type of capacitor being
EIA. Some circuits may malfunction due to a capacitor's tested.
increasing ESR even if it falls within these limits. If the
capacitor is questionable, compare it to a known-good NOTE: The values listed in the tables and LCI 03 memory for
capacitor of the sam e type, value, a nd voltage rating. GOOD/BAD indicating are values as defined by the EIA. Some
circuits may malfunction with degraded value, leakage, c""'SR or
To perfo r m an a utomatic GOO D / BAD test, enter the dielectric absorption valves that are within the EIA established
capacitor type, capacitance value , and voltage rating of the limits. If a capacitor is questionable, compare it lo a !mown good
capacitor to b e tested. The LC I 03 dete rmi nes th e capacitor at the same type, value, and voltage rating.
GOOD / BAD limi ts. If you desire to grade capacitors

Cap Cap Cap

TEST Type Value +% -% Voltage

Cap.Value x x x
Cap. Leakage x x x
Cap. ESR x x x
Cap. DIA x x x

Table 7 - These parameters must be entered into the Relolver for complete GOOD/BAD test of a capacitor.
24
IN-CIRCUIT INDUCTOR TESTING·- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The LC103 provides an in-circuit inductor value test for To value test an indu ctor in-circuit:
inductor values from 3.18 ul-1 to 3.18 H. When th is test is I. Con nect the in-circuit test probe.
performed, the LC103 also checks for parallel components 2. Zero the test probe.
that may upset the measurement. If there are no parallel 3. Adjust the width of the probe tips to th e inductor unde r
components that will upset the measurement, the ReZolver test.
wi ll return an inductance value reading. If the LC103 4. Touch the tips of the probe to the leads of the inductor.
determines that parallel components will alter the reading 5. Press and ho ld the IN-CIRCUIT INDUCTOR TEST
it will display SUGGEST REMOVAL a long with the button and read the results in the COMPONENT TEST
measured value. RESULTS d isplay.
COMPONENT TYPE COMPONENT PARAMETERS COMPONENT TESTS
The LC103 can also perform an automatic GOOD/BAD in-
0008 ci rcu i t inductor value test. By selecting an indu cto r
880888 COMPONENT 1YPE and entering the value and tolerance
the RcZolver will return a GOOD or BAD m essage along
EJ§J~8808BEJ8 with the value measurement.

Fig. 14 : Controls used for in-circuit inductor testing. To perform the automatic GOOD/BAD in-circuit inductor
value test:
1. Connect the in-circuit test probe.
--------WARNING - - - - - - - - 2. Zero the test probe.
3. Select an inductor component type.
Always remove AC power from the circuit when 4. Enter the rated value and tolerance of the inductor.
performing any of the LC103's In-Circuit test 5. Connect to th e inductor under test.
functions. Failure to do so may result in a shock 6. Press and hold the TEST ACTIVATION button on the
hazard and damage to the test instrument. probe or the IN-CIRCUIT INDUCTOR TEST button on
the front panel.
A'ITENTION - - - - - - -

Toujours retirer la prise secteur lorsque vous faites des

tests dans le circuit. Si cela n'est pas realise, l'utilisateur
peut recevoir des chocs electriques et l'equipement peut
etre endommage.

OUT-OF-CIRCUIT INDUCTOR T E S T I N G - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

COMPONENT TYPE COMPONENT PARAMETERS COMPONENT TESTS

Measuring Inductor Value
"""""" ..__,,
0080 Inductors are tes Led out-of-circuit for value with the LC103
8808 by sim ply connecting the inductor to Lhe test leads and
pushing Lhe INDUCTOR VALUE button. No component
EJ§l~8808BB8 type switches need to be selected to measure inductance
value. Make sure none of the beige capacitor type buttons
Fig. 15: Controls used for out-of-circuit inductor testing. are selected, or the LC103 will display "Component Type
Selection Error" when the inductor test button is pressed.
The LCJ 03 ReZolver measures the true inductance of coils To measure inductance value out-of-circuit:
using a fast, re liable patented test. Coils from 0.1 uH to 1. Connect the out-of-circuit test leads.
19.99 H a r e a utomatica ll y measured for va lu e by
2. Zero the test leads.
connecting the test leads and pressing the test button. A
3. Connect the inductor to the test leads.
patented Ringer test dynamically checks the "Q" of the coil
4. Push the INDUCTOR VALUE button.
an d provides a proven GOOD/ BAD check.
5. Read the inductance value on the COMPONENT TEST
RESULTS display.

25
NOTE: The L Cl 03 's display will read "OPA'N" if the component 1YPE switch is selected. Simply select the component type
connected to the test /,eads has more than 8 lwhms ofresistance when and press th e INDUCTOR RINGER test button to obtain
the INDUCTOR VALUE button is pressed. Check the connections to the GOOD/ BAD indication. Refer to the APPLICATIONS
the inductm·. If you are testing a multi-tap coil or transformer, be sectio n of this manual for more details on inductor types.
sure you are connected to the proper tajJs. If the connections are The Ringer test can be performed wi th the coil in-circuit
good, the inductm· has an open winding and is bad. without risk of damage. However, good inductors may not
normally produce more than 10 rings when connected in-
Automatic GOOD / BAD Inductor Value Testing circuit un less the paralle l impedance is quite hi gh. If an
inductor d oes ring good in-circui t, it do es not h ave a
The LC103 wi ll automatically compare the measured value shorted turn and can be considered good.
of an inductor to its m arked value and display a good COMPONENT TYPE
or bad result, based on the component being in or out
of tolerance. In o rder for the ReZolver to com pare the
marked value to the measured value you must program
the inductance value and tole r ance into the LC103
u sing th e NUMERIC keypad. Then when you push th e
INDUCTOR VALUE button, the measured inductance
va lu e will be displayed a long with a GOOD/BAD
EJ ~s
~~
reading based on the programmed tolerance. Fig. 16: The inductor COMPONENT TYPE switches match the Ringer
test circuits to the inductor impedance.
To perform the GOOD/ BAD inductance value test:
1. Zero the test leads.
2. Connect the inductor to the test leads. To perform the Ringer test:
3. Enter the marked value, along with the "+" and "-" 1. Connect the inductor to the LC103 test leads.
tolerance of the inductor to be tested. 2. Select the proper inductor COMPONENT 1YPE switch.
4. Press and hold the INDUCTOR VALUE button . 3. Press and hold the INDUCTOR RINGER button.
5. If the measured inductance value is within the 4. Read the number of rings and the condition of th e coil
programmed value tolerance the display will show as "GOOD" or "BAD" in the LC103 display.
"GOOD" along with the measured value.
6. If the measu red inductance value is outside the
programmed value tolerance, the display will show Special Notes On Using The Ringing Test:
"BAD" along with the measured value. I. Do not ring coils and transformers having laminated iron
cores, such as power transformers, filter chokes and audio
The Inductor Ringer Test output transformers. The iron core will absorb the ringing
energy and produce unreliabl.e test results.
A shorted turn in many coils will go unnoticed with a value 2. Good coils below I 0 uH may not read "GOOD" because the
test, sin ce the shorted turn changes the inductance value small inductance value may not allow the coil to ring. Compare
only a small a mount. The patented Ringer test, however, the number of rings to a known good coil. The patented Sencore
provides a fast and acc urate GOOD / BAD ind ication of Ringing test is based on the Q of the coil. Howeve1~ the readings
non-iron core coils larger than 10 uH by checking their on the Re'Zolver may not agree with the Q readings obtained
quali ty or "Q" factor. The Ringer test is sensitive enough to using a "Q Meter" or bridge. This is because the Ringing test
detect even a single shorted turn on a coil. The ReZolver has been simplified to provide a simp/,e GOOD/BAD test, rather
measures Q by applying a pulse to the coil and counting than a frequency dependent reactance/resistance ratio.
the number of r inging cycles u ntil the ringing dampens to
a p reset level. A good coil will indicate "GOOD", and 10 or
more rings wi ll be shown in the LC103 display. A shorted
turn will lower the Q of the coil, causing the LC103 display
to read "BAD" and show less than ten rings.

In add iti on to a i r core co ils and RF c h okes, vert ical

deflection yokes, hor izontal fl yback tra n sformer s and
switching power sup ply transformers ar e reliably checked
with the Ringer test. The LCl 03 automatically m atches the
coil impedance to the necessary testing parameters for the
inductor type wh e n the proper Inductor COMPO NENT

26
Several error conditions may occur while using the LC103 Value Beyond Zeroing Limit- The amoum of inductance or
wh ic h cause an e rror message to ap pear in the ca pacitance at the TEST LEAD INPUT is beyond the range
COMPONENT TEST RESULTS display. These are usually or the zeroi ng circu its. An o pen (greater than 20 kohms) or
cau sed by sma ll errors in the operation of the LC103 , shorted (less than I o hm) test lead will cause the display to
a lthough severely defective components may a lso cause show "OPEN" or "SHORT."
cenain er ror co ndi tions. The error co ndition s are Possible causes:
explained below. I. The capacitance at the TEST LEAD input is greater
than 1800 pF.
Component Type Selection Error - This error occurs when 2. The inductance at the TEST LEAD input is greater than
a component test is attempted, and either an incorrect 18 uH.
COMPONENT TYPE switch is selected for the test, o r no 3. T he resistance at the TEST LEAD input is greate r than 5
COMPONENT 'TYPE switch is selected when required. ohms.
Possible causes:
1. Performing a capacitor test with an inductor No Voltage Entered - This error occurs when the
COi\IPONENT TYPE switch selected. CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button is pu heel and no test
2. Performing an inductor test with a capaciLOr voltage has been en tered.
COMPONENT TYPE switch selected.
3. Performing the INDUCTOR RI GER test without a n Invalid RS-232 Command - An improper co mmand was
inductor COMPO ENT TYPE switch selected. se nt to th e LC103 via Lhe computer interface.
Possible causes:
Entered Value Beyond Range of Unit - The component I. Se nding a command that is not recognized b y the
parameter entered via the keypad or RS-232 is beyond the LC103.
measuring range of the LC103. 2. Wrong command syntax.
Possible causes:
I. Entering a capacitance value g reater than 19.9 Farads, NOTE: Refer to the COMPUTER IN TERFA CE sn:tion of this
or less than l.O picofarad. manual for information on using the Relolva with com/JUtPr
2. Entering an inductance value g reater than 19.9 Henrrs, ronlrol.
or less than 0.1 microhenrys.
3. Entering a leakage \'Oltage greater than 1000 volts. Component Out Of Test Range - The component under
4. Entering a tolerance percentage greater than+ 100%, or test exceeds the li mits of the test which was attem pted.
less than -99%. Possible causes:
5. Entering a tolerance percentage that includes a I. Measuring ESR of a capacitor having a value less than
decimal. 0.02 uF.
2. Measuring capacita nce value o n an extreme ly leaky
NOTE: Entering a leakage vol/age less titan 1 volt will set the capacitor.
leakagP suppl)' to 0 volts. 3. Attempting a capacitor value test with 1 o hm to 2
Megohms of resistance connected across test leads.
Entered Value Beyond Range of Test - The component
parameter entered via the keypad or RS-232 is beyond the
limi ts of the automatic GOOD/BAD test. The component
may still be able LO be tested, but not for a GOOD/ BAD
indication.
Possible causes:
I. Performing an ESR test with a capaciLOr value of less
than 0.02 uF entered.
2. Performing a D/ A test with a capacitor value of less than
0.01 uF e ntered.
3. Pe rforming a INDUCTOR RINGER test with a inductor
value of less than 10 uH entered.

27
 RS-232 OPERATION
All of the LC103 ReZolver tests may be totally automated or automation, as the computer is able to send any values or
incorporated into a computer controlled, auto mated test to lerances needed for good/ bad testing comparisons and
system using an RS-2 32 serial interface. The LC103 may can select any of the ReZolver test functions.
have either of two functions. As a "listener" it can receive
in struc tio n s from the co mputer to change functions or As a "talker" the LC103 can send r ead ings back to the
ranges. The LC 103 listen er functions provide complete computer as the computer requests them.

CONNECTING T O THE COMPUTE,~---------------

Use a cable with s tra ig ht throu gh connections on th e The LC103 is configured as a DCE (Data Communications
g ro und, transmit data, and receive data lines to connect E qu i pment) devi ce, wh ich mean s that it sh o u ld be
be tween the computer's se r ial port a nd the RS-232 co nn ected to your comp uter with a cable h avin g DB9
INTERFACE JACK on the re ar pane l of t h e LC 1 03. co nn ec to rs on both e nds and stra ight-through wiring
Software handsh ak ing (Xon / Xoff) is used, so hardware be tween pins 2, 3, and 5.
hands haking connections on the con n ecto r are not
needed. The LC103 is configured for 9600 Baud, 8 data Following is a list of the RS-232 9-pin connector lines used
bits, I stop bit, and no parity. The com pute r 's serial port by the LC103:
should be co nfigured th e same way. Comm un ications
softwa r e used in th e term i nal m ode and co mmerc ial Pin Pin
instrument control software have m enu optio ns for setting No. Name Description
th e port confi guratio n. lf you write yo ur own control 2 RXD Data received by the computer from the CM125
software, you sh ould specify the serial port co nfigu ration 3 TXD Data transmitted by the computer to the CM125
when you address the port (in a Basic "open " com mand,
5 Gnd Signal Ground
for example).
Fig. 18: Use a cable having straight through connections for transmit,
receive, and ground.

There are two types of ha ndshaking used by RS-232 devices,

software and hardware. With software h andsha king, Xon
(CTRL-Q) and Xoff (CTRL-S) characters are automatically
trans m itted on the data lines to control data flow. With
hardware h a ndshaking, voltages are placed o n separate
handshaking li n es to co n tro l data flow. The LC103
s upports only Xon / Xoff software handshaking, which
means that hardware handshaking lines are not needed.

Fig. 17: Connecting the LC103 to a computer for automated control.

SENDING DATA TO THE LC 10 3 · - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As a lis tener, th e LC10 3 accep ts commands from th e The listener codes consist of o ne, two, or three characters,
computer. T h ese co mmands can be us e d to se lect a and relate to the function being selected o r the data being
function or to se nd param e t ers to the LC 103 for e nte red. Most listener codes consist on ly of the code
GOO D/ BAD com parison testing. T he commands sent to c h aracters. The listen er codes used to ente r d ata for
the ReZolver during bus operation duplicate the front panel good/bad testi n g consist of a nu m ber, followed by the
push buttons. Follow the same programming sequence and character code.
range limits as for manual (non-RS-232) operation.

28
The codes may be sent by the computer as eithe r upper Ol- d upli cate the non-RS-232 o p e ra tio n of the compon e nt
lower case letters. parameters keypad for e ntering compone nt da ta.

All data sent lo the LC103 must end with a carriage rewrn As with man u a l ope r a tion , each Value Multiplier
character to be recognized by the LC103. Some compu ters Co mmand includ es a number, followed by the liste n e r
automatically add this character to the end of every string code. T here arc fo ur types of Value Multiplie rs for RS-232
of data, while o thers have a special fun ction which adds the progra m ming: l. Capacitor value, 2. I nductor Value, 3.
carriage return when activated with a software command. If Percent tolerance, a nd 4. Capacitor voltage. The fi rst three
your computer has neither of these options, you can add a are only used for LC103 a utomatic GOOD / BAD
li nefeed character by storing the character in a variable and comparisons. Th e capac itor voltage code a lso se ts the
then adding this variable to your data before sending it to LC103 power supply lo the selected voltage for the leakage
th e bus. test

The data o r listener codes sent to the LC103 fa ll into four Whe n sending a compone nt value to the LCI03 it is not
groups: l. Component Type Commands, 2. Value necessary to send long strings of zeros to establish decimal
Multipliers, 3. Test Function Commands, and 4. General readings. In s tead, use the val ue mu ltipli ers uF
Commands. All listener codes are listed in Table 8. They (m icrofarads), pF (p icofa rads), and F (fa r ads) for
are also listed in the Simplified Operating Instructions on capacitors and uH (microhenries) , mH (millihe nries), and
the PULL-CHART under the unit for ready reference. H (he n ries) for inductors. T he characters may be sent in
upp er or lowe r case.
COMPONENTTYPE COMMANDS TEST FUNCTION COMMANDS
For exa mple, "uF'',
Command Description Command Description
"UF", or even "Uf' will
ALM Aluminum Electrolytics CAP Capacitor value
DBL Double layer LKI leakage current a ll produce t h e sa m e
TAN Tantalum Caps LKR Leakage resistance results. The LC103 also
CEA Ceramic Caps D/A Dielectric Absorption ignores any blank spaces
AOC All Other Caps ESR Equivalent series resistance between listener code
HIR High Resistance Double layer lytics IND Inductance
COL Coils RIN Ringer
ch aracters. This m eans
YFB Yokes and Flybacks CIC Capacitor in circuit th at " lOUF", "10 UF"
SWX Switching Transformers EiC ESR in circuit a nd even "10 U F" work
llC Inductance in circuit equally well.
VALUE MULTIPLIERS
Command Description GENERAL COMMANDS
pF Pico Farad The comp le te Value
Command Description
uF MicroFarad LOO lead zero open
Multiplier code consists
F Farad LOS Lead zero short of the correct numeric
uH MicroHenry NFC No Function va l ue, the Va l ue
mH MilliHenry CPO Control panel on (front panel operation)
H Henry
Multiplier, and the End
Ctrl A Continue taking/sending test data
Positive tolerance in percent Te rmin ator. The
Ctrl 0 Return a single reading, (default)
Negative tolerance in percent fo ll owin g examp les
v Voltage rating, leakage voltage show valid comma nds,
with the End
Table 8 - RS-232 control codes for the LC103.
Terminators not
shown:

Component Type Commands 4.7uF

(ente rs capacitor value of 4.7 microfarad)
These codes duplicate the fron t panel COMPONENT TI'PE
switches and must be sent to the LC103 if you want the test 100 pF
resu lts to be compared lo the tables and calc ulations (enters capacito r value of 100 picofarads)
associated with the LCJ 03 microprocessor. As in non-RS- 15 v
232 operation, the LCl 03 uses these to es tab lish th e (enters leakage voltage of 15 vo lts)
GOOD / BAD li mits for th e leakage, ESR, diel ectri c
absorption, and coi l ringi ng tests. The good/ bad results 20+%
may be in error if th e wrong Compone nt Type Command is (e nters value to le ran ce of+ 20%)
sent. 5H
(enters inductan ce value of 5 he nries)
Value Multipliers
NOTE: When using mulLijJliers, the numeric /1ortion of the string
These listener codes let the computer send com po nen t
should be limited to 10 characters.
data inform at io n to th e LC103 includin g th e id eal
compo nent valu e a nd value tole ran ce limits. The codes

29
T he amount of Component data which needs to be e ntered
with the RS-232 Value Multiplier codes for a GO O D/ BAD
test depends on the LC103 function. The chart in Table 9 T he warning LED o n the front of the LC103 will flash as a
s h ows th e compon e nt p ara mete rs n ee ded for each r eminder that a shock hazard of up to 1000 volts may be
GOOD / BAD test. Se ndi ng add itional data to th e LC103 applied to the test leads when a leakage test is selected. Use
will not affect the tests. extrem e caution when the LED is blinking.
Cap Ind Cap Compon.
TEST
.
Value Value +% -% Voltage Typ e

Cap.Value x • - -- -- - - ATTENTION - - - -- - - -
~

Cap. Leakage
-- x x x La LED d 'alerte sur la face avant du LC103 clignote
Cap. ESR - - x x x lorsque qu'un risque d e choc est p ossible car p lus de IOOOV
Cap. D/ A x x x peut etre appliq ue a la sonde lorsque le test de fuite est
Ind.Value ·-
x . . utilise. Faites tres attention lorsque la LED est allumee.

Ind. Ringing x
X =Musi be e ntered for GOOD/ BAD results. N OTE: When not using a leakage test, send the listener code "OV"
• = Tolerance are set to zero p ercent al power-up. to the LCJ03 to prevent accidentally applying a voltage to the test
IRads, unless you want an ESR GOOD/ BAD indication.
Table 9 - These parameters must be entered for the LC103 to produce
a good/bad test result.
Tes t Fun ction Commands

NOTE: Th e LCJ03 will send good/bad indicators back to the O ne of the seven listener Test Functio n Codes must be sent
computer for earh reading if all n ecessal)' information has been to the LC103 befor e th e computer can request a reading.
supplied. To stop the LCJ03 from sending thP "G" or the "B " as The selecte d fu nc ti o n is can celled by any other liste ner
part of its returned data, simfJl)' send a zero value reading, such as code sen t to th e LC 103, m eanin g tha t a Test Functio n
"O pF". The other Valu e M ultipliers (such as p ercentages or Co m m a nd m us t be th e las t listene r code se n t befo re a
voltage) will remain in the L C103 mem01)' until changed or until readin g is requested.
p ower is removed from the unit.
The LC103 will rem ain in th e last function selected until it
The plus a nd minus com pone nt tole rance lim its must be receives another test functio n command o r listener co de.
sent in the correct form. First, the nu mber must be a who le The computer can select an LC103 test, go o n to o th e r
nu mber , with no decim al. T hen , the percentages m ust be instr ume nts o n the bus, and then come back to th e LC103
withi n the a llo wable ran ge. The largest n egative nu mber at a later time to requ est a reading. This allows tests which
a llowe d is 99 percent (-99%) . an d th e la rges t p os itive requ ire lo nger tim es, such as capacitor leakage, to be used
nu m be r allowed is 100 pe rcent (+100 %) . umbers th at a re without slowing the operation of oth er instru ments on th e
o u tsid e this range, or that contain a decimal, produce a n bus.
Error 2 conditio n.
The LC103 starts a test fro m its begi n n ing every time it
Setting the Leakage Voltage rece ives a nother T est Functio n Code . The r efore, if th e
LC103 has been prese t to a fu nctio n for a delayed readi ng,
T h e leakage power s up p ly m u st b e se t to th e d esir e d make certain th at the com puter does not resend the code
voltage before selecting a leakage test with the LKI or the just before a read ing is taken.
LKR codes. The supply can be set to the nea rest ten th of a
volt. The listene r code simply co nsists of the desired vo ltage General Codes
fo llo we d by th e le tte r V a n d the End Te rm inato r. Fo r
example, "lOOV" sets the supply to produce 100 vo lts wh en T h e fo ur general listen er cod es activate special functions
a leakage functio n is activa ted. wh e n se n t to th e LC 103. Th e cod es let th e co m pu ter
instruct the LC103 to compensate fo r the test leads, clear a
Th e hig hest vol tage which can be prog rammed into the fu n ctio n, o r re turn control of the LC103 to the fro nt-panel
LC103 is 1000 vol ts th e lowest is I volt. Attempti ng to e nter switches.
a voltage high er or lowe r than this range will p roduce an
Error 2 conditio n. T h e LC103 m ust subtract residual effects of the test leads
when testing ESR, an d small capacitor o r in d uctor values.
The leakage power suppl y o n ly ap plies power to th e tes t T h e Lead Zero (LOO) a nd Lead Short (LOS ) liste n e r
leads afte r o n e of th e two leakage fun ctions h ave been cod es duplicate the o pe r a tio n of the fron t pane l LEAD
selected with the "LKI" o r "LKR" listener code . The power ZER O button to nul l out th e effects o f th e r es idu a l
su p p ly auto ma tically rem oves voltage fro m th e test leads resis tance, capacitance, an d ind uctan ce of the test leads
wh en the co mputer sends any o th e r liste ner code, or when and test fixture. T h e leads must be sh o rted before sending
the fro n t-panel button is p ressed.

30
the LOS command and opene d before sen ding the LDO
command. If not, the test lead impedan ce wi ll not be
compensated for. Do not disconnect or connect any components to the
LC103 after performing any capacitor or inductor test
NOTE: The leads can be null.ell manually before turning control witho ut f"rrst sending a No Function Command (NFC) or
of the L Cl 03 over to the automated system. SimfJl)' follow the othe r command first to clear the test function. The LC103
/no redurPs for manually nulling the effects of the leads, as may be damaged if a charged capacitor or static voltage is
explainnl on page 14. The LCJ 03 will remember the correct conne cted to it. Also, a severe shock hazard may exist to
rom/Jensation until tliP/JOwer is turned off. the user if a capacitor is removed after a leakage test
without first being discharged.
The o Functio n Command (NFC) cancels any test that is
in progress and p laces the LC103 into th e standby m ode
(no buuo n pressed). You o nl y need to send "NFC" if you
want lo clear a test. For example, you m ay wish to turn off Ne p as d econnecte r ou connecter un composant au LC103
the capacito r value test fu n c tion whi le yo u r emove one apres avoir fait un test sur une capacite o u une inductance
com po nent and rep lace it with a diffe re nt o n e . ll is not avant d 'avoir d'abord utiliser la commande de -pas de
necessary to send "NFC" whe n cha nging func tio ns with a commande- (NFC) ou une autre command e afin de vider la
Test Functio n Com mand or wh en ch a nging com pon ent fonction d e test. Le LC103 peut e tre e ndommage si une
param eters with a Value Multiplie r comman d , since any capacite charge e ou une te nsion statique Jui est connectee.
listene r cod e clears the cu rre nt fun ction. Send ing the De plus, l'utilisateur p e ut recevoir une d echarge electrique
" FC" command when the LC103 is no t in a test functio n importante si la capacite est r e tiree sans avoir ete decharge
has no effect. apres un test de fuite.

The front panel sw itc h es a r e a utom at ica ll y disable d

whenever the LC103 rece ives its first command. T he pane l
wi ll remain locked o ut fo r all fun ctions until the Control
Panel On (CPO) cod e is sent o r until power to the LC103
is removed.

NOTE: One exception is the cajJacilor leakage fun ction. Pressing

any of the front-panel buttons will manually unlatch the RS-232
use of the l.ealwge jJower mjJjJly.

RECEIVING DATA FROM THE L C 1 0 3 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The LC J 03 will send data lo the compute r whenever the Data Format
compute r se nds the correct "Talk" comma nd . T he data
return e d over the bus will be the same as th e r eadi ng All data returned from the LC103 falls into a standard data
appearing in the display. format. Each data string is 17 characte rs long and contains
information in four data fields. The software ca n keep the
Sending a "Ctr! R" com mand te lls the LC103 to se nd a entire string of characters toge ther, o r it can separa te the
read ing over the bus every time it updates the reading o n data into three parts fo r calculation s o r processing.
the display. T he software in the computer determines how

7~
many readings are recorde d. Some applicatio ns only need C A P X X X • X X X E X X X G CR LF
a sing le read ing, while oth e r applications may requ ire
colleCLing severa l readings in a row. ~ Nume ric Data Field
Terminator
Sending a "Ctr! O" command puts the LC103 in a ingle
reading mode. The LC103 will remain in the test fun ction, GOOD/BAD
but the read ings will not be sent to the compute r until a Indicator
carriage return or another "Ctr! O " is sent. Fig. 19: The data format returned by the LC103 is a string of 17
characters long.
A second me thod to stop the LC103 from sending readings
is to send a ny liste ner code, including the No Func tion T h e fo ur fi e ld s of th e data s trin g a r e: 1 . H eader, 2.
Code ( FC) , to the LC l 03. This wi ll both stop the read ings Nu m erical Da ta Fie ld, 3. GOOD / BAD Indica tor, and 4 .
a nd place the LC103 into its standby m ode. Always use this E nd Term ina tor. Eac h fi e ld h as th e sa m e numbe r of
m ethod if a d iffe re nt component is going to be connected c haracters for al l tes t fun c tion s, a ll owing the sa m e
to the LCl 03. subroutines to process a ny r e turn ed data. H er e are th e
de ta ils fo r each fi eld of data.
31
Header: The first three characters identify the test function Error Description
which produced the reading. The three characters sent 1 Component Type selection error
back from the instrument are usually the sam e as the test 2 Entered value beyond range of unit
function commands used to select a function when the 3 Entered value beyond range of test
LC103 acts as a listener. These codes let the software 4 Value beyond zeroing limit
ide n tify the source of the data, confirm that the correct 5 No voltage entered
function is producing readings, or label the data for future 6 Invalid RS232 command
retrieval. 7 Component out of test range
8 Entered string is too long
In certain cases, the Header iden tifies some special
conditions, such as errors or shorted or open components. Table 10: Error codes returned by the LC103 during RS-232 operation.
The computer software should test for these conditions
before processing r eadings for accurate test results, as
explained in the section Error Testing below. Most errors cause the LC103 to return a Header wi th the
three letters "ERR." A simple test for this Header allows the
Numerical Data Field: The 11 spaces following the Header program to be alerted to the error. The n lu e of the
(characters 4 through 14) contain the numerical results of Numerical Data Field tells the computer which of eight
a talker function . The values returned from a test function errors have occurred. The error codes are summarized in
are in scientific notation, a llowing any valu e to be Table 10. Refer to the section entitled "Error Messages" for
represented with th e same number of characters. Error a m ore detailed explanation of each error condition.
codes appear as a single digit (from I to 7) without the
scientific notation. Shorted Capacitors

GOOD/ BAD Indicator: The single space following the The LC103 automatically senses if a capacitor is shorted
Numerical Data Field (the fifteenth character) is reserved before performing a capacitor value test. If a short is
for the results of the automatic LC103 GOOD/ BAD tests. detected, the LCl 03 sends the letters "SHT" as the Header
The single letter "G'', "B", or "R" appears in this position Field of the retu rn ed data and displays "SHORT" in the
when the LC103 has sufficient information to determine if display. Adding one line of program code will test for this
the reading is good or bad or if the component needs to be condition. This line should appear before any part of the
removed from the circuit. If a piece of data (such as the software program which depends on a value reading, so
tolerance or ideal value) is m issing, the position occupied that the nlue test will be skipped in case of a shorted
by the GOOD/ BAD Indicator is left blank. capacitor.

NOTE: A /,eakage Lest function may require from 4 to 8 readings Open Inductors
for the leakage lo sellle before providing a GOOD/ BAD indication.
The LC103 automatically senses if an inductor is open (or
End Terminator: All data ends with both a carriage return if the test leads are not connected to the coi l) before
(ASCII decimal 13 ) and a linefeed (ASCII decimal 10) performing an inductor val ue test. If an open is detected,
character. Many programs respond to e ither character, the LC103 sends the letters "OPN" as the Header and
while others only respond if the linefeed is present. A few displays "OPE " in the d isplay. One additional program
programs, however, may stop accepting data wh en the line will test for this condition. Place this line before any
carriage-return character is sent, leaving the LC103 h ung portion of the program which depends on an inductor
up waiting to send its last ( linefeed) character. If this value reading, so that the value test will be skipped in case
happens, you may need to put an extra GET or INPUT of an open inductor.
statement into your program to let the LC103 send its last
character into an unused variable. Making Leakage Tests

Error Testing Wh en testing for leakage on large capacitors, the first

reading returned by the LC103 may be outside the normal
Your computer software should test for e rro r conditions leakage limits because the capacitor is charging. In the case
(often called "error trapping") after every readi ng has been of electrolytics, several readings may be needed before the
collected from the LC103 to prevent an error from causing capacitor drops to a "GOOD" level, since an electrolytic
unexpected results. The softwar e can either report the usua lly takes some time to charge. This means th at the
e rror or skip over it, but s hould do one or the o th e r computer software sho uld ignore the first few readings in
without crashing the program. If your program is order to accept a meaningful reading.
particularly advanced, it may test for the type of error (as
indicated by the error number returned in the Numerical There are several ways to handle th is in the software. For
Data Field) and then branch to different parts of the example, the program could place the LC103 into the
program which can take the correct action to compensate leakage function (with th e "LK.I" listener code) and then
for the error. set a software timer to insert the correct delay (based on

32
th e normal cha rg ing time of the capacitor) before reading capacito rs m ay have such high levels of ESR t ha t the value
the leakage va lue. During t his time, the computer co uld is above the measuring range o f the test. T he refore, make
work with other instrumen ts o n the bus to keep th e d e lay certain that your software tests fo r t he followin g conditions.
fro m slowing down oth er steps in th e automated system.
Ra ther th an a fixed time d e lay, the software can be written 1. An "ERR l " occurs if any component type other t han
to ig nore a certain number o f readings before recording ALM, DBL, HIR, o r TAN h as been se nt to the LC103 in
the one wh ich is to be ch ecked for value. its listene r m ode.
2. An "ERR 3" occurs if th e capacitor under test measures
In e ith e r case, th e comp ute r can base its d ecisio n on less than 0.02 microfarad.
w h ether the ca p ac i tor is good or bad b y us in g the 3. An "ERR 7" occurs if th e amo unt of ESR is above 2000
GOOD / BAD Indicator in the ret urn ed data. For th e o hms.
automatic GOO D/ BAD test to fun ctio n th e capacitor's 4 . The lead s must be ze roed (eithe r manual ly or by using
value, voltage, and type must be se nt to the LC103 prior to th e "LDS" listene r function) befo re makin g ESR tests, or
the test. This allows the LCI 03 m icroprocessor to compare th e added lead resistance may cause erron eo us resul ts.
the leakage readings lo the internal formulas and tables.

Making ESR Tests

T h e capacitor tes t for E quiva le nt Series Resista nce may

cause unexpected program e rrors if your software d ocs no t
ha ndle th e return ed data correctly. Re m embe r th at ESR
tests are on ly valid o n e lectrolytic capaci tors with va lues
larger th a n 0.01 m icr ofarad. A lso re m e mber th at so m e

33
 APPLICATIONS
The procedures explained in the OPERATION section of th e unit. Thi s sec ti on will provide you with further
this manual explain how to use the LC103 ReZolver. Once information on using the LC103 features for extended
yo u become fam iliar with the basic operation of the capaci tor and inductor tests, as well as other special
RcZolYer, you will discover many additional applications of applications.

IDENTIFYING CAPACITOR T Y P E S - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Capacitors are often grouped acco rding to th e kind of replace a bad capacitor with a good capac itor of the same
dielecuic that is used to separate the plates, and arc named type value and voltage rating. Th is is especially true when
accordingly. For examp le. an aluminum electrolytic the compo nent is in a "Safe ty Critical" circuit. Because
capacitor has an aluminum oxide dielectric, while a mylar different capacitor types have diffe rent characteristics, it is
capacitor uses mylar dielectric. (Refer to the APPENDIX for important that yo u know what type of capacitor you are
an explanation of d ielectric and other capacito r theory). testing in order to know if th e LC103 test results are
acceptable or not.
Many diffe rent types of capacitors are used in electronics.
Each type has certain properties that make it better suited Capacitors are divided into five different types for testing
for particular applications. Proper ties such as temperature with the LC103. Each has different parameters which
coefficient, ESR, d ielectric absorption, leakage, voltage requ ire different GOOD/ BAD lim its. These five capacitor
break down, and frequen cy characteristics are taken into types have different physical characteristics to determine an
account when selecting the capacitor type to be used. When unknown capacitor type. These characteristics are
troubleshooting a circuit, it is not important to know why a explained in the following paragraphs and are summarized
certain type of capacitor was selected. It is best to simply in Figure 20.

Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors Double Layer Electrolytic Capacitors

(Typically much smaller physically than similar
- +

m 0 =~B==© value Aluminum Lytics. Value usually marked

in F.)
+ Polarity Indicator

A
~ LJ ®(D-

co
Tantalum Capacitors
t
- Polarity Indicator - y
Roundcorne~
+ Polarity Indicator OM~•••~O y
/ ....r=J=

~I~~
+ Polarity Indicator
en{} / '-No rounded
comers, long
Longest Lead
Is positive lead Is positive

Ceramic Capacitors

=::::O 0 "===~

Fig. 20: Each capacitor type may be identified by its unique physical characteristics.

34
Aluminum Electrolytics e lec trol ytic capaci to rs are abo ut one ha lf th e size o f a
similar a luminu m electrolyti c of th e same value and vo ltage
Aluminum e lectro lytic capacitors (ALUMI UM LYTICS) rating.
a re th e easiest capac itor type to ide ntify. T hey a re most
commo nly cylinder shaped a nd have radial or axia l leads. While they may have m any s hap es, ta nta lu m capac itors
Large value alum in um lyti cs often have screw term inal o r always have polarized lead . Lead po la rization is often the
solde r lugs. The case of an aluminu m lytic usua lly is ro lled only way to distinguish a tantal um lytic fro m another type
in or formed o ut near the lead e nd to hold the e nd cap and of capacitor. Once you becom e familiar with the polarity
seal. All aluminum lytics have a seal th at is soft and rubber mar kings used , tantalu m lytics a re not d ifficult to identify.
li ke to allow gasses to ven t. Depending o n the physical size Th e po lari ty markin gs are n o t m eant to b e difficult to
of th e case, th e soft seal m ay m a ke up the entire e nd of th e notice or unde rstand, althoug h if you a re n o t awa re of
case, or it may be just a small section of a hard end cap. th e m , th ey m ig h t be overlooked. Pay careful attentio n so
Aluminum lytics have the largest physical size to capacity that you do not ove r look th e po la rity indi cation a nd
ratio of all capacito r types. These capacitors may a l o have miside ntify a ta ntalum capacito r as anothe r type.
severa l sec tions, wi t h each se c ti on having a d iffere nt
capacitance value but sha ring th e same negative terminal, The simplest and most commo n polari ty indicator is a "+"
usua lly th e case. This is un iq ue to a lu minum e lectrolytics, sign near one of the leads. T his is often used alo ng with a
so wh e never yo u e n co unter a cap acitor h av ing everal second type of ind icator. In add itio n to the "+" sign, each
diITercnt capacitance value sections, it wi ll be an aluminum capac itor shown has a second indicatio n of the "+" lead: a
e lectrolytic. lead weld , a tape red case, a rou nded corner, a line , o r an
extra ridge near the "+" lead .
Beca use of th e ir unique physical characteris ti cs, m ost
aluminum lytics usually are n 't easily confused with other A "+" indicator is not printed o n all tantalum capacitors. In
capacitor typ es. A.xial lead a lumi num lyti cs, however, may ma ny cases th e po lar ity indicator wi ll sim ply be the lead
possibly be mistake n for axial lead tantalum lytics. The lead weld , a tapered case or rounded corner, a line, o r an extra
we ld is a n ide ntifyin g c haracter istic o f th e ta ntalum ridge o n the case. Several othe r polarity identifie rs ar e also
electro lytic and is a quick way to differen tiate between an used. T he end o r side nearest the plus lead may be painted
axial lead alu m inum lytic a nd a tantalum lytic. Alumi num one color. Also at Limes, j ust a do Lor a line on the side of
lytics do no t have a lead weld on eithe r te rmin al. th e pac kage will be used.

In a d dit io n, s urface moun t a lumi num e lec tro lyt ic NOTE: Tanlalwn capacilors may use dols or slri/Jes to indicale
ca p ac i to rs a r c b eco ming increasingly popu lar. T h ey valttP or lolerance. Do not confusP the valilP color rode f or the
resemble lead ed a lu minum lytics in the ir shape but are polarit)' indicator of a lanlalum ca/Jacitor. Tlte polarity indicator
mu c h small er and have very s hort legs for m o un ting. will be lwger and isolated from the rolor code.
Surface mount aluminum lytics can fail in a ll of the same
ways as a standa rd size capacito r. Tantal um capacitors are also ava ilable in the sma ll surface
mount or "chip " type. T a nta lu m c hip ca ps cou ld be
confused with ceramic chip caps, since they are similar in
size a nd appea ra nce at first g la nce. But, a ta ntalum chip
capacitor is polarized a nd has an easily icle ntiliable positive
lead. The polarity ide n tification th a t may give you th e most
difficulty in idemifying a ta ntalum capacitor is lead length .
Th e on ly id e ntifi cation of t h e p os i tive lea d o n som e
ta ntalum capacitors is that it is lo nger tha n the other lead.
Of course, this prese nts no pro ble m when the capacito r is

/ new, but once it has been installed in to a circuit board, the

Fig. 21: Various types of aluminum electrolytic capacitors.

Tantalum Electrolytics

Dipped tantalum electrolytics are replacing al uminum lytics

in man y e lectro ni c circuits. They have less leakage and
higher va lue tole ra nces th an al uminu m lyti cs. Tantalum
Fig. 22: Various types of tantalum electrolytic capacitors.

35
leads are cut off to the same length. In this situation, use Two o ther kinds of ceramic capacitors which are easily
the circuit as the clue to the cap 's type and polarity. identified are the axial lead and chip types. Some axial lead
ceramic capacitors m ay look the same as resistors and
inductors which also use the same case type. You can easily
Double Layer and "High R" Electrolytics
determine if the co m ponent is a resistor, capacitor or
inductor from its location in the circuit. The LC103 can
Do u ble layer electrolytic capacitors are commonly known
also be used to help ide n tify these unknown componen ts,
by trade names such as "Supercap" or ''Gold Cap." These
as explained in a followin g seclion, "Ide ntifying Unknown
capacitors are quite easy to ide ntify. Double layer lytics have
Compo ne nts."
an extrem ely large capacitance value for their physical size.
They are found in various physical shapes a nd sizes. Their
There are a few o the r kinds of ceramic capacito rs besides
value is marked in Farads, rather than in picofarads or
th e t hree typ es identified here . Th ese types, such as
microfarads.
molded ceramics and encap sulated ceramics, are very
similar in appearance to film capacitors, and are difficult to
The polarity of a double layer lytic is often printed on the
d ifferentiate from films by physical appearance. This
case, a lthough a longer lead may also be used to identify
presents no problem, when testing these ceramics with the
the positive termina l. Some double layer lytics use a line
LC103 sin ce any leakage or D/ A in a ceramic capacitor,
n ext to one lead which may be e ither "+" or"-" . If there is
oth e r th an a ceramic disc, is not allowab le. If you are
no other marking, the terminal that is part of the m etal
un able to idemify the capacitor as a ceramic, test it as an
case is the negative lead.
"ALL OTHER CAPS" type.
There are two main types of double laye r lytics. They are
divided between capacitors needed to supply current in the
uA range and capacitors needed to supply current in the
mA range. Essentia ll y, th e difference is that ca pacitors
needed to supply current in the mA range are typically two
or more capacitors in series and have a hig he r resistance
cha racteristic. For this reason, the LC103 contains two
selections for doubl e layer lytic component types, DOUBLE
LAYER LYfIC and HIGH R DOUBLE LAYER. T ypically,
double layer lytics having a voltage rating of higher than 4
volts will be "High R."

Fig. 24: Various types of ceramic capacitors.

All Other Capacitors

The final capacitor type grouping for LC103 ReZolver

GOOD/ BAD testing is "ALL OTHER CAPACITORS." As its
nam e implies, capacitors in this category do not have the
electrical (or physical) cha racteristics lo fit into any of the
othe r categories. Capacitors included in this grouping a re
films, micas, air dielectrics, papers, oil filled capacitors, and
other similar typ es. (There are numerous types of film
capacitors such as mylar, po lyester, polycarbonate ,
polystyrene, a nd polypropylene) . Though each of these
Fig. 23: Various types of double layer electrolytic capacitors. capacito r types have d ifferent dielectrics and somewhat
differen t parameters, they a re all simil ar in that when
tested with the LC103, they should have no dielectric
Ceramic Capacitors absorptio n or leakage. If you measu1·e an y leakage, or D / A
in an "ALL OTHER CAPACITOR" typ e it is bad.
Ceramic capacitors may be fo und in ma ny differe nt sizes
and shapes. The most common type of ceramic capacitor is
NOTE: When replacing any of thf'se capacitors, alwa)'S replace it
the flat, round ceramic disc. The ceramic disc is unique in
with the same type origi.nally used in the cirruil. For examf1le, a
its shape, and is easily identifiable from other ceramics, and
mylar film capacitor should only be replaced with another mywr
o ther types of capacitors. The ceramic disc is also unique
film. This is especially important for components in areas of the
from other types of ceramic capacitors in that it may have
schematic designatNl as "Safety Critical. "
small amounts of normal leakage.

36
IDENTIFYING INDUCTOR T Y P E S , - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Inductors, like capac itors, may be found in man y shapes visible . Because the iro n core is low Q and absorbs all ringi ng
and sizes depending o n the application in which they arc energy, power transforme rs cannot be tested with the LC103.
used . The LClO~ will provide an accurate Ringer test o n all
types of air core and ferrite core inductors, provided the Switc hing tra n sforme rs, o n th e other h an d , are muc h
proper Inducto r COMPONE T TYPE switch is se lected. smalle r a nd lighte r than powe r transfo 1·mc rs. They a re
Each inductor type has a no rm al range of impedance, and wound around a ferrite core which easily rings when good.
th e In ductor CO MPO TENT TYPE switc h es matc h th e Switching tra nsformers o perate at much lower currents and
impedance of th e LC103 Ringe r circuits to the p arti cular much higher freque ncies tha n power tra nsformers.
inductor type be ing tested. With the proper COMPONENT
TYPE switch selected, an inducto r with just a single sho rted
turn will prod uce a "BAD" indicatio n in the Ringer test.

Ai r a n d ferrite cor e inductors break into three, easy to

idcntif)' types: Yokes and Flybacks, Switching Transformers,
and Coils. Select o ne of these three Inductor COMPO El T
TYPE S\\~tch es when pc1forming the Ringer test.

Yokes and Flybacks

Yokes are used excl usively in video applications to deflect a

CRT electron beam . They can not be easily mistaken fo r
a n y o ther type of inductor. Yokes h ave a fe rrite core,
surro unded by two pairs of windings, wh ich fi ts over the
CRT neck. It is held in place with a plastic sh e ll attached to
the CRT neck.

Flyback tra nsformers are also easy to identify. They too are Fig. 26: Common types of switching transformers.
used excl usively in video applicatio ns, and produce high
voltage fo r the CRT. A flyback has several te rminals wh ich
a r e often soldered to a PC board chassis. One o r two Coils
heavily insulated leads exit the flyback to carry high voltage
to a triple r, or to the CRT directly. All non-iron core inductors whi ch can not be classified as
yokes, fl ybacks, o r switc hing tra nsformers are tested with
th e "CO ILS" I NDUCTOR CO MPO E TT TYPE switch
selected. These incl ude RF / IF tra nsform ers, RF ch okes,
postage stamp ind ucto rs, ax ia l lead inductors, free form
coils, as well as some other types.

~ --
Fig. 27: Common types of coils.
Fig. 25: Yokes and flybacks are easily identified.

Switching Transformers

Switching transforme rs are used in power supply circuits to

step voltages up o r down. However, they are much diffe rent
from conve ntio nal power transform ers in both appearance
and ope ra tion. Power transformers usually operate at 60 Hz,
and the refore contain a laminated iron core which is often

37
 IDENTIFYING UNKNOWN C O M P O N E N T S - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Occasionally you may encounter small value inductors and You can use the LC103 tests to sor t these component types
axial lead ceramic capacitors which look like the more from each other. Figure 28 shows, in flow chart form, the
common ax ial lead film resistor. If these co mponents get procedure you need to follow. Before beginning the test,
mixed up in you r parts bin, you may have diffi culty zero the test leads. You begin iden tifying the co mponent
identifying the component. This may also b e a concern with a capacitor value test. Depending on the reading, you
with chip capacitors, chip inductors, and a few other axial either use the leakage test or inductor value test to further
lead inductors and capacitors on which the markings are isolate the component. Finally, if the compone nt appears
difficult to interpret or are not visible. to be an inductor, you use the ringing test as confirmation.

Connect Unknown Capacitor Inductor or Resistor

- - - - - - - WARNING
Measure C Value

Reading s opf,
< 200 pf
"0000" or error>
> 200 pf Do not apply more than I 0 volts across an unknown
capacitor resistor or inductor. Most chip, "film" package,
Component may be Component is capacitor and axial lead inductors and capacitors will have voltage
resistor or small capacitor Reading is Value
ratings greater than 10 volts. If in doubt about an unknown
Measure component's voltage rating, use another method to identify
leakage at 1ov it, if possible, or use a lower test voltage.
Measure L Value
>OuA QuA

<0 >0 "Open"

Component Is ~~~~~~-ATfENTION
resistor
Component is Component may be
small value resistor large resistor
Ne pas appliquer plus de 10 volts sur une capacite, une
Component is capacitor resistance OU une bobine de valeur inconnue. La plupart
or resistor> 100m ohm
des capacites, et inducteurs demandent un voltage
superieur a 1 OV. Si vous avez des doutes sur le voltage du
Inductor Ringer Test
composant utiliser une autre methode pour !'identifier, si
< 10 > 10 c'est possible, ou utiliser le test avec un voltage bas.

Component may be
Component is
resistor or
very low a coll
inductor NOTE: This test is onl)' intended to help you sort inductors,
capacito1:~ and resistors in "film resistor" tyjJP, chip type or small
Fig. 28: Use this flow chart to help identify small axial lead inductors, axial lead j1ackages which are dijfirult to identify by j1hysical
capacitors, and resistors from one another. ajJjJParance or an)' other means.

CAPACITOR TESTING~-~~-~~~~-~~-~~-~-~~~
Capacitance Measurement Accuracy measurement frequency. In add ition, electrolytics most
commonly fail due to leakage, dielectric absorp tion, or
The LC103 measures the capacitor charge time as the ESR. When an electrolytic does change value, the value
capacitor is charged with a constant current. This gives the drops far below the marked value.
most accurate measurement of true capacity available.
Capacity values measured with the ReZolve r may or may Measuring Small Capacitance Values In Noisy
not exactly match readings on oth er instruments whic h use Environments
a different measuring technique. Bridges, for example,
measure capacitive reactance u s in g an AC s ignal. The sensitive ReZolver measuring circuits may be affected
Capacitive reactance changes with frequency. Therefore, by large, outside signals (such as the AC fields radiated by
two bridges o perating at different frequencies wi ll g ive so m e lights and power transformers) when small
differe nt capacity readings. capacitance values are being measured. Special circuits in
the LC103 help minimize noise p ickup and stabili ze the
Electro lyti c ca pacitors normally read up to or slightly readings.
higher than their marked value when measur ed with the
LCl 03. This is because e lectrolytics are marked according Measurements of small va lu e capacitors in nois y
l o their value as m easured o n an AC-type impedance environments may be further improved by ground ing the
bridge. The value of an e lectrolytic changes greatly with the LC103 case to earth ground. When possible, power th e

38
 Change To
Farads Microfar ads Nanofarads Picofarads LC103 returns a ca pacito r value that is hig her than the
From
move decimal move decimal move decimal
capacitor being tested you may want LO remove the
Farads
6 places right 9 places right 12 places right suspect capacito r to Lest it accurately.
move decimal move decimal move decimal
Microfarads
6 places left 3 places right 6 places right
2. Sometimes the LC 103 will return a value and ESR
move decimal move decimal move decimal read ing accompan ied by "SUGGEST REMOVAL." In
Nanolarads 9 places left 3 places left 3 places right
this case, there are components surro undin g the
move decimal move decimal move decimal
Picofarads capacitor that have upset the measurem ents. For
12 places left 6 places left 3 places left

Table 11 - Capacitor value conversion chart re liable test results this capacitor would be best tested
o ut-of-ci rcui l.
3. Som e circuits req uire ca pacitors with less ESR than the
LCI03 wi th the PA25 1 AC Power Adapter co nnected to a
prope rly grounded AC ou tlet. The PA25 1 Power Adapter EIA specifies. Wh en testing these capacitors, the LC103
maintains the third wire ground shie ld and keeps the noise may show a "GOOD" reading but the capacitor may not
away from the measuring circuits inside the ReZolve r. work in the circuit. Refer to th e m anufacture r's
specifications or compare lo a known-good capacitor.
Interpreting Capacitor Value Readings
The following flow cha rt explains how the ReZolve r decides
whic h indicator LO display with the value a nd ESR readinas
The LC I 03 ReZolver automatically d isplays the three most to

common capacito r values of picofarads (pF) , microfarads when perform ing an in-circuit capacitor test.
(uF) , an d Farads (F). When measu ring capacito rs with the
Wh en the In-Circuit Capacitor Test buuon is pressed the
LC103, you may encounter som e capac itors wi th a value
LC! 03 begins its para lle l component checks. If this test fai ls
marked with o ut a d ecima l, s uch as "25000 pF", but that
the Re Zolve r displays th e value a nd ESR measurements
read ". 0250 uF" on th e LC103 display. Yo u may also
alo ng with SUGGEST REMOVAL message. If the parallel
e ncounter, as a n example, a capacitor which is marked
component check passes the LC103 checks to see if the
"3300 pf" by some man ufacturers, ye t a n identi ca l
COMPO 1E1 T PARAMETERS have been entered. If so, it
r e pl aceme nt is marked " .00 33 uF" b y a n oth er
compares all m easure me nts to these values a nd displays a
manufacturer.
GOOD m essage a lo ng with the val ue a n d ES R
measure m ents if they fall within the specifi ed parameters
As these examp les illustra te,
capacitors can be marke d in
pF , uF o r eve n F. A fo urth
value multiplie r, the nanofarad IN.CIRCUIT TEST FLOWCHAAT
(nF) is seldom used to ma rk a ln·Circu1t
Capacitor Test
capac iLOr , but is u sed
occas io n a lly in d es ig n and
industry. Table 11 will he lp yo u YES did either parallel
component test fail?
LO easi ly co n ve rt from o n e
NO
reading to another.
are all NO
parameters
In-Circuit Capacitor Test entered?

YES NO is value
In many cases it is desira ble to YES
entered?
is ESR high?
test a ca pacitor in-circ uit and YES
NO
the n, if nccessa1-y, remove it to is tolerance
YES display ' BAD" default ± 20%
test it mo re comple tely out-of- is value low? entered?

c i r c u it. R e li a bl y tes tin g NO YES

c apac itors in c ircuit ca n be 'SUGGE~V~~MOVAL' YES is value high? is value okay?

NO

tre mendously time aving. Due NO YES

to th e wide variety of circ uits, I .--is_ty_pe_._en-te-red-?~ NO ,....-is-m-ea-s-ured~

there are a few thin gs to kee p

display "GOOD' I YES value >1 µF
YES NO
in mind as you use the LC103
YES NO
to test capacitors in-circu it. default tant default ceramic

1. Many circuits, especially

power supplies, p lace two
or mo re capacitors in ESR < limit? NO display 'BAD?'
pa rallel. In th is case, you YES
will see a h igh capacitor
display 'GOOD?'
value reading. This is
normal since parallel Fig. 29: In-Circuit Capacitor Test flow chart.
capacitance adds. When the

39
or BAD if they do not. If not all of the parameters are To check for leakage between sections of a multi-section cap:
entere d the LC103 checks to see which , if an y, are. I. Connect one section of the capacitor to the LC103 test
Depending on which parameters are entered the LC103 leads. Be sure to observe proper po larity.
sets different defaults to which it compares the capacitor 2. Enter the working voltage of the section being tested.
under test. If none of the component parameters are NOTE: A multi-section lytic may have a different working
e ntered the LC103 defaults to tantalum for measured vollage for each section.
values above 1 uF and ceramic for m easured values below 1 3. Press the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button and read the
uF. The tolerance will default to +/-20% and the voltage amount of leakage on the display. It must be within the
will be 50 V. These defaults do not ap pear in the display maximum allowable leakage lim its for its val ue and
and are only used by the LC103 determine if it will display voltage rating.
"GOOD??" or "BAD?? ." 4. Connect one end of a short jumpe r to the common
terminal of the capacitor.
Testing Non-Polarized (Bi-Polar) Electrolytics 5. While pressing the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button ,
connect th e other end of the jumper to each of th e
Non-polarized aluminum e lectrolytic cap acito rs typically capacitor terminals not alread y connected to the LC103
look very similar to standard aluminum electrolytics except test leads.
for th e polarity m ark ing. No n-polarized electrolytics are 6. A good multi-section e lectrolytic will show no increase
typically u sed in c ircuits ha ving n o D C vo ltage o r in the leakage as the jumper is connected to each
established polarity. Two common circuits that use non- terminal.
polarized electrolytics are a udio crossovers and AC motor
start circuits. These circuits use non-polarized e lectrolytics Dielectric Stress
for filtering or inducing phase shifts.
Many ceramic ca pacito rs ch ange value when they are DC
Checking Leakage Between Sections Of A Multi-Section Lytic b iased. The applied DC voltage causes physical stress within
the ceram ic dielectric, causing it to decrease in value. This
Mul tiple section aluminum e lectrolytic capaci tors are valu e c h a n ge is call ed "d ielec tri c stress." Normally a
commo n , especially in many o lde r power supplies. Such ce ramic capacitor will return to its norma l value within
capacitors are actually several capacitors insid e one can several seconds after th e voltage is removed.
sharing the same negative terminal.
You will not normally notice dielectric stress wh en checki ng
Leakage sometimes develops between one or two sections a ceramic capacitor with the ReZolver, unless you apply a
of multi-section lytics. This leakage is especially difficult to voltage to it with the capacito r leakage test. Then you may
troub les h oot wi thout th e LC 103 leakage test becau se find that the capacitance value has decreased by as much as
sig nals from on e section of the capacitor a re co uple d to 5 0% in ceramic capacito rs having values 10 pF or smaller.
anothe r section. This results in multiple symptoms in the This is a normal characteristic of small value ceramics.
operation of the device in which the capacito r is used. An
ohmmeter will not s how leakage between sections of a Intermittent Capacitors
multi-sectio n cap because the leakage o nly occurs near the
capacitor's operating voltage. O ccasio nall y an electro lytic capacitor may become
intermittent. A poor weld of the lead to the internal foi l
To isolate this type of leakage with the LC103 you simply pl a tes or other mechanical probl em ca n cause t h e
perform the standard leakage test. As you test each section, capacito r to function randomly. Often such capacitors will
short each of the remaining sections to gro und. Any also exhibit high ESR when they are wo rking. (Th e internal
inc rease in leakage whe n a section is shorted to ground con struction of an e lectrolytic capacitor is sh own in the
indicates leakage between sections. APPE D1X).

If yo u suspect an interm itte nt capacitor, move its leads

around and pull on them as you perform a capacitor value
This test should only be performed by a person who test. A change in capacitan ce indicates an intermittent
understands the shock hazard of up to I 000 volts applied to compone nt which sho uld be replaced.
the test leads during the capacitor leakage test. DO NOT
hold the capacitor in your hand, or touch the test leads or Checking Ceramic Capacitor Temperature Characteristics
capacitor leads when making this leakage test.
Ceramic capacito rs a re designed to have a wide range of
capacitance value and temperature characteristics, (More
details are given in the APPENDIX.) Replacing a capacitor
Le LC103 est fait pour etre utilise par une personne qui est with o n e that has th e same charac teristics is especially
techniquement capable et qui comprend les chocs que peut important in certa in oscillators and other tem perature
produire l'equipement (jusqu'a 1000 V) lorsque le test de fuite criti cal c ircu its. You can quickly determine the basic
est utilise. NE PAS tenir la capacite dans la main ou toucher la te mperature chara cteristics of a ceramic using the LC103
sonde ou la patte de la capacite pendant le test de fuite. and a heat source, such as a heat gun.
40
Sim ply connect th e capacitor to the LC103 a nd measure its change in value , o r change very slightly as heat is applied.
value. Then apply heat to the capacitor while you continue An I type cera m ic will decrease in value , while a P type
to measure its value . A COG o r NPO type capacito r wi ll not ceramic will in crease in capacitance.

INDUCTOR T E S T I N G - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
In-Circuit Inductor Test ins ide a shield to reduce in-circuit interference. These
shie ld ed co ils may not ring good when tested with the
The LC l 03 ReZolver can b e used to measure the IND UCTOR RI GER test because the metal shie ld absorbs
inductance of a coil with the component still in circuit. The some of the ring energy. A shielded coil is good if it rings
actual measurement test is very similar to the out-of-circuit ten or mo re. Howeve r, if it rings less than ten , remove the
tes t except for a n addi tio n a l parallel component check. metal shield , if possible , and test the coil aga in. If it now
T his check is done automatically when the in-circuit test is r ings 10 or more , th e coi l is good. If you are un able to
activated. If this test fails the LC103 will return a measured remove the me tal shield, make a comparison test using an
value along with a "S GGEST REMOVAL" message. If the ide ntical, known good compone nt.
p a ral le l component c heck passes , th e ReZolver will
measure the true inductance of the coil by measuring the Testing Flyback Transformers and Deflection Yokes
counter EMF produced as a changing curre nt is applied.
A llyback transform er is a special type of transforme r which
Mutual Inductance prod uces the focus and second a node vo ltages fo r a CRT.
Ma ny flybacks a lso have seve r a l lowe r voltage, re lative ly
Mutual inductance o cc urs wh e n two or more coils are high current wi ndings wh ich power oth er circuits and the
wound on the same form and connected together. In such CRT filamen t. Because of the hi g h voltages present, a
cases, the total inductance m easu red across the windi ngs flyback transformer may develop an internal shorted turn
will not equal the sum of the measured inductances of the or leakage between win dings. A shorted turn reduces the
individual coils. This i d ue to the mutua l inductance of the effi cie n cy of th e tra nsfo rm er and usua lly ca uses seve re
coils. T he total measured value m ay be hig her or lower circuit proble m s. Inductan ce m easurements are of little
tha n the individual inductances, depending on whether the value when troubleshooting a flybac k, since a sho rted turn
coils arc a iding o r opposing . In addition , th e effects of causes little cha nge in inductance value. In additi o n , th e
mutual inductance de pend o n th e type of core material, inductance value is se ldom known. The LC103 l DUCTOR
th e spacing of th e turns, a nd th e type of turns used. The R I GE R test wi ll d e tect a shorte d turn in any o f the
a m ount of inductance measured by th e ReZo lve r will be primary or seco nda ry windings of a llyback. Using the
the same inductance seen by the circuit. LC103 's leakage su pply, you can find any leakage between
windin gs.

Ringing Flyback Transformers

L_ 2280 uH
_J 1870 UH
_J B+
(When Mutual lnduclance Adds) (When Mutual Inductance Subtracts)

Black Lead --._____

Fig. 30: The effects of mutual inductance may add or subtract from the
sum of the individual.

Ringing P eaking Coils

Peaking coi ls a r e often wou nd a r ound a resistor. The Red

resisto r serves to lower the Q of the coil to prevent ringing.
For this reason, some good peaki ng coils wi ll no t read good
o n th e I D UCTOR RI GER test. The lowe r th e res istor
value, th e fewe r rings th e coil will read.

The best test for peaking coils is to observe th e number of

r in gs , rather t h a n th e GOOD / BAD indi cation , and
compare the coil to an identical known good compo nent. Fig. 31: Connect to the primary side of a f/yback to do the ringing test.

Ringing Metal Shielded Coils A Oyback transforme r may be tested in or o ut of circuit with
th e LC103 Rin ge r test, altho ugh several exte rnal loads m ay
Sometimes coils, such as IF transform e rs, may be placed need to be disconnected before a good fl yback wi ll produce

41
more th an 10 rin gs. Connect th e LC103 to the p rimary of in the following order until th e flyback rings "GOO D."
th e flyback and select t h e "YOKES & FLYBACKS" 1. B+ su pply
COMPONENT TYPE switch. Press and hold th e Inductor 2. Horizontal yoke
Ringer test button and read the condition of th e flyback as 3. Damper d iode
"GOOD" or "BAD" in the LC103 display. If the flyback 4.H.O.T. collector
rings "BAD'', disconnect any loads until the d isplay reads 5. Scan derived suppl ies
"GOOD." If the flyback is completely disconnected and still 4. If the flyback rings "GOOD" after you disconnect a load,
r ings "BAD" the flyback has a shorted turn, or the winding the flyback does not have a shorted turn. If the fl yback
to which the test leads are connected is open. In either rings "GOOD" after disconnecting a scan derived
case, the flyback should be considered bad. supply, double check the components in that supply to
NOTE: Ce1tain flybacks have removab/,e cores. The ferrite core must make sure none of them are shorted or leaky.
be installed inside the windings in order for the jlyback to ring 5. If all the loads are disconnected and the ringing test still
"GOOD." indicates BAD, completely remove it from the circuit. If
the flyback primary still rings less than I 0, the flyback
A few flybacks used in some small solid state chassis have a has a shorted turn and must be replaced.
low impedance primary which wi ll not ring when good.
However, these flyba ck s will always have a secondary Leakage Testing Flyback Transformers
winding which will ring good if the transformer is good.
Simply ring the secondary windings. If one rings good the In some cases, a flyback may develop a short or leakage
flyback does not have any shorted turns. If no winding rings from one winding to another or between a winding and the
good the flyback is bad. core or mounting bracket. Such a leakage path will often
pull down the B+ supply. Sometimes this will be a zero
A winding in the secondary of a flyback may occasionally resistance short that can be found with an ohmmeter, but
open , rather than short. An open winding will not load the many times the leakage only occurs when a higher voltage
other windings as a short does. If the operation of the is applied. If the fl yback passes the Ringer Test and you
chassis indicates the possibility of an open wind ing, leave suspect possi ble leakage (the chassis draws excessive
the LC103 connected to the primary winding and short current, blows H.O.T.s, or shuts down) check the flyback
each of the windings with a jumper. Shorting out a winding using the LC103's LEAKAGE function. You Shou l d
will reflect back to the primary and cause the ring test to go measure no leakage between separate windings or between
from "GOOD" to "BAD ." If the ring test does not change, any winding and the core or mounting bracket with 1000
the winding being shorted with the jumper is open. volts applied. When checking an IHVT for leakage use both
polarities of voltage to make sure the leakage path does not
involve a diode.

Do not connect the LC103 test leads to a flyback NOTE: Leakage between windings is different than a shorted turn.
in-circuit until all power to the chassis has be removed, A H i Pot test is needed to find leakage between windings. The
and the AC line cord has been disconnected. Ringer test will find the more common sho1ted turn but will not
find leakage or shorts between windings.
~~~~~~~ATfENTION
To perform the flyback leakage test:
Ne pas connecter la sonde du LC103 a un transformateur 1. Completely remove the flyback from the chassis.
en circuit avant de vous assurer que le chassis n'est plus 2. Connect the test leads across two separate windings.
sous tension et que le cordon secteur est deconnecte. 3. Enter 1000 volts into the LC103.
NOTE: You can select an)' type of capacitor or no component at all.
4. Press and hold the LEAKAGE button and read the
To ring a flyback transformer: amount ofleakage. It should drop to 0.0 uA. If the
1. Connect the test leads or probe across the primary current does not drop to 0.0 uA the flyback is bad and
winding of the flyback. should be replaced.
2. If the filament is powered by a scan derived supply 5. Repeat steps 3-5 for all combinations of windings.
disconnect the CRT socket board from the CRT to
prevent the filaments from loading the secondary and Many flybacks have th e high vo ltage rectifier diodes
giving a false ringing indication. (tripler) built into the secondary winding. These Ilybacks
3. Press and hold the I DUCTOR RINGER test button. If are called Integrated High Voltage Transformers (IHVTs).
the LC103 display reads "GOOD" the flyback is good, The Ringing test will locate defective turns in these types of
and the remaining steps are not necessary. A "BAD" flybacks as well. A problem with the diodes will result in
reading indicates that either the flyback has a shorted problems with the high voltage, even though the Ringing
turn or that it is being loaded down. The following steps test indicates "GOOD." If the fl yback r ings "GOOD" but
will locate the defect. Continue disconnecting the loads produces no high voltage, one of the diodes is open. If the

42
hi gh ,·o ltage is several t h ousand vo lts too low and the To test horizontal yoke windings:
fl yback rings good, one or more of the diodes is shorted. In 1. Remove power from the ch ass is.
e ither case the flyback is defective and must be replaced. 2. Disconnect the yo ke fro m the circ ui t by pulling the yoke
plug or unsoldering the wires.
Ringing Deflection Yokes 3. Connect the test lead s to the horizontal wi nd ing.
4. Select the ''YOKES & FLYBACKS" COMPONENT 1YPE
Video deflection yokes are special inductors wh ich are used button.
to move a CRT e lectron b eam both ver tic a ll y a nd 5. Press and hold the INDUCTOR RI GER test button
hori zontally. As wit h flybacks , the LC103 Rin g ing test and read t he test res ult in th e LC103 display.
provid es a qui ck and reliable GOOD / BAD test. Yokes 6. If the 1inge r test result is 10 or more the horizon tal yoke
should be tested while they are still mounted on th e CRT, is good. If it r ings less th an 10, th e horizontal yoke is
since a shorted winding may be caused by the pressure of defective.
the yoke mounting. Relieving the pressure may cause the
short to go away. To test the vertical windings:
1. Remove power fro m th e chassis.
A defl ection yoke has two sets of windings (ho rizon tal and 2. Disconnect the yo ke from th e circuit by pulling the yoke
vertical) wh ich must both test good. The yoke lead s must be plug or unsold ering the wires.
disconnected from the circuit. T his is often accomplished by 3. If the yoke has damping resistors across the vertical
simply pulling the yoke plug from the chassis. The ve rtical wind ing, unso lder one end of th e resistor.
windings often have damping resistors across them which 4. Connect th e test leads to th e verti cal winding.
also must be disconnected. These resistors may be o n the 5. Select the ''YOKES & FLYBACKS" COMPONENT 1YPE
chassis, in whic h case simply pulling the yo ke plug wi ll button.
disconnect them. They may also be soldered righ t to the 6. Press and hold the I ' DUCTOR RI !GER test button
yoke, mean ing you will need to unsolde r o ne side of the and read the tes t r esult in the LC103 display.
resistor. Test both yo ke windings with t h e "YOKES & 7. If the 1inger test result is 10 or more the vertical yoke is
FLYBACK" COMPONENT 1YPE button selected. good. If th e vertical windings do not test "GOOD", try
ringing each winding separate ly.
NOTE: Test the vertical windings individually on yokes I.hat have
series connerted vertical windings. The vertical windings should
read within 3 rings of each other, but may not necessarily ring Special Note on Yokes and Flybacks:
"GOOD" with 10 or more rings. Any such yoke that has a ring A few yo It es and jlybacks have very low Qfor use in certain solid
difference greater than 3 rings, or an inductance value difference state chassis. These components may not ring "GOOD" but may
greater than 10 % will give problems in the chassis. rather ring only 8 or 9 times. To determine if they are good or bad
simply add a "shorted turn" and again check the nuniber of rings.
WARNING if the yoke orjlyback is good, the number of rings will drofJ
drastically when the short is added. A defective yoke or jlyback will
Do not connect the LC103 to the yoke in the
not be affected by the shorted turn and the number of rings will
chassis until all power has been removed and the
change only 1 or 2 counts if at all.
AC plug has been disconnected.
A simp!,e "shorted tum" is a puce ofsolder or heavy gauge wire
- - -- - - - - ATIENTION - - -- - - - -
formed into a loop. Press the loop close to the windings of the yoke
N e pas connecter la sonde du LC103 a un tube en circuit or wrap it around the core or windings of the jlyback.
avant de vous assurer que le chassis n'est plus sous tension
et que le cordon secteur est deconnecte.

TRANSMISSION CABLE T E S T I N G · - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

~'---{~c-,-~-R-,~
T esting Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cables and transmission lines have characteristics of

bo th an inductor and a capacitor , as illustrated in fig ure 32.
The LC103 ReZolver can be used to d e term ine the length
of a piece of coaxial cable (or th e distan ce to a break) an d L, = Series Inductance
C 1 = Shunt Capacitance
the distance to a sh o rt between the center conductor and
R, =Shunt Resistance (dielectric leakage)
sh ie ld. An y breakd own in the di e le ctric can a lso be
R2 = Series Resistance
d e tected using the LC10 3 leakage power supply.
Fig. 32: A length of coaxial cable consists of capacitance and
inductance distributed throughout the cable 's length.
43
Determining A Cable's Length or Distance To An Open Yo u can also use this test to determine the length or to
pinpoint a break in multi-conductor cable that has 3 or
A le ngth of coaxial cable open at both ends is equivalent to more conductors. Due to variations in conductor spacing
a long capacitor, with the two conductors form i ng the and noise pickup, however, the accuracy will not be as good
plates. Every type of coaxial cable h as a normal amount of as for coaxial cable. Follow the same procedure as above,
capacitance pe r foot, specified i n picofarads per foot except tie all but one of the conductors togethe r to form
(pF/ ft). The capacitance per foo t values for some common the outer "shield." Measure the capacitance be tween this
coaxial cable types are listed in Table 12. The le ngth of a "shie ld" and th e remaining single wire . You can determine
piece of cable, as well as the distance to an open, is found the capacitance per foot for the cable using the procedure
by simply measuring the capacitance between the center in the section "Determining Capacitance and Inductance
and outer conductors a nd di'viding this total capacitance by Per Foot."
the cable's capacitance per foot value. If possible, measure
from both ends of the cable to m ore accurately p inpoint NOTES: I . The accuracy of these measurements depends on the
the break. In most cases, the length of a cable can be cab/,e tolerance. The values listed in Table I 2 are nominal amounts
detennined within 1-2%. which may ve1)' slightly (within 2 %) with cable manufacturer. 2.
Excessive crimping or clamping along the cable will change the
To measure the length of a cable: total capacitance reading.
1. Zero the LC103 test leads.
2. Connect the red test lead to th e center conductor and Locating A Short In Coaxial Cable
the black test lead to the braided shield outer conductor
of an open (unterminated) cable. A coaxial cable which has a short between its center
3. Press the CAPACITOR VALUE test button and read the conductor and outer conductor is similar to a very long
total capacitance of the cable. inductor. Th e LC103 can be used to determine the
4. Divide the LC103 capacitance reading by the cable's distance to a short using the INDUCTOR VALUE test. The
capacitance per foot value. This gives the length of the amount of inductance per foot of a coaxial cable is not
cable, or the distance Lo the break in feet. usuall y published by the cable manufac turer, and the

50·55 Ohm 70·75 Ohm

Nominal Nominal Nominal Nominal Nominal Nominal
RG/U Cable Type lmpedence Cap in pF/FT Inductance RG/U Cable Type lmpedence Cap in pF Inductance uH/FT
58/U 50 29.5 6A/U 75 20
au 52 29.5 6A/U Foam 75 20
au Foam 50 26 11U 75 20.5
aAJU 52 29.5 11U Foam 75 17.3
10A/U 52 29.5 11A/U 75 20.5
1aA/U 52 29.5 12A/U 75 20.5
5a/U 53.5 28.5 13A/U 74 20.5
5a/U Foam 50 26 348/U 75 20
5aAJU 50 30.a 358/U 75 20.5
5aC/U 50 29.5 59/U 73 21
saC/U Foam 50 26 59/U Foam 75 17.3
74A/U 52 29.5 59/8U 75 20.5
174/U 50 30-30.8 164/U 75 20.5
177/U 50 30 216/U 75 20.5
212/U 50 29.5
213/U 50 30.5 90·125 Ohm
214/U 50 30.5
Nominal Nominal Nominal
215/U 50 30.5 RG/U Cable Type lmpedence Cap In pF Inductance uH/FT
219/U 50 30 62/U 93 13.5
225/U 50 30 62A/U 93 13.5
224/U 50 30 638/U 125 10
718/U 93 13.5
798/U 125 10

Table 12 - Capacitance per foot values for common coaxial cable types.
44
amount for th e same type of cable may vary significantly All cable has a normal amount of capacitance per foot and
from one manufacturer to another. Therefore, to calculate any significant change t hat occurs over a period of time
th e d istance to a short you must first use a sample length of indicates a developing proble m. The best check for aging
cable to deter min e the inductance pe r foot value, as cable is to measure a nd record the total capacitance of the
explained in the following section. Record this amount in installation when it is first installed. If th e initial value is not
Table 12 for each type and manufacturer of cable you kn own, yo u can multiply the length of the cable by its
encounter. nominal ca pacitance per foot. Then compare periodic
capacitance m easurements back to the initial amount and
To detennine the distance to a short: look for any changes . As the die lectric becomes
1. Zero the LC103 test leads. contaminated , the LC103 capacitance reading will increase.
2. Connect the red test lead to the center conductor and
the black test lead to the braided shield outer conductor The LC103 leakage power supply also provides a good test
of a shorted cable. of a cable's condition . Simpl y measure the amount of
3. Press the INDUCTOR VALUE test button and read the leakage through the dielectric between the conductors.
total inductance of the cable. Most cables h ave a maximum operating voltage of 1000
4. Di,·ide the LC10 3 inductance reading by the cable's volts or more and should be tested with the LC103 leakage
inductance per foot value. Th is g ives the d istance to the supply set to 999.9 volts. A few "air space" dielectric types of
short in feet. coaxial cable, such as RG37, RG62, RG71 , and RG72 have a
maximum operating vo ltage of 750 vo lts and sh ould be
NOTE: To heljJ jJinpoint the short with greater accuracy, measure tested at this lower vo ltage.
the inductance from both ends of the cable.
WARNING - - - - - - - -
Determining Capacitance and Inductance Per Foot
This test should only be performed by a qualified
The ca pacitan ce and inductance per foot va lues for a person who understands the shock and safety hazards
particular typ e of coaxial ca bl e can be determined by of up to I 000 volts applied to the test leads and
measuring a sample cab le of known length. After yo u open ends on the coaxial cable.
measure the amount of capacitance and inductance with
the LC 103, simply divide the tota l amount by th e length of
the sa mple. A sample length of at least 10 fee t is ATTENTION - - - -- - -
reco mme nded for an acc urate capacitance m easu re ment,
and 25 fee t for accurate induc tance measurem ent. Le LC103 est fait pour etre utilise par une personne qui
est techniquement capable et qui comprend Jes chocs
To detennine capacitance and inductance per foot: que peut produire l'equipement (jusqu'a 1000 V) a la
1. Zero the LC103 test leads. sortie de la sonde ou du cable coaxial.
2. Connect the red test lead to th e ccnte1- condu ctor and
the black test lead to the braided shie ld outer conductor
at one e nd of the sample cable. A good piece of cable should have n o leakage when the
3. Leave the other end of the cable open to measure vo ltage from the LC 103 is app li e d betwee n the ce nter
capac itance. Short them togethe r to measure conductor an d outsid e shie ld. The length of the cable
inductance. b e in g tested wil l make no difference on the leakage
4. Press t he CAPACITOR VALUE or INDUCTOR VALUE read ing. Any leakage read ing in dicates the dielectric is
test button and read the total capacitance or inductance breaking down.
of the cable.
5. Divide t he LC103 reading by the length of the sample
cable.

Identifying Aging Cable

All coaxial cables eve ntually d egrade to the point where

they need to be replace d. The LCl 03 can be used for
preve ntative maintenance checks of coaxial ca bl e to
de termine if dete rioration is beginning to occur. As a cable
begins to fa il , the dielectric separa tin g the conductors
becomes co ntaminated, causing a change in the cable's
capaci tance and the DC leakage through the dielectric.

45
TESTING HIGH VOLTAGE D I O D E S - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
High vol tage diodes, su c h as those fo und in vid eo hig h
voltage and focus voltage sections may require up lo 200
volts before they are forward biased and b egin to conduct. Le LC103 est fait pour etre utilise par une personne
They cannot be tesled with an o hmmete r since, with on ly a qui est techniquement capable et qui comprend les
fe w volts app lied , a good high voltage diode will simply chocs que peut produire l'equipement (jusqu'a 1000 V)
indicale open no matter h ow th e ohmme te r is connected. lorsque le test d e fuite est utilise. NE PAS tenir la
capacite dans la main ou toucher la sonde ou la patte
The capacitor leakage test of the LC103 provides sufficient de la capacite pendant le test de fuite.
voltage to bias high voltage diodes into conduction and
also to test the m fo r reve rse breakdown. Tesl the diode fo r To test a high voltage diode:
normal fo rward conduction firsl. Then reve rse th e test 1. Connect the red lest lead lo Lh e diode anode ("-"end)
leads and c h eck for reve rse leakage. and the black test lead to th e diode's cath o d e ("+"e nd ) .
2. Enter 50 volts in to the leakage supply and depress the
CAPACITOR LEAKAGE test button.
3. If Lhe LC103 display sh ows n o leakage, apply more
vo ltage until the diode begins to conduct, as indica ted
by a leakage current reading of 100 uA or grealer.
Fig. 33: To test a high voltage diode, enough voltage is needed to 4. Once th e diode begi ns to conduct, do not apply any
forward bias all the junctions. high er voltage as this will cause excessiYe cu rren t flow
th rough the d iode and damage it.
5. Ir you apply 1,000 volts to th e diode and it still sh ows no
conduction, it is open and you do not need to continue
the test.
6. When the diode begi ns to conduct, release the
This test should only be performed by a person who CAPACITOR LEAKAGE button a nd reverse the test lead
understands the shock hazard of up to 1000 volts applied to connection to th e diode.
the test leads when the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE TEST 7. Set Lh e leakage power supply to the PIV (peak inverse
button is depressed. DO NOT hold the diode in your hand, voltage) of the diode shown in a replacement guide. If
or touch the test leads or diode leads when making this test. the PIV is greater than 1000 V (as it will be for most
diodes) set the leakage p ower supply to 1,000 volts.)
8. De press the CAPACITOR LEAKAGE buuon a n d r ead
th e leakage curre nt. A good high voltage diode will
typically show less tha n 2 uA of reverse current.

HIGH POTENTIAL T E S T I N G - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Th e LC103 ReZolver can be used to locate leakage curre nts - - - - - - - - ATTENTION - - - - - - - -

as low as 0.1 uA, su ch as the leakage b etwee n PC board
foi ls, lea kage betwee n wind ings of a tra nsform er, a nd Le LC103 est fait pour etre utilise par une p ersonne
leakage bet~wee n switch contacts a n d sh afts. These leakage qui est techniquement capable et qui comprend les
c urrents are much too s ma ll to b e measured with an chocs que peut produire l 'equipement Qusqu'a 1000 V)
o hmm eter, bu t a r e measura ble wh e n a high vo ltage lorsque le test de fuite est utilise. NE PAS tenir la
pote ntial (Hi-Pot) is applied with the LC103 leakage power capacite dans la main ou toucher la sonde ou la patte
supply. de la capacite pendant le test de fuite.

- - - - - - - - WARNING
Traces on a bare printed circu it boa rd should sh ow n o
These tests are only to be performed by a person l eakage wh en tes ted at 1000 volts wit h the LC103 . Any
who understands the shock hazard of up to I 000 volts leakage indicates co n taminatio n on th e board, o r fin e, hair-
applied to the test leads and to the component under like projectio n s from the etched traces sh orting be tween
test when the Capacitor Leakage button is depressed. th e traces.
Do not hold the test leads or the component under
test in your hands when making any Hi Pot test. AC p ower transformers sh ould be tested to m a ke sure they
provide proper isolation from the AC li n e. Transfo rmers

46
should be tested for leakage b etween the prima1-y and one secondary winding, each should be tested for leakage.
secondary, as we ll as for leakage between the windings and Most transformers used today have a 1500 m il break down
the m e la l co re or frame. To test for leakage between r aling and should have 0 microamps of leakage when teste d
primar:' and secondary disconnect a ll transformer leads a t 1000 volts wilh the LC103. An y leakage indicates a
from Lhe circuit. Connect one of the LC103 test leads Lo potential shock and safety hazard.
one of the primary leads a nd the other LC103 lead to one
of the secondary leads. If the transforme r has mo re Lhan

MEASURING HIGH VOLTAGE RESISTORS TO 1 GIGOHM"- - - - - - - - -

Focus and hig h voltage resistors up to 1 Gigohm may be 1000V
m easure d using the leakage power supply in the LC103.
These resisto rs a re often much too large in value to be w
(.!)
measured with a ny other test. The ReZolver will read the
~
:...J
100V
resistance of these resistors without any calcula tio ns. 0
>
c
The range of res istance whic h the LC103 will m easure w
:::i
D.
dep e nds on th e app lie d vo ltage. T ab le 13 s h ows the D. 10V
ct
amount o f a pplied voltage need ed to produce a usable
resistance readin g. Simply set the leakage power supply to a
voltage just high eno ug h to read the anticipated resistance, 1V-1---+--+---+--__,f----+---+--+----+-
and press th e CA PACITOR LEAKAGE test bu tto n. The 10 100 1k 10k 1OOk 1M 1OM 100M 1000M
ReZolver will disp lay th e amount of resistan ce d irectly in
OHMS
ohms.
Table 13 - To measure resistance values up to 1 Gigohm, enter the
WARNING - - - - - - - - necessary leakage voltage amount to place the resistance value within
the shaded area.
This test is only intended to measure high voltage
resistors. Some resistors have voltage ratings of 200 volts
or less and will be damaged by high test voltages.
Apply only enough voltage to the resistor (as shown
in Table 13) to produce a reading.

- -- - - - - ATTENTION

Ce test est seulement fait pour mesurer des resistances

de haut voltage. Certaines resistances ne peuvent accepter
que des voltages de 200V ou moins et seront endommages
par le test de haut voltage. Utiliser un voltage
su ffisant(Voir table 13) pour obtenir une lecture.

47
 APPENDIX
The capacitor is one of the most common components other. The following is a brief explanation of the capacitor,
used in e lectronics, but less is known about it than any how it works, and how it fails.

The basic capacitor is a pair of m etal plates sepa rated by a n

insulating material called the di electric. The size of the
plates, the typ e of dielectri c, and th e thi ckness of th e
dielectric d etermines the ca pacity. To increase capacity,
you can increase the size of the plates, increase the number
of plates, use a different or thinne r d ie lectric. The closer
Charged Capacitor Uncharged Capacitor
the p la tes, or the thinn er th e dielectric, the la rger th e
capacity fo r a given size plate. Because fla t plates arc rather Fig. 36: Applying a potential to a capacitor causes the dipoles in the
impractical, capacitors are generally made by putting an dielectric to align with the applied potential. When the capacitor
insulating materia l (dielectric) between two foil suips a nd discharges the dipoles return to an unaligned, random order.
rolling the combination into a tight package or roll ,
dielectric and the n measuring the plates, we would find the
voltage that the capacitor had been charged to before we
had removed the dielectric. The charge of th e capacitor is
ac tuall y s tored in the dielectric material. When the
Foil Plate ca pacitor is discharged , the electri c dipoles become re-
for this orien ted in a random fashion, d ischarging th eir stored
end energy.

v\Then a capacitor is connected to a voltage source, it does

n o t become fu lly charged instantaneously, but takes a
Foil Plate certain amount of tim e. The tim e requ i r e d f or the
for this capacitor to charge is determined by the size or capac ity of
the capacitor, and the resistor in series with · the capacitor

~ or its own internal series resistance. This is called the RC

time constant. Capacity in Farads multiplied by resistance
in Ohms equals th e RC time constant in seconds. The curve
Fig. 35: Many capacitors are made of foil separated by a dielectric
and rolled into a tight package. of the charge of the capacitor is the RC charge curve.
100

The o ld expla n ation of h ow a capacitor works h ad th e

electrons piling up on one plate forcing the electrons off of
90
80
,/
,,,, __,,. i.----

th e other to ch a rge a capacitor. This made it d ifficult to

explain othe r actions of th e capacitor. Faraday's theory 70
~
m o re closely approaches the way a capacitor really works. 60 ~"
H e stated that the charge is in the dielecuic material and
not on the plates of th e capacitor. Inside the ca pacitor's 50
!
I
•
die lectri c material, there are tiny elect1ic dipo les. When a 40
voltage is a pplied to the plates of th e capacitor, th e d ipo les
are stressed a nd forced to line u p in rows creating stored 30 I

energy in the die lectri c. T he dielectri c has undergone a 20

physical change simila r to that of sort iron when exposed to
current through an inducto r when it becomes a magnet. If 10
we were ab le to remove the dielectric o r a c h arged 0
capacitor, and then m eas ure the voltage on th e plates of ORC 1RC 2RC 3RC 4RC 5RC
the capacitor , we would find no voltage. Reinserting th e Fig. 37: Capacitors follow an RC charge time as they charge to the
applied voltage.
48
There are many different types of capac i tors, using
Cathode Anode
diffe r enl lypes of di elec trics, eac h wit h its ow n be t Electrode Electrode
capability. When replacing capacito rs, it is best to replace
with a capac itor havin g not o nl y the same capacily and
lOle rance, bul the same type of die lectric and temperatu re
c h aracteristics as wel l. This wi ll ins ur e co ntinu ed
performance eq ua l to the origina l.

T h e capac ito r is o flen nam e d according to the lype of

di e lectri c which is used , su c h as pa pe r , m yla r, ce ra mic,
mica or alumin um e lectrolytic.

t
Pape r and mica were the standard dielectric materials used
in capacitors for yea rs. Ceramic became popul a r du e to ilS
stability and controlled ch aracteristics and lower cost over
mica. Today, th e re are many die lectrics with different
ra tin gs and uses in capacitors. Plas ti c fi lms of po lyester,
p olycarbonate, polystyrene, polyp ropylene, and polys ulfone
0
11\/V\;I
Rs
=Series Resistance
(Leads, Electrodes,
And Electrolyte)
tS Rp
=Leakage Resistance
Of Dielectric Film
0

a r e u sed in many of the n ewer large value , sm a ll size

capacitors. Each film has its own special characteristics and Fig. 38: Construction of an electrolytic capacitor and its equivalent
is chosen lo be used in the circuit for this special feature. circuit.
Some of th e plast ic fi lms are also metal ized by vacu um
p la ting lhe fi lm with a metal. These are ge nerally ca lled the same capacity and working vo ltage than an alu minum
se ll~h eal in g type capacitors a nd sh ould nol be replaced lytic. Tantal um lyti cs are po pul ar in circuits where high
with any other type . ca pacity a nd low leakage a re re quired. The capacity and
voltage r ating of l he tan ta l um lytic is limited, and for
Aluminum Eleetrolyties ex tremely large values of capacity a nd hig her vo ltages in
power supply filteri ng; the a luminum lytic is still the first
T he a lum in um e lec trolyti c capac itor or "Lyti c" is a very ch o ice.
po pul ar compone nt. Large value capacity in a re latively
small case with a fa irly high voltage rating can be obtained Ceramics
guile easily. The alu m inum lytic is used in power supply
filterin g , a udi o a nd vi d eo co u p li ng and in bypa Ce r am ic die lec tr ic is the m os t versatile of a ll. Many
applicalions. va riations of capacity can be created by altering th e ceramic
materia l. Capacitors th a t increase, stay lhe same value, or
T he alum inum lytic is made by using a pure aluminu m foil decrease Yalue with temperature changes can be made. If a
wound wilh a paper soaked in a liquid e lectrolyte. When a ceramic disc is marked with a le ner P such as PlOO, then
voltage is applied to th e combination, a thin laye r of oxide the value of lhe capacito r wi ll in crease 100 parts per million
film fo rms o n th e pure alu m inum forming th e die lectric. per degree Celsius increase in tempera ture. If the capacitor
As Jong as th e e lectrolyte re m ains liquid, th e capacito r is is marked NPO o r COG, th e n th e va lue of capacity will
good o r can be reformed afte r sitting for a wh ile . Wh en the remai n constant with a n increase in the tempera ture.
e lectrolyte dries o ut, the leakage goes up and the capacito r
loses capacity. T his ca n h a ppen to a lu minum lyti cs j ust Ceramic disc capacitors marked with a n T such as 1500
sitting o n the shelf. When a n alu minum lytic starts drying will decrease in capacity as th e te mpe rature increases. The
oul, th e ca pacito r begins to show d ielectri c a bsorplion. n egative te mpe ra ture coefficie nt is important in m any
Excess ive ESR is a lso a co mm o n fa ilu re co nditi o n for c irc ui ts suc h as the wned c irc uils of th e r a dio and
alumin um lytic ca pacitors. te levision IF. The temperalUre coefficient of an inductor is
p ositive a nd th e i nductance wi ll in crease as th e
Tantalum Electrolytics tempe rature rises. If the tuning capacitor across lhe coil is a
negative coefficie nt, then th e ne t result will be zero o r very
The tanlalu m electrol ytic capacito r is also quile popular. littJc change.
While the leakage in the aluminum lytic is very high due lO
the nalUre o f i ts constructio n , leakage in tanta lum Ge n e ral type cer amic discs are often m arked with s uc h
capacitors is very low. In addition, tantalum capacitors can letters as Z5U, Z5F, Y5V, X5V, a nd so fo rth . This indicates
be co nstru cted with muc h tig hte r to le r a n ces th a n th e the type of temperature curve for th e particular capacitor.
a lu m in um lytic. T he tan talum is much sma lle r in size fo r Ceramic capacitors that are no t NPO o r rated with N or P

49
 60
so .. +
t
40 so
Temperature Coeffielent

30 40

Capacitance Change e
...01c:~
vs. Temperature 30
2.0

.01~. ..0
0
1.0 20
0
~
"'ca
.c 10
0

r0
0

ii ·1.0 0
u
0

c
1l !! ·1 0
·2.0 u
a
1l -20 ~
·30 c
e
&.
-4 0 -30

·SS -4S ·35 ·2S ·IS ·5 5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 9S 105 115 12S

Fig. 39: Temperature change versus capacity change of P100 to N750 ·SO ~------------...:..... _ ___,
·55 -4S ·35 ·25 ·1S ·S S 15 25 35 45 55 65 7S 85 9S 105 11S 125
temperature compensated ceramic disc capacitors.
Temperatur• ~c

cype characteristics will ha,·e wider temperature variations Fig. 40: Temperature change versus capacity change of N750 to
N5600 temperature compensated ceramic disc capacitors.
and can \'aqr both positive and n egative with temperature
changes. The Z5U probably h as the greatest change and
will only be fo und in non-critical appl ications such as B+ used in bypass applica tion s where the ac tua l val ue of
power supply decoupling. These type of capacitors should capacity is not critical.
not be used in c ritical applicati ons such as oscillator and
timing circuits. Ceramic capacitors have been the most popular capacitors
in e lec tronics because of the versatility of the d ifferent
A ceramic capaci tor marked GMV means that the value temperature coefficients and the cost. When replacing a
marked on the capacitor is the Guaran teed Minimum ceramic disc capaci tor, be sure to re place the defective
Value of capacity at room temperature. The actual val ue of capacitor with one havi n g the sam e c haracteris tics and
the capacitor can be much higher. This type of capacitor is voltage rating.

.,
Cl
.,c: +10
.r:
0
.,
"c: +20
..
+8
+8

!!!
., ·2
·c:; ..
.,a. ......
0
·10

* ·55 .35 -15

Temperature °C STABLE TYPES

.,
~ ·:~ r-----------------------------------~~
.c: 0
0

·55 .35 ·15 +S +25 ... +65 +85 +105 +125

Temperature °C SEMI-STABLE TYPES

.,
Cl
...
+10
.,c:
.r:
0
·10
0
., ·20
-30
"c:
!!!
..o
-so X5U, YSU
·c:;
.,a. -so
-70 zsu
., -80 xsv. '{5V. 't!J"
0

*
.90
·100
.55 -25 .15

Temperature °C
+5 +25 ... +85 +85 +105 +1 25

GENERALPURPOSETYPES

Fig. 41: Temperature change versus capacity change of non-temperature compensated ceramic disc
capacitors.
50
CAPACITOR FAILURE M O D E S - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
An ideal capaciLOr is defined as "a device consisting of two Electrolytic capacito rs are a nother example of capacitors
e lec trod es, separated by a d ielectric, for introducing that can change value in circuit o r o n the she lf. As th ese
capacita nce into a n e lectric circ ui t." Unfortun ately, we capacitors dry o ut, they eventually lose their ca pacita nce
don't work with ideal com pon e nts. The capac itor we due to the fai lure of th e aluminum oxide film m aking up
encounter every day in our service work are much more th e die lectric. A c h a n ge in va lu e i n a n a l um inum
complex than th is simple definition. In an actual capacitor, electrolytic will often also be preceded by other defects,
a certain amo unt of current leaks through th e dielectric or such as hig h leakage, high die lectri c absorptio n and / or
th e insu lation . Capacitors h ave i nternal ser ies r esistances, high in ternal resistance.
can ex hibit a n effect called dielectric absorption, and the
ca pacita nce ca n c ha nge in value. If we were to d raw a
circui t to rep resent an actual capacitor, it migh t look li ke
th e circu it in Fig ure 42. Capacitor Plate

Crack (Fissure)
Capacitor
,.. , Lead soldered to
•--h'--r- capacitor plate
Rp

Fig. 43: A ceramic disc is made of a silver coated ceramic dielectric

which is coated with a protective coating. Large cracks or fissures in
the dielectric may develop which change the capacitance value.

Rs Equivalent Series Resis tance (ESR)

C1
I
Another proble m which develops in capacitors is excessive
- - - - - - - - - .J Equivale nt Series Resistance (ESR). All capacito rs have a
Fig. 42: Equivalent circuit of a practical capacitor. certain a m ou nt o f ESR. Sources th at contribute to ESR
inc lud e lead res istance, dissipation in the diele c tri c
material, and foil resistance. Sma ll , non-electrolytic
T he capacitor C 1 represents the true capacitance, the capacitors shou ld have extremely small amounts of ESR. An
r esistance Rp represents the leakage path th rough the e lectrolytic capaci to r which ha excessive ESR will develop
capacitor, and the resistance Rs, called the Equ ivalent internal heat which greatly reduces the life of the capacitor.
Series Resistance (ESR) represents all of the combined I n addition, ESR cha nges the impedance of th e capacitor
internal series resistances in the capacitor. in circu it since it has the sam e effect as adding an external
resistor in series with the component.
Value Change
As Figu re 44 shows, the ESR is th e combined resistances of
Capacitors can cha nge value. O n som e mul ti-layer foi l the connecting leads, the elecu·ode plates, the resistance of
ca paci tors, poor weldi ng o r soldering of th e foil to the the lead to p la te conn ections, a nd th e losses assoc iated wi th
leads can cause a n open to one of the foi ls to develop due th e die lectr ic . A ll capac i tors h ave some ESR. No r mal
to stress of voltage or tempe rature. This can result in a loss amo unts of ESR are to lerated by the capacitor and th e
of a lm ost one-h a lf of the capac i tor 's marked ca pacity. circuit it is used in. De fects can occur, however, in the
Ce r am ic disc capacito rs ca n also change val u e du e to capacitor which will increase th e ESR in the capacitor. Any
fissures o r cracks. Small fissures or cracks in the ceramic increase in ESR can affect the circuit in which the capacitor
insu lating material can be created by thermal stress from is used, as well as the capacitor itse lf.
exposure to hea t and cold. Sometimes very sm all fissures
develop which do not affect th e capacitor until much later. Excessive ESR causes heat to bu ild up within the capacitor,
Although th e ceram ic is still connected to the leads, the causing it to fail at an accele rated rate . ESR also reduces
ac tual value of capacity could be a very small portion of the th e a bility of a capacitor to filte r AC. As the model in
origin al value depend ing upon wh e r e the crack occurs. Figure 45 s h ows, the se ri es res is ta n ce RS iso lates the
T h e ReZo lve r will let yo u know wh a t the valu e of the capacitor from th e AC it is to filter.
capacitor is regardless of its marked value.

51
 show a gradual increase in leakage, while o thers will change
rapidly and even sh ort out entirely. In order to effectively
Cathode
test a capacitor for leakage, it is necessary to test the
Lead capacitor at its rated voltage.
Resistance

When a DC voltage is app lied to a capacitor, a certain

Cathode am o unt of curren t will flow through the capacitor. This
Lead· To·Plate
Resistance curre nt is called the leakage current and is the result of
imperfec tions in the dielectric. Whenever this leakage
cu rrent flows through an electrolytic capacitor , normal
Resistance Ot chemical processes take p lace to re pair the da mage done
Cathode Plate
by the c urren t Oow. Heat wi ll be generated from th e
leakage current flowing through the cap aci tor and will
speed up the ch emical 1·epair processes.
Resistance
Que To
Electrolyte

Resistance 01
Anode Plate
Fluctuating
AC ~~~~"""T""~~~~~~~~~~
1
Capacitor
Anode
Lead·To·Plale Isolated
Resistance Rs From Power
Supply Line

Anode
Lead
Resistance

Fig. 44: The Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) is composed of all Rp c

r
the combined internal resistances in the capacitor.

Dielectric Absorption

One of the mosL common types of failures of elecLrolylic

Fig. 45: The Equivalent Series Resistance has the result of isolating
capacitors is dielectric absorption. Dielecu-ic absorption is the capacitor from the power supply line, reducing its filtering
the resull of a capacitor remembering a charge lhal is capabilities.
placed on il. The capacitor cannot be complete ly
d ischarged and a voltage wi ll reappear after the capacitor
h as been discharged. Another name for dielectric As the capacitor ages, the amount of water remaining in the
a bsorption is battery effect. As this name impli es, a e lectrolyte will decrease , and the capacitor will be less
capacitor with excessive dielectric absorption will act li ke a capable of healing the damage done by lhe various leakage
bauery in the circuit. This will upset the circuit by chang ing paths through the dielectric. Thus, as the amount of water
bias levels. A capacitor with excessive di electric absorption in the electrolyte decreases, the capacitor will be less
will also have a different effective capaciLan ce when it is capable of healing the leakage paths and the overall leakage
operating in a ci r cuit. Dielectric absorption will not current in the capacitor will ultimately increase. The
normally show up in film or ceramic capacitors, but if the increase in leakage current will generale add itional heat,
ReZolver test does indicate dielectric absorption the which will speed up the chem ical processes in the capacitor.
capacitor is likely to fail in use. Dieleclric absorption in This process, of course, will use up more water and the
these capacitors will genera ll y be associated with high capacitor will eventually go into a run-away mode. At some
leakage as well. point, the leakage cu1Tcnt will finally get large enough to
adversely affect the circuit the capacitor is used in.
Leakage

One of the most common capacitor failures is ca used by

current leaking through the capacitor. Some capacitors will

52
 Dipped Tantalum Capacitors
Capacitance In
Picofarads Capacitance
Rated 1st 2nd Tolerance
20% - No dot
Color Voltage Figure Figure Multiplier 10% - Silver dot
5% - Gold dot
I . + - - - - 2nd Figu re
Black 4 0 0 - Vol tage
and -+-
Brown 6 1 1 - Polarity

Red 10 2 2 -
Orange 15 3 3 -
Yellow 20 4 4 10 ,000

Green 25 5 5 100,000

Blue 35 6 6 1,000,000

Violet 50 7 7 10,000,000

Gray - 8 8 -
White 3 9 9 -

Ceramic Disc Capacitors

*If No Voltage Marked,

Generally 500 VDC

Typical Ceramic Disc Capacitor Markings

z 5 F 1 0 0 J

•..----~_T~T
i---- .J
Max. Capac. 1st & 2nd
Low Letter High Numerical Change Over Letter Fig.of Numerical Tolerance on Letter
Temp. Symb ol Temp. Symbol Temp. Range Symbol Capacitance Mu ltiplier Symbol Capacitance Symbol

+ 1o·c z +45 °C 2 + 1.0 % A 1 0

-30°C y +65°C 4 ± 1.5 % B 10 1
.55·c x + 85°c 5 ± 1. 1% c 100 2 ±5% J
+ 105·c 6 ±3.3% D 1,000 3 ± 10 % K
+ 125· c 7 ± 4.7% E 10,000 4 ±20~. M
±7.5% F 100 ,000 5 + 100%, -0% p
± 10.0% p - +80 %, -20% z
:!: 15.0% R -
± 22.0% s .01 8
+22%, -33% T .1 9
+ 22%, -56 % u
+ 22%,-82% v Capacity Value and Tolerance of
Ceramic Disc Capacitors
Temperature Range Identification of
Ceramic Disc Capacitors

53
 Film Type Capacitors Ceramic Feed Through Capacitors
FIRST DIGIT Multipli~r
OF VALUE , Tolerance
·• <
•,.
SECOND DIGIT Significant { 1st Temperature
OF VALUE figure 2nd coefficient

Signifl· Tolerance
cant 10 pF Over Temperature
Color Figure Multiplier or Less 10 pF Coefficient

Black 0 1 2 pF 20% 0
Brown 1 10 0.1 pF 1% N30
MULTIPLIER TOLERANCE OF CAPACITOR
For the Red 2 100 - 2% N60
Number Mu Ill plier Letter 10 pF or Less Over 10 pF Orange 3 1,000 - 2.5% N150
-- --
0 1 B ± 0.1 pF
1 10 c ± .25 pF
Yellow 4 10,000 - - N220
Green 5 - 5pF 5% N330

2 100 D ±0.5 pF Blue 6 - - - N470

3 1,000 F ± 1.0 pF ± 1% Violet 7 - - - N750

4 10,000 G ± 2.0 pF ± 2% Gray 8 0.001 0.025 pF - P30

5 100,000 H ± 3% White 9 0.1 1 pF 10% + 120 to-750
(RETMA)
+ 500 to ·330 (JAN
J ± 5%
8 0.01 K ± 10% Gold - - - - P100
Silver - - - - Bypass or couplln g
9 0.1 M ±20 %
EXAMPLES:
152K = 15 x 100 = 1500 pF or .0015 uF, ± 10%
759J ::: 75 x 0.1 ::: 7.5 pF, ± 5 %

NOTE: The letter "R" may be used at times to signify a decimal

point; as In: 2R2 ::: 2.2 (pF or uF).

Postage Stamp Mica Capacitors

Mica capacitors-Black First

significant figure Significant Tolerance Voltage
(AWS paper capacitors- Color Figure Multiplier (%) Rating
silver) Second
___.,__,__........ significant figure
Black 0 1 - -
000 Brown 1 10 1 100
Red 2 100 2 200
Characteristic Decimal multiplier Orange 3 1,000 3 300
Tolerance Yell ow 4 10,000 4 400
AWS and JAN fixed capacitors Green 5 100,000 5 500
(First dot silver or black) Blue 6 1,000,000 6 600
Violet 7 10,000,000 7 700
Gray 8 100,000,000 8 800
White 9 1,000,000,000 9 900
First
significant figure .
Gold - 0.1 5 1000
Silver - O.Ql 10 2000
Second
significant figure
No color - - 20 500

Second
significant figure
Third
(Not silver significant figure
or black)

Voltage rating

54
 Standard Button Mica

1st DOT 2nd and 3rd DOTS 4th DOT Sth DOT 6th DOT

Identifier Capacitance In pf Multiplier Capacitance Temp.

Tolerance Characteristic
1st & 2nd Letter
Color Sig. Flgi. Percent Symbol

Black Black 0 1 :1:20% F

Brown 1 10 :!: 1% F
Red 2 100 :1: 2% or± 1 pF GorB
Orange 3 1000 :!: 3% H
NOTE: Yellow 4 + 100
Identifier Is Green 5
omitted if Blue 6 ·20 PPMl °C
capacitance Violet 7 above50 oF
must be
specified to Gray 8
three White 9 0.1 :t100 PPM/°C
significant Gold :!:5 ~. J below50pF
figures. Silver :!: 10 ~. K

Radial or Axlaf-Lead Ceramic· Capacitors 5 Dot or Band Ceramic Capacitors

(6 Dot or Band System) (one wide band)

,,,,.
Either A-First significant figure
type 8-Second slgnlflc1nt figure
lead
Temperature coefficient C-Decimal multiplier
_
...........................D-Capacitance tolerance
J
=r~ Lr u :r.---:r
LJ u I CJ==oo-rsoR
BANDS

T.,..p. Coefficient
• :I:
l
capacitance
•
Nomln.11C•pecltanc•
Tot•ence
Fixed cemnlc aipecltorl, 5 dot or blrld system

Color Code for Ceramic Capacitors

1•1- Capacitance
1111 2nd 2nd Sig. Mull~ 10pl' 0-.er
T.C. Color Color Fl~. plier Color orl... 10pF Col<>< Tolerance
1st& 2nd
P100 Red Violet 0 1 Black :2.0pF :20% Black 10pF Temp.
Green Blue 1 10 Brown :0.1 pF ± 1% Brown Significant Over
P030
Color Figure Multiplier 10pF or Less Coeff.
NPO Black 2 100 Red % 2% Red
N030 B rown 3 1,000 Orange ± 3% Orange
Black 0 1 :1:20% 2.0pF 0
NOSO Red 4 10,000 Yellow + 100% -0% Yellow
N150 Orange 5 Green %0.5 pf % 5% Green Brown 1 10 :r 1% N30
N220 Yellow 6 Blue Blue
N330 Green 7 Violet Viol et Red 2 100 ± 2% N80
Orange 3 1000 N150
N470 Blue 8 .01 Gray : 0.25 pf + 60% · 20% Gray
N750 Violet 9 .1 While ± 1.0pF :10% Wh ite
Yellow 4 N220
N1500 Orange Orange Green 5 N330
N2200 Yellow Orange

N3300 Green Orange Blue 6 :!: 5% 0.5pF N470

N4200 Green Green N750
Violet 7
N4700 Blue Orange
N5600 Green Black p 30
Gray 8 0.01 0.25pF
N330 White 9 0.1 :!: 10% 1.0 pF P500
%500 White

N750
:1000 Gray

N3300
±2500 Gray Black

55
 5 Band Ceramic Capacitors
(all bands equal size)

«:

<:olor 1st, 2nd Band Multiplier Toleran<:e Characteristl<:

Black 0 1 ±20%(M) NPO
Brown 1 10 Y5S
Red 2 100 Y5T
Orange 3 1K N150
Yellow 4 10K N220
Green 5 N330
Blue 6 N470
Violet 7 N750
Grey 8 ± 30%(N) Y5R
White 9 Sl(GP)
Gold - 0.1 ±5%(J) Y5F
Silver - 0.01 ±10%(K) Y5P

Tubular Encapsulated RF Chokes

Back

Mil Spec. Indent. Tolerance .,

~ 1
- '. . I ·~ 2
===CLllilIIJJ=
1st Fig. .'· ,,
2nd Fig.
ti
...
Cl
-.;
(.)
3
Mult.

Color Figure Multiplier Tolerance

"POSTAGE STAMP" FIXED INDUCTORS
Black 0 1st Digit 2nd Digit Mulllpller
Color 1st Strip 2nd Strip 3rd Strip
Brown 10

Red 2 100 Black or (Blank) 0 0

Brown 10
Orange 3 1,000

Yellow 4 Red 2 2 100

Green 5 Orange 3 3 1,000

Blue 6 Yellow 4 4 10,000

Violet 7 Green 5 5 100,000

Gray 8 Blue 6 6

White 9 Violet 7 7

None Gray 8 8
29%

Silver 10% White 9 9

Gold 5% Gold X.1

Mu lt iplier is the factor by which the two color figures are Silver X.01
multiplied to obtain the inductance value of the choke coil in uH.
Values will be in uH.

56
Aging- o perating a component or instrume n t at co ntrolled Disc Capacitor - s mall si n g le layer ce r am ic ca pacitor
condili ons fo r tim e and tempe rature to screen out wea k or co n sisting of ceramic die lectri c with silve r d e posited o n
defecti ve units a nd, at th e sa m e tim e, stab ilize the good b oth s id es of the pla te . The ceramic material can be of
units. differen t compositio ns to give different te mperatu re c u rves
to th e capacito r.
Anode - the positive e lectrode o f a capacitor o r diode.
Dissipation Factor (DF) - the ratio of th e equivale n t se ries
Capacitance - the measure of th e s ize of a capacitor. resistan ce of a capaci to r com p ared to its reactance at a
Us ual ly ex pressed in mi c rofar ads a nd p i cofarad s. give n freque n cy, generally g iven in p e rcenl.
De te rmined by th e size of th e plates, an d the di electric
material. Electrolyte - a curre nt conducting liquid o r solid be twee n
the pla tes o r electrodes of a cap acitor with al least one of
Capacitive Reactance - the o ppos1t10n to the fl ow of a the plates h aving an oxide or dielectric film .
pulsating DC voltage or AC vo ltage. Measu red in ohms.
Electrolytic Capacitor (aluminum) - a capacitor consisting
Capacitor - a n e lectroni c co mp o n en t consisting of two of two condu cting electrodes of pure aluminum, th e anode
metal plates separated by a dielectri c. Can store and release h avin g a n oxide fi lm whi c h ac ts as th e di e lec tric. The
electrical e nergy, b lock the flow of DC curren t or filter out electrolyte se pa rates th e plates.
o r byp ass AC curre nts.
Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) - all in te rnal series
Cathode - th e n egative electrode of a cap acitor or diode. resista nces of a capacitor a re lumped into o n e resisto r a nd
treated as one resistor a t o n e p o int in the capac itor.
Charge - the quantity of electrical e nergy stored or h eld in
a capacitor. Farad - the m easure or unit o f capacity. Too large for
electronic use a nd is ge n e rally m easured in microfarads or
Clearing - th e remova l of a fl aw or wea k spot in th e picofarads.
dielectric of a me lalized capacitor. T h e sto red e n e rgy in the
capacito r vaporizes the material in the immediate vicinity Fissures - c racks in t h e cerami c dielectric ma terial of disc
of th e flaw. Also called self-h ealing or self-clearing. capacitor, most ofte n caused by th ermal shock. Some sma ll
fissures may n ot ca use fail ure for a p e ri od of tim e until
COG - same as NPO. Very small capacity change for large exposed to great the rmal sh ock o r mech anical vibration fo r
temperature c h a n ges. a p e riod of time.

Coil - a n inducto r wo und in a spi ral or circ ular fashion. Fixed Capacitor - a cap acitor d esign ed with a sp ecific value
Can b e wou nd o n a fo rm or withou t a form such as a n air of capacitance th at cann o t be ch a nged.
coil.
Gimmick - a capacitor for m e d by two wi r es or othe r
CV Product - the capacitan ce of a capacitor multiplied by conducting m a terials twisted toge ther or brought into close
its wo rking voltage. Used wh e n d eterminin g the leakage proximity of each oth e r.
a llowable in electrolytic cap acitors. The CV product is also
eq u al to the charge tha t a ca p ac i tor ca n sto r e a t its GMV - Guaran teed Min imum Value. T h e sm alles t va lue
m aximu m voltage. this ce ra m ic cap acitor will have. Its va lue could be muc h
high er.
Die lectric - the insu lating or non-conductin g m aterial
be tween Lhe plates of a capacitor where the e lectric ch arge Henry - The unit of the m easur e of inductan ce. A lso
is stored. Typical die lectrics inclu de a ir, impregn ated expressed in m icroh e n ry and millihenry.
paper, plastic films, o il, mica, a nd ce ramic.
Inductor - a device consisting of o n e or mo re windings with
Dielectr ic Absorption - th e measure of th e inabili ty o f a or witho ut a magne ti c m a teria l core or that introduces
capacitor to complete ly d ischarge. The c h a rge that r e mains induc tan ce into a circuit.
after a d e te rmined di s charge tim e is ex p resse d in a
pe rce ntage of th e original c h a rge. Also called "Capacitor Inductance - t h e pro p e r ty of a coil or tra nsforme r whic h
Me mory" o r "Battery Action". induces an e lectro m ag netic force in th a t c irc ui t or a
n eighboring circuit upon app lication o f a n alte rna ti n g
Dielectric Constant - th e ratio of capacita nce b e tween a c urrent.
capacitor having a dry a ir dielectric and the given m a terial.
A figure for determining the efficie n cy of a g iven die lectric Inductive Reactance - the o pposition of a n inductor to a n
material. T h e larger th e dielectric constant, the greater the alte rnating o r p ulsating curre nt.
capacity with a given size plate . 57
Impedance - the total opposition of a circuit to the flow of negative, or zero. Expressed in parts p e r million per degree
an alternating 01· pulsating current. Celsius for linear types. For non-linear typ es, it is expressed
as a percent of room temperature.
Insulation Resistance - the ratio of the DC working voltage
and the resulting leakage cu rrent through the dielectric. Time Constant - th e number of seconds required for a
Generally a minimum value is specified, usually in the capacitor to reach 63.2 % of its full charge after a voltage is
several thousand megohms range. a pplied. The time constant is the capacity in fa rads times
the resistance in ohms expressed in seconds (T = RC) .
Iron Core - the central portion of a coil or transformer.
Can be a powdered iron core as in small coils used in RF to Trimmer - a low value variable capacitor placed in parallel
th e large iron sheets used in power transform ers. with a fixed capac itor o f higher value so that the total
capacity of the circ uit may be adjusted to a given value.
Leakage Current - stray direct current flowing through the
dielectric or around it in a capacitor when a voltage is Variable Capacitor - a capacitor that can be c hanged 111
applied to its terminals. value by Yarying the distance between the plates or the
useful area of its plates.
Metalized Capacitor - one in which a thin film of metal has
been vacuum plated on the dielectric. When a breakdown Voltage Rating - see working vol tage.
occurs, the metal film around it immediate ly burns away.
Sometimes called a self-healing capacitor. Wet (slug) Tantalum Capacitor - an electrolytic capacitor
having a liquid cathode.
Monolithic Ceramic Capacitor - a small capacitor made up
of seYeral layers of ceramic dielectric separated by precious Working Voltage - the maximum DC voltage that can be
metal elecu·odes. app lied to a capacitor for con tinuous operation at the
m aximum rated temperature.
Mutual Inductance - the common property of two
inductors whereby the induced voltage from one is induced
into the other. The magnitude is dependent upon the
spacing.

NPO - an ulu·a stable temperature coefficient in a ceramic

d isc capacitor. Derived from "negative-positive-zero". Does
not c hange capaci ty with temperature changes.

Padder - a high capacity variable capacitor placed in series

with a fixed capacitor to vary the total capacity of the circuit
by a small amount.

Power Factor - the rati o of th e effective resistance of a

capacitor to its impedance.

Reactance - the opposition of a capacitor or inductor to

th e fl ow of an AC current or a pulsating D C current.

Self-Healing - term used with metalized foil capacitors.

Solid Tantalum Capacitor - an elecu·olytic capacitor with a

solid tantalum electrolyte instead of a liquid. Also called a
solid electrolyte tantalum ca pacitor.

Surge Voltage - th e m axi mum safe voltage in peaks to

which a capacitor can be subjected to and remain ,.,;thin
the o perating specifications. This is not the working voltage
of the capacitor.

Temperature Coefficient (TC) - the c hanges in capacity

per degree change in te mperature. It can be positive,

58
 ~--- ---- - - -

- - - -- -- - -

59
NOTES~----------------------------------------------------~

60
 WARRANTY
Your Sencore instrument h as been built to the highest quality standards in the industry. Each unit has been
tested, aged under power for at least 24 hours, then, every function and range was retested to insure it met all
published specifications after aging. Your instrument is fully protected with a one year warranty (or three year
warranty on hand-held signal level meters) and Sencore's exclusive 100% Made Right Lifetime Guarantee in the
unlikely event a defect was missed. Details are covered in a separate document included with your instrument.

SERVICE
The Sencore Service Department provides all in and out-of-warranty service and complete recalibration services foi
Sencore instruments. No local service centers are authorized to repair Sencore Instruments. Factory service
assures you of the highest quality work, the latest circuit improvements and the fastest turnaround time possible.
Most service repairs are completed within 72 hours of receipt.

Repacking For Shipment

Save the original shipping carton and packing material for reuse should you ever need to ship your unit, or return
it to the Sencore factory for repair. If the original materials are unavailable or unfit for reuse, repack the unit
according to the following directions.

1. Use a corrugated cardboard shipping container 4. Cushion the unit equally on all sides with a mini-
that has a test strength of 32 lbs.finch (ECT). mum of 3 inches of padding material. Pack the
padding tightly enough to prevent the unit from
2. Call 1-800-SENCORE and ask for a return unit shifting during shipment.
authorization (RUA) number. Enclose the following
information: Owners address, billing information, 5. Seal all seams on the container with strapping
purchase order (if applicable), name and phone tape.
number of contact person, description of problem
and reason for return. 6. Send the packed unit to address listed below (we
recommend shipping via United Parcel Service).
3. Enclose the unit inside a plastic bag to protect its
finish and prevent foreign material from getting
inside.

NOTE: Should you want to repair your own instrument, parts may be ordered directly from the Service
Department. Any parts not shown in the parts list may be ordered by description.

We reserve the right to examine defective components before an in-warranty replacement is issued.

SENCORE SERVICE DEPARTMENT

3200 Sencore Drive
Sioux Falls, SD 57107
Toll Free: 1-800-SENCORE
FAX (605) 339-7032

Fill in for your records:

Purchase Date: _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ Serial Number: _ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ Run Number:._ _ _ _ __

Note: Please refer to the run number if it is necessary to call the Sencore Factory Service Department. The run
number may be updated when the unit is serviced.
 3200 Sencore Drive
Sioux Falls, SD 57107
1-800-736-2673. 1-605-339-0100
www.sencore.com

6808 Printed In The U.S.A.