First post, by mpe
I was wondering how to identify bad caps that need replacing. I think it is somewhat easier for bigger caps which are visibly bulging or leaking. But those tend to came on later boards Pentium II+
Many 386/486 stuff only have smaller 10-100µF parts which don't bulge as much.
However, I noted that some caps have somewhat more of flat top (with less of black cover wrap up) than others. But I never understood if it is a design of the cap or a sign of bulging. Like this one:
Would you replace it?
I also found that when removing a cap like the it still has nominal or close to nominal capacitance when measured by multimeter.
I was thinking about getting an ESR meter, but not sure if that helps as different caps might have different resistance, this can be part of design and not sure what value to look for.
And in general what is everyone favourite method of identifying bad small caps? Either visually or electrically in-circuit or out of circuit?