Measure capacitance on HVAC capacitor

[deep_logic]

Hi all. Recently my HVAC went belly up and I kinda figured it was the capacitor (I replaced it about 6 years ago). So I removed it and checked the terminals. There are 3 labeled: 1. "C" - common, 2. "Fan", and 3. "Herm". The name plate of the bad cap was 40MF(MICROFARAD) +/- 7.5. The readings on all three terminals was ZERO. Ok. So I get a new cap at the appliance store, with same specs, I tested all three terms and guess what? It reads ZERO across all three terms! I installed the new cap and everything is working fine, but I'm wondering if I'm using the CAPACITOR function wrong with my meter? I tried ALL the settings.

I'm pretty sure it's operator error, but I'd like to know for future...

 

[crutschow]

What is the maximum capacitor range on the meter?
What is the meter?

 

[deep_logic]

1. 20μF - 2000pF.
2. The meter itself is a generic one from China. I got it about 10 years ago and still works fine.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

1. 20μF - 2000pF.

Well you're trying to measure one twice as high as it goes - so it's not likely to work.

 

[KeepItSimpleStupid]

You could series a known good cap <10 uf and do the math: 1/Ct=1/Ctest+1/Cknown

Series caps obey parallel resistance rules.