Electrical – What does the 3-figure code below the value code mean

capacitormarkings

I have got plenty of capacitors which I do not know the manufacturer of. They are all marked with the 3-digit value code (for instance, "153", meaning 15×103 pF = 15 nF). There is a second code written on the components, also consisting of 3 figures (letters and numerals). I suppose they hold information about the tolerance, the rated voltage and some temperature dependency quantity, but I do not get what figure means what.

Here are the codes:

153, A5J:
153 A5J

104, E5M:
104 E5M

333, M5C:
333 M5C

333, YJA:
333 YJA

333, YKA:
333 YKA

So what do these codes mean?

Best Answer

While it is possible they are date codes, there are other things that they could be, and it is not universal as to what manufacturers use the space for. Some other examples of what they can be:

  1. It can be the the temperature coefficient and multiplier along with the tolerance. Several of the examples you give are in a format which matches the description here.

  2. Some place voltage ratings (probably not in your examples)

  3. Another option is capacitor series - basically a marking the manufacturers use to indicate what product family they are part of.

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