ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING WORKSHOP LABORATORY MANUAL

Testing of resistor using digital multimeter Testing of resistor using analog multimeter

Testing of capacitor using analog multimeter

Good capacitor Open capacitor

L Leaky capacitor Short capacitor

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 ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING WORKSHOP LABORATORY MANUAL

EXPERIMENT NO. 4

TESTING OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS

Aim
To study the testing of various passive and active components and the identification of their leads.
Components Required
Different types of passive and active components
Instrument Required

Analog and digital multimerter

Theory
The electronic components may become faulty due to many reasons such as ageing, surrounding
temperature, voltages and currents more than the rated value, etc. Before wiring up the circuit connec-
tions, all the electronic components should be tested essentially. The testing methods for passive and
active components using multimeter are described below.

Testing of resistors
The most common fault in resistors is that it may be open usually due to burning. It can be tested
using a multimeter keeping it in ohmmeter mode. If the resistor is open, meter will read infinite re-
sistance. Care must be taken to select the proper range in multimeter. If the resistor is fixed in a circuit, it
should be removed from the circuit. The surrounding components can affect the reading and make it low-
er.
Procedure
1. Keep the multimeter knob in high value resistor position. Connect the resistor terminals to the multi-
meter terminals.
2. If the multimeter shows over range, turn the knob to lower scale and note the digital read out.
3. Measure the resistance using colour code. Compare this with that obtained from multimeter.

Testing of potentiometers (Variable resistor)

To check the value of a variable resistor, it should be removed from circuit or at least 2 legs should
be removed. The resistance between the two outside pins is the value marked on the component and the
centre leg will change from nearly zero to the full resistance as the shaft is rotated.

Testing of capacitors
The faults in capacitors are either open or short circuit. It happens due to excessive voltage, tem-
perature or ageing.
Procedure (Using Analog multimeter)
1. Make sure the capacitor is fully discharged.
2. Select analog multimeter on Ω range.
3. Connect the multimeter leads to the capacitor terminals such that positive terminal to positive test
lead and negative terminal to negative test lead..
4. Short Capacitors: Shorted capacitor will show very low resistance.
5. Open Capacitors: An Open capacitor will not show any movement (deflection) on multimeter.
6. Good Capacitors: Initially, it will show low resistance, and then gradually increases toward the infi-
nite. It means that capacitor is in good condition.
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 ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING WORKSHOP LABORATORY MANUAL

Testing of transformer

Testing of primary winding

Testing of secondary winding

Testing of diode using digital multimeter

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 ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING WORKSHOP LABORATORY MANUAL

Procedure (Using Digital multimeter)

1. Keep the digital multimeter knob in high value resistor position. Connect the capacitor terminals to
the multimeter test leads such that positive terminal to positive test lead and negative terminal to
negative test lead. This will charge the capacitor.
2. Turn the multimeter knob to volts position. Now the capacitor will starts discharging and can see that
the value on the display decreasing, if the capacitor is in good condition.

Testing of inductors
Check the inductor with multimeter set in the ohmmeter range. By taking the inductors resistance,
we can determine whether the inductor is GOOD or BAD. A very low resistance (only few ohms) across
the inductor, indicates it is good. A high resistance across the inductor indicates it is defective and should
be replaced in the circuit. A very very small resistance, less than an ohm (very close to zero ohms) indi-
cates inductor is short. A good inductor normally has resistance in the range of greater than 1 ohm and
normally less than 10 ohm.

Testing of transformer
Transformers are nothing but two coils wound on an iron core one at primary and another at sec-
ondary. To test the condition of a transformer, continuity of the primary and secondary windings should
be tested separately. Each winding has a finite resistance. Resistance is proportional to the number of
turns and gauge of wire used for winding. Its resistance can be checked using a multimeter. Infinite re-
sistance indicates that the winding is open and zero resistance shows that it is shorted. Also check, is
there any short circuit between primary and secondary windings.

Testing of diode
The forward bias resistance of the diode is low and reverse bias resistance is high. This property is
utilized to test the diodes. If the leads are unknown following steps can be used to identify the anode and
cathode of the diode.
Procedure
1. Set the multimeter in resistance measurement mode.
2. Connect positive terminal to anode and negative terminal to cathode of the diode. The meter will in-
dicate small resistance value.
3. Reverse the leads of the diode. The meter will indicate high resistance value.
4. If the meter shows either high or low in both connection, the diode is faulty one.

To know whether the diode is germanium or silicon

1. Keep the multimeter in diode test mode.
2. Connect positive terminal to anode and negative terminal to cathode of the diode.
3. If the reading is between 0.1V to 0.3V it is germanium. If it is 0.7V, it is silicon.
4. Reverse the leads of the diode. i.e. in reverse biased condition, the multimeter will show an infinite
reading (over range) to indicate healthy condition.

Testing of transistor
Transistors can be tested in the same way that the diodes are tested. It is equivalent to two diodes
connected back to back. Emitter and base terminals are considered as two terminals of a diode and col-
lector and base terminals are considered as two terminals of another diode as shown in figure below.
These two diodes must be tested separately. The type of the transistor (NPN or PNP) can also be identi-
fied by testing the diode sections separately.

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 ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING WORKSHOP LABORATORY MANUAL

Testing of diode using analog multimeter

NPN and PNP transistor with diode equivalents

Testing of PNP transistor

Testing of NPN transistor

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 ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING WORKSHOP LABORATORY MANUAL

Procedure
1. To identify the base of an NPN transistor, set DMM in resistance measurement mode and connect the
positive test lead of the meter to any transistor lead and negative test lead of the meter to other two
transistor leads one by one. If the meter shows low reading in both cases, transistor lead connected to
the positive test lead of the meter will be the base. In the case of PNP transistor, meter terminals are
to be reversed.
2. To identify the type of a transistor, connect the positive test lead of the multimeter to the base and
the negative test lead to the emitter or collector. If the meter shows low reading, transistor is an NPN
type. It is a PNP transistor if the meter reads low when negative test lead is at the base and positive
test lead is at the emitter or collector.
3. To test the condition of an NPN transistor, connect the positive test lead of the meter to base and
negative test lead to emitter. Shift the negative test lead to the collector. Again a low reading should
be observed. Reverse the polarity and a high resistance reading should be observed if the transistor is
good. A high resistance can be observed across emitter and collector in both directions.
4. To test a PNP transistor, use Step 3 reversing the polarity of the meter.

Number codes and semiconductor packages

In order to represent the active semiconductor devices distinctly, manufactures adopt some world
-wide standards like European Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC). This system uses the
prefix 1N for diodes and 2N for transistors. JEDEC also developed many packages such as TO -3, TO -5
(TO - Transistor Outline) and so on. Some of the important packages drawings are shown in figure.

Result
Studied about different testing methods for passive and active components and the identification
of their leads.

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