TH7II raid capacitor replacements

[jo-jo]

Hi
I have the mobo above and have had it for 5 (?) years and it has been running more or less 24/7 all that time. Yesterday I noticed that two of the capacitors on it are starting to leak and I guess it will fail in the near future. Is there any place where I can find the specs for all the capacitors on this mobo?

I could figure this out myself by taking it out of the case, but I would like to avoid that until I have the replacements.

[Topcat]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

Post the brands, values, and series. Post some pics as well if you can.

[jo-jo]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

Well, it is kind of hard to see while it is in the case, I was hoping there was someone who knew what type of caps are on the ABIT TH7II Raid mobo (sorry I forgot to include that this is ABIT in the first post) so I didn't have to pull it out before I have the replacement.

[Topcat]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

Abit used quite a selection of crappy caps, ranging from Teapo, Jackcon, and Teyah, all of which are known to fail. Their later boards use Rubycon MCZ and MBZ mostly, which won't give you any trouble. I'd replace all the caps 1000uF and up, even if they aren't showing signs of failure.

[dood]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

I think he's looking for a list of uf and voltage values for all the caps on the board, Topcat

Sorry, we can't do the hard work for everybody

[Topcat]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

I think he's looking for a list of uf and voltage values for all the caps on the board, Topcat

Sorry, we can't do the hard work for everybody

lol... If that's the case, just pop the board out of the case and take a look, it'll have to come out to be recapped anyway...

[jo-jo]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

I was just hoping that somebody had already been through this with that mobo and shared the list somewhere, so I could just go out shopping before ripping the machine apart.

[jo-jo]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

OK here goes. I seem to have
4x2200uF 10V (TEAPO)
6x 1000uF 10V (TEAPO)
6x3300uF 6.3V (MBZ)

It is only the last ones that are leaking (see image). Where is the best place to buy good ones of these? Also, I am used to soldering, but I have never done it on a "multilayer" mobo before. What are my changes of screwing everything up?

At the bottom of it there is a metalic cylinder, labelled HD J1, 1200, 16V. What is that? Does not look as a cap to me.

[Operandi]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

Here is a pretty good shot of the board.

It looks like they used Nichicon and Rubycon around the CPU (good), at least in that sample.

Around the RAM looks like Teapo (less good).

It doesn't look like finding replacements should be a problem size wise. Which caps failed?

[jo-jo]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

The ones around the CPU - the ones you say are good

[Topcat]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements



Wow, that exploded one in the pic is a Rubycon! I would look for some shorted FET's or PSU issues, that's definitely not a typical occurrence! It vented with a vengeance, so I'm willing to guarantee there's other trouble on your board or PSU.

[Operandi]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

Hmm... I wasn't expecting a post so soon. Should have refreshed....

The metallic object is a cap, a Nichicon I believe. It looks different because it lacks the jacket covering most other capacitors.

From that picture it looks like the Rubycon failed which I've honestly never heard of happening.

What PSU are you using with the system? I ask because a low quality PSU can cause capacitors to fail prematurely due to excess ripple and/or over-voltage.

[jo-jo]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

OK. Here is the whole story: This mobo has been in various cases with various PSU's, for most of the time it was powered by one from PC Cooling if my memory serves me correct. This has been my main work machine and has been left on day in and day out, so it has been powered for about 5 years, constantly. About 2 mo ago I transferred it to its current case, an Ahanix D4 - it is a media server now, and still runs 24/7. It was fine then, I did inspect it carefully. I believe the Ahanix has a PSU either made by them or for them, at least the label just says "Ahanix".
The funny thing is that the mobo still runs fine, as a matter of fact I am writing this on that machine, but I am sure it will fail pretty soon.

[Topcat]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

Stop using it until that cap is replaced. It could cause more serious damage if continuing to use it. I would also replace that no-name PSU. The problem will not go away on its own.

[jo-jo]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

I actually think I know what happened. I installed a new soundcard when I transferred the mobo to this case. It did not work at first and I was too lazy to do anything about it. Yesterday I decided finally to fix that, thus opened the case and saw the leaking caps. It turned out that the soundcard was not seated properly. It may have shorted out some contacts I guess being so poorly installed. Could that have caused this?

The PSU I have is noisy, and I plan to replace it soon, and thanks for the advice, I'll switch to the other machine.

Where is the best place to get good cap replacements?

[Topcat]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

If you're in the US or Canada, shoot me a PM, I can get you some replacements.

[Operandi]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

I actually think I know what happened. I installed a new soundcard when I transferred the mobo to this case. It did not work at first and I was too lazy to do anything about it. Yesterday I decided finally to fix that, thus opened the case and saw the leaking caps. It turned out that the soundcard was not seated properly. It may have shorted out some contacts I guess being so poorly installed. Could that have caused this?

The PSU I have is noisy, and I plan to replace it soon, and thanks for the advice, I'll switch to the other machine.

Where is the best place to get good cap replacements?

I wouldn't think that would cause the capacitor/s to fail, especially when the cap that failed is near the CPU and not the PCI slots.

Regarding the PSU by "PC Cooling" maybe you mean "PC Power & Cooling". If thats the case those are top-tier units and very unlikely to cause problems. If it's some other brand.... who knows.

Ahanix are the high-end media center cases correct? I believe their PSUs are OEM'd by Forton-Source so at the very least they are of decent quality.

[Topcat]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

Ahanix are the high-end media center cases correct? I believe their PSUs are OEM'd by Forton-Source so at the very least they are of decent quality.

I didn't know that... I stand corrected if that's true. That single cap going could have been caused by any number of things, a power spike, overheating, fault in the PSU, or the cap itself could have just been a dud, (it happens once in a blue moon). Still, don't waste any time replacing it. Since the board still works, you can rule out any voltage regulator/FET problems as the cause.

[jo-jo]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

I wouldn't think that would cause the capacitor/s to fail, especially when the cap that failed is near the CPU and not the PCI slots.

Regarding the PSU by "PC Cooling" maybe you mean "PC Power & Cooling". If thats the case those are top-tier units and very unlikely to cause problems. If it's some other brand.... who knows.

Ahanix are the high-end media center cases correct? I believe their PSUs are OEM'd by Forton-Source so at the very least they are of decent quality.

Yes you are right about the PSU's, and Ahanix is highly rated for quality media center products. My cases have always been very well vented, so cooling problems should not have caused this.

[Tom41]

Re: TH7II raid capacitor replacements

Just make sure the blown cap is not a Rulycon (counterfeit Rubycon)! If it is a genuine Rubycon, it was probably exposed to excessive heat and/or ripple current from something else on the board. Did any of the cooling fans fail for a period of time? Is there any foreign material on the board that might be causing a short near the cap?