General Indicators of Failed Components and Reasons Behind the Failure

There are numerous reasons that may result in component failure.  When you Buy electronic component, the component failure is a common situation. The chance of failure drops are increased as they are used. A failure of a component within a system may be due to factors like misuse, wearing-out, or as a consequence of the failure of another system component. Failure is detected when the system does not function the indented work. Component failure may be difficult to identify. Following are the indications that can help you identify the failed components.

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Visible- Visual inspection is the most obvious indicator that a specific component has failed. Failed components are depicted by burnt or melted areas or are bulges and expanded. Capacitors are often bulged out. IC packages often have a small hole burned in them.

Smell– A thermal overload occurs due to the failure of the component that causes blue smoke to be released by the damaged component. The smoke also has a very distinct smell and varies by type of component. The smell remains around the component for days and which can help in identifying damaged component during troubleshooting.

Sound- Components makes the brittle sound that indicated that it may have failed. This happens more often with rapid thermal failures, over voltages and over current. When a component fails this suddenly, a smell often accompanies the failure. The components of the system are found loose in the circuit that results in sound, so identifying the component that failed may come down to finding which component is no longer on the PCB.

Testing– Individual testing of components is required to identify the components that have failed. It is quite difficult on a PCB as other components will affect the measurement since all measurements involve supply of current or voltage, the circuit will respond to it and readings can vary. If a system uses several sub systems, often replacing them is a great way to find the issue in the system.

Sometimes the failures are slow and it becomes difficult to identify the component and replace it before it fails completely and the equipment is down. Other failures may be rapid, violent or unexpected. These failures are tested during the certification testing. For repairing of the damaged circuits lots of testing, probing and prepping and then the repair work.