Capacitance Measurement - V&A VA41 User Manual

6000 COUNTS DIGITAL MULTIMETER
USER'S MANUAL

3.2.6 Capacitance measurement

To avoid electrical shock and/or damage to the
instrument, disconnect circuit power and discharge
all high-voltage
capacitance. Use the dc voltage function to confirm
that the capacitor is discharged.
Capacitance is the ability of a component to store an electrical
charge.
The unit of capacitance is the farad (F). Most capacitors are in
the nanofarad to microfarad range. The Meter measures
capacitance by charging the capacitor with a known current for
a known period of time, measuring the resulting voltage, then
calculating the capacitance. The measurement takes about 1
second per range.
To measure capacitance (set up the Meter as shown in Figure
3-6):
1. Set the rotary switch to Ω
2. Select the auto scan mode or press the SELECT key to
activate capacitance measuring mode.
3. Connect the black and red test leads to the COM and
terminals respectively.
4. Connect the test leads to the capacitor being measured and
read the displayed value.
NOTE:
The meter may take a few seconds to stabilize reading when
measurement on 600uF~60mF. To improve the accuracy of
measurements less than 600nF, subtract the residual
capacitance of the Meter and leads.
18
capacitors before
range.
measuring
OFF
uA
mA
A
V
uA
mA
COM
A
Figure 3-6 Measuring Capacitance