Fake Nichicons?

[[email protected]]

Hi,

I have recently received some Nichicon LKS1J103MESB 10,000uf 63v capacitors. They felt very light when I picked the up so I decided to weigh them. On my admittedly cheap scales they weigh 46grams the spec sheet says they should be 59grams. I tried them on 3 sets of scales and the readings are the same. The seller says that he only buys from mouser and digikey.

Is it possible for them to be real Nichicons? I really want them to be genuine it would save much time and effort. I am recapping an old Audio Dynamics ca2000e amplifier (I know it is an obscure make but I love this old thing from th 80's) and don't want to put bad caps in it.

Any insight would be appreciated. I have no experience with identifying genuine capacitors.

[stj]

contact nichicon u.s. office,
they will know of any changes to the specs and will probably chase any scumbags selling fakes

[[email protected]]

That was my first thought to email Nichicon but I haven't been able to find an email address, which is why I looked for help here.

[stj]

https://www.nichicon.co.jp/english/technical/index.html

[[email protected]]

I sent them a message but can't send pictures until/unless they reply, will have to wait and see, thanks for the help.

While I wait I have taken another couple of photos, just in case someone sees something obvious in them.

[cheeky2]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I sent them a message but can't send pictures until/unless they reply, will have to wait and see, thanks for the help.

While I wait I have taken another couple of photos, just in case someone sees something obvious in them.

I normally find the datasheets for the capacitors and then check the dimensions of the capacitors with the spec sheets. Normally any fakers cannot be bothered to make them to the size of the dimensions of the specs. Any variation of the dimensions from the datasheet will point to fake capacitors. They just put a plastic covering denoting the value make and model number of a cheap rubbish quality capacitor! Normally the Chinese manufacture these crap fake capacitors.

[[email protected]]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply, I will take measurements and check them out. The weight difference worries me, but the weight came from a mouser page not an actual data sheet (couldn't find weights on the data sheets).

I'm inclined to believe the seller that he only buys from trusted sources. Just the weight bothers me ( I'm used to checking 18650 batteries for weight as it is a good indicator of authenticity).

Ok I checked the sizes for 4 different caps that he supplied me and the sizes are all spot on.

I haven't heard from nichicon and guess that I may not.

[Per Hansson]

Well for what it's worth it looks really good so if they faked it they sure did a good job at it!

[stj]

problem is, the "fake" could be real.
they may have just changed the series or datecode!!

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Looking real to me, since the quoted weight is not from an official data sheet, it may be wrong.

[Behemot]

I've never seen any datasheet listing capacitor weight. So lot of fuzz about nothing IMO.

[[email protected]]

Eventually I got to look at another definitely genuine Nichicon and the weight is 45 grams and looks identical. So the weights listed on sites like mouser are not accurate. At least I can confirm that the cap is original and the other caps from this seller are also original, which is a relief as I had already replaced about 50 smaller caps.

[momaka]

Originally Posted by Th3_uN1Qu3

Looking real to me, since the quoted weight is not from an official data sheet, it may be wrong.

Agreed.

Indeed the info on Mouser and Digikey could be wrong, so it's always best to check back with the datasheet. So long as the dimensions match according to the datasheet, the cap already has a much higher chance of being real. That said, also keep in mind that sometimes small PCB and electronics manufacturers may sometimes place a custom order for a size that isn't listed in the datasheet. If these PCB and electronics manufacturers don't end up using all of their stock for the production and somehow the surplus capacitors become sold online somewhere (I've seen a few eBay stores like this that sell genuine capacitors and other electronic and electro-mechanical components left over from manufacturing), you could end up with what are genuine capacitors that simply don't correspond to any of the sizes or specs listed in the datasheet, but still be genuine components.

All in all, it's good to be more cautious when buying online, of course. But just keep in mind that small non-certified distributors do exist and they do sell genuine parts. So you just have to do your own research and evaluation of each store/seller.

As for the Nichicon caps show in this thread - I'd say they look very genuine as well. It's actually fairly easy to spot fake Nichicons by their vent stamps. Sure they use the conventional "X" vent, which may seem easy enough to copy. However, Nichicon's "X" isn't just a simple "X". Note how thin the indents are and that they are rounded near the edges. They also don't go all the way across from side to side on the larger cans. On fake Nichicon caps, they always seem to make the stamp indents too deep and go all the way across the top of the cap... and that's if they even got the correct stamp on there (some fakes are so bad, they miss even that and use something completely wrong, like a "Y"-shaped vent. )

So I think you should be pretty safe with using these capacitors and that they are more than likely genuine.

[Behemot]

Yeah I got those left-over Rubycons MFZ, or MBZ 1000/6,3 which in particular do not exist in datasheet but vere amongst the most common on motherboards.