New DIY recapper

[Keith41501]

Hello. I recently had 5 6.3v caps blow on my motherboard its an EVGA board and i am going to recap them myself. I just need to know what do I order? Going to order them from this site but just not familiar with any values other than they are 6.3 v? Thanks for any help.

[Keith41501]

Re: New DIY recapper

heres a pic of 2 of the caps ( pic sucks but best I can do atm sorry)
You can see the 2 under the red light are cracked and the 1 on the left is leaking out. Juts trying to figure out exactly what to order to replace them. AllI know is they are 6.3V.


[/IMG]

[momaka]

Re: New DIY recapper

Looks like Sacon FZ. Is there a "FZ" marking in the first line on the top of the capacitors?
If yes, those are known to be problematic - would be a good idea to replace all that have the FZ marking all the way down to (and including) 470uF.
As far as cap replacements (brand and series), you can get Rubycon MBZ or MCZ here. There's also Panasonic FM at Digikey and Nichicon HM/HN/HZ at Mouser.

You need to provide the uF rating of the caps, though. The aforementioned FZ caps usually have it written above the voltage. If you're unsure, just write down all the info and numbers you see on the cap.

[Keith41501]

Re: New DIY recapper

they caps say

FZ5A
1500
6.3V

is 1500 the uF? What would you recomend to replace them if so?

[c_hegge]

Re: New DIY recapper

The 1500 is indeed the uF. Replace them with new 1500uF caps from a reliable manufacturer. Also, don't just replace the busted ones. Replace ALL Sacon FZ on the motherboard. Even if they are good now they will almost definately fail soon. Also, it is common for caps to fail with no visible signs. Any one of the series that momaka mentioned should be fine for replacments.

[Keith41501]

Re: New DIY recapper

Thanks for the replies. I ordered enough Rubycon caps to replace all the FZ caps on the mobo. Strangely all the caps that blew were all 6.3v FZ caps. When they blew I remember being at my computer and hearing a loud POP noise. At the time I had no idea what it was. For about 3 weeks time I would hear a loud POP on occasion. I finally narrowed the sound down to my PC and got a flashlight to look inside and saw the caps with the tops blown.
Anyway thanks again for the replies. I'll reply back after my order comes in and I replace them.I've done some minor electrical soldering on guitars/ amps but this will be my 1st computer soldering so wish me luck.

[c_hegge]

Re: New DIY recapper

Hope it all goes well

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New DIY recapper

The "5A" is probably a date or a batch code.

You need to replace ALL the FZ's. - Every one.
- Unless you wanna do this again soon.

FZ are made by Sacon/Evercon who used to be GSC.
Google "GSC bad" or "Sacon FZ"

Here is the FZ data sheet.
You just need caps with:
- the same ESR or lower
- the same Ripple or higher

Technically FZ are rated a tad better than MBZ but FZ only come in 12mm and 12.5mm length.
By using longer caps in good brands you can get ESR and Ripple into the same range.
For example a 20mm ZL has slightly better specs than a 12mm or 12.5mm FZ with the same uF.
.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New DIY recapper

Good timing:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?p=87781

[Keith41501]

Re: New DIY recapper

I'm just getting everything I need together to do the replacement and waiting for the caps to get here so I'll be ready when they arrive. It'll be my 1st time doing this on a mobo but I have done some electrical soldering work before. I looked up FZ caps on google and they do have a bad reputation to say the least hehe. I just wish I knew what that loud POP noise was when they 1st blew. Scared the crap outta me lol. From the 1st POP to the last was about 3 weeks total. All 5 of the 1500uF 6.3V blew and the 1 of the 10V caps.
Thanks again for all the replies.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New DIY recapper

The biggest difference with motherboards is they are thick so you need a higher wattage iron and it's good to avoid long thin tips. When you touch the iron to the joint the tip will cool right down. More mass in the tip minimizes that and higher watts means a shorter recovery time for the iron. If you don't have enough umpth behind it you will find you are slowly heating the whole board to solder melting temp rather than quickly melting the joint and getting off the board before the heat gets to other things. Some folks get by with a 40 watt but I think most prefer a 50-60 watt. A few even use 80-100 watt irons but I'd probably fry traces with one'a those. A 1.5-2.5mm chisel tip is about right. I did the first few mobos I did with a 40 watt but later found a 60 watt was much easier to use and faster too. Frys Electronics has a decent basic 60 watt for like $10-$15. [They do mail order from their website if you don't have one nearby.] If you plan to do this often a Hakko 926 or 936 station [both are the same inside, difference is visual] might be a good choice. They are 50 watt w/temp adjust, many tips sizes available, and are easy to find parts for. They show up fairly often on eBay and there is an eBay seller [in Hong Kong] that sells tips for like $2.
.

[kikkoman]

Re: New DIY recapper

what you can also do is pre-heat the entire board (i know some not everyone will agree) in the oven or with a hair dryer to about 50 or 60°C.
i found this can help with boards with large (and sometimes buried) power planes so the board doesn't suck away too much heat before the solder melts.
so far i haven't seen any disadvantages, i'd even say it reduces the thermal stress during the soldering process.
most component manufacturers recommend a specific soldering temp profile that includes pre-heating.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New DIY recapper

That makes a lot of sense engineering wise kikkoman.
I'm too lazy to do it, but it makes total sense.

[ss627]

Re: New DIY recapper

I can't for the life of me figure out how to desolder chokes and other large components on some equipment. I use a hakko 60 watt station and tried with many different tips. What usually happens is that the component doesn't want to come out but the traces/plated holes sure love to lift off the pcb or burn into nothing.

The problem is the ground plane + the damn lead free solder. I never had problems with pre rohs equipment in the past. Environmentally friendly my ass. When you have a bunch of junk electronics where repair is a pain in the ass.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New DIY recapper

Are you using solder wick?
.

[ss627]

Re: New DIY recapper

I first apply a bit more solder or flux and use solder suckers. The preheating method above would probably help it initially flow but it would be useless if you need to remove a lot of components due to rapid cooling. I'm considering a hotair system since I think it would help with the ground plane.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: New DIY recapper

I think you will find solder wick to be easier, especially on those big joints with gobs of solder.
.

[Keith41501]

Re: New DIY recapper

I got my caps today in the mail and went ahead to try out my hand at recapping about 2 hours ago. The iron I ordered stayed hot long enough to tin the tip then died to I had to dig out my dads old 1970s era iron and use it.Aftrer removing the mobo and the RAM gfx card I noticed on the gfx card there was a blown cap as well. So I replaced it too. It was an Evercon 1500uF 6.3V I replaced all the Sacon 6.3Vs and 2 Sacon 1500uF 10V. But I DID IT!!! After cleaning the case out and reinstalling everything I hooked it up and it works great! Below are a few before and after pics ( remember this is my 1st time doing this)




this last 1 is the bad Evercon on the GFX card:


Just wanna say thanks for all the help from everyone! Best 20$ I ever spent!

[Toasty]

Re: New DIY recapper

In your 2nd pic (post-recap?) I see what appears to be an FZ at the top. Please tell me you replaced -ALL- the FZ's... You left none on the board, correct?

Toast

[Keith41501]

Re: New DIY recapper

Thats just a pic right after i replaced the 6.3Vs I wasnt completely done yet.