How Do You Discharge a Capacitor?
How do you discharge a capacitor safely? Most techs use a screwdriver to discharge a capacitor, but Bryan shows a way to make a capacitor discharge tool to satisfy the nerdiest or most safety-conscious tech.
Although many of us just connect the terminals with a pair of pliers or a screwdriver, you can create a capacitor discharge tool with just a screwdriver and a 5-watt, 20,000-ohm resistor; one side of the resistor has a tip, and the other has an alligator clip. Even when you use the capacitor discharge tool, be careful about arcing; although the capacitor should discharge through the compressor windings, there are rare circumstances where it may still hold a charge.
To use the tool, you connect the alligator clip to the common terminal and use the tip to connect it to the herm side and then the fan side.
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