If the needle on your ohm meter moves to zero and stays there while checking a capacitor, what does this indicate?

When the needle on an ohm meter moves to zero and remains there while measuring a capacitor, this indicates a shorted capacitor. A shorted capacitor fails to maintain the necessary dielectric insulation between its plates, which allows current to flow freely through it, resulting in a reading of zero ohms.

In this condition, the capacitor effectively acts as a very low-resistance path, implying that it cannot store electrical energy as designed. This situation causes the capacitor to function improperly in the circuit, potentially leading to malfunction or damage.

In contrast, an open capacitor would not allow any current to pass through, resulting in an infinite resistance reading rather than a zero reading. A functioning capacitor would show a charge and subsequently begin to exhibit increasing resistance as it charges, while calibration issues with the meter typically affect the accuracy of readings rather than produce a zero reading in good condition.