MSI MS-6337 Lite

[Holothurian]

Hello All!

I am very happy I found this forum! I am at a site with 100+ systems that are using the MSI MS-6337 Lite 815EP PRO VER:3 motherboards, some of which are freezing. The tech that was here before me had replaced many motherboards under warrenty, then started paying $75 bucks a board to have them replaced. (I now see that the replacement boards were never recapped, just replaced with another new board with the same bad caps) When I got here I replaced 5 motherboards in 3 months at the increased price of $85 a board, so I started to search for a reason these boards were going bad. I saw the caps had popped and figured that something was causing them to go, I never dreamed it was the caps themselves!

Anyway, I want to take a stab at recapping the boards. The caps are:

Chhis HK (M) 1000 uF 6.3v 8mm x 14mm (d x h)
TEAPO SM105°C 04/01 A3 1800 uF 16v 10mm x 30mm (d x h)

A few boards have G-Luxon 1000uF 6.3v 8mm x 14mm (d x h)

The Chhiss and G-Luxons are the ones I see popped the most. Once in a while I see the TEAPOs with a bit of crust on top.

I have a few questions:

1. If I see one cap burst should I do them all?
2. I'm having problems finding the 1800 uF 16v caps. Is there a different value I can use?
3. I can find the 1000 uF caps, but the different series have me very confused. How do I tell which will work for me?
4. I read here in the forums on a board similar to mine that the 1000uF 8 mm caps can be replaced with 10 mm with no problems, except for the 2 near the north bridge chip. Why is that and can I use the 10mms or do I need 8s?
5. I'm not clear on what type of desoldering tool to use. Other than desoldering braids the only kind I am familiar with are the ones that are like a plunger that quickly retract, creating a vacuum. Are these the bad kind and if so what are better?

Thanks!

[willawake]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

congrats on having the enthusiasm to try, i am sure it will be a success.

g-luxon and chssi are particularly bad caps. teapo gives mixed experience. These boards are actually very nice boards for office, very stable once recapped. I recommend you replace all caps above 1000uf.

you can see my 6337
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showth...hlight=ms-6337

it had

Lelon (Taiwan) - 8 pieces 1500mf/10V - Visible Fail 7
Tayeh - 12 pieces 1000mf/6.3v - Visible Fail 0

i replaced with same values panasonic FC

actually there is no need to have 16v caps on a p3 board, it does not use 12v. you can use 1500uf 10v instead and it will be perfectly stable.

there is no problem to use 10mm caps on this board, just make them lean a little away from each other when they are close.

for desoldering you can use braid, personally i dont like it. you can use desoldering bulb and finish off with a needle or dental pick. please dont use a plunger vacuum pump. please read the FAQ first and come back with more questions.

the recapping FAQ

the bad capacitor FAQ

if you decide not to recap all the boards yourself i am sure Topcat who owns these forums can do you a good price for recapping them

[Rainbow]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

You're not alone with MS-6337 - they're known to have bad caps.

1. If one is bad, replace all of the same type, at least.
2. Use 2200uF.
3. You should use low-ESR caps, although I often do not.
4. I replaced 1000uF with 10mm ones - see my post here, I posted some pictures there https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showth...hlight=ms-6337

[Holothurian]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

Thanks for the tips! After reading the FAQ again, my biggest question is which soldering iron to get. I'm looking at two. The first is a Weller WP35 which while only 35 watts gets up to 850°F. It comes with a screwdriver tip. The second is a Xytronics 200PHG60-XYTR it is 60 watts and gets up to 970°F, however it has a conical tip. Both of them are grounded. Has anyone had experience with either one?

[gonzo0815]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

Even if that weller is an magnastat typ, 34w will never be sufficient. I suggest the weller ws61 if you could afford that. ok, this is a non antistatic on, but on a hobby this should be ok. I never dammaged a board due to an line soldering iron.
In any case 60w should be the way to go. With weller maganstat may be a 50w unit will be sufficient.
i tried an Weller WHS 40D soldering station, but there are no way work with that on the massive copper traces.

[willawake]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

the weller is a good iron apparently but yes i would suggest also around 60w. there is no need to buy a solder station for a few board repairs, unless you intend to invest in something to keep and use for years.

dont worry too much about finding a fine tip, i have used a standard chisel on many jobs. the bigger and shorter the tip, the more heat it keeps.

the members hopefully will advise a cheap corded grounded iron for you if you are on a budget

[tylerlough]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

I saw the caps had popped and figured that something was causing them to go, I never dreamed it was the caps themselves!

That is what happens when they use monkies for quality control

I used a 30 watt iron that my dad bought before I was around, he got it from radio shack. It worked OK but 45-60 would have made the job go faster. I also have a 15 watt iron with that I used to mod my xbox. I used the 15 on one cap and it took serveral minutes to heat back up.

[willawake]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

I also have a 15 watt iron with that I used to mod my xbox. I used the 15 on one cap and it took serveral minutes to heat back up.

that is dangerous. long heating may damage a trace or the lead port.

[gonzo0815]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

And the new caps will be dammage by such a lon heating period. They are normaly rated for a 3 seconds soldering periode at 350°c temp on the legs. I used an cheap unregulated 80w soldering iron, but i cooled it down with a water spong. It is very dificult, as it are geting realy hot after a while and thus will melt the epoxy of the board. So i pluged in and out to maintan a proper temp. but with that heat there are no problems and you can solder very quickly.

[Holothurian]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

Thanks for all the advice! I have a Hakko 936 with the 907 ESD iron on order. I'm going with Panasonic FM 1000uF 6.3v and Nichicon PW 1500uF 10v caps. I'll post before and after pics when I'm done with my first board. Wish me luck!

[Holothurian]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

Got my first board done and it posted just fine! It took about an hour and a half, 20 minutes to remove the caps, 45 minutes to clear the holes, 15 minutes to solder the caps. Hopefully the rest will go faster. I'll probably get a real circuit board holder which should help speed things up, trying to support the board in a drawer and apply the iron to one side and the de-solder bulb on the other was quite a balancing act. I used a de-solder bulb to clear most of the holes and the needle/pick method for the ones the bulb couldn't clear, especially the positive lead of the one nearest the power supply molex. I might go with the needle method completely on the next board. Thanks to everyone for your tips!

One down, twelve to go.

[willawake]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

looks great. did you like the hakko or did you think it could have been better?

[Holothurian]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

I liked the Hakko. The 936-12 comes with the 907 medium iron and the 900M-T-1.6D tip. I felt the tip was small enough to fit on the solder points of the caps without endangering the surrounding leads, especially when soldering the caps to the board, while still being big enough to kept it's temperature. I don't think I would want a bigger tip. I worked at 450°F for a while before turning it all the way up to 480°F which seemed to work better. Most leads were loose within two seconds. Some connected to the larger traces took 3-4 seconds. The biggest problem I had was clearing some of the holes. Even using the needle method they were difficult to clear and I felt I was holding the iron on the board way too long. On my next board I'm going to make sure the iron is good and hot before attacking the holes that gave me trouble. If anyone has the Hakko I'd like to know what tip works best for them.

[Neo2_000]

Re: MSI MS-6337 Lite

Regarding stubborn holes:

Feed some freash solder onto the joints helps to make the old solder flow much more easily.

Be careful not to hold the iron on a joint too long. A few seconds if using high temp, alternating from lead to lead till enough heat backs up into the cap and PCB track to allow the leads to come free.

If you still experience difficulty despite this, use a hot air source ( I have a very hot hair dryer I use for this) to heat the PCB. It helps to pre-heat the board to certain degree and focus upon the really stubborn joints.