Electronic – Odd electrolytic capacitor markings

Generally (not always, due to manufacturing defects) the short lead is the cathode, negative; while the long lead is the anode, positive. When looking at the can, the lead that matches up with the rectangles which are negative signs, is the cathode side.

On SMD aluminum cap cans, the topside marking usually denotes cathode as well. SMD tantalum caps, the line usually marks the anode side.

The absolute best way to tell, is to look at the datasheet and see how they call it out, though the above can be used as a guideline.

In an aluminum electrolytic capacitor, the positive terminal is connected to the foil that has the oxide layer on it, and the negative terminal is connected to the one without the oxide layer. This puts the negative terminal in direct contact with the electrolyte, and the case (assuming it has no insulating liner) is also in contact with the electrolyte.

Therefore, if you measure the resistance between the case and either lead, the negative lead will have relatively lower resistance to the case in both directions, while the positive lead will show essentially infinite resistance in at least one direction.

If the case is insulated, you can try applying a small bias voltage (3-5V) to the capacitor in each direction (through a current-limiting resistor of 100K or so) and see which direction allows the least current; this will be the correct polarity of the capacitor. This works because an electrolytic capacitor has a weak diode action as well. For further details, see the Wikipedia article.