Help with capacitors
July 31st, 2013
I have found an old dvd that was out of a tvt and there is a capacitor on that which says 10v 220uf. However physically the capacitor is a lot smaller than the one in the 360. So would i be ok to swap the capacitors? Is it ok to take cpacitors off one device and put them on another?
I know it would be simpler to just go buy new cpacitors but i dont have a clue of any shops near me that would sell them
Heres a pic of the capacitor i think has blown
Also just to note, the xbox still works even though this cap is blown
Do you have a soldering iron and de-solder tool?
You would need to be very careful when removing it not to ruin the circuit board.
Buying one would cost very little online so it’s not a good idea to salvage one IMO. Heat can destroy them so not worth doing.
yup just google “10v 220uf” and see what you get
if the other one has those numbers on it it should work, but as M_M says you can ruin the board if you not careful
I have a 25w soldering iron. A de soldering sucker tool and some de-soldering braid. But i am new to soldering and have just been practicing on some old boards i have laying around. I might just buy a new capacitor online then and give it a go.
You will probably need to rock it a bit when the solder is melted to get each leg out of the board OK, as the boards are usually plated through.
Then clean the hole with the solder sucker and double check the value written on that cap..Tell us the measurements if you like.(diameter and length)
New cap should have a 105C rating and preferably low ESR.
Most electronic hobby shops should stock that value at least.
This shows some typical sizes..
http://www.electusdistribution.com.au/productresults.asp?form=CAT&CATID=34&SUBCATID=263
If yours is a lot bigger then maybe it be 2200uf
Capacitor rated voltages can be as high as you like (given cost considerations).
With a very low voltage, the capacitor can only go as high as a threshold.
Usually they are just for filtering transients, high temperature rated ones will do.
As capacitors are fairly cheap, you can just go to some hobbyist store and get a slightly higher rated one.
High temp ratings are good as well (old Xbox 360’s typically have very hot internals 70 degrees Celsius is typical), usually capacitors are like 20 cents each, so there isn’t much point in salvaging a used one.
Typical useful lifespan of a capacitor is around 3 years, which in most cases it will fall to 60% capacity.
New unused capacitors have longer legs, this makes it easier to solder.
Electrolytic capacitors have a marking in the form of a white line and with minuses sometimes.
That tells you that which leg is negative, longer legs are usually positive.
While a capacitor will seem to work while connected to the wrong polarity, it wouldn’t last very long.
Circuit boards have a marking on what side is positive for the placement of the capacitor and sometimes you can have a look at the capacitor as well (that is assuming that the factory have placed it on the right polarity).
Since capacitors are easily pulled out, you can just pull it, the legs will be stuck in the board, however you just need some tweezers to pull the leg out by heating the legs.
The tweezer will also act as heatsink so it will take a bit longer to heat than you normally would.
Place the board on some thick foam pad to protect the components.
But before you do anything, grab a old circuit board from somewhere and practice taking the capacitor out.
Practice is good as you want the component to have high temperature for no more than 10-20 seconds.
The worst thing that can happen is the PCB copper tracks may lift off because of long heating.
*** Always heat the wire/component leg, not the track.
*** Don’t apply too much solder, tracks may be small and there is a chance of short circuit.
*** Tin the tip of the soldering iron and wipe off with a wet sponge (water filled).
{Written while drunk}