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SMD code F-

Marking codes are not standardised, and the same code is reused by unrelated makers for unrelated parts. Below is every part in our tables printed with it, and any printed with a code that is easy to misread as it, from the manufacturers' own marking tables and published code lists.

181 parts are printed F-

Not sure which one you have?

Answer up to 4 quick questions and these 50 parts are ranked, with a meter test that settles it. It works on a dead part too.

Is it dead? One meter test per kind

Parts of the same kind are tested the same way, so each test is here once. Each part above points to its own.

TVS or ESD protection diode

Diode range, from the protected line to ground, part lifted if you can.

Working, it reads

A one-way part reads about 0.6 to 0.8 V forward and open in reverse. A two-way part reads open both ways. Arrays with several lines read as the datasheet's diagram draws them.

Dead, it reads

  • From the line to ground, the same reading both ways, near 0 V with a continuous beep: shorted.
  • A reading both ways on a one-way part: leaky.
  • A one-way part open both ways: failed open.
On the board
, a line reading shorted to ground can be this part or anything else on that line. Lift it: if the short goes with it, it has failed.
Compare:
The same part on the next line or connector pin is the healthy reading to compare with.
Watch for:
A two-way part reads open both ways when it is good, exactly like one that has failed open. The meter cannot tell them apart; an identical part on the next line can.

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

Load switch

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.

This part

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.

Schottky diode

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.

N-channel MOSFET

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

Working, it reads

Red probe on the source, black on the drain: 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. A drain short can be the load. 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.

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