Strange items on laptop motherborad; caps?

Termina · 11-12-2006, 02:09 AM

Sorry, I don't have a camera on me at the moment. Hopefully someone here can answer my question without a pic!

There are these two square objects (one came loose, one was partially off) on my laptop motherboard.

They are grey, with some blue material on top. The top looks like a capacitor, in some ways, in that it's round. =)

The only markings I can see are "100 YA" on top. The bottom has four pins (not sure if they're called pins, but four pieces of metal that were connected to the mobo).

Both were located by the pcmcia slot, if it matters.

I'd like to know where I can buy two more of these things, and (more importantly) if it's possible to sodder them back on or reattach them in any way.

The laptop was free, 700mhz... worth reviving in my opinion. :P I'd love to be able to buy a replacement mobo for it, but I'm unable to find one on ebay... :/ Sony Vaio PCG-955a (does anyone know a good site to find working old laptop mobos?)

Thanks!

arneson · 11-12-2006, 02:02 PM

I'm sorry, did you say round, or square?
If this device has four terminals and you see two of them are damaged, I'll guess, a small coil, not a cap.

Termina · 11-12-2006, 06:24 PM

They're square (rounded edged) but the top of the item is a silver circle, with a blue substance filling the rest of the square.

Is it possible to replace coils?

gonzo0815 · 11-13-2006, 03:25 AM

difucult, as you never know the right values, frequency etc. And original parts are usually unobtainium.

999999999 · 11-26-2006, 08:16 PM

It's hard to know without good pictures and you didn't thoroughly describe the dimensions.

I'd guess you have surface mount inductors, and if so, there is no need to buy new replacements as they don't wear out. Just solder them back on if it didn't tear the whole copper pad off.

No matter what the part was there is a chance the copper pad is gone and it might require a very good technician to improvise some copper foil bonding to the area to rebuild a solderable connection. This could be way way wrong since we don't know what you really have, a good picture is worth a thousand words.

11-12-2006, 02:09 AM	#1
Termina New Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 7	Strange items on laptop motherborad; caps? Sorry, I don't have a camera on me at the moment. Hopefully someone here can answer my question without a pic! There are these two square objects (one came loose, one was partially off) on my laptop motherboard. They are grey, with some blue material on top. The top looks like a capacitor, in some ways, in that it's round. =) The only markings I can see are "100 YA" on top. The bottom has four pins (not sure if they're called pins, but four pieces of metal that were connected to the mobo). Both were located by the pcmcia slot, if it matters. I'd like to know where I can buy two more of these things, and (more importantly) if it's possible to sodder them back on or reattach them in any way. The laptop was free, 700mhz... worth reviving in my opinion. :P I'd love to be able to buy a replacement mobo for it, but I'm unable to find one on ebay... :/ Sony Vaio PCG-955a (does anyone know a good site to find working old laptop mobos?) Thanks!

11-12-2006, 02:02 PM	#2
arneson Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Sep 2005 City & State: SWF Posts: 1,259	Re: Strange items on laptop motherborad; caps? I'm sorry, did you say round, or square? If this device has four terminals and you see two of them are damaged, I'll guess, a small coil, not a cap. __________________ Jim

11-12-2006, 06:24 PM	#3
Termina New Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 7	Re: Strange items on laptop motherborad; caps? They're square (rounded edged) but the top of the item is a silver circle, with a blue substance filling the rest of the square. Is it possible to replace coils?

11-13-2006, 03:25 AM	#4
gonzo0815 Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Feb 2006 City & State: Germany Posts: 1,595	Re: Strange items on laptop motherborad; caps? difucult, as you never know the right values, frequency etc. And original parts are usually unobtainium.

11-26-2006, 08:16 PM	#5
999999999 Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Sep 2006 City & State: Near Cincinnati, OH My Country: USA Line Voltage: 120VAC 60Hz Posts: 704	Re: Strange items on laptop motherborad; caps? It's hard to know without good pictures and you didn't thoroughly describe the dimensions. I'd guess you have surface mount inductors, and if so, there is no need to buy new replacements as they don't wear out. Just solder them back on if it didn't tear the whole copper pad off. No matter what the part was there is a chance the copper pad is gone and it might require a very good technician to improvise some copper foil bonding to the area to rebuild a solderable connection. This could be way way wrong since we don't know what you really have, a good picture is worth a thousand words.

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