SMD code search: identify a part by its marking
1 part in SMCG is printed L160. 1 printed with a similar-looking code.
Not sure which one you have?
Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 2 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.
The only part printed L160 in this package in our tables
SMLG160
- What it is
- TVS diode
- Maker
- Microsemi Integrated Products Division
- Package
- SMCG
- Pins
- 2
- Details
- Transient voltage supressor: Vrwm=160V, Vbr=178..218V, Ipp=10.4A, 3000W(1ms)
- Source
- Published code list
Is it dead?
Diode range, from the protected line to ground, part lifted if you can.
Working, it reads
A one-way part reads about 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse. A two-way part reads open both ways. Arrays with several lines read as the datasheet's diagram draws them.
Dead, it reads
- From the line to ground, the same reading both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted.
- A reading both ways on a one-way part: leaky.
- A one-way part open both ways: failed open.
- On the board
- , a line reading shorted to ground can be this part or anything else on that line. Lift it: if the short goes with it, it has failed.
- Compare:
- The same part on the next line or connector pin is the healthy reading to compare with.
- Watch for:
- A two-way part reads open both ways when it is good, exactly like one that has failed open. The meter cannot tell them apart; an identical part on the next line can.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
Was it this one?
Printed with a code easy to misread
This part is printed with a character that is easy to misread as what you typed. The odd one out is marked on each.
1 part has no package on record. Nothing rules it out, so it stays.
FM1L60-SFprinted 1L60Schottky diode, Formosa MicrosemiSchottky diodeFormosa Microsemi
Printed 1L60 on the part. Easy to misread as L160. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Schottky diode
- Maker
- Formosa Microsemi
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- Not recorded
- Source
- Manufacturer datasheet
Is it dead?
Diode range, part lifted or one leg off the pad. Red probe on the anode.
Working, it reads
About 0.15 to 0.45 V anode to cathode, roughly half a silicon diode, and open the other way.
Dead, it reads
- The same reading both ways round, near 0 V with a continuous beep or the same middling value: shorted.
- A reading the wrong way round as well: leaky.
- Open both ways: failed open.
- 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 large Schottky can read about 0.1 V forward and beep like a short, and leaks a little the wrong way when good, more when warm. It is shorted only if it reads the same both ways. Measure it cold, beside an identical cold one.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
3 more parts have codes that begin with L160
Codes that begin with L160
For a marking with its end worn or burnt off. Each one shows its full printed code.
TVS diode, all SMCG, 2 pins, all Microsemi Integrated Products Division.
SMLG160Aprinted L160ASMCG
Printed L160A. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
- What it is
- TVS diode
- Maker
- Microsemi Integrated Products Division
- Package
- SMCG
- Pins
- 2
- Details
- Transient voltage supressor: Vrwm=160V, Vbr=178..197V, Ipp=11.6A, 3000W(1ms)
- Source
- Published code list
Is it dead?
Diode range, from the protected line to ground, part lifted if you can.
Working, it reads
A one-way part reads about 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse. A two-way part reads open both ways. Arrays with several lines read as the datasheet's diagram draws them.
Dead, it reads
- From the line to ground, the same reading both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted.
- A reading both ways on a one-way part: leaky.
- A one-way part open both ways: failed open.
- On the board
- , a line reading shorted to ground can be this part or anything else on that line. Lift it: if the short goes with it, it has failed.
- Compare:
- The same part on the next line or connector pin is the healthy reading to compare with.
- Watch for:
- A two-way part reads open both ways when it is good, exactly like one that has failed open. The meter cannot tell them apart; an identical part on the next line can.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
SMLG160Cprinted L160CSMCG
Printed L160C. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
- What it is
- TVS diode
- Maker
- Microsemi Integrated Products Division
- Package
- SMCG
- Pins
- 2
- Details
- Transient voltage supressor: Vrwm=160V, Vbr=178..218V, Ipp=10.4A, 3000W(1ms), Bidir.
- Source
- Published code list
Is it dead?
Diode range, from the protected line to ground, part lifted if you can.
Working, it reads
A one-way part reads about 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse. A two-way part reads open both ways. Arrays with several lines read as the datasheet's diagram draws them.
Dead, it reads
- From the line to ground, the same reading both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted.
- A reading both ways on a one-way part: leaky.
- A one-way part open both ways: failed open.
- On the board
- , a line reading shorted to ground can be this part or anything else on that line. Lift it: if the short goes with it, it has failed.
- Compare:
- The same part on the next line or connector pin is the healthy reading to compare with.
- Watch for:
- A two-way part reads open both ways when it is good, exactly like one that has failed open. The meter cannot tell them apart; an identical part on the next line can.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
SMLG160CAprinted L160CASMCG
Printed L160CA. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
- What it is
- TVS diode
- Maker
- Microsemi Integrated Products Division
- Package
- SMCG
- Pins
- 2
- Details
- Transient voltage supressor: Vrwm=160V, Vbr=178..197V, Ipp=11.6A, 3000W(1ms), Bidir.
- Source
- Published code list
Is it dead?
Diode range, from the protected line to ground, part lifted if you can.
Working, it reads
A one-way part reads about 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse. A two-way part reads open both ways. Arrays with several lines read as the datasheet's diagram draws them.
Dead, it reads
- From the line to ground, the same reading both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted.
- A reading both ways on a one-way part: leaky.
- A one-way part open both ways: failed open.
- On the board
- , a line reading shorted to ground can be this part or anything else on that line. Lift it: if the short goes with it, it has failed.
- Compare:
- The same part on the next line or connector pin is the healthy reading to compare with.
- Watch for:
- A two-way part reads open both ways when it is good, exactly like one that has failed open. The meter cannot tell them apart; an identical part on the next line can.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
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One code, several parts
Marking codes are not unique. In the standard code book, 6H on a SOT-23 is an NPN transistor, a varicap, an N-channel JFET, two digital transistors, a 3.6 V voltage detector: six parts from five makers. So a search on WhatSMD (What SMD) shows the parts we hold under that code and under codes easily misread as it, with only the columns that tell them apart.
- NPN transistor
- Varicap
- N-channel JFET
- Digital transistor ×2
- 3.6 V voltage detector
When more than one is left
Tap Help me choose. Up to 4 quick answers: whether the part has failed, then what separates the parts left. Those get ranked with the reasoning and a test that settles it. That uses one identification: 2 a month are free without an account, and 3 with a free account.
When you cannot read it
Tap the camera in the field. We read the characters, keep the ones we are unsure of, and search every reading. A photo too soft to read is turned back on your phone first; if it is the only one you can get, you can still send it.
Get the app
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