OK – A condenser (now called a capacitor) is essentially two conductors (like metal foil) separated by an insolator. (Like Saran Wrap) Applied voltage causes electrons to flow on to the plate, but they are blocked by the insolator. At this point the condenser is said to be charged. An analog meter (One with a swinging pointer) measures electricity by how much the pointer(needle) is deflected by the magnetism produced by a coil in the needles base. SO – as you touch the condenser with the analog meter probes, the needle swings until the condenser is charged to the voltage of the meters battery. If it does not return to zero, the insolation is leaking and the condenser is bad. When the probes are removed, a good capacitor (condenser) will hold a charge. Reversing the probes will give a wider swing to the needle because the charged capacitor will add its voltage to the battery voltage in the meter.
Most modern digital meters have a built in capacitor tester. The best choice would be a genuine capacitance tester. . . 😉
