Ceramic capacitors play an important role in various types of electronic products, so understanding their measurement methods is critical for selection and troubleshooting. Generally speaking, ceramic capacitance can be measured by the following methods:
The first is the measurement of leakage resistance. Usually, we set the multimeter to the R*10 position, use the test leads to contact the pins of the capacitor respectively, and observe the movement of the dial pointer. Under normal circumstances, the resistance value of ceramic capacitors should be between a few hundred kiloohms and several thousand kiloohms. If the measurement shows a small resistance value or close to zero, this usually means that a short circuit has occurred within the capacitor. During the measurement process, if the pointer of the multimeter cannot stay at the infinity position, then the resistance value indicated by the pointer is the leakage resistance of the capacitor. The farther the pointer is from the infinity position, the more serious the leakage of the capacitor is. Sometimes when measuring leakage resistance, the pointer will first return to the infinity position, and then slowly swing clockwise. The more swings mean the more serious the leakage current.
Next is the circuit break measurement. Ceramic capacitors have a wide capacity range. For small-capacity capacitors below 0.019UF, it is impossible to accurately judge whether they are open circuits using a multimeter, so other professional instruments are needed to make the judgment. For ceramic capacitors with a capacity above 0.01UF, when using a multimeter to measure, the appropriate range must be selected based on the capacity of the capacitor. For example, for capacitors above 300UF, you can choose the R*10 or R*1 scale; when measuring capacitances from 10 to 300UF, you can use the R*100 scale; and for capacitors of 0.4710UF, you can use the R*1K scale. After selecting the correct range, use the two test leads of the multimeter to touch the two pins of the capacitor to measure. If the pointer of the multimeter does not move, you can try to swap the two test leads and measure again. If it still does not move, it usually indicates that the ceramic capacitor is open circuited.
Finally, there is the measurement of short circuit. Use the ohm range of the multimeter and connect the test leads to the two pins of the capacitor. If the resistance pointed by the pointer is very small or close to zero and does not return to the infinity position, this usually indicates that the ceramic capacitor has been broken down and short-circuited. When measuring a large-capacity capacitor, an appropriate range should be selected based on the capacitance to avoid mistaking the charging of the capacitor for breakdown.
The above measurement methods are important tests for the performance of ceramic capacitors. Through accurate measurements, the stability and reliability of the capacitors in electronic products can be ensured, thereby improving the performance of the entire circuit.