Re: Replace capacitors Part 2

M Jones wrote:
"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...

The more time goes by the less liklihood of problems ocurring - to a point
at least.

Quite possibly it was poor manufacturing quality combined with thermal and
operating wear and tear: Electrolytic capacitors are some of the least
reliable capacitors; both in terms of leakage (Current and innards) and of
longevity. Motherboard manufacturers these days are less and less inclined
to use electrolytics.


.

Relevant Pages

  • 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 ... much heat and pressure to the old pins in case I damaged the board ... old solder out of the hole. ...
    (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)
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