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SMD marking

K3in SOT-323

Marking codes are not standardised, and the same code is reused by unrelated makers for unrelated parts. Below is every part in our tables printed with it, and any printed with a code that is easy to misread as it, from the manufacturers' own marking tables.

The only part printed K3 in this package in our tables

MMBZ5253BW

What it is
Zener diode
Maker
Panjit
Package
SOT-323
Pins
3
Source
From the manufacturer's datasheet

Is it dead?

Diode range for the forward check, part lifted, red probe on the anode. A bench supply for the Zener voltage.

Working, it reads

About 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse on the diode range. Its Zener voltage shows only on a supply: feed it through a resistor that sets about 5 mA, cathode to positive, read quickly, and it should hold near its rated voltage.

Dead, it reads

  • The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
  • Open both ways, forward too: failed open.
  • Holds well off its rated voltage on the supply test: drifted.
  • A soft knee, or a voltage that creeps on the supply test: leaky.
On the board:
On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
Compare:
If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
Watch for:
A meter's diode range stops at about 2 to 3 V, so almost every Zener reads open in reverse on it, good or bad; a 3 V meter may just show a 2.4 or 2.7 V part. Above about 3 V the meter cannot tell a Zener from a plain diode.

A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

Datasheetfor MMBZ5253BW, opens in a new tab
6 more parts have codes that begin with K3

Codes that begin with K3

For a marking with its end worn or burnt off. Each one shows its full printed code.

all SOT-323, 3 pins, all JSCJ. What differs:

  • MMST2222Aprinted K3PSOT-323NPN transistor

    Printed K3P. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    NPN transistor
    Maker
    JSCJ
    Package
    SOT-323
    Pins
    3
    Details
    Bipolar transistor, NPN, 40 V, 0.6 A
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.

    Working, it reads

    Red probe on the base reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.

    Dead, it reads

    • Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
    • The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
    • Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
    • A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

    Datasheetfor MMST2222A, opens in a new tab
  • MMST2907Aprinted K3FSOT-323PNP transistor

    Printed K3F. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    PNP transistor
    Maker
    JSCJ
    Package
    SOT-323
    Pins
    3
    Details
    Bipolar transistor, PNP
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.

    Working, it reads

    Black probe on the base reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.

    Dead, it reads

    • Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
    • The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
    • Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
    • A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

    Datasheetfor MMST2907A, opens in a new tab
  • MMST4401printed K3XSOT-323NPN transistor

    Printed K3X. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    NPN transistor
    Maker
    JSCJ
    Package
    SOT-323
    Pins
    3
    Details
    Bipolar transistor, NPN, 40 V, 0.6 A
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.

    Working, it reads

    Red probe on the base reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.

    Dead, it reads

    • Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
    • The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
    • Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
    • A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

    Datasheetfor MMST4401, opens in a new tab
  • MMST4403printed K3TSOT-323PNP transistor

    Printed K3T. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    PNP transistor
    Maker
    JSCJ
    Package
    SOT-323
    Pins
    3
    Details
    Bipolar transistor, PNP
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.

    Working, it reads

    Black probe on the base reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.

    Dead, it reads

    • Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
    • The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
    • Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
    • A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

    Datasheetfor MMST4403, opens in a new tab
  • MMSTA42printed K3MSOT-323NPN transistor

    Printed K3M. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    NPN transistor
    Maker
    JSCJ
    Package
    SOT-323
    Pins
    3
    Details
    Bipolar transistor, NPN, 300 V, 0.5 A
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.

    Working, it reads

    Red probe on the base reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.

    Dead, it reads

    • Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
    • The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
    • Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
    • A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

    Datasheetfor MMSTA42, opens in a new tab
  • MMSTA92printed K3RSOT-323PNP transistor

    Printed K3R. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    PNP transistor
    Maker
    JSCJ
    Package
    SOT-323
    Pins
    3
    Details
    Bipolar transistor, PNP
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.

    Working, it reads

    Black probe on the base reads about 0.6 to 0.75 V to the emitter and to the collector, and open the other way round. Collector to emitter reads open both ways.

    Dead, it reads

    • Collector to emitter the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted. The commonest failure.
    • The base the same both ways to another pin, near 0 V or a middling value: a shorted junction.
    • Only one junction reads, or none: a junction has failed open. It then looks like a diode.
    • A reading the wrong way round, where it should be open: leaky.
    On the board:
    On the board this is a first look only: the meter reads every path between those pins, and a short can be a neighbour. Lift one leg before you condemn it.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    A pair of diodes with a common pin reads just like a transistor, and some transistors carry a built-in diode or resistor. The datasheet says which.

    A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.

    Datasheetfor MMSTA92, opens in a new tab

Open this in the search to correct a character or try another package.