SMD code search: identify a part by its marking
1 part in X2SON is printed GN. 4 printed with a similar-looking code.
Not sure which one you have?
Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 5 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.
The only part printed GN in this package in our tables
TPS7A0325PDQN
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Texas Instruments
- Package
- X2SON
- Pins
- 4
- Details
- Nanopower IQ, 200nA, 200mA, Low-Dropout Voltage Regulator With Fast Transient Response
- Source
- From the manufacturer's 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.
Printed with a code easy to misread
These parts are printed with a character that is easy to misread as what you typed. The odd one out is marked on each.
LP5907SNX-3.3printed CNX2SONLDO regulator, 4 pins, Texas InstrumentsLDO regulator4 pinsTexas Instruments
Printed CN on the part. Easy to misread as GN. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Texas Instruments
- Package
- X2SON
- Pins
- 4
- Details
- 250mA, Low-Noise, Low-IQ LDO
- Source
- From the manufacturer's 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.
LP5907SNX3printed CNX2SONLDO regulator, 4 pins, Texas InstrumentsLDO regulator4 pinsTexas Instruments
Printed CN on the part. Easy to misread as GN. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Texas Instruments
- Package
- X2SON
- Pins
- 4
- Details
- 250mA, Low-Noise, Low-IQ LDO
- Source
- From the manufacturer's 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.
LP5907SNX3.3NOPBG4printed CNX2SONLDO regulator, 4 pins, Texas InstrumentsLDO regulator4 pinsTexas Instruments
Printed CN on the part. Easy to misread as GN. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- LDO regulator
- Maker
- Texas Instruments
- Package
- X2SON
- Pins
- 4
- Details
- 250mA, Low-Noise, Low-IQ LDO
- Source
- From the manufacturer's 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.
1 more part has no package on record. Nothing rules it out, so it stays.
PMEG2020EPASprinted CNSchottky diode, NexperiaSchottky diodeNot recordedNexperia
Printed CN on the part. Easy to misread as GN. Check that character with a loupe before you order anything.
- What it is
- Schottky diode
- Maker
- Nexperia
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- Not recorded
- Details
- 20 V, 2 A low VF Schottky barrier rectifier
- Source
- From the manufacturer's 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 GN: none in X2SON, 3 with no package on record
Codes that begin with GN
For a marking with its end worn or burnt off. Each one shows its full printed code.
3 parts have no package on record. Nothing rules them out, so they stay.
AOZ2380QIprinted CN00DC-DC converter, Alpha & Omega SemiconductorDC-DC converterNot recordedAlpha & Omega Semiconductor
Printed CN00. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
- What it is
- DC-DC converter
- Maker
- Alpha & Omega Semiconductor
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- Not recorded
- Details
- Synchronous buck regulator
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
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.
AOZ13986DI-02printed CN02Load switch, Alpha & Omega SemiconductorLoad switchNot recordedAlpha & Omega Semiconductor
Printed CN02. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
- What it is
- Load switch
- Maker
- Alpha & Omega Semiconductor
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- Not recorded
- Details
- USB Type-C protection switch
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
Is it dead?
Voltage, board powered, black probe on ground.
Working, it reads
Switched on, the output pin sits at the input voltage. Switched off, it sits near 0 V.
Dead, it reads
- Output at the input voltage while switched off: the pass element has shorted.
- Input present and switched on, no output: failed open, or shut down into a shorted load. Power off and measure output to ground.
- On the board:
- An output near 0 Ω to ground is usually the load. Lift the output pin to see which.
- 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 pinout and whether the enable is active high or low differ between parts. The datasheet gives both.
A dead part still carries its marking. A short or an open says it has failed, not that it is a different part.
SN74LVC1G126DRLprinted CN7Logic gate, 5 pins, Texas InstrumentsLogic gate5 pinsTexas Instruments
Printed CN7. Only the start matches what you typed, so this fits only if the rest of the marking is worn off.
- What it is
- Logic gate
- Maker
- Texas Instruments
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- 5
- Details
- Single Bus Buffer Gate With 3-State Output
- Source
- From the manufacturer's datasheet
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.
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.
- 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.