Subject: Removal of motherboard electrolytic caps
From: "David Sewell"
Date: 10/22/2004 1:59 PM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

I have a motherboard that has three electrolytic caps that are bulging. I
have a 40watt iron with a chisel shaped bit that is just wide enough to
cover both wires of each capacitor at the same time. Would this rating be
enough to safely remove these by just heating and pulling them or am I
likely to cause damage by insufficient power. Each capacitor is 330uf/25v.
Hope that's enough info...

Thanks,
David

Hi, Dave. A heads-up here -- motherboards are multi-layer, and yanking the
leads out can result in tearing the connections between layers.

It's far better to cut off the top of the cap and gently heating each hole
individually. Very gentle here -- don't pull. It should practically come out
on its own.

Also, a 40 watt iron is a little heavy for PCB repair. Most people use around
a 25 watt iron for PCB repairs.

One other thing - don't just use any electrolytic cap here. You need an
aluminum electrolytic with low ESR, or it may be as bad or worse than nothing.

Good luck
Chris