replacing emac capacitors

S

Sir Punk

Registered
please don't shoot me! I know there's another thread but my questions are totally different.

1. what capacitors should I buy? I know they are 1800microF and 6.3V. There's a supplier close to my house that has them but it's the same brand and they go to 105 degrees, so it's what already on the machine. They are Nichiolite, should I avoid this brand?

2. how many will I have to replace? 8? 13? I'd rather replace them all to be on the safe side, I read different numbers around.

3. is there a specific solder wire that I have to buy? I already have a pretty good soldering station but no solder.

4. should I desolder the old cap leads or cut them off and solder the new cap leads to the old one?

thanks for the help.
 
Sir Punk said:
1. what capacitors should I buy? I know they are 1800microF and 6.3V. There's a supplier close to my house that has them but it's the same brand and they go to 105 degrees, so it's what already on the machine. They are Nichiolite, should I avoid this brand?

2. how many will I have to replace? 8? 13? I'd rather replace them all to be on the safe side, I read different numbers around.

3. is there a specific solder wire that I have to buy? I already have a pretty good soldering station but no solder.

4. should I desolder the old cap leads or cut them off and solder the new cap leads to the old one?
Click to expand...

1. Those new caps will not be the same as the ones in your eMac, as they won't be swelling and leaking! If you have that visible problem, then replace them if you have some electronics repair experience.

2. Apple seems to only replace the failed ones when they have those repaired. If you want to replace all of those caps, just make sure that you replace each with equivalent types. They may be all the same, but I don't know.

3. Solder sold for electronics repair will be fine. You solder station probably was sold with some good solder recommendations. You could check with the shop where you purchased that station, or check at the web site for the station manufacturer. Or check at an electronics retailer, such as Radio Shack, for some good choices.

4. Find someone local to you who does electronics repair, and ask them. A local technical school might be a good place to try. I would suggest that unsoldering, and removing the old part and leads completely, is the best choice. Don't do 'patchwork' repairs, as that can lead to future troubles that will be very challenging to fix.

Don't attempt this repair unless you have a good knowledge of soldering techniques, and you have experimented on some junk circuit boards. You can find some hobby boards at Radio Shack, or other electronics parts suppliers.

Just possessing a soldering station doesn't do much to help, unless you have some hands-on training, and some time with some hot solder. The equipment and supplies are important, but your technique is what results in a successful repair, and that takes some practice with soldering skills.
 
My eMac 1.25GHz falls under the serial of affected capacitor problems. Apple will not fix it because it is over the three year period by 14 months. I am a beginner solderer but I have all of the equipment besides the capacitors. I will attempt to just replace them all but I am worried about how hard this task will be? I have look under the door and it indeed had a blown out "K" capacitor. I have yet to try and disassemble the eMac but that will be my first step. I am not s complete novice but I would greatly appreciate anyone to help me with the needed steps. Please if you have some spare time to help!
 
DeltaMac said:
Why not go with parts that are closer to correct, from a known electronics parts supplier?
http://parts.digikey.com/1/parts/1229017-cap-poly-alum-1800uf-6-3v-smd-pcj0j182mcl1gs.html
Click to expand...

Don't do it!

I bought 14 of these based on this post and they are not the right ones!

The legs on them are flat wire that comes bent over some sort of plastic holder that:
1. will not bend back from 90 degrees without stressing the wire right at the base of the cap making it prone to breaking.
2. will not fit in the ROUND hole that the is on the motherboard.

So with $50 down the tubes here is some advice to myself and anyone who cares:

There are not 13 caps of the same type on the emac motherboard!

There are eight 6.3v/1800uf and five 16v/1000uf.

They are all the same size and color.

So before you get going make sure that you know which ones are 6.3v and 16v ones. I did not verify and now might be up the creek. (unless I can use the 16v for all of them since I have to buy a new set altogether?) Or someone has a picture of the locations of the caps? -help-

My skill level is somewhere between caveman and rocket scientist. My day job is splicing fiber-optic cable for Ma Bell. Which means I can read a print and do detailed work but not necessarily working on motherboards.

Some things that have worked so far is the emac take apart manual:
http://home.earthlink.net/~strahm_s/manuals.html

How to desolder using a wick:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieoM_40nRVs

How to remove a capacitor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCSNWi3UHf4&feature=related
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=on_2CP52cW4

From what I can tell since I screwed up and took out the 16v caps without looking where they came from I can replace the 6.3v and 16v with 16v/1800uf (maybe)

Some one said a desoldering pump would be useful- it is not.

Use a egg carton for your screws

I have a Weller Standard model 7200 soldering gun. It seems to work well.

A wet rag is good to have to clean the tip of the soldering gun.

Oh, and what about the right cap? Sorry. Don't know. I'm going to try the 16v1800uf for the whole thing, if there is such a cap.
 
I have replaced the capacitors on three boards of 1.25 GHz. I think you only need to replace the capacitors 1800UF 63V 8 - no 1000UF them. Capacitors 1800UF will bulging or leaking tops. Two of them can be seen by removing the cover of the memory slot on the bottom of the eMac, one on each side of the memory slots. It requires a large amount of separation down to the bare motherboard, and then you have good soldering skills/equipment to replace the capacitors - a lot of work for an old computer.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top