Leaking capacitors due to bad aqueous electrolyte formula

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joe Przedwiecki
  • Start date Start date
J

Joe Przedwiecki

My computer has been acting very strangly lately, randomly rebooting and
constant freezing. I tried every possible solution to the
problem...reformatting/reinstalling, virus/adware checks, driver updates,
BIOS updates, heat management inquiries, et cetera.

Finally, I noticed a rusty brown crust on the top of a handful of capacitors
on my Epox EP-8KHA+ motherboard. Supposedly this is not as uncommon as I
first thought...apparently there is a conspiracy regarding a scientist who
stole an electrolyte formula from his Japanese employer and then tried to
recreate it himself at his new job, at a Taiwanese electrolyte manufacturer.
The capacitors were apparently installed in many United States motherboard
versions from major manufacturers such as Abit, Epox, Asus, and others.

Has anyone ever had this problem and tried to replace the capacitors
themselves? I don't have electronics experience, what would I need?

Thanks,

Joe Przedwiecki
joeprz(removethis)@hotmail.com
 
Buy a new motherboard. What you propose to do is time consuming, fraught
with hazards, and will require some tools you likely do not have (and will
cost more than the motherboard will to replace). There was a time when a
home user armed with a bit of technical knowledge and skill could do this,
but that time has passed. Integrated components, and very fine soldering
lines make this impractical for the home user.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
Joe said:
My computer has been acting very strangly lately, randomly rebooting and
constant freezing. I tried every possible solution to the
problem...reformatting/reinstalling, virus/adware checks, driver updates,
BIOS updates, heat management inquiries, et cetera.

Finally, I noticed a rusty brown crust on the top of a handful of capacitors
on my Epox EP-8KHA+ motherboard. Supposedly this is not as uncommon as I
first thought...apparently there is a conspiracy regarding a scientist who
stole an electrolyte formula from his Japanese employer and then tried to
recreate it himself at his new job, at a Taiwanese electrolyte manufacturer.
The capacitors were apparently installed in many United States motherboard
versions from major manufacturers such as Abit, Epox, Asus, and others.

Has anyone ever had this problem and tried to replace the capacitors
themselves? I don't have electronics experience, what would I need?

Thanks,

Joe Przedwiecki
joeprz(removethis)@hotmail.com
Click to expand...

There have been a lot of caps on Taiwanese system boards that are leaky.

If the board is under waranty contact the manufacturer for a
replacement, otherwise buy a new one.

Steve
 
Steve said:
There have been a lot of caps on Taiwanese system boards that are leaky.

If the board is under waranty contact the manufacturer for a
replacement, otherwise buy a new one.

Steve
Click to expand...

In addition, even if you did replace the leaky caps and got the polarity
correct (if you get em in reversed they will blow up!) and didn't do
even more damage to the board because you don't know how to solder,
there may have been damage to the voltage regulator circuitry on the
board already. Best move is replace the system board.

Steve
 
Joe said:
Finally, I noticed a rusty brown crust on the top of a handful of capacitors
on my Epox EP-8KHA+ motherboard. Supposedly this is not as uncommon as I
first thought...apparently there is a conspiracy regarding a scientist who
stole an electrolyte formula from his Japanese employer and then tried to
recreate it himself at his new job, at a Taiwanese electrolyte manufacturer.
The capacitors were apparently installed in many United States motherboard
versions from major manufacturers such as Abit, Epox, Asus, and others.

Has anyone ever had this problem and tried to replace the capacitors
themselves? I don't have electronics experience, what would I need?
Click to expand...

It is a known problem, and many makers of affected boards were
acknowledging the fault and providing free replacement boards. I don't
know if they still are, but try. Replacing them would be for an expert
- without experience, don't try
 
Your board can be professionally rebuilt.

See the following URL:

http://motherboardrepair.com

For more info, also see the Abit newsgroup, where Homie
(the guy at motherboardrepair.com) hangs out.

Abit newsgroup: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit

Note: Abit and IBM are the only motherboard manufacturers
who have publicly admitted this problem. All the others
are playing dumb. Nevertheless, if you see Homie's
website, you'll see that your motherboard manufacturer
is definitely on Homie's list.

For some idea just how common this problem is, see
the picture titled "The Green Mile" on Homie's website.



Best I can do for now. <tm>


Bill
 
Yes, I already knew of that web site. But why spend the $70 to get my out of
date board instead of just buying a brand new Gigabyte motherboard for $55
and free shipping? It makes sense, right?

Joe Przedwiecki
 
A couple of things to consider:

1. New does *not necessarily* mean improved. As long as the
replacement board has a well-documented history of working
properly -- all is well. However, if the new boards are known
to be more cranky than what you've got, then you may end up
opening a can-of-worms you'll eventually wish you hadn't.

2. If you buy a replacement board of the same make/model, and
the replacement board contains the same dud capacitors as
your present board, you're going to be going through the same
hassle you're going through now in 6 months to a year.

3. The replacement caps that Homie uses are the highest-quality
Japanese capacitors available. They are rated for *at least*
a 5-year service life -- which was the original design spec for
the dud capacitors that we now know last about half a year to
a year on average.

4. So, the issue is not about cost -- it's about stability and reliability.
And if you've got anything on your existing hard disk that's
irreplaceable -- then when those caps go bad and the board
starts crashing again, what happens if the crash ends up utterly
corrupting the hard disk? (Which is a low-but-not-zero possibility.)

You got full backups? Can you afford the time-loss? Have you
got better things to do with your life than waste all that time and
deal with all that aggravation to save a lousy $15?


Cheapthink. <bleah>


Bill
 
A couple of things to consider:

1. New does *not necessarily* mean improved. As long as the
replacement board has a well-documented history of working
properly -- all is well. However, if the new boards are known
to be more cranky than what you've got, then you may end up
opening a can-of-worms you'll eventually wish you hadn't.

2. If you buy a replacement board of the same make/model, and
the replacement board contains the same dud capacitors as
your present board, you're going to be going through the same
hassle you're going through now in 6 months to a year.

3. The replacement caps that Homie uses are the highest-quality
Japanese capacitors available. They are rated for *at least*
a 5-year service life -- which was the original design spec for
the dud capacitors that we now know last about half a year to
a year on average.

4. So, the issue is not about cost -- it's about stability and reliability.
And if you've got anything on your existing hard disk that's
irreplaceable -- then when those caps go bad and the board
starts crashing again, what happens if the crash ends up utterly
corrupting the hard disk? (Which is a low-but-not-zero possibility.)
Click to expand...



I'd assume that if the gunk has leaked out onto the board, the
potential for corrosion exists even after the caps have been replaced.
Resoldering into a multilayer PCB has it's own small chance of failure.

I'd go for a new board. Admitedly, finding one that uses your CPU and
memory may be a PITA.

If ABIT sells an indentical board and certifies that they've eliminated
teh crap capaciters I'd trust them.

AFAIK, this was one (large) batch of bogus capacitors, several years
ago, and has not been a problem for new production for at least a
couple of years.
 
Back
Top