Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

[stj]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

good luck finding the rubycon caps.
something extreme like MZZ arent they?

[migu3l]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Lol, in that case. I'll restrain myself from using it.

Why did you recommend me to read up on IC Chips? Are you suggesting the problem is bigger than I think?

I thought it was the case of taking out bad capacitors and replacing them with new ones. I was just about to order some matching Rubycon capacitors with matching voltage and uF, should I put that on hold?



@Per Hansson

Cheers, I appreciate insightful information.
Looking at that thread, Wow that was an eye opener. At the moment nothing apart from the capacitors look bad so I will not touch it until I get some new ones

[Per Hansson]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Because when the capacitors have failed they loose their properties
So they no longer have low ESR, and no longer the bulk capacitance

So to keep a stable voltage the MOSFET's have to work much much harder, this makes them become hotter, untill the point where they desolder themselves or just plain crack in the middle due to the extreme current passing through them
What happens next is either dead system or fire as PCBONEZ said
Some nice pics of it in the FAQ section here on Badcaps, and other forums too...

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=211

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Go ahead and use it but:

- Read up on how to replace IC chips and acquire the necessary equipment to do so.
- Keep a fire extinguisher nearby.

You will need at least one of the above, if not both.

.

[migu3l]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Thanks for your reply,

But can you elaborate why?

Cheers

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Yes

[migu3l]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Hey people,

Sorry to bump this, but you guys are the experts in this matter.

My Xbox recently got the E74 message and wouldn't go away.Giving up on this Xbox was a last resort as it is a NTSC Xbox, and I have a collection of games for it. So I decided to get a heat gun and reflow the solders in the Xbox CPU/GPU and (H)ANA Chips. Using some tutorials on YouTube I overdid the heat gun and blew some capacitors.

I wrecked about 12 of them in total, some just minor leaks and 2 of them have completely exploded and has brown gunk all over it leaking from the top.

I googled and read on some forum some other person did the same thing and hooked it up and powered it on anyway and it worked. I thought to myself I'll do the same, so I hooked it up and WALA! It worked, I played FIFA for about 6 hours straight on it.

I plan to have the capacitors replaced, but I will have to get them shipped from overseas (impossible to find matching capacitors in Aus) and will most likely take 2 weeks to arrive.

I'm quite paranoid about this thing because of all the stories about bad capacitors. My question is; is it dangerous to continue using it in its current state?

[slimwadey]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

clearly, because if you search xbox 360 all you find is people asking how to get rid of the red-ring shit.

go to modding places and clamps outsell faceplates.

Iam well versed in repairing the Red ring of Death and other error codes too, i have fixed around 10 so far, yes the design is very poor and yes MS made them as cheap as possible and yes the X clamps are a serious issue but i can buy a RROD Xbox from ebay for as little as £10, some versions can be modified and then sold to the hacking/modding crowd and some i just repair and sell again on ebay at a reasonable price , the one i am working on has blown caps and this is the first time i have ever tried to replace any of them

I will keep you updated with extra info as i have it

Steve

[stj]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

clearly, because if you search xbox 360 all you find is people asking how to get rid of the red-ring shit.

go to modding places and clamps outsell faceplates.

[slimwadey]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

in short - it's a microsoft product, you expected it to work????

No of course not , i regularly throw £300 away on useless electronic products just so i can have an online conversation with people just like you ....

[Radio Fox]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

...Can anyone recommend a decent place in the UK to buy caps , i have browsed the maplin site but they dont seem to carry many , i would order off this site but i want them NOW !! ...

I get all my capacitors from RS http://uk.rs-online.com/web/

The minimum postage is almost £6, but you do receive them the next day by DHL. They also have some trade counters dotted around the UK.

[stj]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

farnel.

and dont blame lead-free solder.
the Xcriment box problems are down to crappy cooling, undersized heatsinks, and those stupid x-clamps that warp the pcb.

in short - it's a microsoft product, you expected it to work????

[slimwadey]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Well the good news is i have removed the bad caps ! , thanks for the advice Softest , a little solder and away they came , i had to fix my tip on the iron as it was abused at work
It turns out that the caps i thought were all the same are not, so when i get up tomorrow i will get the magnifying glass out and have a read to see the exact types
Can anyone recommend a decent place in the UK to buy caps , i have browsed the maplin site but they dont seem to carry many , i would order off this site but i want them NOW !!

I have been doing a bit of net reading on these xbox's and itseems the Mosfets pack up too ... i may replace them if i can find them to buy

Steve

[slimwadey]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Yes it has the awful Lead free solder on very single joint, it is said this is the main issue with the Xbox 360 breaking down , it gets hot ,cools down, the board warps slightly and the lead free solder breaks ...
I am looking into Reballing this one as well as new caps , you can buy all the stuff pretty cheap to do it and as i have 7 Xbox 360's in various states of disrepair i will probably invest in the components needed ... a proper infra red BGA rework station is a whopping $900 !!
Way too much for me though
i wonder how long it would take to earn the money back by repairing xbox's ?
Steve

[Scenic]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

^- especially if the device you're working on is RoHS compliant (leadfree bulls**t solder)

[sofTest]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

A trick to desolder difficult components, is to first add some solder.

[japlytic]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Some of the electrolytics near the heatsinks are too close for comfort.
I also recommend solid polymer units throughout. A lot of modern motherboards have them, especially those close to the CPU.
As I said elsewhere, even the best electrolytics are not immune from failure...

[kaniki]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

If the one pen looking orange handle piece is a soldering iron, then that should work, but do not use the biggest gun style soldering gun (the one with the loop end). that one will heat too much up and will most likely damage the board around it. you will want something with more of a point type of head.

[slimwadey]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Oops forget to ask another question
I am quite experienced in soldering and have been doing so for around 15 years now, mainly Automotive and R/C stuff, this is the first time i have ever tried to Recap any kind of electronics
I use a butane soldering iron at home with various tips and have never had a problem with it .... until i tried to De solder one of these Caps, it wont heat up the solder to release the cap
I have a soldering kit at work , please click pic to see it
www.3araceway.co.uk/images/solder.jpg
If i bring this home will this do the job
It has a sucker and and pick and two types of iron , the STD type and the other Gun type
Which would be the best to use or better to go and splash out on a decent iron
If so could anyone recommend a decent one ?
And a decent tutorial on how to .. hold on i better search this site for that now i think of it

Bye ... Steve
And thanks a lot

[slimwadey]

Re: Identifying badcaps in a Xbox360

Ok i have taken a few pics and i will post them up

I have replacements for the 2200uf caps coming, they are identical to the ones on the board , i just need to ID and get the yellow ones

Check out the two in the background of pic 1 ... slight melt issue on the casing

Nearly all the caps have a brown residue on the top and the tops are swollen quite badly

Sorry for quality , i lost my camera while out on Halloween last year so i have to use my Iphone at the moment !

Steve

www.3araceway.co.uk/images/cap1.jpg
www.3araceway.co.uk/images/cap3.jpg
www.3araceway.co.uk/images/cap4.jpg
www.3araceway.co.uk/images/cap5.jpg
www.3araceway.co.uk/images/cap6.jpg

Sorry but i cannot post the pics directly , i tried