Esr

[mvsfan]

how long can the test leads be on an ESR meter?

I just bought one and the leads it came with are really too short to use it. not only that but it came with alligator clips which are basically useless for checking stuff in circuit.

[xga]

Which ESR meter did you get? Some ESR meters allow you to calibrate the leads by selecting an option in the menu and then shorting them together. This calibration process allows you to use longer leads without messing up the results (longer leads add additional resistance).

[mvsfan]

well how much does it mess up the results? there should be a way to calculate what the correct number would be.

i dont think my meter has the option to auto-adjust for lead length.

[mvsfan]

Im still learning how to read this thing. 2.2uf 10v cap Meters reading 1.2 uf. Cap is bad, right?

[ASDR]

Yeah, that sounds pretty bad and measurement should be spot on at that capacity. Why'd you get an ESR/LCR meter and which one? Usually you buy those to either measure very small (<100pF) or very large (>1000uF) caps and to get ESR readings and other frequency dependent measurements.

[mvsfan]

I buy consoles and i fix (some) of them. I got it for that reason, so i can tell a lot of the time, when capacitors are failing and actually need to be replaced, instead of just guessing based on issues a system is having.