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I was removing some capacitor adhesive and noticed that in doing so I ripped off some of the capacitor housing causing what seems to be the outer aluminum shell to be exposed.

The capacitor itself is still giving perfect readings.

What would be the effect of running this capacitor when patched with some electrical tape ?

Ideally it probably would be better to replace it completely, but I was wondering if such a patch would be considered ok ?

ddewaele
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1 Answers1

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The plastic coating is primarily just insulation, although it is also a handy place to print the value.

I would just leave the capacitor as it is, unless there is a chance of a wire or other component touching it in the damaged area.

Peter Bennett
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  • What about somebody's hand / finger ? Would it cause a shock when the capacitor is still holding a charge ? (equivalent to touching the capacitor leads) – ddewaele Aug 23 '20 at 11:32
  • @ddewaele: the metal case is the negative terminal of the capacitor - probably ground in most circuits. The metal case is usually exposed on the top of the capacitor - the bit you exposed on the side is part of the same can. If you just touch the case, you won't get a shock, but if you touch the two terminals, or the case and some other part of the circuit, you might get a shock. – Peter Bennett Aug 23 '20 at 15:28