Replacing Leaking Capacitors on a Motherboard

A bit of a project "teaser" I could do a little more in-depth version if there is enough interest - Created on March 27, 2011 using FlipShare.

"Bad Caps" can cause all sorts of quirky electronics problems. Sometimes these are the Gremlin or "Ghost in the machine" that cause funky problems. You can sometimes hear them "whistling" high pitched screams. Kind of like an electronic banshee signaling the demiss of your favorite piece of electronics. Grab a flash light and unplug whatever device your checking and do a physical inspection. If you see these caps looking like "jiffy pop" popcorn or leaking like an old battery your have a candidate for cap replacement.

A bad formula for the capacitors was stolen (corporate espionage" is the main reason for the problem.

From WiKi: The capacitor plague (also known as bad capacitors) is an ongoing problem with premature failure of large numbers of electrolytic capacitors of certain brands. Capacitors are used in various electronics equipment, particularly motherboards, video cards, compact fluorescent lamp ballasts, LCD monitors, and power supplies of personal computers. The first flawed capacitors were seen in 1999, but most of the affected capacitors were made in the early to mid 2000s.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Repair
• operations
• Motherboard
• Laptop
• Computer
• bulging
• bloated
• badcaps
• mainboard
• level
• solder
• fix
• faulty
• voltage
• leaking
• problem
• power
• capacitors
• dead
• replacement
• test
• circuit
• service
• Design
• Installation
• Cleaning
• bad caps
• funky
• high pitched
• whistle
• quirky
• electrical
• Quality
• inspection
• jiffy pop
• replace
• formula
• stolen
• plague
• crust
• soldering iron
• lead
• power supply
• video
• card
• geek
• brownout
• zap
• blown
• blow
• booting
• burnt
• fluid
• hissing
• leaked
• pop
• swell
• soldering
• thermal
• noise
• swelled
• Leak
• psu

[EvilPyroCan]

I've never had a motherboard with capacitors looking THAT bad O.O.

[Hawk1964]

@EvilPyroCan We got one motherboard in action that had 19 replaced capacitors. It's still working 2407 365 a few years after the repair.

[DopplerShift100]

You have shown the easy part there is nothing to soldering in capacitors.The hard part is getting them out without damaging the print.

[Hawk1964]

@DopplerShift100 Very True. As stated in the description this was just a test video that seemed to get some momentum. :) We heat the cap leads just enough to loosen the solder and give a gentle rocking motion and a pull side to side. We sometime clean the hole out a little better with a heated paperclip and a quick blast of canned air. Works great most of the time.

[JNathanK2011]

Where do you begin on learning the techniques on identifying failed components on the pcb?

[Hawk1964]

@JNathanK2011 You can identify some bad components on a PCB just by looking at the mainboard. Make sure you turn off all power and properly ground yourself before getting anywhere near the board. Leaking, corroded, and brittle/burnt components are sure signs of a problem. Keep researching online as there are many great source available. You've asked a great question, keep asking questions as that is really part of the diagnostic process.

[ssh3mk]

bad soldering. you didn't show how to desolder the old cap,

[mikemilenko50187]

@michelsinay The tell tale sighs of a leaking/faulty capacitor are:

Device non responsive/dead, Blinking power LED on device(Monitors and PSU's), Hissing noise and also general unreliable performance.

As for physical evidence: Puffed up top(Vent Bulging) and leaking of oil like fluid. Normal caps have a flat top surface but when they have met their life limit they blow(Capacitor Plague). Just google blow capacitor under images. You will get a understanding real quick.

Hope this helps. :D

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[feralbigdog]

i read that caps need a heat sink when soldering, but i didnt notice one there, am i missing something?