Resoldering motherboard caps

H

HavocXphere

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One of the caps on my motherboard has had an come off and has a dent in its side.

Before dumping the board I want to see if I can revive it (there might be additional damage)

I can do basic soldering but have done the cap thing. So:

It's the cap still going to work despite a dent. (don't have access to a multi meter)?

How do I solder it on if there is near zero gap between board and cap and it snapped off pretty cleanly at the bottom of the cap?

Would prefer not to order a replacement cap...dont have good shops for that nearby.

Id have to buy a soldering gun for this so not sure it's worth it...
 
You can order caps online, whether you repair depends on the cost of replacement board.

Post a PIC so we can see what you are on about.

There are usually a set of caps, so check that none of the others are swollen....and the possibility of dry joints

There is a scarcity of board level techs, so difficult to find someone to do it for you nowadays at a reasonable cost

Cheap Soldering Iron, and multimeter can be had for cheap
 
The board is a reasonable old board but I see the still go for 1.5-2...

It's more a question of whether it's worth the time and cost of a soldering iron (never going to use it again)...for uncertain results (the pci-e socket is likely also damaged)

So a cheap replacement board is perhaps better?
 
the dent isnt a problem, the fact that there are no legs..or even small parts of legs left is a big problem

You will need a new capacitor if you decide to replace this one

but hark, not all is totally lost..have you tried turning your pc on as it is? You may well be pleasantly surprised. Their job in that location is very much one of smoothing the supply out, they sit in parallel, so without a cap you dont have an open circuit, you just lose the smoothing that goes on.

Internet alarmists will tell you that its so bad, and $deity will come out and eat your cpu. Let them say that.
 
No I haven't turned it on - in truth I haven't thought that far. Took one look at the damage (5k) and put it in a corner. :(

Probable the best plan of action. Guess I'll try that tomorrow - if I can find some thermal paste (cpu heatsink got ripped off too).
 
Good to know that it might run without it though. It's a pretty powerful rig (dead gfx aside) so might still make a good htpc even if it's limping a bit
 
Where are you based? If in the Pta/Jhb area I can help with the soldering job. As the others have said, it should run without the cap anyway.
 
Happy days. Werner called it right. The PC does indeed power up - made it to the bitlocker screen anyway. Threw away the keyboard so can't get past that. Oops.

Gfx card is unfortunately dead so it'll serve serve as media PC with the on-board.

Thanks all

Rooikop said:
Where are you based? If in the Pta/Jhb area I can help with the soldering job. As the others have said, it should run without the cap anyway.
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Other side of the world. But thank you for your kind offer.
 
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