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SMD code search: identify a part by its marking

1 part in SOD-80 is printed 15V. 2 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.

  • MZ0.5GN15VSOD-80Zener diode, 2 pins, Master Instrument Corporation of ShanghaiZener diode2 pinsMaster Instrument Corporation of Shanghai
    What it is
    Zener diode
    Maker
    Master Instrument Corporation of Shanghai
    Package
    SOD-80
    Pins
    2
    Details
    Zener diode: 15V+-5%, Zzt=32, Izt=27mA, 500mW
    Source
    Published code list

    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.

  • 1 more part has no package on record. Nothing rules it out, so it stays.
    • S-13D1C1818-A6T2U3LDO regulator, ABLICLDO regulatorNot recordedABLIC
      What it is
      LDO regulator
      Maker
      ABLIC
      Package
      Not recorded
      Pins
      Not recorded
      Source
      Manufacturer datasheet

      Is it dead?

      Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground. Then ohms with the power off.

      Working, it reads

      Input pin at the supply, output pin at its rated voltage, and the enable pin high if it has one.

      Dead, it reads

      • Output equal to the input: the pass element has shorted. Everything after it may have taken the full input.
      • Input present, enable high, no output: failed open, or holding itself off into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
      • Power off, input to output near 0 Ω: shorted.
      On the board:
      An output at 0 V is often a shorted load with the regulator in current limit. Lift the output pin: if the short stays on the board, the regulator may be fine.
      Compare:
      The same regulator on another rail or another board shows the right voltages and the right resistances.
      Watch for:
      Makers put input, output and ground on different pins in the same package, so take them from this part's datasheet. Diode or ohms readings between its pins say little; check it powered.

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

2 more parts are printed with a code easy to misread as 15V: none in SOD-80, 2 with no package on record

Printed with a code easy to misread

One character differs, and it is one that is easy to confuse under a lamp. The odd one out is marked on each.

2 parts have no package on record. Nothing rules them out, so they stay.

  • ADP2102YCPZ-1.2-R7printed L5V8 pins, Analog DevicesNot recorded8 pinsAnalog Devices

    Printed L5V on the part. Easy to misread as 15V. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Not recorded
    Maker
    Analog Devices
    Package
    Not recorded
    Pins
    8
    Details
    equivalent [1.2V DC]
    Source
    Published code list

    Is it dead?

    Diode range and ohms range, part lifted.

    Working, it reads

    Depends on what it is. The datasheet, or an identical part, says.

    Dead, it reads

    • Between two pins, the same reading both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted.
    • Open between every pair of pins: failed open, or a part that reads open when working.
    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.

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

  • XC6129N47F7R-Gprinted L5VVoltage supervisor, TorexVoltage supervisorNot recordedTorex

    Printed L5V on the part. Easy to misread as 15V. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.

    What it is
    Voltage supervisor
    Maker
    Torex
    Package
    Not recorded
    Pins
    Not recorded
    Details
    Voltage detector IC: 4.7V±0.8%, -Reset ODO, Rel. Delay, Det. Delay, Undef. Prot.
    Source
    Published code list

    Is it dead?

    Voltage with the board powered; ohms from each pin to ground with it off.

    Working, it reads

    Supply pin at its voltage and the output doing what the datasheet says. Readings between pins depend on the part.

    Dead, it reads

    • A pin near 0 Ω to ground or to the supply pin where an identical part does not read that: failed short.
    • Supply present, output stuck: failed, or its load has.
    On the board:
    A pin shorted to ground on the board can be anything on that net. Lift the pin to be sure.
    Compare:
    The surest reference is the same IC on a working board, measured pin by pin.
    Watch for:
    Its protection diodes can read like junctions between pins, even like a transistor. That proves nothing either way.

    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 15V: 1 in SOD-80, 2 with no package on record

Codes that begin with 15V

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

Zener diode. What differs:

  • MZO.5GN15V-8.5printed 15V-8.5SOD-802 pins, Master Instrument Corporation of Shanghai2 pinsMaster Instrument Corporation of Shanghai

    Printed 15V-8.5. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

    What it is
    Zener diode
    Maker
    Master Instrument Corporation of Shanghai
    Package
    SOD-80
    Pins
    2
    Details
    Zener diode: 15V+-5%, Zzt=16, Izt=30mA, 500mW
    Source
    Published code list

    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.

  • 2 more parts have no package on record. Nothing rules them out, so they stay.
    • MMSZ15VBW-Cprinted 15VBSeCoSNot recordedSeCoS

      Printed 15VB. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

      What it is
      Zener diode
      Maker
      SeCoS
      Package
      Not recorded
      Pins
      Not recorded
      Source
      Manufacturer 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.

    • MMSZ15VCW-Cprinted 15VZSeCoSNot recordedSeCoS

      Printed 15VZ. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.

      What it is
      Zener diode
      Maker
      SeCoS
      Package
      Not recorded
      Pins
      Not recorded
      Source
      Manufacturer 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.

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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.

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.

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