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Warning: Don't buy those cheap capacitor testers on Amazon
I picked up a $15 capacitor tester from a random brand last month. Figured it was good enough for checking old caps on TVs and monitors. First three tests seemed fine, but the fourth one said a cap was good when it was clearly blown (bulging top and all). Ended up wasting 4 hours troubleshooting a power supply board because I trusted that faulty reading. Ordered a proper Peak tester for $80 after that, but man I wish I just spent the money upfront. Anyone else get burned by cheap tools that just waste your time?
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avery3664d ago
Yeah my buddy bought one of those and it told him a completely dead starter capacitor on his AC unit was fine. Cost him a service call fee before he figured out the tester was the problem.
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alice_barnes354d ago
Oh man, that's brutal but honestly I can totally see it happening. I bought a similar tester from a discount tool site and it told me my fridge compressor was perfectly fine when it was actually shot. Ended up wasting a whole afternoon troubleshooting before I realized the tester was the problem.
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