Re: Replace capacitors Part 2


"Dr.Hal0nf1r£$" <femail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:T_SdneJWGfQvvYjVnZ2dnUVZ8sCknZ2d@xxxxxxxxx
M Jones wrote:
Hi all,

A few months ago I posted to this NG (http://tinyurl.com/4wujj8) about
replacing the leaking caps on a faulty motherboard I was given. After I
accomplished this I thought it would be nice to post back the
results and explain how it all went and post some more questions. I
primarily used the advice on this site
(http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=31) and info given by the
people on this NG. It just goes to show what can be accomplished
with a little good advice. I also think if *I* can do it anybody
can.
Equipment used :
25W soldering iron
Silver solder
Isopropyl alcohol
Cotton buds
Sewing needle
Scissors

I had never done anything like motherboard repair before and had only
ever used a soldering iron a couple of times before in my life so I
was a complete newbie to all of it. The worst painstaking and most
difficult part of the whole operation was removing the existing caps
from the motherboard. At first I was tentative about applying too
much heat and pressure to the old pins in case I damaged the board
but after a while I managed to develop a technique and got all but
one (more about this below) out. Once removed I cleaned the board
with the alcohol and widened the holes slightly with the sewing
needle. I put the new caps in (the correct way round of course!) and
bent the pins at the back, soldered the holes and cut the excess with
the scissors. I did some more cleaning with the alcohol and put the
PC back together. All of this took about 2 hours to do. Being
pessimistic as always I was expecting a dead board (or worse) but to
my delight it came on and I went into BIOS straight away then
afterward I put in a new HD and installed a new OS. It's been 24hrs
now and I haven't had any freeze ups or resets.

Well done!

However one of the old pins snapped and I was unable to remove it
from the board completely no matter what I did and I couldn't get the
old solder out of the hole. The new cap is simply resting on the old
solder and is held in place by the other soldered side.

Is there any way to find out if everything went well to ensure the
board is functioning as it should?

You're doing it by running it; and it works thusfar.

If this cap didn't take will it
affect the board in the future?

That is dependant upon the mechanical rigidity of the connection in
question coupled with the load on it: It is apparrent that it is
electrically connected; which indicates that you've effected the repair to
at least minimum standard or above. Without actually inspecting the joint
all I can say is maybe; hopefully not. Soldered electrical joints can and
do break down at times; even those made by technicians and engineers. Keep
an eye on it, and if you start getting problems again suspect that first
before anything else; otherwise don't lose sleep over it.

You could, if you wanted to be pedantic, check it by connecting an
ohmmeter either side of the join and make sure that the electrical
resistance is zero. 1 qhm or more could mean future problems in that
resistance = heat, and there's enough of that from other sources. Then
there's the other way of looking at it: If it works then why try to fix
it? Whatever you choose to do is up to you at the end of the day.

--
http://www.kustomkomputa.co.uk
- Personalised Desktop Computers



I haven't had a single problem yet which indicates as you've stated the pin
must be electrically connected. After over 3 days use it seems to be fine.

Do you think it could have been another fault on the board that caused the
capacitors to go or do you think it was poor manufacture? I would think
manufacture myself because all the 10 caps I replaced were identical but i'm
not too informed on these things...



.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Replace capacitors Part 2
    ... I had never done anything like motherboard repair before and had ... existing caps from the motherboard. ... the old solder out of the hole. ... to use electrolytics. ...
    (uk.comp.homebuilt)
  • Re: Replace capacitors Part 2
    ... replacing the leaking caps on a faulty motherboard I was given. ... I had never done anything like motherboard repair before and had only ... old solder out of the hole. ... That is dependant upon the mechanical rigidity of the connection in question ...
    (uk.comp.homebuilt)
  • Re: Replace capacitors Part 2
    ... replacing the leaking caps on a faulty motherboard I was given. ... I had never done anything like motherboard repair before and had only ever ... cleaned the board with the alcohol and widened the holes slightly with the ... board completely no matter what I did and I couldn't get the old solder ...
    (uk.comp.homebuilt)
  • Re: Replace capacitors Part 2
    ... replacing the leaking caps on a faulty motherboard I was given. ... I had never done anything like motherboard repair before and had only ever ... cleaned the board with the alcohol and widened the holes slightly with the ... board completely no matter what I did and I couldn't get the old solder ...
    (uk.comp.homebuilt)
  • Re: Dodgy RiscPC video port?
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