blown VRM capacitors?

[CCCA]

Recieved this dead system from someone i know. It doesn't boot, but the green LED at the bottom of the motherboard lights up when connected to power (ASUS).

When i power it on, fans spin, and all seems fine except there is not video. Taking the CPU off, i all of the VRM capacitors had blown.

All ten of them seems to be blown, so im guessing this is the problem. Besides, the user ran it 24/7 other than occassional restarts since 2005.

Checking the specs of the capacitors, i found the following:
'Elite' brand
105C temp
680uF
4V
it's also pretty stout (short enough to avoid hitting the heatsink fins)

Unfortunately, i can't seem to find anything can is the same spec (different brands), other than DigiKey which overcharges like crazy.

Is there any good substitute for this? Also, can i be pretty well assume the caps are to blame?

[Toasty]

Re: blown VRM capacitors?

>>other than DigiKey which overcharges like crazy.<<
I don't understand that statement at all. Overcharges for what or how? Please explain.

Caps are 99.44% probably to blame.

What SERIES are the Elite caps? Only way you can compare apples to apples. Look on side opposite values for a 2 letter code like EL, ED, EB, PS.

What ASUS board is this?

Check PSU also for similar problems. Its model & brand also.

Toast

[CCCA]

Re: blown VRM capacitors?

>>other than DigiKey which overcharges like crazy.<<
I don't understand that statement at all. Overcharges for what or how? Please explain.

Caps are 99.44% probably to blame.

What SERIES are the Elite caps? Only way you can compare apples to apples. Look on side opposite values for a 2 letter code like EL, ED, EB, PS.

What ASUS board is this?

Check PSU also for similar problems. Its model & brand also.

Toast

I don't mind paying for the caps, but 8 bucks for shipping is a little steep for me. Unless I am wrong that is, as I have only ordered once from a electronic component website. If 8 bucks is the standard for shipping from retailers, then I'll go for it. (Bah, why am I still complaining)

For the type, it says something like EM(M)105C.

It's on a ASUS P5P800, and I have tested it on different PSUs, and it all does the same.

[Toasty]

Re: blown VRM capacitors?

Depends on shipping method you choose. I think it defaults to UPS, and $8 is kinda standard to residential for them. By USPS Priority Mail, my last order was $5. Mouser was more, but the order was much larger.

I was not asking if you had tested on different PSU's, I was asking you to check the PSU it WAS running on for 4 years. It may have similar issues and posting the model & brand helps. It needs to be opened and checked.

>>For the type, it says something like EM(M)105C.<<
series(tolerance)temperature = EM 20% 105°C

EM Datasheet:

They do not list a 4 volt cap in that series. Probably dropped it. Because of that, I'll need dimensions of diameter & height in mm's.

I would likely replace all of those failed ones with solid polymer caps either 560uF or 680uF. Low ESR and superb ripple filtering. Look for 560uF or 680uF Sanyo OS-CON SEPC Polymers. Ask Topcat thru the online form here: https://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=23

Or, search eBay (careful of fakes) or Google -> Sanyo OS-CON SEPC Polymer

What brand/series are the other caps on that board, particularly those near CPU & RAM?

Toast

[CCCA]

Re: blown VRM capacitors?

I checked the PSU with a multimeter, both under load and idle, voltages are fine.
The height of the caps are around 8-10mm, diameter is around 6mm

The other caps surrounding the RAM and CPU are(they seem fine):

1x OST 1500uF 6.3V RST 105C
4x Elite 8B k(M) 105C 1000uF 16v

Then i have 2 bulging ones around the northbridge:

Can't really see brand (green and gold with oval logo), but it's LMB105 (M) 6.3v 820uF

[kc8adu]

Re: blown VRM capacitors?

i use sanyo sepc 560@4v to replace those.all ost,elite and lelon/ltec need to go too.
i have recapped a ton of these for customers and have yet to have one not work after recapping.cheap lytics onder the hsf being a very bad choice is an understatement!

[shadow]

Re: blown VRM capacitors?

Yes you can say that again. One would think that under the heatsink, temperatures would be high.
Having lytics there is bad, but cheap ones just adds salt to the wounds.

[CCCA]

Re: blown VRM capacitors?

Can i replace 6.3V 820uF capacitors with a 6.3V 1000uF? Or is that out of tolerance level?

[kc8adu]

Re: blown VRM capacitors?

yes.
i do this often.

[CCCA]

Re: blown VRM capacitors?

Well, I bit the bullet, and ordered10 Sanyo SEPC caps (no spares, because I live life on the edge), and 5x 6.3v 1000uF capacitors last week. Now fast forward to this week, it arrived.

At first, I thought the main concern was the VRM capacitors, which i replaced promptly and tried to boot the mobo up... no POST... I was scared like s***less. Feeling hopeless, I replaced the other 2x 820uF capacitor as well(without much care), and much to my surprise, it booted up!

Now i have a living PC again thanks to you guys. And a lesson learned as well: the smallest details can make the largest difference.