Beige PowerMac G3 Capacitor Replacement

[ShadeDream]

My Beige G3 tower started having problems recently, so I figured a re-cap was in order. I didn't find any guide or capacitor list so I decided to make my own for reference as I worked.



Here is a capacitor list for the board and the capacitors I used (I haven't done the tiny 10uf 16v yet because I need a smaller iron tip than my normal chisel tip). They're all a slightly smaller package than I've normally used on older systems because there are more small components around the ones on this board.

16 - 47uf 16v https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/581-TAJC476K016SNJ
5 - 100uf 6.3v https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/581-TAJC107K006R
1 - 10uf 16v https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/74-595D106X9016B2T

One of the 100uf 6.3v capacitors is on the personality card (the case on both my basic one and video in/out one), but double check to see if yours has it as well.

Additionally, the voltage regulator board has four tall through hole electrolytic capacitors:

4 - 1500uf 6.3v https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/710-870235175008

I haven't done my voltage regulator yet, but I have polymer capacitors on order that should work and will update when I get them and test them.

 

[ShadeDream]

Ok I finally got around to replacing the last small capacitor and the caps on the voltage regulator board tonight. I will note that small 10uf 16v cap is tiny. Might be able to use a slightly larger on to make it a little easier.

The solid polymer caps are working great in the system so far. That said, the old caps did not show any signs of leakage, so it's unlikely this is really necessary yet. They were also a pain in the butt to remove and clear the vias because each leg is essentially tied to a big ground plane, one on either side of the board, at least with the module I did. I ended up using hot air to remove them and reinstall the new ones because I couldn't get the vias clear.

 

[ClassicHasClass]

What were the problems? Did that fix them?

 

[ShadeDream]

I picked up a SATA card for it in addition to my USB card and Rage 128 and after using it for a few hours one night, it was basically dead the next day and wouldn't chime or light up the power LED (PSU fan would spin though). Recapping fixed my issue (as well as fighting with CUDA afterwards).