Now, this is a problem that likely won’t affect you if you either replace your PC every 2 years, or don’t use it very often. However, if you’re like me and build your machines to specs that’ll set you for five years, and then keep them on 100% CPU load 24/7 for those 5 years (thank you, Folding@Home), chances are good you’ll find out whether the manufacturer of your mainboard skimped on his regulator capacitors.
Turns out MSI did (although I think anything but solid-state capacitors would’ve given up after the kind of use I’ve put to these). I’d noticed the bulging caps a few months earlier, when I was trying to install some additional memory[1] (which incidentally didn’t work, probably due to those caps) but the system worked fine for a few more months before finally refusing to boot.So I looked at the values of the affected caps, counted how many siblings they had (even unaffected caps, no sense in leaving a bomb ticking in there) and headed off to Badcaps.net. I decided not to experiment with solid state caps, as chances are good I’ll upgrade Penelope way before I wear out these caps as well anyway.
So, time to stick a soldering iron into some PC equipment.
A quick note: Contrary to popular belief, replacing capacitors on a mainboard does not void your warranty. This is for the simple reason that if you’re replacing caps on a board that’s still under warranty, you’re an unsalvagable moron and don’t deserve warranty anyway.
So, how does it work? You’ll need the following items:
- A proper soldering iron. Not one of those dime-store things with a tip bigger than a teaspoon. You’ll want something that preferably has temperature control, and a fresh tip. In my experience, a small screwdriver tip works best.
- A solder-sucker, desoldering wick, or something similar (sucking up hot solder by mouth is an option, but only if you film it and post it to youtube).
- Sufficient work space, preferably with adequate anti-static measures.
- Basic knowledge of electronics. If you can’t tell a capacitor from a resistor, there is a real chance you will fail. If you subscribe to the many-worlds interpretation, there’s also a real chance you’ll accidentally invent a time machine. Your call.
Removing the old caps:
Apply heat to one of the contacts, melting the solder (If you have problems getting the old solder to melt, applying a bit of fresh solder often works).
While doing this, pull the capacitor away from the leg you’re heating, freeing the leg from the board. Don’t use excessive force, or you’ll pull free the motherboard traces.
Repeat this process for the other leg, and the capacitor can be removed. Repeat this for all bad capacitors on the board. If any of the old caps has leaked electrolyte on the board, make sure to clean this up before continuing, as it is highly corrosive and will damage the board irreparably.Cleaning the holes:
To install the new capacitors you’ll have to open up the holes in the motherboard, which most likely still have solder in them. The most common method for this is using a solder sucker. Simply heat up the solder, hold the tip of the sucker near and push the trigger. However, with old, sluggish solder, this often doesn’t work as desired.
An alternative is desoldering wick. Simply place the wick over the hole, lay the soldering iron flat on top and allow the wick to suck up the solder. This has the advantage of not giving the board a hefty wallop, but the disadvantage of applying more heat to the board for a prolonged period. If there are a lot of nearby components, this may be undesirable.
A final option is then to use a steel pin. Make sure the thickness of the pin is at least that of the legs of the new capactitors. Place the point of the pin on the hole from the top of the board, heat the bottom and push the pin all the way through. Allow the solder to cool while wiggling the pin, and then rotate and wiggle the pin back out. Clean off any protuding bits of solder, and you’re done.Installing the new caps:
If you really need help soldering a capacitor to a PCB I’m wondering why you even own a soldering iron, but for the sake of completeness:
Stick the two legs of the capacitor through their corresponding holes in the mainboard. Make sure to get the polarity right. Caps are usually marked at the negative pin with a lot of minus signs, as well as the fact that the positive terminal is usually longer. On the board, the negative terminal is usually filled in, and the positive terminal is marked with a +-sign
Clip off the terminals roughly 2mm from where they stick through the PCB. Note that this is the part most people (including the Badcaps.net tutorial) get wrong. You clip the wire first! Clipping it after soldering puts a very big strain on both the solder connection and the mainboard traces.
After clipping off the leads, making sure the capacitors are properly seated, and verifying the polarity one last time, carefully apply a drop of solder to both junction points.
Voila: A nice row of non-bulging capacitors, ready for another 5 years of abuse.Some closing notes:
Keep the old and the new capacitors seperate, especially if they’re from the same manufacturer.
I find it’s best to remove all identical caps first, install their replacements, and only then to move on to the next capacitor type. This way you prevent accidental switching of capacitor values.
And of course: I’ve got a degree in this crap, you probably don’t, so you’re doing it at your own risk. If you use this as a manual to completely ruin your PC, I won’t accept any liability. You’ve been warned.
- [1] I’m not saying the PC stays the same for five years. I see it as a work in progress, I’ve been using basically the same system since 2001, I’ve just swapped out components as they were worn out or became too outdated. More of the former than the latter, surprisingly. ↩
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