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I've removed and tested a 560uF 500V capacitor and my UNI-T 210E says it's 500 mF? Now I may be a newbie but I know m is bigger than micro!

So is this capacitor faulty and this reading is an artefact of the way the meter tries to measure capacitance? Am I doing something wrong or will this meter simply not measure this sort of capacitor accurately? I don't have any new capacitors to test the meter on maybe that's the next step?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ What does this mean: UNI-T 210E ? \$\endgroup\$
    – Andy aka
    Mar 16, 2021 at 10:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ Most likely they simply did not include a µ symbol only for the cap tester. I also doubt the instrument can measure caps larger than 1000µF. Look into the manual. \$\endgroup\$
    – Janka
    Mar 16, 2021 at 10:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ The manual is not very good but there is a micro symbol. Just realised in the light of day it's 0.535 mF any way,DOH ! \$\endgroup\$
    – Simon Parker
    Mar 16, 2021 at 11:06
  • \$\begingroup\$ @SimonParker Sounds like you can answer your own question and accept it. \$\endgroup\$
    – Spehro Pefhany
    Mar 16, 2021 at 11:18
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Kartman's comment about an ESR tester is valid; capacitance is only one characteristic of capacitors. \$\endgroup\$
    – rdtsc
    Mar 16, 2021 at 12:04

2 Answers 2

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According to datasheet the measurement capacity goes up to:

Capacitance (F) 20mF ±(4%+5)

So, 560uF is within the specification. Since the display count is 2000, it is unlikely that this is a form of error indication.

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    \$\begingroup\$ an ESR meter gives a more conclusive test of the health of an electrolytic. An electrolytic capacitor can be as dry as a desert but yet still measure correctly in terms of capacitance. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kartman
    Mar 16, 2021 at 11:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Kartman, indeed. Not to mention that the 2 pages user manual doesn't help much... \$\endgroup\$
    – devnull
    Mar 16, 2021 at 11:05
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Sorry for some reason it didn't register with my brain that it's display 0.525 mF which I guess is ok for 560 uF 20% tolerance on these . All the capacitors look fine anyway hmm ....🤔

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