Old timer I apprenticed under swore by testing capacitors with a screwdriver first, and after I fried two boards in a row last week ignoring that advice I finally get why.

He told me to always short the terminals before touching anything else and I thought he was just being dramatic, but now I'm out $140 in parts and a whole afternoon redoing a job that should've been a quick fix, has anyone else had a mentor's old school trick save them from their own stubbornness?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivanbell1mo ago

Blew up a multimeter learning that same lesson the hard way.

ivan_murphy801mo ago

You ever have one of those moments where you see the flash and think "well, that's $50 down the drain"? I was testing a microwave capacitor I swore was dead (because I'm a genius, you know) and forgot the whole "discharge it first" rule. The multimeter screamed, then went silent. I just stood there holding two smoking probes like a moron. Learned my lesson, though - now I use a screwdriver with a thick handle and a rubber glove. Baby steps.

nancyjones1mo ago

My dad showed me that trick on a microwave capacitor when I was 15, saved my bacon on a TV repair last month when I forgot to unplug it first.