Although many of us just connect the terminals with a pair of pliers or a screwdriver, you can create a capacitor discharge tool with just a screwdriver and a 5-watt, 20,000-ohm resistor; one side of the resistor has a tip, and the other has an alligator clip. Even when you use the capacitor discharge tool, be careful about arcing; although the capacitor should discharge through the compressor windings, there are rare circumstances where it may still hold a charge.

To use the tool, you connect the alligator clip to the common terminal and use the tip to connect it to the herm side and then the fan side.