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Motherboard capacitor

babybasher

Oct 19, 2011
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Hi again. I'm now looking at an old motherboard, fiddling as usual :p It's not working and I can see that 5 capacitors are leaking. They are marked with '54 680 4J' Now I simply want to replace these and have been looking around the net.

I've only found this so far

http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-Nichicon-...ltDomain_0&hash=item45fab59561#ht_2817wt_1163

They are the same size as the ones on the motherboard. In theory should this work? I have no idea what the 54 means either :/

Once again, I have nothing to lose. Just want a general feeling on this with the vague information I've given. thanks
 

Resqueline

Jul 31, 2009
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The 4 is probably the voltage, as you seem to have figured out. The 54 means nothing to me either. No other text or symbols indicating brand & series?
The ones you found on eBay is Nichicon brand, HN series. They have a a good rep. afaik unless they're from before 2005. Ask seller about their datecode
If they're new and will fit then just go for it. The MB may wake up or it may not (chips may have been damaged by the ripple voltages).
 

babybasher

Oct 19, 2011
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Oct 19, 2011
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The motherboard looks to be from 2005 or earlier, it's a socket 775.

I had a test run at desoldering the old capacitors and I cant! I'm using a 25W electronics soldering iron and for whatever reason the solder on the MB wont melt. What's going on with that?

I've desoldered some stuff on a cd driver yesterday fine, but for some reason ANY solder joint on this motherboard just wont melt! It's my understanding a 25W solder should be perfect for a motherboard as to not damage the components etc.
 

davenn

Moderator
Sep 5, 2009
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show us a SHARP photo of the caps from your MB just so we can confirm the type :)

cheers
Dave
 

babybasher

Oct 19, 2011
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Ok will do after work today. I'll also take a photo of my soldering iron and the back of the mobo, maybe i am doing something, or using something waaaay wrong :p thanks
 

Resqueline

Jul 31, 2009
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Computer mother boards have several internal power distribution copper layers connected to the through-hole platings that effectively heatsinks the solder joints.
You'll need a 50W (or higher) temperature controlled iron with a short beefy tip.
 

MattyMatt

Mar 24, 2011
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Mar 24, 2011
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I fully agree with Res, I have used a 30W in a pinch, but it literally took 3 minutes to de-solder 1 joint... thankfully I didn't do any thermal damage to any of the other components.... I was probably close.

I would defiantly be as careful as possible when de-soldering in small places. There are loads of wonderful people here that could give you some great hints and tricks when it comes to watching out for any thermal sensitive components in the area.

Matt-
 

MattyMatt

Mar 24, 2011
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Mar 24, 2011
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Not a bad one... helpful for some of the larger pads you may run in to, and having the bulb on the handle can be very handy, though depending on the motherboard, you may still have to get it hotter.

Matt-
 

babybasher

Oct 19, 2011
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Thanks for the soldering iron suggestion!

Would that be the best one for me you think? I plan on practicing on a few old mobos so want a capable one (unlike the other i bought). But i also want the cheapest! As I live in australia, postage comes into it.

I took a few photos of the capacitor, sorry for taking so long. Totally forgot!

http://imageshack.us/g/202/sam1075p.jpg/

Im a hopeless photographer, images are large too. Let me know if you need any other angles.

Thanks guys!
 

MattyMatt

Mar 24, 2011
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Well from experience I would say you should be okay with that particular model, and RadioShack uses a kind of generic one you can find out there... though I am not sure what kind of resources you may have available there in Australia.

If you can take a shot of the back side of the motherboard, where those capacitors correspond to, with some sort of scale (like a piece of money or a ruler) that would be the only other thing I could suggest, as far as photos.

Make sure the tip is removable, that would be a feature I would look for. The RadioShack one does have an easily replacement tip, if you are forced to get another, make sure it has the same.

Matt-
 

babybasher

Oct 19, 2011
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Ok thanks. Not much choice in terms of electronics shops where I am, only Dick Smith. I'll scour Ebay for something similar to that.

I took a few more pictures with a 5cent piece, but then realised, our money is different sizes haha. So I put a AAA battery next to the joints (im guessing battery sizes are universal??)

The capacitor joints are the pointy ones in groups of 2's.

http://imageshack.us/g/403/sam1080.jpg/

Thanks again.
 

MattyMatt

Mar 24, 2011
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Yeah, I figured the currency was different, but I can still get a pretty exact size :).

As far as it goes, that tip may be a little big for that specific task but that's okay as long as you heat up the lead sufficiently enough it should still do the trick.

No worries, and good luck :)
Matt-
 

shiekh

Oct 11, 2010
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The good thing about the tip is that it was a hole in it, so one can heat the lead from all sides at once; I think this helps.
 
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