LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

[Half-Saint]

I was just given a pretty beefy modular LC Power Arkangel power supply rated at 800W. It seemed worth trying to repair so I took it to the office, opened it up and sure enough, found a bad 2200uF 10V cap. The caps in the PSU are all Samxon (green). Looks like not even Samxons are immune to the plague!

I was thinking of replacing the cap with a Rubycon ZLJ series cap as that's currently available: http://uk.farnell.com/rubycon/10zlj2...46?Ntt=2346446

Should I replace the rest of the caps as well? There are some 2200uF 16V around ATX connector wires, haven't identified the rest but all the other caps look fine (except the aforementioned 2200uF 10V cap).

It's going to be a bi*ch getting the PCB out of the case as it's all horribly cramped up.

What do you guys think?

[Agent24]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

Is it a Samxon GF? Those are known to be crappy. If they are all the same series\crap brand, replace the lot.

It's best if you find the series of the original capacitor, lookup the datasheet, and then you know ESR (Equivalent series resistance) and RCR (Ripple current rating). Find something that matches with same or lower ESR and same or higher RCR. Don't get a replacement with ESR that's too low or you may upset the circuit stability and cause more problems.

[kc8adu]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

moved to the proper forum..
do post pictures before you buy parts.lc stuff is notoriously junky.it would suck to buy good parts for a unit that belongs in the trash.

[mockingbird]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

Get these instead:

http://uk.farnell.com/panasonic/eeuf...rad/dp/1744922

[Half-Saint]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them. Thanks for your willing to help

[Half-Saint]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

Added some pics. The bad cap is indeed Samxon GF.

do post pictures before you buy parts.lc stuff is notoriously junky.it would suck to buy good parts for a unit that belongs in the trash.

Trash or not?

EDIT: Never in my entire life have I seen such shitty soldering...

EDIT #2: The cap in question is a GF(M) X5A

[999999999]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

Added some pics. The bad cap is indeed Samxon GF.



Trash or not?

EDIT: Never in my entire life have I seen such shitty soldering...

There are some with much, much worse soldering than that. Mainly it looks like you need a high wattage iron to reflow the solder on the wiring harness locations.

It looks worth a recap to me but it all depends on the value of a spare PSU vs time and parts cost. It's a fairly inefficient design that I wouldn't trust past 500W load if that.

[Half-Saint]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

I got it for free so I guess it's worth repairing - the caps aren't exactly expensive.

[c_hegge]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

That's actually a decent power supply. I had the same thing happen to an almost identical PSU (A Thermaltake ToughPower 750W). In my case, it took the board out, but if you care to recap it, it would be a decent power supply.

EDIT: As stated by Half-Saint, I agree that's actually quite good soldering for a CWT-built unit. I've seen much worse from them.

[Half-Saint]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

I've been looking at data sheets and you typically get Impedance and Ripple Current. What exactly should I be looking for in a replacement cap? Would having identical or near identical values for those two be enough?

I don't like seeing huge blobs of solder. I already reworked one of the smaller blobs so that they're not connecting anymore. Having a max. of 450C solder probably isn't helping but the rest are going to be quite difficult to do.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

Match ESR and impedance as close as possible, ripple current same or higher.

[Half-Saint]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

The trouble is, I can't find ESR as such on any data sheets...

[mariushm]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

Impedance is almost the same as ESR at high frequencies, so you can use that Impedance @ 100kHz column.

[goodpsusearch]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

I have a psu identical to yours. The problem seems to be the same too:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?p=428448

[Half-Saint]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

I'll try finding some replacements from Panasonic later today.. when I have a bit more time to deal with this.

[Half-Saint]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

Argh, data overload!!! Can someone help me with this? Can't find a suitable Panasonic replacement cap for that Samxon GF 10x20 2200uF 10V. Everything I look at, has different Impedance/Ripple Current values...

UPDATE: ok, after reading some general recommendations on the net I came to the following conclusions...

1) voltage rating can be higher than that of the original cap
2) Impedance should be equal or lower
3) Ripple Current should be equal or higher

This brings me to the conclusion that I can use the cap mockingbird already suggested to replace all of the 2200uF 16V and 10V caps. Can someone confirm that this cap is also suitable: http://uk.farnell.com/panasonic/eeuf...-me-pd-r2-alte

[Agent24]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

Looks fine to me for replacing the 16v ones (same size) But note it is a larger diameter, and taller than the 10v size. Check to ensure it will actually fit. Other than that it should be OK.

Also, it doesn't *have* to be a Panasonic. There are several other brands which will work, eg: Nichicon, UCC, Rubycon.

[mockingbird]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

Can someone confirm that this cap is also suitable: http://uk.farnell.com/panasonic/eeuf...-me-pd-r2-alte

Probably not... The reason I listed that specific cap is because that is the only suitable cap for the application in 10mm width... The cap you listed is 12.5mm and may not fit properly.

[Half-Saint]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

I think I'm gonna order Panasonic FC series caps for this recap. Should be good enough.

[c_hegge]

Re: LC Power Arkangel with bad caps

^
In terms of electrical performance, they will be fine. However, there will probably be some 3300uF 10V/6.3V and 2200uF 16V caps in 10mm diameter, in which case you will need to use FK series, as it's a tight enough squeeze even with 10mm caps. 12.5mm FCs will be darn near impossible to squeeze in there.