Electrolytic Capacitors Still Giving Problem
I believe you have come across before equipment that you have repaired came back with the same problem-bad electrolytic capacitors at the secondary side. The equipment could work only for half a year till 9 or 10 months or so then the e-caps broken down again. You have replaced with the same rating of e-caps and this really have made you frustrated .
So in order to solve this problem, you just need to make sure get a good quality (or branded) electrolytic capacitors, a capacitor with a higher voltage rating than the original (say a 25 volt you put in 35 volt) and lastly you can even try to replace the 85 degree Celsius cap with a 105 degree Celsius e-cap. Make sure also the surrounding do not have any decayed glue and apply fresh solder to all surrounding joints. Follow this rules i’m sure your equipment could work for a longer period. What i mean is the e-caps rarely breakdown again.
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CK
January 7, 2009 at 12:55 am
Dear Jestine,
My pc is having difficulties powering up (sometimes i'll have to wait for a while before it starts, after pressing the power button. Sometimes it doesnt start at all.) Taking a look at the motherboard, i noticed that 2 of the CHOYO 3300uF 6.3V capacitors next to my P4 CPU mounting is leakiing brown electrolyte at the bottom. Doing some research online, i noticed that all the capacitors on the board were listed as potentially problematic brands. I've minimal experience in electronics and would like your advice on:
1. Could the capacitors be causing the power up issues ? (The pc is stable once it manages to power up.)
2. Is it almost risk free if i were to DIY the replacement of the capacitors on my Gigabyte GA8ST667 board ? What capacitor brands would you recommend and are they relatively easy to purchase ?
3. If i were to send it out for repair, how much would it typically cost to replace all the suspect capacitors ?
Thank you in advance.
admin
January 8, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Hi CK,
Here are your questions and answers:
1. Could the capacitors be causing the power up issues ? (The pc is stable once it manages to power up.)
Possible because if it is shorted or have intermittent problem it could cause your power supply sometime can start and sometime don't. Check also the filter capacitor in your power supply as a bad e-caps could cause similar problem too.
2. Is it almost risk free if i were to DIY the replacement of the capacitors on my Gigabyte GA8ST667 board ?
You have nothing to loose, perhaps you must be good in soldering skill in order to remove those bad caps
What capacitor brands would you recommend and are they relatively easy to purchase ?
Nichicon is one of the best i have used so far and it is not easy to purchase. I normally salvage it from branded electronic boards.
3. If i were to send it out for repair, how much would it typically cost to replace all the suspect capacitors ?
That depends on the shop service plus spare parts charge. I guess you have to ask them first before you get it for repair. if it is too expensive then i suggest that you get a new board. Try replace the caps on your own first before sending to repair shop.
Have a good day!
Jestine
Paul Sulwer
October 16, 2011 at 10:30 pm
I had a similar problem with an IBM desktop PC from 2004. Maybe 1 in 10 times when I'd turn it on, the screen would look funny (sort of like the Matrix) and it wouldn't post. Simply pressing reset would usually get it to post normally. I found only one 3300uf cap that was not even leaking but the top was slightly domed outward. I replaced the cap and didn't notice the problem after that.
It's funny bad capacitors are such a problem now, where I have equipment 15-20 years old with no problems at all. I'm somewhat disappointed at how the quality of everything these days seems to be declining; even plastic water bottles are being made cheaper and more flimsy!
One thing to be careful of is fake components that are common these days; I've bought "Nichicon" caps on eBay from a guy in China but am almost certain they are fake. I didn't have an ESR meter, but the capacitance on many of them was off by more than their rated tolerance.
admin
October 18, 2011 at 12:33 pm
HI Paul,
You were right nowadays many components quality already down that's why we could see the price of new equipment is getting cheaper and cheaper. I have a friend who sells consumer electronics and he told me that today's LCD TV quality was not good as compare to the first generation one.
As for the capacitor you need to test it out. I was once bought a badge of 1uf 450 volt capacitors and all of them exploded when the power was on. The supplier replaced with another brand and all worked to be fine.
Jestine