replacing capacitors?

[bplus]

I think my super famicom might have died. Haven't opened it up yet to take a look but it's got me thinking that replacement capacitors for my other old consoles is probably a good idea.

 

Is it a difficult job? I'm considering just paying for someone who knows what they are doing to do it.

 

Is there a list anywhere of consoles at risk of capacitor leaks?

 

 

[phillv85]

It all depends on if they’re through hole caps or surface mounts. Surface mounts can be an utter twat, through holes just take a little patience.

 

I don’t know of a list but the ones I mostly see complained about for caps are original PC Engine’s, PC Engine Duo (not R or RX), Mega CD2 and Game Gear. They can go on any console but those few seem particularly prone from my years of reading forums etc.

[Phantoon]

What was the failure mode of the SNES? Often if caps are failing you see stuff like the audio getting quieter until it fails entirely. If it was a sudden dramatic failure it could be something else. I will stress I am not an electronics expert here.

[ianinthefuture]

I recapped a SFC a few years back - all through-hole components, wasn't hard just took time. There are guides around the place, plus if you're capable of paying attention to what was where and replacing each one like for like, it's easy enough.

 

That said if you're not confident with a soldering iron, get someone to do it for you. Take the uncertainty out of it.

 

(Issue with the console was banded, distorted video signal. Replacing caps fixed it completely)

[Ninja Doctor]

If it’s dead with no power first port of call is always the 1A fuse next to the 7805. Test to see if that’s blown. 

[Riven]

Need to look at doing something like this on my Super Famicom unit which is no longer displaying certain colours on screen, that said I did see some suggestion the graphics chip might be dying. So not sure what the cause is.

[bplus]

On 15/09/2022 at 20:25, Ninja Doctor said:

If it’s dead with no power first port of call is always the 1A fuse next to the 7805. Test to see if that’s blown. 

It no longer seems to be dead! Think it might have just not been reading a cart. Thanks btw