capacitor plague

noun

Premature failure of an electrolytic capacitor, especially when several are beginning to fail at the same time in a piece of equipment (due, for example, to high demands imposed by the circuit design, such as in a switchmode power supply), necessitating "re-capping" (i.e. replacing many capacitors after disconnecting the power and waiting for lethal charge to dissipate).

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Meanings

nouncapacitor plague (uncountable)
  1. informaluncountablebusinessPremature failure of an electrolytic capacitor, especially when several are beginning to fail at the same time in a piece of equipment (due, for example, to high demands imposed by the circuit design, such as in a switchmode power supply), necessitating "re-capping" (i.e. replacing many capacitors after disconnecting the power and waiting for lethal charge to dissipate).
Cite this entry
APA

capacitor plague. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capacitor%20plague

MLA

“capacitor plague.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capacitor%20plague. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “capacitor plague,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/capacitor%20plague.

Source: capacitor plague on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.