Announcement

**mockingbird** · 10-26-2017, 06:32 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

So Antec decided to take the S12 II 500, put in Chinese caps (You're absolutely right about it being an S12 II, proof), and then use their name to charge more for it.

I found an EA-500D in an old curb PC years ago. Still going strong, though I did preemptively replace the few Taicons in it.

Good post.

**stj** · 10-26-2017, 08:31 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

what the hell is Q901 doing that managed to cook the pcb with just a TO92 package??

**Behemot** · 10-27-2017, 10:56 AM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Originally posted by mockingbird View Post

So Antec decided to take the S12 II 500, put in Chinese caps (You're absolutely right about it being an S12 II, proof), and then use their name to charge more for it.

I think they actually just had it made with the OEM variant of the board. Seasonic uses these ultra-low ESR (motherboard grade) OSTors even today, in the OEM models.

**momaka** · 10-27-2017, 11:56 AM

Antec EarthWatts EA-500 – temporary recap and fan controller fix v1

Originally posted by stj View Post

what the hell is Q901 doing that managed to cook the pcb with just a TO92 package??

It's an H8050 NPN transistor for the fan controller, and it drops down the voltage to the fan in a linear fashion. That said, at about 20°C room temperature, the fan is fed about 4.20 Volts from the fan controller. It spins quietly, but pushes enough air. The problem is that the voltage drop across Q901 is then 12V - 4.20V = 7.8V minimum. I'm not sure how much current the fan draws at 4.2V, but it's probably around 100 mA, given that it is rated for 250 mA. At that current, Q901 would be dissipating about 0.78 Watts. It doesn't seem like much, but for a TO-92 transistor it is quite high. H8050 is rated for 1 Watt dissipation @ Ta = 25°C. As the fan controller increases the voltage to the fan with increasing temperature, the voltage across Q901 drops. However, the fan starts to draw more current. So I wouldn't be surprised if at higher voltages, that transistor is pushed right to its limit.

I found a similar scenario recently in an old FPS power supply (FSP400-60PFN): same transistor and the fan was rated for 240 mA. When cold, the fan was driven with about 6.5V and drawing about 18 mA. Thus, the little transistor in that PSU was dissipating about 0.99 Watts - right at the edge of the allowable Pd in the datasheet! And of course, that transistor had a burned PCB all around it too. I'll post about that PSU another day... but yeah, this is quite common.

As such here is my temporary/partial solution to the hot transistor in the Antec EA-500:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1509126932
Basically, I added a little SOT-23 diode (look at the bottom right corner of the picture, the go slightly up, and you will see a SOT-23 device with one leg floating on the PCB) connected with its Anode to the 5V rail, and the Cathode connected to the fan output. This makes the fan receive about 4.5-4.6V after the voltage drop from the diode. As such, Q901 has to pass less current to the fan, and thus heats up a little less. It doesn't really make a difference when the fan controller increases the voltage going to the fan, but at least when the PSU is cold, Q901 can take a little break. Also, if Q901 fails open-circuit, the fan would continue to spin, as it will be supplied with power from the 5V rail.

And below is also a picture of what I did to (hopefully) dissipate the heat from the transistor a little better.
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1509126932
Basically, made a heatsink made from steel sheet. It's probably not a very efficient heatsink, as steel sheet is a rather poor heat conductor compared to Aluminum, Copper, Brass, and Silver... but better than nothing, I figure. I also soldered a copper wire to the back of the steel sheet to help draw the heat away from the transistor and move it to the top of the steel sheet "fins".

Here is a picture of this heatsink hack/mess installed in the PSU:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1509126932
I'll probably replace that whole transistor in the future with something beefier and maybe mount it on the secondary heatsink as well. But for now, this is passable.

In the above picture, you can also see my temporary recap that I did to test the PSU. Basically, I replaced the bulging OST RLX 16V/3300u cap on the 12V rail with an old Chemicon LXZ 16V/2200u. Clearly, it's not quite a match in terms of ESR nor capacitance... but it beats a bulged OST any day.

The cap to the left of it is an Elite ED series (25V/470u), pulled from a monitor that I recapped just in case. So the cap has healthy ESR and capacitance. I used it in place of the bulging OST RLS 16V/1000u cap that was filtering the -12V rail. Although the PCB is silk-screened for a 8 mm can, the lead-spacing is for a 10 mm cap (5 mm LS). So I figured if a 10 mm cap fits, I'll use that and not have to bend leads on an 8 mm cap to make it fit.
Finally, and not visible in this picture - I replaced the bulging OST RLX 10V/3300u cap on the 5VSB output with a Nichicon HN 6.3V/2200u cap. Should be more than enough to keep the 5VSB circuit happy. Works fine as far as I can tell.

With this arrangement, I even used the PSU to test an AMD Phenom X4 PC with a Radeon R9 290 GPU. I couldn't fully stress-test the R9 290 as it was faulty and kept crashing with artifacts... but that system drew up to 150 Watts from the wall and this PSU managed it fine. So I will properly recap it, as I said. I already have the caps for it too. Just have a few more projects I have to finish before it.

Attached Files

**Behemot** · 10-27-2017, 12:24 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Maybe using larger transistor would be easier?

There are the "long" TO-92, not sure what the marking is now.

**stj** · 10-27-2017, 02:29 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

just pull it and put a link across the pads.

**momaka** · 10-27-2017, 06:45 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Originally posted by Behemot View Post

Maybe using larger transistor would be easier?

It would have, but I was too lazy to get up and get out my box of spare transistors. Whereas the steel sheet and scrap copper wire was already right on my bench. Took me all of 5 minutes to cut, bend, and solder that contraption.

But yes, the plan of attack is that when I open this PSU up again for a proper recap, I will also likely replace that transistor with a bigger one. I have quite a few scrap CRT TV boards here, so I do know I have spare transistors that will work.

Originally posted by Behemot View Post

There are the "long" TO-92, not sure what the marking is now.

TO-92L, I think.

Meh. between TO-92 and TO-92L, there isn't much difference. The surface area is still way too small for 1W of dissipation. TO-126 and TO-220 will handle 1W without overheating as much, though without a heatsink, they will still run very hot.

Originally posted by stj View Post

just pull it and put a link across the pads.

And make the fan sound like a jet turbine?

No thanks.

I have plenty of PSUs that have been in service for over 10 years with their fan-controlled fans. There's nothing wrong with a fan controller. Moreover, besides the reduction in noise, you also get less dust inside the PSU. And the fan lasts much longer.

That said, this PSU has an Adda fan. If I connect it straight to 12V, it will probably be a matter of months to a year at best, before it seizes completely.

So no thanks, I'll never remove a fan controller or suggest anyone to do it. Running the fans full-max on 12V was acceptable for an 80's computer with a loud BB HDD. Today? -No way!

**Stefan Payne** · 10-27-2017, 08:06 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-500 – temporary recap and fan controller fix v1

Originally posted by momaka View Post

I'm not sure how much current the fan draws at 4.2V, but it's probably around 100 mA, given that it is rated for 250 mA.

Naa, it's way way less than that. Try measuring it - you'd be surprised.
The Rated Current of a fan is the worst case max current - at max rated voltage, not the nominal working current.
I did measure the current of a fan and the start/stopp voltages. And the current was surprisingly low...

**Stefan Payne** · 10-27-2017, 09:14 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

What kinda pisses me off about that PSU is that there are two "+12V Rails" on the Label but it clearly uses Seasonics favorite protection IC: HY-510N

I really loathe that behavior to put multiple +12V rails on the box/label and then use one of those garbage 8pin chips.

So no OCP on any Rail...

**momaka** · 10-30-2017, 12:22 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Originally posted by Stefan Payne View Post

What kinda pisses me off about that PSU is that there are two "+12V Rails" on the Label but it clearly uses Seasonics favorite protection IC: HY-510N

Yeah, that's indeed a bummer about this PSU.

Generally, I don't find the lack of OCP to be a big deal for smaller PSUs (like 100-250 Watts). But going above 300 Watts and not having OCP makes it a bit dangerous, as you will be relying only on short-circuit protection if something goes bad (or OPP if you're lucky and the PSU has it).

That said, I have an old ThermalTake TR2 430W PSU that uses STF topology with UC3842 PWM and one of those 8-pin chips. I don't remember if that PSU had another chip for OCP or not, but I do remember reading reviews that said that it would shut down with anything over 18 Amps on the 12V rail. And it also had good OPP. The only thing I can attest to is that that PSU has good short-circuit protection. I have it in a PC that I use strictly for testing video cards, and it's been quite a few times where I've had a video card with a shorted MOSFET pull the PSU down.

Originally posted by Stefan Payne View Post

Naa, it's way way less than that. Try measuring it - you'd be surprised.
The Rated Current of a fan is the worst case max current - at max rated voltage, not the nominal working current.

Not really. I've measured a lot of fans. Most of the good brands are spot-on when it comes to current consumption at the rated voltage.

I also measured the fan in the FSP400-60PFN I mentioned above, and it was drawing about 180 mA @ 6.4V. At full 12V, it was just 5-10 mA shy of its 250 mA rating. Granted my multimeter could have be introducing some error into those measurements. But I doubt it would be that much, still.

**Behemot** · 10-30-2017, 12:32 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Seasonic only recently finally solved the thing with multiple rails on label and in fact only single physical output +12V rail. They don't list two rails anymore with the xxGB versions

**mockingbird** · 10-30-2017, 03:35 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Originally posted by Behemot View Post

Seasonic only recently finally solved the thing with multiple rails on label and in fact only single physical output +12V rail. They don't list two rails anymore with the xxGB versions

GB (S12-II Bronze) is going to be discontinued soon. GP (S12-II Gold) is already out of production. This applies to everything from 300-450 watts. Not sure about the higher-watt varieties.

**Behemot** · 10-30-2017, 04:50 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Well it is being discontinued soon for some time now

**mockingbird** · 10-30-2017, 09:28 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Originally posted by Behemot View Post

Well it is being discontinued soon for some time now

Supposedly, "Core" is supposed to replace it (Core, Focus, and Prime are the new series). Unfortunately, Core, which was announced in January, now seems to have been cancelled.

The only good low-watt alternative I've been able to find is FSP's new 350w Hexa 85+ Bronze series

I tried to get a hold of one. They basically said that they haven't even begun producing it yet and won't until someone orders a large batch in the thousands.

So be prepared to pay through the nose if you want a low-watt PSU with Japanese caps. You'll have to get some fancy modular model that you don't need.

**momaka** · 02-01-2019, 09:35 PM

Antec EarthWatts EA-500 – final recap and mods

Time for an update on the EA-500.

Basically, I replaced my temporary test caps (the Chemicon LXZ and Elite ED on the 12V and -12V rails, respectively) with something more permanent. I also replaced the first cap in the 3.3V and 5V rails (2200 uF each) and changed the 5VSB caps. Finally, I did a few other mods. Pictures of the handiwork below:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446

Details on the recap and mods…

Starting with the 12V rail… it originally had 1x 3300 uF OST RLX cap and 2x 1000 uF OST RLS caps. I didn’t touch the OST RLS caps, as I didn’t quite have anything in stock (8 mm) to replace those. But the RLX was replaced with a Chemicon KY 16V, 3300 uF, 12.5 x 35 mm. I can’t say if that’s an ideal replacement or not, as the OST RLX datasheet does not list a 16V, 3300 uF cap at all. Going by its 12.5 x 25 mm size, though, this cap is likely to have anywhere from 14 to 21 mΩ ESR and 2780 to 3000 mA of RC (ripple current). Knowing that this is a 16V cap and doing some datasheet interpolation, its ESR is probably closer to 21 mΩ ESR and RC around 3000 mA. Thus, my Chemicon KY wasn’t too far behind in terms of ESR and RC specs, as it is rated for 20 mΩ and 2880 mA. It is a whole 10 mm taller, though.

Next, the first cap in the 3.3V and 5V rails: both had an OST RLX 10V, 2200 uF, 10 x 20 mm cap each. Again, this particular cap wasn’t in the OST datasheet. So going by size one more time, ESR should likely be around 20 mΩ and RC ~2500-2700 mA. Actually, note that the OST RLX datasheet lists a 10V, 2700 uF cap in 10 x 25 mm can size and that it is rated for 22 mΩ ESR… which doesn’t really make sense!

(Why is the ESR increasing?) Either way, my replacement for the 3.3V rail 2200 uF cap was the Nichicon HZ 6.3V, 2200 uF cap that I used temporarily on the 5VSB (I moved it). ESR might not be ideal being so low (7 mΩ), but it’s a mag-amp regulated rail and thus it likely won’t care too much. (Not that the 5VSB did either.)

For the 5V rail, I used a Panasonic FM 6.3V, 2200 uF cap with 10x25 size. It is rated for 18 mΩ and 2470 mA, which I think is a pretty spot-on replacement for OST RLX – that is, if the OST RLX ratings are even legit.

And finally, the -12V rail: it had an OST RLS 16V, 1000 uF, 8 x 20 mm cap. According to its datasheet, this cap is rated for 23 mΩ ESR and 1820 mA RC. For its replacement, I used a Rubycon YXJ 16V, 1000 uF, 10 x 16 mm cap with 62 mΩ ESR and 1210 mA RC specs. Obviously, this is not an ideal replacement in terms of ESR. However, this is the -12V rail, which isn’t exactly stressed a lot. As for why I went with a 10 mm cap: the PCB lead spacing for that cap spot was 5 mm (which is what 10 mm caps use), so I didn’t feel like trying to find an 8 mm cap and then bending its leads.

Speaking of more non-ideal replacements, I decided to go with a Chemicon KY 10V, 2200 uF cap for the 5VSB rail in place of the bad OST RLX 10V, 3300 uF (which I had replaced temporarily for testing with the Nichicon HZ 10V, 2200 uF cap that is now on the 3.3V rail). Yes, neither the temporary Nichicon NZ nor this Chemicon KY are the right capacity (2200 uF vs. 3300 uF of the original OST RLX), but I’ve seen plenty of 5VSB circuits before (from trusted manufacturers like Delta and HiPro) with a similar cap setup. Also, the Chemicon KY is a bit “tougher” (less heat-sensitive) than the Nichicon HZ, so I figured it was better-suited for a circuit that is constantly running (and without active cooling some of the time.) That said, the 5VSB in this PSU had a second cap on its output after a PI coil: OST RLS 16V, 220 uF. I pulled this cap and checked it with my TT meter – it was starting to develop bad ESR. So I replaced it with a Nichicon HE 10V, 220 uF, 6.3 x 11 mm cap. Once again, that’s not quite to spec with OST RLS… but I think you got my drift already.

Anyways, the important question is: does that recap work? The answer is YES. Unfortunately, I don’t have a load tester and o-scope to stress the PSU to its maximum limits and measure ripple/noise. But I doubt the replacement caps I used would make that much of a difference to make ripple/noise out of spec at full load. Moreover, the PC I intend to build with this PSU probably won’t be loading it more than 300 Watts max - if even that (most of which will be on the 12V rail). So I don’t think there will be a problem with ripple.

As for mods… I’m sure many of you noticed the new big primary cap up there in the pictures.

If you’re asking why I did that, the answer is, because I was curious if the old primary cap was good or not. Sure primary caps don’t fail that often. But after my findings with my ThermalTake M850W and the Enermax Pro 82+ EPR525AWT (both of which had blown/bad 400V primary caps), I decided it wouldn’t hurt to pull the primary cap from this PSU (Hitachi HP3, 400V, 330 uF, 30 x 40 mm) and check it. According to my TT/ESR meter, it was showing about 0.33 Ohms ESR. Upon a second more recent check, though, it shows 0.14 Ohms ESR and slightly low capacitance (but still in spec):
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446

I don’t know if this is considered okay or not for a big cap like that. IIRC, most other caps of this size typically measured lower ESR. Thus, I changed it to be sure.

The replacement I used for the primary cap is a Nichicon LQ, 450V, 500 uF “behemoth”.

As you can see, it’s quite a bit bigger. However, this PSU uses a rear 80 mm exhaust fan and not a top 120/140 mm fan. Therefore, having a taller cap wasn’t an issue at all, unlike in the Thermatake M850W. The cap lead spacing was an issue, though. So I had to do a bit of “ugly work” to get it to fit “right”:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446

Basically, I soldered two pieces of solid 14 AWG copper wire to the leads of the cap and then ran the wires through the holes/vias. It’s shady work, yes, but it will hold. I didn’t have much of a choice either - even if the cap had the right lead spacing, I still couldn’t make it fit, because both primary heatsinks have metal stand-offs in the corners near the cap. Thus, raising the cap like this was necessary either way.

So what did I gain from this mod? TBH, I don’t know.

However, all I can tell you is that after my first (temporary) recap, I noticed that the PSU would sometimes emit weird noises from the primary side that would change with the load. Doing a bit of research online suggested this is somewhat common on cheaper/ lower-tier PSUs with APFC. After changing the primary cap for the Nichicon LQ, all of the noises have disappeared. Does this mean another APFC disaster averted? – Who knows.

I suppose, time will tell. (Personally, I’m inclined to say yes, because as I showed in the Enermax thread, the APFC controller won’t necessarily do anything if the APFC voltage overshoots above 400V for a few moments – possibly during load transitions.)

Another “ugly” mod I did… remember the overheated fan controller transistor and the metal heatsink I made for it? Well, I decided to change that mod when I came up with this:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446

Essentially, it is the H8050 transistor mounted on the secondary heatsink with some wire ties and hot glue (because I wasn’t sure if the wire ties would move with time.) Being a “test mod”, I didn’t put too much (any!) effort into the looks – hence, the Ethernet/phone wires used to connect it back to the PCB.

Some of you might also have noticed a piece of used Copper braid attached to the middle wire. Well, since this wire goes to the Collector of the transistor, and since most non-tabbed BJTs are designed to cool through the Collector pin, I thought why not add a bit of extra cooling there as well. (Moreover, I wasn’t sure if the case mold of the TO-92 transistor would provide good enough heat transfer to the heatsink alone.)

To test this mod, I connected the 12V rail of the PSU to a 12V power adapter, essentially making the fan and its controller run. I ran it for about 30 minutes. The secondary side heatsink near where I had attached the transistor became only slightly warmer than room temperature, as did the Copper braid on the Collector pin. Thus, it looks like that transistor is finally running cool now.

Well… that concludes all the work I’m going to do on this PSU for now. There are still some OST RLS caps remaining on the outputs of the 3.3V, 5V, and 12V rails. But with the good caps in there too, I don’t think they will see much stress or fail. So for now, I consider this PSU done. Next stop would be recapping the Earthwatts EA-430, which I’ll probably do the same exact way. But we will see, of course, as I constantly have new “ideas”. So who knows what crazy/ugly mods I will come up with next?

Attached Files

**bogart219** · 02-11-2019, 04:04 AM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-500 – final recap and mods

Originally posted by momaka View Post

Time for an update on the EA-500.

Basically, I replaced my temporary test caps (the Chemicon LXZ and Elite ED on the 12V and -12V rails, respectively) with something more permanent. I also replaced the first cap in the 3.3V and 5V rails (2200 uF each) and changed the 5VSB caps. Finally, I did a few other mods. Pictures of the handiwork below:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446

Details on the recap and mods…

Starting with the 12V rail… it originally had 1x 3300 uF OST RLX cap and 2x 1000 uF OST RLS caps. I didn't touch the OST RLS caps, as I didn't quite have anything in stock (8 mm) to replace those. But the RLX was replaced with a Chemicon KY 16V, 3300 uF, 12.5 x 35 mm. I can't say if that's an ideal replacement or not, as the OST RLX datasheet does not list a 16V, 3300 uF cap at all. Going by its 12.5 x 25 mm size, though, this cap is likely to have anywhere from 14 to 21 mΩ ESR and 2780 to 3000 mA of RC (ripple current). Knowing that this is a 16V cap and doing some datasheet interpolation, its ESR is probably closer to 21 mΩ ESR and RC around 3000 mA. Thus, my Chemicon KY wasn't too far behind in terms of ESR and RC specs, as it is rated for 20 mΩ and 2880 mA. It is a whole 10 mm taller, though.

Next, the first cap in the 3.3V and 5V rails: both had an OST RLX 10V, 2200 uF, 10 x 20 mm cap each. Again, this particular cap wasn't in the OST datasheet. So going by size one more time, ESR should likely be around 20 mΩ and RC ~2500-2700 mA. Actually, note that the OST RLX datasheet lists a 10V, 2700 uF cap in 10 x 25 mm can size and that it is rated for 22 mΩ ESR… which doesn't really make sense!

(Why is the ESR increasing?) Either way, my replacement for the 3.3V rail 2200 uF cap was the Nichicon HZ 6.3V, 2200 uF cap that I used temporarily on the 5VSB (I moved it). ESR might not be ideal being so low (7 mΩ), but it's a mag-amp regulated rail and thus it likely won't care too much. (Not that the 5VSB did either.)

For the 5V rail, I used a Panasonic FM 6.3V, 2200 uF cap with 10x25 size. It is rated for 18 mΩ and 2470 mA, which I think is a pretty spot-on replacement for OST RLX – that is, if the OST RLX ratings are even legit.

And finally, the -12V rail: it had an OST RLS 16V, 1000 uF, 8 x 20 mm cap. According to its datasheet, this cap is rated for 23 mΩ ESR and 1820 mA RC. For its replacement, I used a Rubycon YXJ 16V, 1000 uF, 10 x 16 mm cap with 62 mΩ ESR and 1210 mA RC specs. Obviously, this is not an ideal replacement in terms of ESR. However, this is the -12V rail, which isn't exactly stressed a lot. As for why I went with a 10 mm cap: the PCB lead spacing for that cap spot was 5 mm (which is what 10 mm caps use), so I didn't feel like trying to find an 8 mm cap and then bending its leads.

Speaking of more non-ideal replacements, I decided to go with a Chemicon KY 10V, 2200 uF cap for the 5VSB rail in place of the bad OST RLX 10V, 3300 uF (which I had replaced temporarily for testing with the Nichicon HZ 10V, 2200 uF cap that is now on the 3.3V rail). Yes, neither the temporary Nichicon NZ nor this Chemicon KY are the right capacity (2200 uF vs. 3300 uF of the original OST RLX), but I've seen plenty of 5VSB circuits before (from trusted manufacturers like Delta and HiPro) with a similar cap setup. Also, the Chemicon KY is a bit “tougher” (less heat-sensitive) than the Nichicon HZ, so I figured it was better-suited for a circuit that is constantly running (and without active cooling some of the time.) That said, the 5VSB in this PSU had a second cap on its output after a PI coil: OST RLS 16V, 220 uF. I pulled this cap and checked it with my TT meter – it was starting to develop bad ESR. So I replaced it with a Nichicon HE 10V, 220 uF, 6.3 x 11 mm cap. Once again, that's not quite to spec with OST RLS… but I think you got my drift already.

Anyways, the important question is: does that recap work? The answer is YES. Unfortunately, I don't have a load tester and o-scope to stress the PSU to its maximum limits and measure ripple/noise. But I doubt the replacement caps I used would make that much of a difference to make ripple/noise out of spec at full load. Moreover, the PC I intend to build with this PSU probably won't be loading it more than 300 Watts max - if even that (most of which will be on the 12V rail). So I don't think there will be a problem with ripple.

As for mods… I'm sure many of you noticed the new big primary cap up there in the pictures.

If you're asking why I did that, the answer is, because I was curious if the old primary cap was good or not. Sure primary caps don't fail that often. But after my findings with my ThermalTake M850W and the Enermax Pro 82+ EPR525AWT (both of which had blown/bad 400V primary caps), I decided it wouldn't hurt to pull the primary cap from this PSU (Hitachi HP3, 400V, 330 uF, 30 x 40 mm) and check it. According to my TT/ESR meter, it was showing about 0.33 Ohms ESR. Upon a second more recent check, though, it shows 0.14 Ohms ESR and slightly low capacitance (but still in spec):
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446

I don't know if this is considered okay or not for a big cap like that. IIRC, most other caps of this size typically measured lower ESR. Thus, I changed it to be sure.

The replacement I used for the primary cap is a Nichicon LQ, 450V, 500 uF “behemoth”.

As you can see, it's quite a bit bigger. However, this PSU uses a rear 80 mm exhaust fan and not a top 120/140 mm fan. Therefore, having a taller cap wasn't an issue at all, unlike in the Thermatake M850W. The cap lead spacing was an issue, though. So I had to do a bit of “ugly work” to get it to fit “right”:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446

Basically, I soldered two pieces of solid 14 AWG copper wire to the leads of the cap and then ran the wires through the holes/vias. It's shady work, yes, but it will hold. I didn't have much of a choice either - even if the cap had the right lead spacing, I still couldn't make it fit, because both primary heatsinks have metal stand-offs in the corners near the cap. Thus, raising the cap like this was necessary either way.

So what did I gain from this mod? TBH, I don't know.

However, all I can tell you is that after my first (temporary) recap, I noticed that the PSU would sometimes emit weird noises from the primary side that would change with the load. Doing a bit of research online suggested this is somewhat common on cheaper/ lower-tier PSUs with APFC. After changing the primary cap for the Nichicon LQ, all of the noises have disappeared. Does this mean another APFC disaster averted? – Who knows.

I suppose, time will tell. (Personally, I'm inclined to say yes, because as I showed in the Enermax thread, the APFC controller won't necessarily do anything if the APFC voltage overshoots above 400V for a few moments – possibly during load transitions.)

Another “ugly” mod I did… remember the overheated fan controller transistor and the metal heatsink I made for it? Well, I decided to change that mod when I came up with this:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1549078446

Essentially, it is the H8050 transistor mounted on the secondary heatsink with some wire ties and hot glue (because I wasn't sure if the wire ties would move with time.) Being a “test mod”, I didn't put too much (any!) effort into the looks – hence, the Ethernet/phone wires used to connect it back to the PCB.

Some of you might also have noticed a piece of used Copper braid attached to the middle wire. Well, since this wire goes to the Collector of the transistor, and since most non-tabbed BJTs are designed to cool through the Collector pin, I thought why not add a bit of extra cooling there as well. (Moreover, I wasn't sure if the case mold of the TO-92 transistor would provide good enough heat transfer to the heatsink alone.)

To test this mod, I connected the 12V rail of the PSU to a 12V power adapter, essentially making the fan and its controller run. I ran it for about 30 minutes. The secondary side heatsink near where I had attached the transistor became only slightly warmer than room temperature, as did the Copper braid on the Collector pin. Thus, it looks like that transistor is finally running cool now.

Well… that concludes all the work I'm going to do on this PSU for now. There are still some OST RLS caps remaining on the outputs of the 3.3V, 5V, and 12V rails. But with the good caps in there too, I don't think they will see much stress or fail. So for now, I consider this PSU done. Next stop would be recapping the Earthwatts EA-430, which I'll probably do the same exact way. But we will see, of course, as I constantly have new “ideas”. So who knows what crazy/ugly mods I will come up with next?

Mom, great write up. I'm new at this. My EA-500 stopped working. I took it apart and found some questionable caps. I'm confused though. Could you point out in the picture which rails are 12v, 5v and 3v? I don't know how you can tell. Also, which caps should I change while I have it turn apart. You wouldn't have made a list did you? Thank you for your time!

**Behemot** · 02-11-2019, 02:45 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

You already learned the wiring colors according to voltage from ATX standard?

**momaka** · 02-12-2019, 07:04 PM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-500 – final recap and mods

Thanks bogart!

Here is a cap diagram of all the output rails:

It is applicable to both Antec EA-430 and EA-500 models.

You should change all of the output capacitors in the PSU (the ones I pointed to above), along with all of the small electrolytics as well. The big cap doesn't need to be changed. I just did it anyways, because I already had a bigger and better cap.

Unfortunately, I didn't make a cap list, as I used whatever caps I had in stock (hence the mix/mismatch in capacity and size mentioned in post #16).

But going by the parts summary I made in Post #1 above, here is one example list of all the caps you will need for the output rails:
2x 6.3V or 10V, 2200 uF, 10 mm diameter, 5 mm LS (lead spacing)
2x 6.3V or 10V, 1000 uF, 8 mm diameter, 3.5 mm LS
1x 16V, 3300 uF, 10 mm or 12.5mm diameter, 5 mm LS
2x 16V, 1000 uF, 8 mm diameter, 3.5 mm LS
1x 16V, 1000 uF, 8 mm or 10 mm diameter, 3.5 mm or 5 mm LS (can be same as above 16V/1000 uF caps)
1x 6.3V or 10V, 2200 uF or 2700 uF or 3300 uF, 10 mm diameter, 5 mm LS
1x 6.3V or 10V, 220 uF or 330 uF, 6.3 mm diameter (note: possible height restriction)

For ESR and ripple current requirements, see post #16 above, which details what replacements I used and what other ones are possible.

And for the small electrolytic caps, you will need the following:
1x 50V, 47 uF, 5 mm or 6.3 mm diameter
1x 50V, 22 uF, 5 mm or 6.3 mm diameter

Hope that clears it up. Let me know if not.

Attached Files

**bogart219** · 02-16-2019, 08:37 AM

Re: Antec EarthWatts EA-500 – final recap and mods

Originally posted by momaka View Post

Thanks bogart!

Here is a cap diagram of all the output rails:

It is applicable to both Antec EA-430 and EA-500 models.

You should change all of the output capacitors in the PSU (the ones I pointed to above), along with all of the small electrolytics as well. The big cap doesn't need to be changed. I just did it anyways, because I already had a bigger and better cap.

Unfortunately, I didn't make a cap list, as I used whatever caps I had in stock (hence the mix/mismatch in capacity and size mentioned in post #16).

But going by the parts summary I made in Post #1 above, here is one example list of all the caps you will need for the output rails:
2x 6.3V or 10V, 2200 uF, 10 mm diameter, 5 mm LS (lead spacing)
2x 6.3V or 10V, 1000 uF, 8 mm diameter, 3.5 mm LS
1x 16V, 3300 uF, 10 mm or 12.5mm diameter, 5 mm LS
2x 16V, 1000 uF, 8 mm diameter, 3.5 mm LS
1x 16V, 1000 uF, 8 mm or 10 mm diameter, 3.5 mm or 5 mm LS (can be same as above 16V/1000 uF caps)
1x 6.3V or 10V, 2200 uF or 2700 uF or 3300 uF, 10 mm diameter, 5 mm LS
1x 6.3V or 10V, 220 uF or 330 uF, 6.3 mm diameter (note: possible height restriction)

For ESR and ripple current requirements, see post #16 above, which details what replacements I used and what other ones are possible.

And for the small electrolytic caps, you will need the following:
1x 50V, 47 uF, 5 mm or 6.3 mm diameter
1x 50V, 22 uF, 5 mm or 6.3 mm diameter

Hope that clears it up. Let me know if not.

Mom, That those pictures are perfect. Thanks again for the help!!!

Announcement

Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Antec EarthWatts EA-430 and EA-500 – an easy bad caps fix

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment