Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.elitegroup (More info?)

Opened up my Linux box containing a 2-year old K7S5A today to fit a SCSI
card and noticed some swollen caps:

C425 (bottom of AGP slot - AGP voltage?) Luxon 1500uF 6.3v
C58 and C59 (CPU core voltage generator) Luxon 2200uF 6.3v

I'm rather fond of my 'S5A which has been running 24/7 for the last 2
years with almost zero problems, so will be taking the time out to
replace all the major caps. There are:

8 x 1500uF 6.3v
1 x 1500uF 10v
3 x 1800uF 6.3v (these are not Luxon, but marked OST I.Q)
7 x 2200uF 6.3v

All caps are 10mm diameter.

Will also replace the PSU as a precaution (it's a 250W.)

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"Mike Tomlinson" <mike@NOSPAM.jasper.org.uk> wrote in message
news:1XUORSAB6B+AFwd7@jasper.org.uk...
>
> Opened up my Linux box containing a 2-year old K7S5A today to fit a SCSI
> card and noticed some swollen caps:
>
> C425 (bottom of AGP slot - AGP voltage?) Luxon 1500uF 6.3v
> C58 and C59 (CPU core voltage generator) Luxon 2200uF 6.3v
>
> I'm rather fond of my 'S5A which has been running 24/7 for the last 2
> years with almost zero problems, so will be taking the time out to
> replace all the major caps. There are:
>
> 8 x 1500uF 6.3v
> 1 x 1500uF 10v
> 3 x 1800uF 6.3v (these are not Luxon, but marked OST I.Q)
> 7 x 2200uF 6.3v
>
> All caps are 10mm diameter.
>
> Will also replace the PSU as a precaution (it's a 250W.)
>

The eight 3300uF caps (6.3V, 105degC, 10mm diameter, 5mm lead spacing) that
failed on my ECS P4VMM2 also carried the mark of "OST IQ".
Al-U

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In article <Ea%Lc.97635$ek5.7992@pd7tw2no>, alpha_uma
<none_such@home.com> writes

>The eight 3300uF caps (6.3V, 105degC, 10mm diameter, 5mm lead spacing) that
>failed on my ECS P4VMM2 also carried the mark of "OST IQ".

I've ordered replacement caps from Farnell (here in the UK). I wasn't
able to find 1800uF 6.3v, so have ordered 2200uF 6.3v to replace those.

These are high-quality, low-impedance, 105C Rubycon caps. For anyone
who's interested, the Farnell (www.farnell.com/uk/) part numbers are:

767360 x8 1500uF 6.3v
769071 x1 1500uF 10v
768005 x10 2200uF 6.3v

Half an hour's work should get my 'S5A up and running again. I hope!

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Mike Tomlinson wrote:

> In article <Ea%Lc.97635$ek5.7992@pd7tw2no>, alpha_uma
> <none_such@home.com> writes
>
>
>>The eight 3300uF caps (6.3V, 105degC, 10mm diameter, 5mm lead spacing) that
>>failed on my ECS P4VMM2 also carried the mark of "OST IQ".
>
>
> I've ordered replacement caps from Farnell (here in the UK). I wasn't
> able to find 1800uF 6.3v, so have ordered 2200uF 6.3v to replace those.
>
> These are high-quality, low-impedance, 105C Rubycon caps. For anyone
> who's interested, the Farnell (www.farnell.com/uk/) part numbers are:
>
> 767360 x8 1500uF 6.3v
> 769071 x1 1500uF 10v
> 768005 x10 2200uF 6.3v
>
> Half an hour's work should get my 'S5A up and running again. I hope!
>
Unless you've got the proper tools to desolder multilayer plate through
boards, I think you'll find it will take a lot longer than half an hour,
even ignoring the time it'll take to get it out of and back into the
case. I recently changed ONE capacitor on a motherboard, and I finally
had to drill out the old solder to avoid damaging nearby components with
excessive heat; I don't recall how long it took start to finish, but I
know it was a lot longer than half an hour.

You might consider snipping out the old cap from the top, leaving enough
wire to connect to the new one -- if I had it to do over, I think that
might be the way I'd go.

The best solution is probably to send it back to the manufacturer (if
they'll repair it at reasonable cost).

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Of course, YMMV.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

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"CJT" <abujlehc@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:410184AB.70805@prodigy.net...
> Mike Tomlinson wrote:
>
> > In article <Ea%Lc.97635$ek5.7992@pd7tw2no>, alpha_uma
> > <none_such@home.com> writes
> >
> >
> >>The eight 3300uF caps (6.3V, 105degC, 10mm diameter, 5mm lead spacing)
that
> >>failed on my ECS P4VMM2 also carried the mark of "OST IQ".
> >
> >
> > I've ordered replacement caps from Farnell (here in the UK). I wasn't
> > able to find 1800uF 6.3v, so have ordered 2200uF 6.3v to replace those.
> >
> > These are high-quality, low-impedance, 105C Rubycon caps. For anyone
> > who's interested, the Farnell (www.farnell.com/uk/) part numbers are:
> >
> > 767360 x8 1500uF 6.3v
> > 769071 x1 1500uF 10v
> > 768005 x10 2200uF 6.3v
> >
> > Half an hour's work should get my 'S5A up and running again. I hope!
> >
> Unless you've got the proper tools to desolder multilayer plate through
> boards, I think you'll find it will take a lot longer than half an hour,
> even ignoring the time it'll take to get it out of and back into the
> case. I recently changed ONE capacitor on a motherboard, and I finally
> had to drill out the old solder to avoid damaging nearby components with
> excessive heat; I don't recall how long it took start to finish, but I
> know it was a lot longer than half an hour.
>
> You might consider snipping out the old cap from the top, leaving enough
> wire to connect to the new one -- if I had it to do over, I think that
> might be the way I'd go.
>
> The best solution is probably to send it back to the manufacturer (if
> they'll repair it at reasonable cost).
>
> Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Of course, YMMV.
>

From what Mike has written in his message, I'd bet that he is an electronics
expert. I don't think your recommendation would apply to Mike.

It is NOT a good idea to send the motherboard back to the manufacturer for
repair unless the board is still under warranty. Personally, I don't trust
them anymore. If bad caps is the only problem with the motherboard, I can
fix the bad caps myself just as good as any decent technician.

If the board is already out of warranty, then fixing the bad caps yourself
is better than paying someone else to fix it for you provided that you have
the technical know-how because you can buy better quality caps yourself, and
spend as much time as you like to do the job well.

Fixing bad electrolytic caps is not rocket science. It only requires
moderately good soldering skills.
Al-U

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On Fri, 23 Jul 2004 22:45:31 GMT, "alpha_uma" <none_such@home.com> wrote:


>
>Fixing bad electrolytic caps is not rocket science. It only requires
>moderately good soldering skills.
> Al-U
>


I agree.....with caps, you can just heat the solder and "rock" the capacitor
to get the short wire out of the solder hole.

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TX_Dude wrote:

> On Fri, 23 Jul 2004 22:45:31 GMT, "alpha_uma" <none_such@home.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>>Fixing bad electrolytic caps is not rocket science. It only requires
>>moderately good soldering skills.
>> Al-U
>>
>
>
>
> I agree.....with caps, you can just heat the solder and "rock" the capacitor
> to get the short wire out of the solder hole.

Good luck with that.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

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alpha_uma wrote:

> "CJT" <abujlehc@prodigy.net> wrote in message
> news:410184AB.70805@prodigy.net...
>
>>Mike Tomlinson wrote:
>>
>>
>>>In article <Ea%Lc.97635$ek5.7992@pd7tw2no>, alpha_uma
>>><none_such@home.com> writes
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>The eight 3300uF caps (6.3V, 105degC, 10mm diameter, 5mm lead spacing)
>
> that
>
>>>>failed on my ECS P4VMM2 also carried the mark of "OST IQ".
>>>
>>>
>>>I've ordered replacement caps from Farnell (here in the UK). I wasn't
>>>able to find 1800uF 6.3v, so have ordered 2200uF 6.3v to replace those.
>>>
>>>These are high-quality, low-impedance, 105C Rubycon caps. For anyone
>>>who's interested, the Farnell (www.farnell.com/uk/) part numbers are:
>>>
>>>767360 x8 1500uF 6.3v
>>>769071 x1 1500uF 10v
>>>768005 x10 2200uF 6.3v
>>>
>>>Half an hour's work should get my 'S5A up and running again. I hope!
>>>
>>
>>Unless you've got the proper tools to desolder multilayer plate through
>>boards, I think you'll find it will take a lot longer than half an hour,
>>even ignoring the time it'll take to get it out of and back into the
>>case. I recently changed ONE capacitor on a motherboard, and I finally
>>had to drill out the old solder to avoid damaging nearby components with
>>excessive heat; I don't recall how long it took start to finish, but I
>>know it was a lot longer than half an hour.
>>
>>You might consider snipping out the old cap from the top, leaving enough
>>wire to connect to the new one -- if I had it to do over, I think that
>>might be the way I'd go.
>>
>>The best solution is probably to send it back to the manufacturer (if
>>they'll repair it at reasonable cost).
>>
>>Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Of course, YMMV.
>>
>
>
> From what Mike has written in his message, I'd bet that he is an electronics
> expert. I don't think your recommendation would apply to Mike.
>

Like I said, if he's got the right tools ...

I'm a degreed engineer; knowledge of what needs to be done isn't the
problem.

> It is NOT a good idea to send the motherboard back to the manufacturer for
> repair unless the board is still under warranty. Personally, I don't trust
> them anymore. If bad caps is the only problem with the motherboard, I can
> fix the bad caps myself just as good as any decent technician.
>

That's what I thought, too, and in fact I did accomplish it, but it took
a lot more effort than I expected.

> If the board is already out of warranty, then fixing the bad caps yourself
> is better than paying someone else to fix it for you provided that you have
> the technical know-how because you can buy better quality caps yourself, and
> spend as much time as you like to do the job well.
>

I sent one in which had a bunch of bad caps and the manufacturer turned
it around in a couple of days for 20 bucks. I couldn't even see the
repairs. That's hard to beat.

> Fixing bad electrolytic caps is not rocket science. It only requires
> moderately good soldering skills.
> Al-U
>
>

YMMV.

--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.

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"CJT" <abujlehc@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:4101C142.3020300@prodigy.net...
<snip>
> I sent one in which had a bunch of bad caps and the manufacturer turned
> it around in a couple of days for 20 bucks. I couldn't even see the
> repairs. That's hard to beat.
>

It is hard to beat twenty dollars! Does that include shipping both ways?

BTW, did you send yours directly back to ECS? Where are they located? How
long is the official warranty for a typical ECS motherboard? One year, two
years, or less?

It costs me about 8 US$ to replace eight 3300uF electrolytics at DigiKey
prices, but, of course, I have to buy more than just the 8 caps from DigiKey
in order to meet their minimum order amount without "penalty". And, of
course, time is money too. But, as you know, the tremendous satisfaction
later that you diagnosed it and fixed it yourself--priceless!

I wonder if the repair of the bad caps on your motherboard was done by a
machine instead of a human hand. Are you sure they didn't just replace your
board with another (used) one?

Al-U

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.elitegroup (More info?)

alpha_uma wrote:

> "CJT" <abujlehc@prodigy.net> wrote in message
> news:4101C142.3020300@prodigy.net...
> <snip>
>
>>I sent one in which had a bunch of bad caps and the manufacturer turned
>>it around in a couple of days for 20 bucks. I couldn't even see the
>>repairs. That's hard to beat.
>>
>
>
> It is hard to beat twenty dollars! Does that include shipping both ways?
>

No, one way shipping only, but I think it was only about 5 bucks to ship
it to them Fed Ex Ground (I wasn't counting that in the "couple of days
to turn it around." I was without the board for about a week and a
half, as I recall.).

Of course, new motherboards are pretty cheap nowadays, too. I chose to
stick with the one I had because otherwise I would have had to buy new
memory, too.

> BTW, did you send yours directly back to ECS? Where are they located? How
> long is the official warranty for a typical ECS motherboard? One year, two
> years, or less?

The particular motherboard involved was an EPOX; I imagine ECS might
have a similar program in place, but I don't know any details. You'd
have to contact them.

I suspect the MB manufacturers have struck a deal with the supplier
of the bad caps that lets them recoup some of the costs, given the
potential for law suits.

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBON [...] /ncap.html

>
> It costs me about 8 US$ to replace eight 3300uF electrolytics at DigiKey
> prices, but, of course, I have to buy more than just the 8 caps from DigiKey
> in order to meet their minimum order amount without "penalty". And, of
> course, time is money too. But, as you know, the tremendous satisfaction
> later that you diagnosed it and fixed it yourself--priceless!
>
> I wonder if the repair of the bad caps on your motherboard was done by a
> machine instead of a human hand. Are you sure they didn't just replace your
> board with another (used) one?

I got back the same board (I marked it). I don't know what magic they
might have used to fix it, but the caps were definitely replaced (they
were leaking and bulging -- easy to identify).

>
> Al-U
>
>


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Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.elitegroup (More info?)

CJT <abujlehc@prodigy.net> wrote in message news:<410184AB.70805@prodigy.net>...

> Unless you've got the proper tools to desolder multilayer plate
> through boards, I think you'll find it will take a lot longer
> than half an hour, even ignoring the time it'll take to get
> it out of and back into the case. I recently changed ONE
> capacitor on a motherboard, and I finally had to drill out
> the old solder to avoid damaging nearby components with
> excessive heat;

> You might consider snipping out the old cap from the top,
> leaving enough wire to connect to the new one -- if I had it
> to do over, I think that might be the way I'd go.
>
> The best solution is probably to send it back to the manufacturer (if
> they'll repair it at reasonable cost).

How many watts is your soldering iron rated for? I had bad luck with
the usual 25-35 watt irons and found that 40W was the minimum needed
for good results, with 45-50W being a lot better. Also some
desoldering wicks soak up much more solder than others, like the
ultra-fine or braided stuff, and I've been told that "No Clean" brand
is a favorite among technicians. It really helps to cut off the used
wick before proceeding tot he next pin. And if the solder doesn't
melt, sometimes it's best to just add more solder because apparently
the factory stuff has a higher melting temperature. Regular
electronics solder is 60% tin, 40% lead, but I once tried some 63% tin
solder that melted even easier.

www.mouser.com is sometimes cheaper than Digi-key and has no minimum.
Another good source is www.bdent.com , but I don't know about their
minimums.

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In article <410184AB.70805@prodigy.net>, CJT <abujlehc@prodigy.net>
writes

>Unless you've got the proper tools to desolder multilayer plate through
>boards,

Sorry, I should have mentioned: we've got a decent temperature-
controlled vacuum desoldering station at work I can use. I'd planned to
cut each cap away, remove the legs separately, then use the desoldering
station to clear the holes.

Though I agree that it may take longer than half an hour Thanks for
the warning.

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"Mike Tomlinson" <mike@NOSPAM.jasper.org.uk> wrote in message
news:QXCHxDBjLhABFwNY@jasper.org.uk...
> In article <410184AB.70805@prodigy.net>, CJT <abujlehc@prodigy.net>
> writes
>
> >Unless you've got the proper tools to desolder multilayer plate through
> >boards,
>
> Sorry, I should have mentioned: we've got a decent temperature-
> controlled vacuum desoldering station at work I can use. I'd planned to
> cut each cap away, remove the legs separately, then use the desoldering
> station to clear the holes.
>
> Though I agree that it may take longer than half an hour Thanks for
> the warning.

Hey, Mike,

Have you fixed it yet?

Al-U

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In article <nNFNc.129576$ek5.11297@pd7tw2no>, alpha_uma
<no_one@nonesuch.com> writes

>Hey, Mike,
>
>Have you fixed it yet?

Hi Al,

I have the replacement caps but haven't had a chance to fit them yet;
have been away on a Cisco course. Will post back early next week.

Mike