How does a capacitor fail ?

Replies

• 

  Jeffrey Arulraj

  Electrolytic capacitors cannot be replaced by ceramic capacitors
  
  The chemical constituents of the capacitor start to leak out of the capacitor shell
• 

  zaveri

  Conqueror

  Electrolytic capacitors cannot be replaced by ceramic capacitors
  
  The chemical constituents of the capacitor start to leak out of the capacitor shell

  
  can you elaborate please ?
• 

  Jeffrey Arulraj

  Electrical symptoms
  
  As an electrolytic capacitor ages, its Capacitance usually decreases and its Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) usually increases. The capacitance may abnormally degrade to as low as 4% of the original value, as opposed to an expected 50% capacity degradation over the normal life span of the component. When this happens, the capacitors no longer adequately serve their purpose of filtering the Direct current - Wikipedia Voltageon the motherboard, and a result of this failure is an increase in the ripple voltage that the capacitor is supposed to filter out. This results in a system instability. Capacitors with high ESR and low capacitance can make power supplies malfunction, sometimes causing further circuit damage. In computers, Cpu Core Voltage or other system voltages may fluctuate or go out of range, possibly with an increase in CPU temperature as the core voltage rises.
  
  Source Capacitor Plague
  
  All the electrolytes are similar to rechargeable batteries as more and more cycles are done with the capacitors electrolyte losses its original property and increases its internal resistance
  
  This effect is similar to settled water and stirred water having lots of impurities
• 

  vamsi kancharla

  zaveri

  1) maybe the title says it all.
  
  what i want to know is that how does the electrolytic capacitor used in induction motors, get fagged out ?, that is to say that , what really happens to the cap, when it can no longer run the motor, and when the time comes to replace it ?
  
  
  2) Can the ceramic capacitors and the electrolytic capacitor act as substitutes for each other. ?[/qu
  capacitor fails when the the temparature is high the plates of the capacitor expands and the electrolyte heats and tries to come out of the shell in this process cap gets breaks and electrolyte leaks