Sparkle Power Int. LTD. FPS400-60GN (REV 1) – recapping (with cap list)

[momaka]

As mentioned in the build quality pictorial thread for this PSU, I got a Sparkle Power / SPI FPS400-60GN for recapping. The unit had only one failed cap: a Teapo SC 16V, 3300 uF on the 12V rail. All other output caps were okay. But since pretty much every cap in this PSU was a Teapo (and SC series for the output rails), and since the owner requested a full recap, that’s what I did.

Here is a full list of the electrolytic capacitors found in this PSU (minus the big input-side primaries):
* 3.3V rail [capacitors C24 & C25]: 2x Teapo SC, 10V, 6800 uF, 12.5 x 40 mm ^^
* 5V rail [capacitors C22 & C23]: 2x Teapo SC, 10V, 6800 uF, 12.5 x 40 mm ^^
* 12V rail [capacitor C21]: 1x Teapo SC, 16V, 3300 uF, 12.5 x 40 mm
* 5VSB rail [capacitors C15 & C16]: 2x Teapo SC, 16V, 470 uF, 8 x 20 mm
* -12V rail…
** [capacitor C14]: 1x Fuhjyyu TNR, 25V, 1000 uF, 10 x 20 mm (before 7912 regulator)
** [capacitor C18]: 1x Fuhjyyu TNR, 16V, 220 uF, 6.3 x 11 mm (after 7912 regulator)
* -5V rail [capacitor C20]: 1x Jamicon TK, 16V, 47 uF (after 7905 regulator).
* Aux. Sec.-side rail (PWM controller Vcc), [C13]: 1x Teapo SEK, 50V, 100 uF, 10 x 15 mm
* Aux. Pri.-side rail (for 5VSB PWM-FET IC) [C28]: Teapo SEK, 50V, 47 uF, 6.3 x 11 mm
* BJT drive circuit [C7 & C8]: 2x Teapo SEK, 50V, 2.2 uF, 5 x 11 mm
* Capacitor [C19]: Teapo SS, 35V, 10 uF, 5 x 5 mm

PWM board:
* Capacitor PC1, PC3, PC6, PC7: Teapo A3, 50V, 1 uF, 4.5 x 5 mm
* Capacitor PC5: Teapo SS, 25V, 33 uF, 6.3 x 8 mm
* Capacitor PC10: Teapo SS, 50V, 2.2 uF, 4.5 x 11 mm
* Capacitor PC11: Teapo SS, 35V, 10 uF, 5 x 5 mm

^^ Note that the Teapo SC datasheet does not have the capacitors listed above for the 3.3V and 5V rails in 12.5 x 40 mm size. In fact, the only capacitor with that size in the datasheet is 16V, 3300 uF. Since ESR and ripple current are a function of the capacitor’s can size (and not voltage and capacitance), the replacement caps for the 3.3V and 5V rails should be around 26 mOhms ESR and at least 2200 mA of ripple current. The closest I could find (and used) for those were United Chemicon KYB, 6.3V, 6800, 12.5x30 mm (21 mOhms ESR and 2860 mA RC).

That being said, here are two pictures of the recap:


All Japanese caps now. Ain’t that a pretty sight to see.

The three main rails (3.3V, 5V, and 12V) were all done with UCC KYB series. The 5VSB received 2x Nichicon HE, 6.3V, 1000 uF, 8 x 15 mm caps (a more typical value for 5VSB circuits). The -12V rail cap before 7912 regulator: 1x Rubycon YXJ, 25V, 1000 uF, 10 x 20 mm. And the rest of the small caps listed above were done with either Nichicon PW, PM, or Rubycon YXJ series (no need to bother looking at datasheets for those small caps, as the circuits they are in usually don’t need low ESR, so even quality Japanese GP caps will work). Good thing I replaced these small caps, though – a few of them had started to develop high ESR of over 10 Ohms, which can be problematic for some circuits.

I also had to change the fan for this PSU. As stated in the other thread, the original Nidec Beta SL D08T-12PU 2-ball bearing fan had developed a bad bearing. Repacking the bad bearing with grease did not fix it (as I expected). And even if it did, this particular Sparkle PSU does NOT have a fan controller and the fan runs on 12V all the time. So a good ball-bearing fan really is needed here. I replaced the fan with another Nidec 2-ball bearing (IIRC, same or similar model and power requirements). To make the fan more quiet, I also made it run on 7V only by connecting the (+) lead to 12V rail and (-) lead to 5V rail (effectively giving 12-5=7V).

Note that this is not the best way to wire a fan. But I didn’t have a spare PSU fan controller on hand from another PSU. Because of this, I ran some tests on an old 5V-heavy PC (ECS P4VXASD2+ mobo, 2.66 GHz Pentium 4, Radeon 9700… about 110-120 Watts of power from the 5V rail alone, or roughly 22-24 Amps) to see if the tweaked fan voltage was enough to keep the PSU cool… and it was, even at 80°F (around 27-28°C) room environment. As the fan is a fairly-powerful BB fan, the PSU still got plenty of air ventilation (and in my opinion was still a bit loud, but nowhere near as much as before).

Fan noise aside, there was also a loud high-pitched whining emitted from the PSU at any load. I noticed this whine was present both with the original caps (including the failed 12V rail cap), original + temporarily replaced 12V rail cap (a 2200 uF Chemicon LXZ), and finally even with all-new caps. So I’m not sure if this PSU has oscillation problems (I hear some older FSP units are not great when it comes to voltage stability and ripple) or was just designed like that. But it ran stable from the simple motherboard test I performed. I’m just noting this here in case anyone gets one of these PSUs for a recap.

Other mods I did to this PSU are removing the 5V rail dummy load resistor (20-Ohm, 2-Watt on my unit). Being connected on the 5V rail means it was dissipating around 1.25 Watts of heat, which is way too much (usually over 1W in a 2-3W resistor can get hot enough to darken PCBs and cook caps over time). I don’t remember what I put in its place, but usually I find that 47-100 Ohms (with 1W rating) works okay on the 5V rail, if a minimum load really is needed (generally on older 5V-heavy PSUs it is).

And that’s all for this recap.

[PeteS in CA]

Re: Sparkle Power Int. LTD. FPS400-60GN (REV 1) – recapping (with cap list)

I think I spotted a "0139" date code on one of the transformers. So with fairly constant on time, that 17 year old fan had a lot of hours on it.

Like you said in the build post for that PSU, those heatsinks are heavy metal !

[momaka]

Re: Sparkle Power Int. LTD. FPS400-60GN (REV 1) – recapping (with cap list)

I think I spotted a "0139" date code on one of the transformers. So with fairly constant on time, that 17 year old fan had a lot of hours on it.

It's possible, though I didn't see that much dust inside the PSU. I think the owner did take good care to clean it, though.

Anyways, I got 10x cheap ball bearings from China-bay for $1.25 total shipped to my door, just to see if I can get this fan going again. Clearly I'm not going to put it in any critical equipment with the Chinese bearings, as right out of the bag, a few were almost as noisy as the bad bearing I needed to replace (only one of the two in the fan failed). But hey, for $1.25, it's worth a try. Was always curious how bad these cheap bearings would be. So let's find out.

Like you said in the build post for that PSU, those heatsinks are heavy metal !

Yessir!
Also did a recap of another FSP PSU from the same owner. That one was a little newer with APFC. But it also had the same huge heavy metal heatsinks.
Will make a separate thread and post about that one when I finish typing it.