monolithic capacitors

[guitarman0]

I'm looking for a reliable method of testing monolithic capacitors, in or out of circuit. Anyone have any tips?

[minnie]

Is it an Electrolytic ? If yes a esr meter, and or a capacitance meter.

[guitarman0]

No, it is not an electrolytic.....it's a monolithic capacitor..very similar to a ceramic disk cap.

[minnie]

Capacitance meter. I have a fluke 175. You can find a capacitance meter on ebay for cheep.

[guitarman0]

I wish it were that simple, but with monolithic capacitors I have found that they can read their correct capacitance rating on a cap meter but still be bad. Monolithic capacitors are normally 1uf or below in capacitance and range in voltage from 50v to 100v.

[minnie]

Any questions, replace it. Cap meter will give you a value. Wrong. It will. Esr won't. It will tell you if it's dry. It will tell you if it's good or bad. U need 2 meters. ESR and Capacitance. I really can't explain it better than this. Both meter's in or out of circuit. Shorted? Dry? A capacitance meter read's the value only. ESR = equivalant series reistance. Short for real meaning." Dry or not. Under 1uf? Buy a good one. "Meter." A cap is about $.40. A good meter is about $200.