10

Special Science Class

Elective :
Electronics
Quarter 3 – Module 3:
Testing Electronic
Components(TEC)
(Weeks 5 & 6)
 What I Need to Know

This module is designed and written with you in mind. It is here to enhance the
knowledge, skills and attitude and values needed to test electronic components. The
scope of this module permits it to be used in many different learning situations. The
language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of the students.

This module covers one lesson on Testing Electronics Components. It is divided

into the following four subtopics:
a. Resistor (including potentiometer)
b. Capacitor
c. Diode (including LED)
d. Transistor

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. interpret accurately the normal and abnormal condition of electronic
components.
2. observe safety procedures in using tools and use personal protective
equipment
3. check materials in accordance with specifications and tasks
4. follow sequence of operation correctly according to job specifications

What I Know

Use a separate sheet in answering the test. Be sure to write the following:
Name: ________________________________ Grade and Section: ______________________
Subject: ______________________________ Lesson Title: ____________________________

Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. What is the ohmic resistance reading for a shorted capacitor?

A. zero B. infinite C. high D.equivalent
2. After completely discharging the charged capacitor, how much is the voltage
across its terminal?
A. has increased B. low C. zero D. equal to normal
3. An electronic device that allows the flow of current in only one direction.
A. Resistor B. Diode C. Transistor D. Capacitor
4. An electronic amplifying device with two junctions. It is made of silicon
and germanium.
A. Capacitor B. Diode C. Transistor D. Resistor
5. When Gold and Silver is used as the THIRD color, it signifies _______.
A. tolerance B. multiplier C. resistance D. power
 6. The resistor is open circuited if a resistor measures_____ohms.
A. infinite B. zero C. low D. high but not infinite
7. An instrument used to measure resistance.
A. Voltmeter B. Wattmeter C. Ammeter D. Ohmmeter
8. What is the electronic symbol used for ohms?
A. € B. ® C. Ω D. A
9. What is the tolerance for silver color band?
A. ±5% B. ±20% C. ±10% D. ±7%
10. An electronic device which can hold or accumulate electrical energy in an
electrostatic field.
A. Diode B. Resistor C. Transistor D. Capacitor

What’s New

One of the most important tools in your toolbox both physically and in terms of your
own experience and know-how — is a multimeter. Most people are leery of working
with electricity, and for good reason: electricity can be dangerous when working on
any appliance, and knowing when you’re doing something right or wrong can be
tricky. Most appliances with electrical components go bad when some part of the
circuit is no longer conducting electricity correctly, so being able to isolate the parts
and test them will be a frequent part of your job.

What’s In

Precautionary Measures in Testing Electronic Component

When testing any electronic equipment there are several precautions you must take.
1. Make sure the equipments is disconnected from any form of power supply,
this includes, but not limited to, power sockets from walls and batteries.

2. Be aware that devices such television, microwaves and so on, contain

components which can hold enough electrical current to stop a human heart,
after it has been removed from a power supply. So if you don’t know what it
is, don’t touch it. If you do, take extra precautions, even the experienced ones
may die with a simple mistake.

3. Electrical current can damage your testing equipment when used improperly.
So always make sure that your testing equipment, is set to the correct testing
mode, voltage and amp settings. Most importantly, make sure that your
testing equipment is the correct equipment for the job. Remove electronic
components to be tested from the circuit board in testing resistance.
 TESTING ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

A. Fixed Resistor Testing

Resistors resist the flow of electrical current. Each one has a value that tells how
strongly it resists current flow. This value's unit is the ohm, often noted with the
Greek letter omega: Ω.

The colored bands on a resistor can tell you everything you need to know about
its value and tolerance, as long as you understand how to read them. The order
in which the colors are arranged is very important, and each value of resistor has
its own unique combination.

Here is an example that shows how the table and resistor shown above can be used
to figure out a resistor value by proving that yellow-violet-brown is really 470 Ω:

• The first stripe is yellow, which means the leftmost digit is a 4.

• The second stripe is violet, which means the next digit is a 7.
• The third stripe is brown. Since brown is 1, it means add one zero to the right
of the first two digits.

Yellow-Violet-Brown = 4-7-0 = 470 Ω.

Although the first two bands are fairly straightforward, the third and fourth bands
might require a bit more explanation.

Multiplier Band
Resistor values can get to be very high in number, and there often isn't enough space
to use a band for every digit. To get around this, the third band indicates that a
certain number of zeros should be added after the first two digits to make up the full
resistor value. In the example above, the third stripe is brown, indicating that a
single zero should be added to the right of the first two digits.

If you want to go deeper into the math, this third band is officially referred to as
a multiplier. The third color band determines the power of 10 you need to multiply
the first two resistor digits. For example an orange third band with a digit value of 3
would indicate a multiplier of 103, though you can also just think of this as telling
you to “stick 3 zeros on the end".

Example:
• Brown-black-orange resistor.
• Brown = 1, black = 0, orange multiplier = 103
• 10 x 103 = 10000, which is the same as 10 + three zeros = 10000.

Tolerance Band
The fourth color band indicates the resistor's tolerance. Tolerance is the percentage
of error in the resistor's resistance, or how much more or less you can expect a
resistor's actual measured resistance to be from its stated resistance. A gold
tolerance band is 5% tolerance, silver is 10%, and no band at all would mean a 20%
tolerance.
For example:

• A 220 Ω resistor has a gold tolerance band.

• Tolerance = value of resistor x value of tolerance band = 220 Ω x 5% = 11 Ω
• 220 Ω stated resistance +/- 11 Ω tolerance means that the resistor could range in actual
value from as much as 231 Ω to as little as 209 Ω.

Resistance Reading
Range X10K
Measured Value
Coded Value 1MΩ
Multiplier 100000
Min 950,000
Tolerance
± 5% Max 1,050,000
Use a multitester to get the measured value.
Some projects require your measurements to be more precise than others, and for
this reason the tolerance band is useful in identifying which resistor will give you a
more accurate resistance reading. The smaller the tolerance percentage is, the higher
the precision in your measurements.

Procedure in Testing a Resistor

1. Read the indicated color code on the resistor(see the resistor code on the
previous module). If the resistor can’t be read due to discoloration or burnt
body, replace it with the same resistance and wattage as schematic diagram
illustrate

2. Calibrate the ohmmeter. See the procedure on the previous module.

3. Set the Multitester to ohmmeter range: x1, x10, x1K, x10Km etc.., depending
on the resistance value. Probably higher ranges first until you have a clear
reading.

4. Place the test probe to the terminal lead of the resistor as shown in the
illustration above. Don’t touch the both test probe lead simultaneously while
testing. But holding just one test lead is OK.

Good Resistor
The meter reading should be close to the rated value of the resistor depending on the
tolerance of the resistor.

Defective Resistor
1. The tester pointer does not deflect at all. The resistor is OPEN
2. The resistance reading has big difference to the resistor rated value. The
resistor is OUT OF TOLERANCE.
B. Potentiometer Testing

The most common defects of potentiometers are improper contact of the rotating
shaft or sliding arm that result to uncontrolled resistance and sudden change in
resistance when rotating the knob.

1. Set the ohmmeter range in

appropriate settings

2. Connect the probes in the

exterior terminals of the
potentiometer as shown below.
The measured resistance is the
rated resistance of the
potentiometer even when
rotating the shaft. It will not
deflect the pointer.

3. Rotate first the potentiometer

knob full counter clockwise.
Connect one of the probes in
the middle of the
potentiometer ( a shown
below). The meter reading
must be zero ohm resistance.

4. Adjust the potentiometer knob

gradually again in clockwise
direction without removing the
probe. The pointer deflects gradually until the rated resistance of
potentiometer is achieved.

Defective Potentiometer
1. The tester pointer won’t deflect at all ( step no.2 and 3). The resistive element
of a potentiometer is OPEN.
2. The tester suddenly deflects in gradual adjustment. The wiper contact is
already defective. Clean the potentiometer contact 70% alcohol may help.

C. Capacitors

If you don’t have the correct equipment for testing a capacitor, here is a simple
way to do it. Most capacitors rarely become damaged, and when they do you may
notice the following physical features; arching or burning at the insulator, the
presence of what looks like a oily film on top of the capacitor or under it. An oily
 kind of smell is also a positive sign that it may be defective. The last possible
physical indication is the most easy to spot, any bulging on the capacitor means
that it either has broken down or is in the process of breaking down, which means
that it needs to be replaced.

1. Discharge the energy stored to capacitor by shorting the two terminals lead
momentarily.

2. Set the multi- tester ohmmeter range.

Capacitance Range
.01µF to 1µF x10K
1µF to 47µF x1K
47µF to 1000µF x10
1000µF and above x1

3. Connect the positive probe to the capacitor negative lead and the negative
probe to capacitor positive lead.

Good Capacitor
A GOOD CAPACITOR is determined
when tester pointer deflects, and move
back to its initial position.

Defective Capacitor
1. When the tester pointer won’t
deflect at all, The capacitor is
OPEN
2. When tester pointer rests on the 0
ohm scale, The capacitor is
SHORTED.
3. When the tester pointer deflects
toward the right position but does
not return its initial position, either
pointer remains stationary or stops
at the middle of the meter scale, the
capacitor is LEAKY.
D. Testing Diode

As with most electronic components, physical damage is the first sign to look for
in a diode. Some good signs of a damged diode are: a burned cracked diode, a
spot that looks like blister( like a small cigarette burn sometimes). Some diodes
will even be split in two. You can also look for a burnt smell coming from the
diode. This is a nasty smell, you can’t miss it. If there are no physical signs, you
will have to test it. If your multi tester has diode testing mode then this will very
easy.

1. Set the ohmmeter range in x1 or x10. Connect positive probes of the tester to
the anode(A) of the diode and negative probe to the cathode (K) of diode. It
should be no deflection or infinite resistance, as shown below

2. Reverse the test probe. Connect the positive probe to cathode(K) and negative
probe to anode(A). The teter shoul deflect but not rest at zero ohm as
illustrated below.

Good Diode
The forward resistance reading of a good diode is low but not zero.
Then, reverse the ohmmeter test lead for the opposite polarity. A good silicon diode
should have at least infinite resistance reading in the reverse direction.

Defective Diode
1. The tester pointer won’t deflect even the probe is reverse. The diode is OPEN.
2. The resistance reading deflects and measures the same in both direction.
The diode is SHORTED.
E. Testing LE

Do the same steps as that of the diode. But instead monitoring the pointer of the
tester, the LED itself can be used as tester by connecting the positive probe of
the tester to the negative terminal lead of the LED.(X1 ohm setting). If the light
glows, obviously the LED is OK, if it don’t, the LED is defective.(Make sure that
the Multitester and battery are in good condition).

F. Testing Bipolar Transistor

Of all the components we have tested until this point, the transistor is one of the
most complicated. Like all of the previous components we have tested, there are
some physical signs to look for in a transistor which will indicate if it needs to be
replaced. Some signs are crack on the body of the transistor can be hard to spot
at times), a burnt transistor ( sometimes so burnt it just falls apart, if it looks
burnt don’t touch it, try to read the numbers on it first), a blister (looks like a
cigarette burn), or any other sign such as a burnt smell.

There are several things which make testing a transistor complicated. Is the
transistor NPN or PNP? If you know what it is, it will make the test a lot easier,
otherwise, you need some extra steps to do. The only way you can do it is trial
and error. Here are some steps in finding out the transistor terminal and types.

Bipolar Junction Terminal( BJT) Terminals:

We know that the Bipolar junction transistor has three terminals namely:
1. Emitter (E)
2. Base (B)
3. Collector(C)

The transistors are available with various packages in the market. Let us discuss
about the TO-92 package.

Keep the transistor such that the flat surface facing towards you as shown in the
figure:
Now starting from left, mark like 1, 2 and 3. They are respectively:
Emitter (E)
Base (B)
Collector(C)

The schematic symbol of the BJT is given below:

How to identify the terminals of the BJT using Analog Multimeter

1. Basic Configuration

2. For PNP Transistor

a. Set your Analog Multimeter to Ohmmeter X10 Ohm Scale.
b. Connect the Negative Probe (Black) and the Positive Probe (Red) to any of
the three terminals of the transistor. Make trial and error until you identify
the three terminal. If you notice a deflection of the pointer towards right
side, reading less 100 ohms upon connecting to any of the terminals move
one test probe (Red) to the other terminal, if there is still deflection of the
pointer towards right side, less than 100 ohms the terminals that
connected with the negative test probe (black) is the base of the transistor.
In this case the transistor being tested is PNP.
c. Now invert the connections positive test probe (Red) to the base, move the
negative test probe( black) to the other terminals, in this test no deflection
of the pointer.
 d. Change the selector switch of your Ohmmeter to X10K and repeat the step
(C) one terminal reads low resistance, and other high resistance.The
deflection of low resistance indicates the emitter terminals and the high
resistance is the collector.

3. For NPN Transistor

a. Set your Analog Multimeter to Ohmmeter X10 Ohm Scale.
b. Connect the Negative Probe (Black) and the Positive Probe (Red) to any of
the three terminals of the transistor. Make trial and error until you identify
the three terminal. If you notice a deflection of the pointer towards right
side, reading less 100 ohms upon connecting to any of the terminals move
one test probe (black) to the other terminal, if there is still deflection of the
pointer towards right side, less than 100 ohms the terminals that
connected with the positive test probe (red) is the base of the transistor. In
this case the transistor being tested is NPN.
c. Now invert the connections negative test probe (Black) to the base, move
the positivee test probe( Red) to the other terminals, in this test no
deflection of the pointer
d. Change the selector switch of your Ohmmeter to X10K and repeat the step
(C) one terminal reads low resistance, and other high resistance.The
deflection of low resistance indicates the emitter terminals and the high
resistance is the collector.

Remember the following points:

The transistor internally has two diodes (NPN ≡ N - P - N ≡ NP Junction + PN Junction
and PNP ≡ P - N - P ≡ PN Junction + NP Junction).ie,Emitter to base is one PN
junction ( diode) and Base to collector another PN junction (diode).

Defective Transistor
1. Two terminals of the transistor reads the same resistance{almost zero ohm
reading} in both direction the transistor is SHORTED.
2. The tester pointer does not deflect upon connecting the base to emitter or
base to collector the transistor is OPEN.

3. The meter pointer deflects towards low resistance but not zero in both
direction in the ohmmeter setting x10 the transistor is LEAKY.

What I Have Learned

Directions: Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. What is a resistor?

2. How to test a resistor?

3. What is capacitor?

4. How to test a capacitor?

5. What is diode?

6. How to test a diode?

7. What is transistor?

8. How to test a transistor?

 What I Can Do

Use a separate sheet in answering the following activity. Be sure to write the
following:
Name: ________________________________ Grade and Section: __________________
Subject: ______________________________ Lesson Title: ________________________

Activity No.1
A. Give the resistance and calculate the minimum and maximum tolerance reading
for the following resistor with color bands:
1. Yellow,Black, Yellow, Silver
2. Gray, Red, Red,Gold
3. Orange, White, Orange, Gold
4. Red, Red, Orange, Gold
5. Brown, Red, Green, Gold

B. Draw the schematic symbol for PNP and NPN transistor, indicating the emitter,
base and collector.

C. Name the possible defects of the following electronic components:

a. resistor
b. capacitor
c. diode
d. transistor

Activity No. 2
1. Explain how to check a rectifier diode.
2. Explain how to test a transistor.

CRITERIA
5 - Sequence and transition of ideas were highly effective.
3 - Some ideas and sequence may be improved to be highly effective.
2 - Some signs of and/or abrupt change of ideas.
1 - Very little or unclear flow of ideas
0 - No idea
 Assessment

Use a separate sheet in answering the following test. Be sure to write the following:
Name: ________________________________ Grade and Section: __________________
Subject: ______________________________ Lesson Title: ________________________

Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. The resistor is open circuited if a resistor measures_____ohms.

A. infinite B. zero C. low D. high but not infinite
2. An instrument used to measure resistance.
A. Voltmeter B. Wattmeter C. Ammeter D. Ohmmeter
3. What is the electronic symbol used for ohms?
A. € B. ® C. Ω D. A
4. What is the tolerance for silver color band?
A. ±5% B. ±20% C. ±10% D. ±7%
5. An electronic device which can hold or accumulate electrical energy in an
electrostatic field.
A. Diode B. Resistor C. Transistor D. Capacitor
6. What is the ohmic resistance reading for a shorted capacitor?
A. zero B. infinite C. high D.equivalent
7. After completely discharging the charged capacitor, how much is the voltage
across its terminal?
A. has increased B. low C. zero D. equal to normal
8. An electronic device that allows the flow of current in only one direction.
A. Resistor B. Diode C. Transistor D. Capacitor
9. An electronic amplifying device with two junctions and it is made of silicon
and germanium.
A. Capacitor B. Diode C. Transistor D. Resistor
10. When Gold and Silver is used as the THIRD color, it signifies _______.
A. tolerance B. multiplier C. resistance D. power

References
Floyd, T. (n.d.). Electronics Fundamentals (Circuit, Devices, Applications). Third
Edition.

Pagarigan, M. (n.d.). Practical Electronics.

Enriquez, M. et. al. (n.d.). Simple Electronics Fully.

Online Sources:

https://academy.fredsappliance.com/news/test-electric-components-multimeter/,
retrieved on April 21, 2021.

https://tinyurl.com/2j8sj89c, retrieved on April 21, 2021.