Havent we all wondered what a dissection of one of these crappy caps would look like? Well I thought I'd find out....
The bad capacitor used for this was a JPCON 2200uF 6.3v low-ESR cap removed from an Abit KA7-100 motherboard.
Before the 'surgery', this capacitor looked like just about all typical bad capacitors, bulging from the top and the canister seal was protruding from the base. I carefully cut the canister open with a razor blade, so not to further damage the insides. Upon pulling out the paper innards, I noticed that the paper dielectric material was severely scorched and completely dry. I then began to unwrap it to gain access to the two metal plates and the paper filling just crumbled and fell apart in my hands. Its brittleness and crumbling reminded me of very old newspaper. When I finally got to the plates, they were slightly melted and disfigured, as the capacitor had obviously gotten extremely hot.
Ok, this next capacitor was a good one to use as a demostration of what it SHOULD look like... It was a perfectly healthy Nichicon 2200uF 16v low-ESR.
You can see the obvious color difference! Everything is completely intact, and was soaking wet with electrolyte! You will note that the paper filler and the metal plates are all in one piece and intact.
Ok, if you've ever wondered, now you'll know...
The bad capacitor used for this was a JPCON 2200uF 6.3v low-ESR cap removed from an Abit KA7-100 motherboard.
Before the 'surgery', this capacitor looked like just about all typical bad capacitors, bulging from the top and the canister seal was protruding from the base. I carefully cut the canister open with a razor blade, so not to further damage the insides. Upon pulling out the paper innards, I noticed that the paper dielectric material was severely scorched and completely dry. I then began to unwrap it to gain access to the two metal plates and the paper filling just crumbled and fell apart in my hands. Its brittleness and crumbling reminded me of very old newspaper. When I finally got to the plates, they were slightly melted and disfigured, as the capacitor had obviously gotten extremely hot.
Ok, this next capacitor was a good one to use as a demostration of what it SHOULD look like... It was a perfectly healthy Nichicon 2200uF 16v low-ESR.
You can see the obvious color difference! Everything is completely intact, and was soaking wet with electrolyte! You will note that the paper filler and the metal plates are all in one piece and intact.
Ok, if you've ever wondered, now you'll know...
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