Moving capacitors?

Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited January 2004 in Hardware
There isn't any problem with moving capacitors, is there? I'm thinking about removing a cap from my MSI Pro266TD-LR and soldering leads to it so I can get it out of the way of the CPU socket, but I want to make sure that adding as much as a few inches of wire to the circuit isn't going to screw anything up...

Comments

  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Most likely not...but you could just move it to the back of the board like mackanz.
  • SputnikSputnik Worcester, MA
    edited January 2004
    just make sure you put it back in properly, you dont want to end up with dielectric on your face!
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    hehe...popping caps is kinda fun tho :d
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Also, when you desolder it, desolder from back of board with a heat sink clip or bent nose forceps used for same (tiny one) on leg on TOP of board that you are desoldering-- ditto when soldering, heat sink right next to cap body on leg being worked on (leather glove probably needed for removing heat sink, HOT STUFF unless you use an ari can to cool it first). If you keep board upside down, the thing will fall out when desoldered right. IF you heatsink leg on other side from work, no further damage to cap will occur, and you can solder extension leads into holes. 18 gauge leads will let you run 6-8" with no loss in output from a normal board capacitor. Seen same thing work with SILVER BEARING solder as leads, also.... Automotive 18 guage wire will be perfect, with tinned ends, insulation is quite heavy. :D Only other thing can think of, might color code wires and mark where each goes on board, like red, blue, black... Dots on mobo by attachment points and corresponding top of cap area work, BEFORE you pull it, or a digital pic with notes.... Folks have been known to cross leads, not good for a capacitor hookup-- polarity important especially with caps, right??? RIGHT. :D

    John.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    Speaking of polarity, if I were to replace the cap... say the cap on there is polarized (which I don't know for sure)... if I replace it with a non-polarised cap of the same rating, what'll happen? And what about the opposite situation (e.g. a non-polarized cap replaced with a polarized cap)?
  • SputnikSputnik Worcester, MA
    edited January 2004
    don't do that!

    cant' tell you what will happen, but it know it's polarized for a reason, so don't do that!
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    I figured it was polarized for a reason... I'm still curious to see what'd happen, though...

    My dad doesn't need 3 computers... *Geeky runs off to grab the Dell* :D
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Well, hot (IN), cold(OUT), ground(overvoltage or overamperage return), all caps have in general for power circuits, three legged. Power circuits need three-legged caps, for computers. Two leggeds are used for adjusting where circuit is out of spec or draws in bursts of amperage needed (wave sync for big circuit, to toss signal high whan cap is over capacity, this can be timed by calcing right capacity cap for circuit needs), inline only. Likelihood of replacing a two into a three place is that either nothing will happen on power-on or you will get a discharge into circuit of backfeed on power-on-- neither good.

    Cross out and ground, you get not enough amps to satisfy circuit, probably malfing things non-permanently due to not enough amps (in milliamps). Cross in and ground, blown CAP highly probable.... And stuff that will eat through mobo coating on mobo or in eyes if no eye protection, and it works about as well in eyes as LYE left in eyes for half an hour does, and is not good for skin either... BAD news.

    Basicly, match polarity even if you have to look at another cap of same kind wired in next to where the one you pulled was and figure out which triangular hookup pattern to use. Ground may be marked with a dot or grounding symbol (if so, will be that way on mobo), out might be, and in might be marked on + mobo or out might be marked - (also seen signs REVERSED). If you have already pulled the thing, and mobo has dot and cap does, orient so dot meets dot and and cap is turned so writing aligns with neighbor, RARELY are power caps each singly rotated when in a row as it is easier to make straight traces than NOT to... :D

    * LEAVE the DELL THERE!!!! :D:D

    John.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    They use some kind of special high-temp solder on this stuff or something? My soldering iron can't seem to melt it!
  • madmatmadmat
    edited January 2004
    I take it you melted a little bit of solder on your iron...what wattage is your iron?
    I think that they've gone to all leadless solder in preperation for the upcoming ban on it by the E.P.A. so you might have to use a slightly bigger iron, say about 35-40watt.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    12w; and yeah, it melts the rosin-core radioshack stuff w/o a problem. I also tried a small, handheld butane torch with a soldering iron attachment, and that couldn't melt it either. The 12w iron melted the solder on an empty IDE trace on the board without a problem, though.

    I just grabbed the two other soldering irons my dad has, one of which is of unknown wattage, and the other of which is a big-ass (tm) 260w iron...
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    The 260w iron did jack squat. I kid you not. :wtf:
  • madmatmadmat
    edited January 2004
    Adamantium solder...not good man, not good at all.
  • ketoketo Occupied. Or is it preoccupied? Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Time to get out the acetelyne torch and maybe a bench grinder :eek2::cool:
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    madmat... just how not good is it? anything I can use to get it off short of my dad's MAPP gas torch?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    A jigsaw will get that thing off in no time!

    Seriously, though, if you buy a desolderer, you'll have better luck than trying to use a soldering iron. Unfortunately, a desolderer runs upwards of a hundred bucks.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited January 2004
    All I can suggest is apply heat until you start to get really worried then apply a bit more, I think that the cap's leads are acting as sinks for the heat coming from the iron so it's going to take a little while.
    When I was building my tube amps I found that I'd have to apply heat to the punchboard I was using for 3 or 4 minutes to get all the leads hot enough to melt the solder.
    If you can slide a pair of those spring-clip heatsinks John was talking about under the cap then do it to avoid causing the cap to vent from the heat...you need to remember that the solder may look solid but because you can only heat one lead at a time the solder won't really change appearance, just heat and suck with a solder bulb and keep heating if no solder comes up, keep at it until it finally melts.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited January 2004
    Also melt a bit of solder onto your iron as you get it hot so that the solder can act as a T.I.M. between the iron and the solder you're heating, a dry iron takes 4 or 5 times as long to melt solder on a PCB.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited January 2004
    hmm. Ok. Well I did get sort of a workaround... part of the problem is that the socket a chips are lower than the socket 370 chips with IHSs, so the socket A hsfs are a hell of a lot tighter on S370 chips. So, I took the IHS off the celeron. Unfortunately I also gouged it a bit with a screwdriver, so some of the copper traces are exposed. We'll see if it POSTs or not. If not, I'm only out like $30...
  • madmatmadmat
    edited January 2004
    I hope it works man...good luck.
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