Hit exactly 1000 capacitor replacements last Tuesday and it made me pause

I keep a tally in a little notebook and when I hit 1000 I realized I've never actually blown up a board from a bad cap job. Has anyone else tracked their repair count and noticed anything surprising?

3 comments

3 Comments

nguyen.tara28d ago

Has anyone measured the ESR on your old caps before tossing them? I found out half of my "bad" caps from random pulls actually tested fine on an ESR meter, just looked crusty from glue or nearby heat. @mia748 is right about temp ratings though - the 105C ones often outlast the board itself, and I've pulled 85C caps that were cooked but still within spec on capacitance.

lucashart1mo ago

Wait - do you check voltage ratings and temps when you pull them, or just match the capacitance and cross your fingers?

mia7481mo ago

Just matching the capacitance is a gamble honestly. I always check the voltage rating and temp because I fried a board once trying to swap caps that looked the same on paper. Higher voltage is fine as long as it fits in the space, but lower voltage is asking for trouble. Also temp rating matters more than people think, especially near hot components like MOSFETs or regulators. I'd rather spend an extra 30 seconds reading the part number than risk a board fire.