SMD code search: identify a part by its marking
15.12 nF capacitor. 1 part is printed 15N12.
15N12 on a chip capacitor
15.12 nF
15.12 nF capacitor
The n is both the decimal point and the unit: 15.12 nF.
Check it with a meter
Lift one end and measure it on a capacitance range. A good one reads close to 15.12 nF. In circuit the meter also sees everything connected across it, so the reading means little until it is out. A failed one usually reads near 0 Ω, or a steady low resistance, on the ohms range, often from a crack. On the board a shorted capacitor shorts its whole rail. A failed reading does not change what to fit: the marking still says 15.12 nF.
On a transistor or diode body, 15N12 is a part code instead. Those parts are listed below.
The only part printed 15N12 in our tables
KP15N12
- What it is
- Not recorded
- Maker
- Shindengen
- Package
- Not recorded
- Pins
- Not recorded
- Details
- Thy-SPD: V Of-St=110V, Ifsm=150A(1ms), Ih=100mA, Bidirectional
- 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.
Was it this one?
Did you find your 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
The same search on your phone, and a camera with a light, zoom and tap to focus for a marking you cannot read. Sign in with your email address to use the same account.
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