Great explanation. When you do the video on the relays can you also discuss the equipment you use to unsolder and solder circuit board components? Thanks.
Great tutorial. You can also test the resistance and microhenries of the inductors with the esr meter. The reactance formula is 2𝛑FL. That would be 2 x Pi x frequency of esr meter x 100 (uH) Just plug it in. R=0.628 X L(uH) L(uH)=R(ohms)/0.628
I have a coin operated whirlpool washer that has a blinking and clicking red light. It works but it skips final spin. Do you think this is control board issue? Do you know if the same capacitor needs to be replaced. thanks
I agree, the #1 fail mode for most circuit boards are capacitors. Electrolytic caps with "popped tops" are obviously bad. Relays are generally very reliable. My Bosch oven control board had a bad Darlington Transistor array chip that turned on/off the relay controlling a fan in the oven. This was 100% obvious to find, as when testing the relays, I found a short to ground. I removed the chip that controlled that relay, and the short disappeared. I did apply voltage to the relay, and heard it click, so that was good. I also tested the chip and the pin that powered the relay solenoid was shorted to ground with the chip out-of-circuit. Replaced that chip, and how that controller board works fine.
Hmm.. I'm working on a Fisher and Paykel DD60S17 dish draw dishwasher ... I've isolated the problem to the electronic controller and two bad caps. How important would it be to get "low esr" caps as replacements... usually I just focus on the voltage and microfarads while ignoring the ESR ... even when looking up the original caps they never list the ESR for them. 🤷♂
I would believe that the esr of a new cap is going to be acceptable. Personally, I would also just make sure it is the correct capacitance and voltage. Just my opinion...
I just got into electronics repair with zero former knowledge, I have been reading the book "How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic" and that was the only other material that talks about ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance?) troubleshooting and ESR meter. So this was very helpful, thanks! What is the DCR&ESR setting for on the device?
What about IC’s and Transistors? Do I need an Oscilloscope? ESR and Multimeter not good for that? Thanks for providing this information. Liked and Subscribed Michael
I wonder about those two large sized capacitors that are said to be only 22uF....they must be pretty high voltage to justify their large physical size! Ir maybe they aren't actually 22uF..... I briefly had one of these, which by the way is probably NOT 'made by' GFE. It is available with branding for so many companies that who knows which company actually makes it. If you buy it branded as B+K Precision (a well known US brand), it will cost nearly twice what is quoted in this video. It is a nice enough ESR tester, but the down side is that it only has the tweezers type test clip, which limits its use to physically smaller capacitors that also happen to be in the 'radial' style cans, as opposed to 'axial' style cans. With many kinds of electronics, that would mean that the majority of capacitors in need of testing can't be tested with THIS product. And BTW, before I returned mine to the seller, I tried extending the tweezers tips with short alligator clip test leads, and it was not able to zero out the small added resistance, and thus it failed every cap I tried it on. I ended up buying a product by EZM called "ESR-2501C ESR Meter" which only costs about $40. It tests the same range of capacitances as THIS one, and has a similar chart on the front, but instead of an LED bar graph is has a two-line backlit LCD display, and you can read the actual ESR values to two decimal places of resolution, and you also have more control and flexibility of zeroing out external resistances, so different test lead/clip/probe arrangements can be used successfully, and it comes with test probes and alligator clips (but NOT a tweezers clip). Both THAT product and THIS product can also measure DCR (DC resistance), although this video does not mention it. When a capacitor has a partial breakdown of the internal structure, its internal DC resistance between the two leads (which should be quite high) can drop down to a small number of Ohms. Even with that, it can still function somewhat as a capacitor, and might read the correct capacitance on a different meter, and might even pass the ESR test on this product (or the EZM one) because of the way these tests are done. With older electrolytic caps, or any that you have cause to wonder about, it is important to do a DCR test as well as the ECR test. I don't know why this point was not made in this video. THIS product has a DCR&ESR mode, where it tests DCR first, and only proceeds to test ESR if the DCR test was 'good'. Another point not covered in this video: ECR is tested with an AC signal, so polarity of the test leads on polarized capacitors is not important. But when testing DCR, the test signal is a DC voltage, albeit a very low one, so it is best to observe test lead polarity.
Have you looked at newer appliances? They're all potted to hell so you can't get to the board. They're also using coded chips so you can't swap boards. So annoying, this should be illegal. We need Right to Repair!
This is not a game changer for those who wants to repair with no knowledge. I've seen cases where a capacitor shows fully short which could make you believe that the capacitor is the issues, but in reality the real issue can be a bridge rectifier or some other components on the circuit. Don't go blindly with this video and be safe. There are different techniques.
Thanks for the video, it’s hard to find easy to understand videos about troubleshooting circuit boards like this.
Thank you. I appreciate the support!
Great explanation. When you do the video on the relays can you also discuss the equipment you use to unsolder and solder circuit board components? Thanks.
Thank you! 👍 & Subscribed!
When would you use the other mode "DC&ESR"?
I have two GME-236, these meters are fast and very trusted.
They save me thousands hours and make me very precise in my repairs.
9:00 how low of a voltage does the ESR meter apply not to damage the cap if reverse polarity?
Great tutorial. You can also test the resistance and microhenries of the inductors with the esr meter. The reactance formula is 2𝛑FL. That would be 2 x Pi x frequency of esr meter x 100 (uH) Just plug it in.
R=0.628 X L(uH)
L(uH)=R(ohms)/0.628
That's great information! Next time I have a board issue, I will check inductors as well!
I have a coin operated whirlpool washer that has a blinking and clicking red light. It works but it skips final spin. Do you think this is control board issue? Do you know if the same capacitor needs to be replaced. thanks
No. Sounds like a mode shifter issue
I agree, the #1 fail mode for most circuit boards are capacitors. Electrolytic caps with "popped tops" are obviously bad. Relays are generally very reliable. My Bosch oven control board had a bad Darlington Transistor array chip that turned on/off the relay controlling a fan in the oven. This was 100% obvious to find, as when testing the relays, I found a short to ground. I removed the chip that controlled that relay, and the short disappeared. I did apply voltage to the relay, and heard it click, so that was good. I also tested the chip and the pin that powered the relay solenoid was shorted to ground with the chip out-of-circuit. Replaced that chip, and how that controller board works fine.
Hmm.. I'm working on a Fisher and Paykel DD60S17 dish draw dishwasher ... I've isolated the problem to the electronic controller and two bad caps. How important would it be to get "low esr" caps as replacements... usually I just focus on the voltage and microfarads while ignoring the ESR ... even when looking up the original caps they never list the ESR for them. 🤷♂
I would believe that the esr of a new cap is going to be acceptable. Personally, I would also just make sure it is the correct capacitance and voltage. Just my opinion...
@@DuctTapeMechanic- awesome, thank you! 🙂
Super helpful video. Just getting into actually repairing things and a ESR meter will help for sure :)
Does this ESR meter work with ceramic capacitors like the one found on the electronic mosquito-bats board?
No. The ESR meter only works on electrolytic capacitors
I just got into electronics repair with zero former knowledge, I have been reading the book "How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic" and that was the only other material that talks about ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance?) troubleshooting and ESR meter. So this was very helpful, thanks! What is the DCR&ESR setting for on the device?
Thanks, I've never even heard of this instrument before.
Your welcome!
What about IC’s and Transistors? Do I need an Oscilloscope? ESR and Multimeter not good for that?
Thanks for providing this information. Liked and Subscribed
Michael
Hey there Does this elimate the need for a DMM or RXI?
Unfortunately, this doesn't eliminate the need for a DMM. This essentially just takes ESR readings of capacitors.
Simply Explained.
I wonder about those two large sized capacitors that are said to be only 22uF....they must be pretty high voltage to justify their large physical size! Ir maybe they aren't actually 22uF.....
I briefly had one of these, which by the way is probably NOT 'made by' GFE. It is available with branding for so many companies that who knows which company actually makes it. If you buy it branded as B+K Precision (a well known US brand), it will cost nearly twice what is quoted in this video. It is a nice enough ESR tester, but the down side is that it only has the tweezers type test clip, which limits its use to physically smaller capacitors that also happen to be in the 'radial' style cans, as opposed to 'axial' style cans. With many kinds of electronics, that would mean that the majority of capacitors in need of testing can't be tested with THIS product.
And BTW, before I returned mine to the seller, I tried extending the tweezers tips with short alligator clip test leads, and it was not able to zero out the small added resistance, and thus it failed every cap I tried it on.
I ended up buying a product by EZM called "ESR-2501C ESR Meter" which only costs about $40. It tests the same range of capacitances as THIS one, and has a similar chart on the front, but instead of an LED bar graph is has a two-line backlit LCD display, and you can read the actual ESR values to two decimal places of resolution, and you also have more control and flexibility of zeroing out external resistances, so different test lead/clip/probe arrangements can be used successfully, and it comes with test probes and alligator clips (but NOT a tweezers clip).
Both THAT product and THIS product can also measure DCR (DC resistance), although this video does not mention it. When a capacitor has a partial breakdown of the internal structure, its internal DC resistance between the two leads (which should be quite high) can drop down to a small number of Ohms. Even with that, it can still function somewhat as a capacitor, and might read the correct capacitance on a different meter, and might even pass the ESR test on this product (or the EZM one) because of the way these tests are done. With older electrolytic caps, or any that you have cause to wonder about, it is important to do a DCR test as well as the ECR test. I don't know why this point was not made in this video. THIS product has a DCR&ESR mode, where it tests DCR first, and only proceeds to test ESR if the DCR test was 'good'.
Another point not covered in this video: ECR is tested with an AC signal, so polarity of the test leads on polarized capacitors is not important. But when testing DCR, the test signal is a DC voltage, albeit a very low one, so it is best to observe test lead polarity.
Thank you for your explanation I like to learn stuff ! God bless you!!!
Appreciate the support!
very useful thanks, i liked your simple explanations
Are the tweezers that measure ESR reliable, good?
Yes, I have had no issues
Can you test relay in curcuit?
Great video. God bless you!!!
nice good informative video
Thank you!
thanks
I just bought one today
Awesome! You won't regret it!
👏👏👏
cold dead eyes staring past my soul and into the void
Thanks??
Have you looked at newer appliances? They're all potted to hell so you can't get to the board. They're also using coded chips so you can't swap boards. So annoying, this should be illegal. We need Right to Repair!
So that's where Apple learned that practice with Iphone parts . . .
This is not a game changer for those who wants to repair with no knowledge. I've seen cases where a capacitor shows fully short which could make you believe that the capacitor is the issues, but in reality the real issue can be a bridge rectifier or some other components on the circuit. Don't go blindly with this video and be safe. There are different techniques.