Is it possible to use a continuity tester here?

[Bondguy]

Is it possible to use a continuity( short  circuit) tester to test  a microchip such as ATMEL IC for a  short circuit?
Or is there any danger that by using continuity( short  circuit) tester I can destroy the microchip if that had been working well?
( the tester uses a voltage and I am not sure that voltage can not destroy any transistor (or a similar ) inside )
My idea is to compare GND pin with other pins and if the chip is shorted , there will an indication of a beep.
Is it workable or not?

[not1xor1]

Is it possible to use a continuity( short  circuit) tester to test  a microchip such as ATMEL IC for a  short circuit?
Or is there any danger that by using continuity( short  circuit) tester I can destroy the microchip if that had been working well?
( the tester uses a voltage and I am not sure that voltage can not destroy any transistor (or a similar ) inside )
My idea is to compare GND pin with other pins and if the chip is shorted , there will an indication of a beep.
Is it workable or not?

you can't trust your multimeter continuity function for that purpose

the circuit below might work as it will beep when the resistance is very low (even few milliohms if you set the trimmer for that) and the test current is less than 200µA



the resistors with (*) are 1% and the buzzer I used is just a transducer so the second opamp works as a square wave oscillator.

PTC and diodes are input protection (in case of charged capacitor or live circuit test)

the led won't turn on when the battery is low

[Gyro]

I've long been intrigued by the 'Ultimate continuity tester' published in Electronic Design. It can even distinguish shorts from inductors, transformer windings and reverse connected windings....

http://electronicdesign.com/analog/ultimate-continuity-tester-hides-many-tricks-its-sleeve

[james_s]

That's pretty clever.

I've occasionally used my ESR meter to check for shorted semiconductors. The high frequency makes inductors appear as much higher impedance, the voltage is too low to forward bias semiconductors. Capacitors will of course fool it and look like a short if it's a good low-ESR capacitor but even so a short will usually appear lower impedance than even a good capacitor.

[freda]

I've long been intrigued by the 'Ultimate continuity tester' published in Electronic Design. It can even distinguish shorts from inductors, transformer windings and reverse connected windings....

http://electronicdesign.com/analog/ultimate-continuity-tester-hides-many-tricks-its-sleeve

The circuit figures in the article are blank now (for me) 

[ledtester]

Found it!

There is a caveat that the circuit might not work as expected.

http://kripton2035.free.fr/Continuity%20Meters/ed-ultimateconti.html

(also saved to web.archive.org)

Update: Also archived here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/oshw/continuity-tester-with-glitch-capture/msg2250480/#msg2250480

See also this forum post:

http://www.8052mcu.com/forumchat/read/190943

[Gyro]

I've long been intrigued by the 'Ultimate continuity tester' published in Electronic Design. It can even distinguish shorts from inductors, transformer windings and reverse connected windings....

http://electronicdesign.com/analog/ultimate-continuity-tester-hides-many-tricks-its-sleeve

The circuit figures in the article are blank now (for me) 

This is the one I really trust to work though...

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/continuity-tester-circuit/msg2652777/#msg2652777