Fake Rubycons?

[ajerimez]

I recently purchased this iMac G5 logic board repair kit for $17 from eBay seller jp_mobile. The kit was to contain five 16v 1000uf caps and twenty-four 6.3v 1800uf caps, all Rubycon.

They arrived in the mail today, but something seems odd about them, especially the 1800uf caps. Upon doing some digging, I learned that there are lots of fake Rubycon capacitors out there. Can some BadCaps users step-up and tell me whether these are counterfeits?

To begin, here's the entire bunch, along with the packing slip:


Here are the five 1000uf caps, which actually don't look too suspicious. According to the label they are Rubycon YXA series. Their size, shape, and labeling seems consistent. They all have "K" shaped vents and identical plugs on the bottom:




Now, here's where it starts to look fishy. These are the 1800uf caps, supposedly Rubycon MCZ series. Notice how their bottom plugs look dirty and how they vary slighly in appearance. The one in the front even has an entirely different type of plug with concentric circles:


From the top, you can see that another one has X-shaped vents (NOT the same one that has the unusual plug on the bottom). Their general quality level also appears sub-par:


And here's a closeup of the labeling on two of the 1800uf caps, which uses a slightly different font (compare the numbers 6 and 1):


Am I correct in suspecting that some of these caps are counterfeit?

And where should I buy a set of caps for my iMac G5? Should I just purchase a readymade set from the BadCaps store? If so, what kind of caps will they be?

TIA!

[Evil Lurker]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

I could be wrong, but personally I would say the chances of them being ALL fakes is pretty much 100%.

There should be absolutely no discrepancies in one batch, and the x on the vent and overall sloppy labeling are dead givaways.

Unless I buy my caps from Badcaps store, Mouser, or Digikey, I consider the chances of my caps being counterfeit pretty darn high.

[c_hegge]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

Fake. the rubber seals look wrong. Also, the Ruby YXA is not a low-ESR series, and so it won't work on a motherboard (Mac or PC). use https://www.badcaps.net/store/produc...&products_id=3 caps are all genuine there and are a suitable series

[mockingbird]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

Definitely fakes.

Check out the shoddy heatsrhinking of the sleeves as well. One of the caps has the concentric bung.

Also, date code is 1999.

[ajerimez]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

Thank you all for the prompt response. I have filed a claim via eBay and requested a refund from the seller.

I just ordered the kit that c_hegge suggested from the BadCaps store. This is the last time I try to purchase caps on eBay. Can't wait to get this iMac back together, as it has been monopolizing my dining table for weeks

[mockingbird]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

$17 for fake caps? Why not buy your next kit from Topcat?

[b700029]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

Those YXA look ok, but the MCZ are surely fake. Some of them look like they have two sleeves on them... might want to remove the outer one to see what they resleeved.

[Th3_uN1Qu3]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

MCZ look fake, YXA are real but as said above they are not low ESR and they're an old series, the seller just wanted to get rid of some old stock. YXA is typically found in monitors or TVs where ripple suppresion is not critical.

[Topcat]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

^
Nope, the YXA's are fake. All of them are fake, 100%. Also look at the datecode on the YXA's.....if by some strange miracle those are legit, they're 13yrs old. I'd leave some negative feedback over that....

[shovenose]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

Make sure to leave your negative feedback now because AFAIK you can't do it later after you got your refund.
FWIW, I agree they are all fake.

[brethin]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

Why on earth did you leave him positive feedback then ask (and find out) they are fakes the same day?

[severach]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

G5 ALS Capacitor Repair Kit

Includes:
5 - 16V 1000uf 10x16mm -Rubycon
24 - 6.3V 1800uf 10x16mm -Rubycon

Compatible with iMac G5 1.8 and 2.0 Ghz 17" and 20"
Ambient Light Sensor

Products are in brand new condition

Ships quickly from USA

This listing includes capacitors only

The description text does not state the series. Its likely the seller doesn't understand that the series is important. Rubycon makes a lot of capacitors.

The picture shows a G5 board which you don't get. What you do get isn't shown so we can't get any hints of what the series might be. The seller does not understand the simple principle that eBay buyers buy pictures, not merchandise. Buyers hope that what they get bares some semblance to the pictures.

For a dollar less he's got another kit which features:

G5 Capacitor Repair Kit

Includes:
5 - 16V 1000uf 10x16mm -ChengX
20 - 6.3V 1800uf 10x16mm -Rubycon

Compatible with iMac G5 1.6 and 1.8 Ghz 17" and 20"

Products are in brand new condition

Ships quickly from USA

This listing includes capacitors only

Easy to avoid by looking for noobtastic mistakes.

The YXA look good and it's not hard to believe that 13 year old caps could be obtained for next to nothing. Those would almost work since they will stand up to the heat and ripple on the 12v side is not that important. The MCZ are gouge-your-eyes-out fakes and would be a sure cause for a comeback.

The Nichicon HZ in Topcat's G5 kit looks like a bag of brown turds but they sure work good.

[japlytic]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

I've seen fake Rubycons (some of which were low-ESR YXF Series, even though the application did not need low-ESR units) in a CD boombox.

[ajerimez]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

$17 for fake caps? Why not buy your next kit from Topcat?

I just did - see my second post in this thread.

Why on earth did you leave him positive feedback then ask (and find out) they are fakes the same day?

WTF are you talking about? I haven't left him any feedback. I don't leave ANY feedback until I'm either 100% satisfied with a transaction or I've received a full refund. If jp_mobile fails to provide the refund that he has already agreed to give me, then you can be sure I will give him a neg.

As mentioned, I have already ordered the G5 kit from the BadCaps store. I have been trying for some time to get a decent recap kit for this iMac. Initially I purchased this iMac G5 cap set from an eBay seller named ifixmaccomputers, who also promised Rubycons but actually sent Nippons, which apparently aren't bad but were definitely not what I expected. He also agreed to give me a full refund and I am in the process of working that out. As a result of these two bogus purchases, this iMac has been sitting disemboweled on my dining table for nearly a month, so I can definitely say that I've learned a lesson and won't bother buying caps through eBay again. Not sure if BadCaps has a seller reputation thread but I'd be happy to contribute my experiences with these two eBayers if there is one.

[PCBONEZ]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

You can't leave feedback -after- you have been refunded.
The system blocks it.
.

[mockingbird]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

who also promised Rubycons but actually sent Nippons

If they're KZG, then they're not adequate.

[Topcat]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

The Nichicon HZ in Topcat's G5 kit looks like a bag of brown turds but they sure work good.

pfft! You know you love 'em!!

[ajerimez]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

Follow-Up: I received the G5 kit from Topcat (all Nichicon HZ) and installed them last night. This iMac is now up and running perfectly - it passed an Apple Hardware Test and I'm installing OS X on it right now. I'll definitely go straight to the Badcaps store next time I need to recap a board. Thanks very much to all!

[mockingbird]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

What about the PSU?

[ben7]

Re: Fake Rubycons?

I would say the YXA ones are real, because of the bung shape (with the dot in the middle) and the 'K' vent. All the others look to be fakes.

-Ben