Short #77 - What Causes Capacitors to Fail

<p>In this short podcast, Bryan talks through (once again) what REALLY causes capacitors to fail and what we can do about it.</p> <p>High temperatures and overvoltage (NOT undervoltage) are what cause capacitors to fail. (There are also some poor manufacturing practices out there. Remember: they should be just foil and oil.) Capacitors create a phase shift to assist split-phase induction motors. Normally, a three-phase motor can start and run just fine because the sine waves are all angled. That is not the case for split-phase motors. Start capacitors help startup, which is difficult for the motor.</p> <...