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SMD code search: identify a part by its marking

No part printed Y4. is recorded in SOD-123F. 1 printed with a similar-looking code.

No part printed Y4. is recorded in SOD-123F

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.

1 part has no package on record. Nothing rules it out, so it stays.

  • BZX584B36Zener diode, Taiwan Semiconductor
    What it is
    Zener diode
    Maker
    Taiwan Semiconductor
    Package
    Not recorded
    Pins
    Not recorded
    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
    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 BZX584B36, opens in a new tab

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.

  • MMSZ5239Bprinted Y4SOD-123FZener diode, 2 pins, Diotec

    Printed Y4 on the part. Easy to misread as Y4.. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Zener diode
    Maker
    Diotec
    Package
    SOD-123F
    Pins
    2
    Details
    SMD Planar Zener Diodes
    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
    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 MMSZ5239B, opens in a new tab
1 more part has a code that begins with Y4.: none in SOD-123F, 1 with no package on record

Codes that begin with Y4.

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

1 part has no package on record. Nothing rules it out, so it stays.

  • AOY423printed Y423P-channel MOSFET, Alpha & Omega Semiconductor

    Printed Y423. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    P-channel MOSFET
    Maker
    Alpha & Omega Semiconductor
    Package
    Not recorded
    Pins
    Not recorded
    Details
    P-channel MOSFET (8-60 V)
    Source
    From the manufacturer's datasheet

    Is it dead?

    Diode range, part lifted. Test drain to source first, then short gate to source and test again.

    Working, it reads

    Red probe on the drain, black on the source: about 0.4 to 0.9 V, the body diode. Open the other way. The gate reads open to both other pins, both ways.

    Dead, it reads

    • Drain to source the same both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep, and still so after shorting gate to source: shorted. The classic failure.
    • The gate reads low to source or drain: gate shorted. Often all three pins end up shorted together.
    • No body diode at all: failed open.
    On the board
    the gate usually has a resistor to the source, so gate to source reads that resistor, which is not a fault. Lift a leg to be sure.
    Compare:
    If an identical part sits elsewhere on the board, measure it the same way: that is what this one should read.
    Watch for:
    The diode range can charge the gate enough to turn the part on, and then drain to source reads near 0 both ways on a good part. Short gate to source and test again before you condemn it.

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

    Datasheetfor AOY423, opens in a new tab

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 shows the parts we hold under that code and under codes easily misread as it, with only the columns that tell them apart.

6Hon a SOT-23, in the code book
  • 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.