SMD code search: identify a part by its marking
1 part in SOT-523 is printed 1GW. 6 printed with a similar-looking code.
1 part in SOT-523 is printed 1GW
Not sure which one you have?
Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 3 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.
BC847CWSOT-523Transistor, 3 pins, NXPTransistor3 pinsNXP
- What it is
- Transistor
- Maker
- NXP
- Package
- SOT-523
- Pins
- 3
- Details
- SMD General Purpose NPN Transistors
- Source
- Published code list
Is it dead?
Diode range, part lifted or its base leg off the pad.
Working, it reads
From the base, one probe colour 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
- 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.
2 more parts have no package on record. Nothing rules them out, so they stay.
S-1312D29-A4T1U34 pins, ABLICNot recorded4 pinsABLIC
- What it is
- Not recorded
- Maker
- ABLIC
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- 4
- Details
- equivalent [2.9V LDO]
- Source
- Published code list
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.
S-1312D29-A4T2U34 pins, ABLICNot recorded4 pinsABLIC
- What it is
- Not recorded
- Maker
- ABLIC
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- 4
- Details
- equivalent [2.9V LDO]
- Source
- Published code list
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.
6 more parts are printed with a code easy to misread as 1GW: none in SOT-523, 6 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.
6 parts have no package on record. Nothing rules them out, so they stay.
ADP1707ACPZ-1.1R7printed L6W8 pins, Analog DevicesNot recorded8 pinsAnalog Devices
Printed L6W on the part. Easy to misread as 1GW. 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 [1.1V LDO]
- Source
- Published code list
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.
S-1112B37PIprinted L6WABLICNot recordedNot recordedABLIC
Printed L6W on the part. Easy to misread as 1GW. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Not recorded
- Maker
- ABLIC
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- Not recorded
- Details
- VR-IC: LDO, CE, 3.7V±1.0%, 150mA
- Source
- Published code list
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.
S-1112B37PI-L6WTFprinted L6W6 pins, ABLICNot recorded6 pinsABLIC
Printed L6W on the part. Easy to misread as 1GW. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Not recorded
- Maker
- ABLIC
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- 6
- Details
- equivalent [3.7V LDO]
- Source
- Published code list
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.
S-1112B37PI-L6WTFGprinted L6WLDO regulator, Seiko InstrumentsLDO regulatorNot recordedSeiko Instruments
Printed L6W on the part. Easy to misread as 1GW. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Seiko Instruments
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- Not recorded
- Details
- Linear voltage regulator IC: LDO, 3.7V±1.0%, 150mA, +CE
- Source
- Published code list
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.
S-1112B37PNprinted L6WABLICNot recordedNot recordedABLIC
Printed L6W on the part. Easy to misread as 1GW. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Not recorded
- Maker
- ABLIC
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- Not recorded
- Details
- VR-IC: LDO, CE, 3.7V±1.0%, 150mA
- Source
- Published code list
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.
S-1112B37PN-L6WTFGprinted L6WLDO regulator, Seiko InstrumentsLDO regulatorNot recordedSeiko Instruments
Printed L6W on the part. Easy to misread as 1GW. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Seiko Instruments
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- Not recorded
- Details
- Linear voltage regulator IC: LDO, 3.7V±1.0%, 150mA, +CE
- Source
- Published code list
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.
1 more part has a code that begins with 1GW: none in SOT-523, 1 with no package on record
Codes that begin with 1GW
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.
SGM2239-3.6QTHI8Gprinted 1CWTHILDO regulator, 8 pins, SG MicroLDO regulator8 pinsSG Micro
Printed 1CWTHI. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- SG Micro
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- 8
- Details
- Automotive 40V, 300mA, Low Quiescent Current and Low Dropout Voltage Linear Regulator
- 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.
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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.
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