Replace the capacitors in your 8RDA+

[Gizmo]

I've posted an article in the 'Motherboards' section of the Front Page that tells how to replace the capacitors in your 8RDA+, and where to purchase them. You can also find it here. Enjoy! If it helps anyone out, please let me know.

[Aedan]

Nice work there Gizmo!

[Gizmo]

So, I see the article has nearly 400 hits. Has it been of any use to anyone? C'mon, talk to me! I'm dyin' here!

[kellamne]

Not got an epox borad - or cap problems (atm) but was an interesting read for possible future reference.

[danrok]

Is there a link from the guide to this thread?

[Gizmo]

Eh, err..........wait just a sec.

Edit: There is now.

[Daniel ~]

As the happy recipient of Gizmo's work, I can tell you that it works flawlessly. In every respect the same board that it was before the caps took a holiday.

No, don't thank me, I was only to happy to lend Gizmo my borked board to use as an example...":O}

[nki69c]

:thumbsup
Excellant walkthrough and instructions. The geek in me loved the education on capacitors and what they are. Keep up the good work.

[tavy]

You might just have saved me with that article! I have a dead epox 8rda3i (it posts FF all the time, no matter what) that died in my arms when i tried feeding the CPU with 2+ voltage without any cooling on the caps . I think it SHOULD be one of the capacitors, the CPU doesn't even get hot, but the memory banks and the N and S bridge get the necessary voltage (they get worm)....

I think the board doesn't deserve this kind of death, especially after she helped me get (for 2 months at least) the national record at 9550 video card series (15.020 in 3d mark 2001, 4568 in 3d mark 2003, 1773 in 3d mark 2005).

[Gizmo]

Cool. Let us know how it goes, if you decide to do it.

[tavy]

I will do it when i will have some time available

What were the symptoms of your mobo's demise, anyway?

[Gizmo]

It was actually Daniel's mobo. I believe it gradually became more and more unstable until it wouldn't even post (FF on the display?)

[tavy]

Yup, that's the problem !!

Is there any way i can measure the capacitors one at a time, so i can change the dead one, or do i have to change ALL the capacitors?

two more questions :

1. Do the capacitors have to be leaked or swollen to be defective?
2. Could it be something else burnt? The system froze a couple of times before dying in my arms, but i kept resetting to try and enter the BIOS and change back the settings.... big mistake, i know

[Daniel ~]

Gizmo has it right. started getting flaky all of sudden, screen would go blank, freeze...I'd reboot and be OK for a little while, but any stress would blank and lock it up.,, finally wouldn't start, all this over about three days, then it was off to see Uncle Gizmo for the spa treatments... ":O}

[Repo Man]

One important point to stress (I haven't read the article, so you may have pointed it out) stop using the board the moment you know you have bad capacitor(s). I replaced the caps in my KT7A, but it would still fail Memtest sometimes, and was permanently unstable. I believe that some other component(s) on the board were damaged by the voltage spikes while still using it with the bad caps. I loved that board too.

Same story with my uncle's BE6-II. I kept fooling with it until it wouldn't POST. Then I replaced the caps, and it still wouldn't POST. And it took out the memory as well.

Trying to learn from my mistakes, I ordered a new motherboard on the day I spotted bulging caps on my 8K3A+. I replaced it as soon as I could, and set it aside until I had time to replace the caps. I had picked up a cheap KT266 Shuttle board, and killed it by inserting the RAM the wrong way (duh). But I was only out $17.00, and it was a perfect donor for my 8K3A+. I just used desolder braid, and the transplant was a success! I felt a bit like Dr, Frankenstein ("Alive, It's alive"!) afterwards. So it folds away now.

[Daniel ~]

Thanks Repo Man, a stitch in time is something to keep in mind...":O}

[tavy]

Originally Posted by tavy

Yup, that's the problem !!

Is there any way i can measure the capacitors one at a time, so i can change the dead one, or do i have to change ALL the capacitors?

two more questions :

1. Do the capacitors have to be leaked or swollen to be defective?
2. Could it be something else burnt? The system froze a couple of times before dying in my arms, but i kept resetting to try and enter the BIOS and change back the settings.... big mistake, i know

Can anyone help me with this please?

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by tavy

Yup, that's the problem !!

Is there any way i can measure the capacitors one at a time, so i can change the dead one, or do i have to change ALL the capacitors?

two more questions :

1. Do the capacitors have to be leaked or swollen to be defective?
2. Could it be something else burnt? The system froze a couple of times before dying in my arms, but i kept resetting to try and enter the BIOS and change back the settings.... big mistake, i know

1. No
2. It's always possible, however the caps are usually the easiset to replace. The trouble with the other components is that when you are dealing with power stuff like switching regulators, you frequently get a 'cascade' failure, where the failure of, say, a single output transistor kills the regulator control chip, which then kills the other transistors.

As for changing all the caps, generally speaking it is most effective to change the parts all at one whack. If one cap has failed, the others are going to in a fairly short period of time unless it is one of the freak failures that occurs from time-to-time. By the time you take out each component, test it to see if it is good, and find all the bad ones, you could simply replace them all and be done with it. Besides, it is highly unlikely that you would either have, or have access to, the equipment necessary to properly test the caps anyway. You would need, at a minimum, a capacitance/leakage tester, and an ESL/ESR meter.

[tavy]

Ok, i'll give it a try as soon as i find all the components.....

On the other hand, someone told me that it is highly possible to be the CPU voltage regulator's fault..... But the CPU is ok.... What do you think?

[Gizmo]

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I missed your post.

The capacitors are part of the CPU voltage regulator, so yes, the problem is the CPU voltage regulator's fault. However, it is not common for the problem to be caused by other components in the regulator unless you have a catastrophic failure (flame, parts blown off the board, etc.).