Ecaps capacitor cover-up

Started by tracker, December 12, 2019, 06:04:05 PM

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tracker

Electrolytic Capacitor failures are  common when troubleshooting electronic assemblies.

Over the years , i have changed hundreds of them .Recently i came across an article  about a capacitor cover-up affecting lots of boards .

"Most of the affected capacitors were produced from 1999 to 2003 and failed between 2002 and 2005. Problems with capacitors produced with an incorrectly formulated electrolyte have affected equipment manufactured up to at least 2007"

To learn more  WIKI , capacitor plague

jvthorsley

Just saw your very interesting comment.
Also found this- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2010/jun/29/dell-problems-capacitors .
I must have changed a large number of electrolytic capacitors on desktop computer system boards of this vintage that had mysteriously blown their tops!
Always pays to replace with higher spec caps.

tracker

I am beginning to notice date codes on Ecaps ,which i never used to bother with .
Now ,With knowledge of Capacitor coverup ,i just change them if they are from that period . Hope it helps others repair stuff  . We need to do more to help the environment by helping more people repair stuff.

jvthorsley

Capacitors definitely a first place to go for once eliminating semiconductor failure.
What workstation version are you running with your ProTrack?

tracker

was using WS 3.5.4 .until  Parallel port became intermittent .
Suspect Original power supply  (power gen unit ) is aging.Now i just
use PT20  as standalone unit for real time compares .
Never found the time to learn good boards.