TRANSISTORS As with diodes, it is usually the case that a transistor either works or it doesn't.

So again we will be able to make a few simple tests with a meter to see if a transistor is good or bad. You can think of a transistor as two back-to-back diodes in one package as shown in Figure 5.

Note that transistors come in two basic types: NPN and PNP. The letters C, B, E stand for COLLECTOR, BASE, EMITTER which are the names of the three leads which come out of a transistor. TESTING TRANSISTORS Assuming you know if the transistor is NPN or PNP, and assuming you know where B, C, and E are, then just test the B-C junction and the B-E junction as if they were standard diodes. If one of those junctions is a "bad diode", then the transistor is bad. Also, check the resistance from C to E using a higher Ohms scale (say, the 2 Meg scale). Be sure your fingers don't touch the metal test points or you will just measure your skin resistance. If the transistor is good, you should get an open-circuit reading from collector to emitter. NOTE: the above assumes silicon. With germanium transistors you may measure a high resistance from C to E. THINGS TO WATCH FOR Some transistors have diodes from collector to emitter built into them. They will not read opencircuit when measuring resistance between C and E. Some transistors have resistors from base to emitter built into them. They will read that resistance when measuring Ohms B to E. Some transistors are Darlingtons. They have a higher reading base to emitter which may appear as an open on a VOM. Testing a diode with a DIGITAL multimeter
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Digital multimeters have a special setting for testing a diode, usually labelled with the diode symbol. Connect the red (+) lead to the anode and the black (-) to the cathode. The diode should conduct and the meter will display a value (usually the voltage across the diode in mV, 1000mV = 1V). Reverse the connections. The diode should NOT conduct this way so the meter will display "off the scale" (usually blank except for a 1 on the left).

How to check capacitor with digital multimeter? You can use your multimeter as an ohmmeter to test the capacitor. 1.) Discharge the capacitor by shortening its leads. That is - use a wire and connect the leads of the capacitor together. This will discharge it. 2.) Put your multimeter in the high ranges 10K-1M 3) CONNECT MULTIMETER TO CAPACITOR LEADS(OBSERVE THE POLARITY IF ELECTROLYTIC). AT SOON AS THE LEADS MAKE CONTACT, THE METER WILL SWING NEAR ZERO. IT WILL THEN MOVE SLOWLY TOWARD INFINITY. FINALLY THE METER WOULD COME TO BE INFINITE OHMS BECAUSE THE CAPACITOR IS BEING CHARGED BY THE BATTERY OF THE MULTIMETER. 4.) IF THE CAPACITOR IS BAD, IT WILL GO TO ZERO OHMS AND REMAIN THERE. THIS IS CALLED A SHORTENED CAPACITOR 5.) IN THE CASE OF AN OPEN CAPACITOR THERE WILL BE NO OHMMETER INDICATION. 6.) SOME CAPACITORS HAVE A LOW DIELECTRIC LEAKAGE. YOU WILL KNOW THIS IF THE OHMMETER COMES TO REST AT A POINT LOWER THAN INFINITE. TEST A KNOWN GOOD CAPACITOR OF THE SAME TYPE TO BE SURE . This method will work with sufficiently large capacitor values. A simple way of determining the capacitance fairly accurately is to build an oscillator using a 555 timer. Substitute the cap in the circuit and then calculate the C value from the frequency. With a few resistor values, this will work over quite a wide range. Alternatively, using a DC power supply and series resistor, capacitance can be calculated by measuring the rise time to 63% of the power supply voltage from T=RC or C=T/R. Tiny capacitors can only be checked with a capacitance meter, or by using them in an AC circuit and checking for variation from calculated voltage drop.