OT: FWIW Bad capacitors

[Bob Kane]

I discovered some bad capacitors on the motherboard of one my computers. I initially thought they were the result of a power supply that failed a few days after the recent power outage. However, a little research on the net has revealed that a lot of bad electrolytic capacitors were released to the OEM market. The bad ones in my computer were exactly the same brand and value (JPCON 2200uF 6.3V) highlighted in the articles. The primary victim seems to be computer motherboard OEMs, but there is no telling where else these dog capacitors have gone. 
 
The bad capacitors will vent (internal pressure will bulge the metal case until either the reliefs stamped into the case let go or the rubber seal on the bottom blows out). The equipment may continue to function, but sometimes the electrolyte leaks out and damages the circuit board, or the capacitor shorts out.  In my case, the computer still works, but I have some new caps on order from Digi-Key to replace them. All the bad ones have bulging tops and look like they have been marked with a black magic marker. The black spot is the leaking electrolyte.
 
Further reading:
 
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/resource/feb03/ncap.html
 
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195
 
http://www.overclockers.com/tips00140/


Bob Kane
getterflash at yahoo.com

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