iMac G5, bulging capacitors.

Ericaa

Hey guys!

My partner owns a G5, which stopped working a few years ago. When we looked up some trouble shooting tips on Google, we came across the fact that most G5's had an issue with bulging capacitors.

We opened her up, and saw that most of capacitors were definitely bulging. Now, we're not 100% sure if this is the sole reason for the G5 not working, but we're pretty sure. We've decided to DIY it, as it's no loss to us really if we mess it up. It has been not more than a fancy ornament for the past five years almost haha.

What happened was, it gradually stopped turning on. He has tried different power cables so we know the problem isn't there.

Does anyone have any tips, or has anyone here bought any capacitor kits online for the G5?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

TroutMask

Aah - the old 'capacitor plaque'. A massive quantity of substandard capacitors made their way into the computing industry's build chain and we've been suffering the consequences ever since. Mac should really be ashamed of themselves because it was greedy cost-cutting that led to the purchase of these substandard components in the first place - and they have not recalled or offered any kind of extended warranty.

We bought 8 Mac Pro computers a few years ago and all of the grafix cards went bad just outside of the warranty. Mac said 'get lost' - so being the tech-y type, I went on eBay and bought a quantity of the values needed to 'recap' all of the grafix cards. I might add, these are €450 dual-head grafix cards, so replacing them was not an option.

A word to the wise: Mac circuit boards, or PCBs, are not easy to work on. The component population is quite dense and the boards are (at least) 2-sided with through-plated holes. Without the appropriate soldering rework equipment it can be quite difficult to remove the components without damaging the PCB. Having said that, all of our grafix cards are recapped and working fine.

For the first few, I fully removed the bulging components and replaced them. This was incredibly time-consuming and tedious. For a couple of them, I did not fully remove the originals - I used a sharp wire-cutters to carefully cut away the capacitor can and i was left with the two leads protruding from the PCB. If you cut away gradually and carefully, you will be left with enough lead to tie & solder the new cap in place using the original leads. Although it looks quite sloppy, it is in fact a preferable technique from the electronic stability point-of-view. Only two things to note: 1) observe the polarity of the cap - use a red and/or black permanent marker to 'tag' the + and - terminals on the PCB; 2) ensure that the two cap terminals cannot touch in any way. If the caps are moving around after you put them in, then use a hot glue gun to douse them in glue - once again, a bit gross-looking, but preferable to compromised solder joints.

Good luck with it, TM

K.O.Kiki

TroutMask wrote: »

Aah - the old 'capacitor plaque'. A massive quantity of substandard capacitors made their way into the computing industry's build chain and we've been suffering the consequences ever since. Mac should really be ashamed of themselves because it was greedy cost-cutting that led to the purchase of these substandard components in the first place - and they have not recalled or offered any kind of extended warranty.

We bought 8 Mac Pro computers a few years ago and all of the grafix cards went bad just outside of the warranty. Mac said 'get lost' - so being the tech-y type, I went on eBay and bought a quantity of the values needed to 'recap' all of the grafix cards. I might add, these are €450 dual-head grafix cards, so replacing them was not an option.

A word to the wise: Mac circuit boards, or PCBs, are not easy to work on. The component population is quite dense and the boards are (at least) 2-sided with through-plated holes. Without the appropriate soldering rework equipment it can be quite difficult to remove the components without damaging the PCB. Having said that, all of our grafix cards are recapped and working fine.

For the first few, I fully removed the bulging components and replaced them. This was incredibly time-consuming and tedious. For a couple of them, I did not fully remove the originals - I used a sharp wire-cutters to carefully cut away the capacitor can and i was left with the two leads protruding from the PCB. If you cut away gradually and carefully, you will be left with enough lead to tie & solder the new cap in place using the original leads. Although it looks quite sloppy, it is in fact a preferable technique from the electronic stability point-of-view. Only two things to note: 1) observe the polarity of the cap - use a red and/or black permanent marker to 'tag' the + and - terminals on the PCB; 2) ensure that the two cap terminals cannot touch in any way. If the caps are moving around after you put them in, then use a hot glue gun to douse them in glue - once again, a bit gross-looking, but preferable to compromised solder joints.

Good luck with it, TM

1. The graphics cards are not made by Apple; they are made by nVidia or ATI and bought in by Apple (same as any other PC manufacturer). Why didn't you go to them for support?
2. What kind of "techy" doesn't know that the company is not called "Mac" but Apple?
3. Crap capacitors are an industry-wide problem -- anecdotally, lots of LCD/plasma TV owners are finding that their 50c capacitors need replacing too.

TroutMask

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

1. The graphics cards are not made by Apple; they are made by nVidia or ATI and bought in by Apple (same as any other PC manufacturer). Why didn't you go to them for support?

They are indeed. But as OEM the warranty is covered by Apple.

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

2. What kind of "techy" doesn't know that the company is not called "Mac" but Apple?

Strewth, gimme a break!! :rolleyes:

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

3. Crap capacitors are an industry-wide problem -- anecdotally, lots of LCD/plasma TV owners are finding that their 50c capacitors need replacing too.

Sure they are - except you usually don't find them in hi-end equipment. Discerning manufacturers avoid such components.