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Antec SP-400 Innards [Bad caps!]

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Super Nade

† SU(3) Moderator  †
Joined
Aug 30, 2004
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
I was in my lab and in walked corpsejockey with a PSU in his hand. He says "I know you are gonna like this" ith an evil grin. I was a bit curious at this point and took a look at the unit he handed over to me. It was an Antec SP-400

Now the workmanship is not bad and the unit looks to even have individual regulation (look at the three transformers). A few other points to note were the use of surge protection, X, Y caps, Metal oxide varistors and a bridge rectifier. Looks decent so far.

Then this happened :rolleyes:

Almost all the Fujjy's on the secondary side are bulging/bad. I cannot understand why CWT are persisting with this crap? Corpse tells me this unit was in use for about 1.5 yrs on what basically was a lightly loaded rig. I'm gonna recap the entire secondary side. Some of the caps seem hard to reach (especially the tiny ones), but I think I can find suitable replacements for the rest.

Wolf has done this before, so I'm going to ask him for a place to buy the replacement sizes. The tall one's are a damn odd size. :confused:

As long as CWT use Fujjy caps: NEVER BUY CWT BUILT Fujjhyed ANTECS IF YOU VALUE YOUR HARDWARE!



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It's group regulated, not indy... there are only two mag-amp coils on the secondary (look for the big coils). Keep in mind one of the three transformers is likely there for 5vsb ;)

Looks like a good design though, hampered once again by Fuhjyyu crap :(

As far as my cap sources go, I'm loyal to Digikey, though you can get decent stuff through Badcaps, Mouser, and Newark InOne as well.
 
You are right Wolf. I missed the lack of a toroid. :)

These caps are an odd diameter, I hope Digikey have the right ones or I'm just going to have to jam them in. Did you replace the primary towers as well?

Looks the right diameter: {Digikey}
565-1909-ND [UCC ELXZ100ELL182MJ30S] 1800 uF, 10V cans
 
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You could get by with 6.3v replacing the 10v caps too ;)

Just be sure to use a low ESR cap such as my personal favorites, Chemicon KY and Panasonic FM.
 
  1. 565-1535-ND CAP 3300UF 16V ELECT KY RAD 0.50800 $5.08
  2. 565-2954-ND CAP 820UF 200V ELECT KMQ SNAP 3.99000 $11.97
  3. 565-1328-ND CAP .10UF 50V ELECT KMG RAD 0.22000 $1.10
  4. 565-1702-ND CAP 10UF 50V ELECT KZE RAD 0.27000 $1.35
  5. 565-1332-ND CAP 1.0UF 50V ELECT KMG RAD 0.27000 $1.35
  6. P12735-ND CAP 3300UF 10V ELECT FM RADIAL 0.95000 $5.70
  7. P12366-ND CAP 1000UF 16V ELECT FM RADIAL 0.59000 $2.95
  8. P11733-ND CAP 820UF 200V ELECT TS-HC 3.94000 $7.88
Recapping is going to be done with the above Caps. I'm going to replace as many caps as I can reach. The primaries are being replaced too. All products are from Digikey.
 
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you gonna do a walk thru of the entire process, from finding the bad caps to finding the replacements to replacing them? I know I'd be interested in reading it since I'm still waiting on an email back from Antec about RMAing my psu.
 
Yes yes.. recomended W iron and method with pics would make a very intresting read :)
 
greenmaji said:
Yes yes.. recomended W iron and method with pics would make a very intresting read :)


Replacing caps is boring. Best soldering iron is just your average 40w all you do is use some wick on the post to release the old one and remove the solder. Put in the new one ensuring the polarity is correct and solder it back down.
 
just because it's boring and "easy" to you doesn't mean it is to some one who has never done something like this before
 
Oklahoma Wolf said:
Have fun :)

The primary caps rarely fail.

OW,

Please clarify this if you will.

Are these failed Antecs simply a residue of what's appearing from previous production or are Antec's OEMs still using those Fuhjyyu caps in their current units? Because ultimately it's Antec's responsibility to tell their OEMs what to use and what not to use, especially with the continuing and never ending issue with the Fuhjyyu caps. They have to know. RT
 
Antec has been getting away from that OEM (Channel Well) - the newer ones are all OEM Seasonic. They went cheap on the caps in them too - nothing as high quality as that Corsair, which uses the good Japanese caps, but still a step up from CWT and Fuhjyyu.

Ironically, Thermaltake picked up CWT and started having them build the Toughpowers using Samxon caps, which are good.

IMO, Antec going to Seasonic isn't enough for me to recommend them consistantly. They need to stop getting their OEMs to put cheap caps in their units just to make an extra dollar or so on each unit.

As for a recapping writeup, I'm working on a couple articles now... the caps are due to arrive next week. Will take about a month though to finish getting that done.
 
speed bump said:
Replacing caps is boring. Best soldering iron is just your average 40w all you do is use some wick on the post to release the old one and remove the solder. Put in the new one ensuring the polarity is correct and solder it back down.
I'd be interesting in seeing it :)
 
splat said:
you gonna do a walk thru of the entire process, from finding the bad caps to finding the replacements to replacing them? I know I'd be interested in reading it since I'm still waiting on an email back from Antec about RMAing my psu.
Sure! I'll write-up a beginner's version.. Then, you can go read Wolf's advanced version. :)

Actually, selecting the right caps can be quite a challenge, because more often than not, you may not find the right admixture of size (diamt, ht, lead spacing), packaging and electrical characteristics. Soldering is simple, but you have to remember a few basic rules before jumping the (soldering) gun. :)
 
Super Nade said:
Sure! I'll write-up a beginner's version.. Then, you can go read Wolf's advanced version. :)

Actually, selecting the right caps can be quite a challenge, because more often than not, you may not find the right admixture of size (diamt, ht, lead spacing), packaging and electrical characteristics. Soldering is simple, but you have to remember a few basic rules before jumping the (soldering) gun. :)

exactly, i wasn't expecting it to be a tutorial on soldering, I was thinking more along the lines of detecting bad caps, deciding exactly what needs to be replaced, how to pick what to replace them with, and then maybe if there are a few special things to remember about soldering a psu vs.s soldering a regular pcb.

But, lucky for me, Antec just emailed me offering me an rma, so we'll see how this process goes.
 
I'd be most interested in which caps needs to be discharged so I could safely work on the PSU. I know to use a resistor rather than lay a screw driver across the contacts but I forget what the range of resistance and wattage the resistor should generally be.
 
Depends on how big the primary side is. If it is a small wattage unit (say 350-400 W), I usually do the following:
  1. Place everything on a wooden table.
  2. Wear footwear.
  3. Remove the PCB and place it on an insulated surface, without touching any of the exposed parts
  4. Attach a Bleeder resistor across the primary can's terminals. Rule is 50 Ohm/Volt. Pick atleast a 2-4 W to do the job.
  5. Make sure you monitor the voltage across the bleeder. When it drops to zero, use a screwdriver to short the terminals.
  6. Wrist strap is a must. Do not use the chasis as a ground point. If you are using the chasis, ground it first. You want leakage currents to flow throuh the wrist strap, not through you!
For a higher wattage unit, say 500 W +, its probably safer to invest in a pair of electrically insulated gloves along with the procedure outlined above. I mean, not the kind of stuff you pick up the trash with, but something with a definite break-down voltage.

A lot of people blow-off these precautions, but it only takes a little current to cause your heart to skip a beat. This is really deceptively simple but dangerous stuff!
 
How do I know if my NeoHE 550 is a "CWT" I have no idea what that is.......or how to see if mine has bad caps. I just built my new rig.....I don't want it to fry.
 
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