Help me build a shopping list to recap my Mac IIci?

[Huxley]

I mentioned recently that I found and saved a Mac IIci from a local e-waste recycler. Last night I finally spent some time with it - I used my electric air compressor to really clean the hell out of it, it was PACKED with dust, having spent its life in some sort of industrial setting. Once it was mostly dust-free, I tried plugging it in and hitting the power button. Initially it turned on okay (the power LED lit up, the PSU fan spun up and the red LED on the Ethernet board lit up, but I didn't hear any chimes), but when I tried again with a monitor hooked up an hour or two later, I found the whole machine completely, utterly dead. No response at all to multiple attempts to power it on - no LED's, no fan, no clicks, no nuthin. Prompted by some folks on Twitter, I did a more careful inspection of the motherboard and sure enough, found at least a few tiny metal capacitors ("SMD's"?) with a crusty exterior I'd previously missed due to the extreme dust situation inside the machine. Given my own observations + what I'm reading online, it seems 99% likely that the machine needs to be recapped. However, I'm a total novice with recapping work, so I'm both excited to learn and unsure where to start. I'd like to order a healthy supply of replacement capacitors of the correct varieties, but I'm not sure what search terms to be using. 

TL;DR: Can someone help me build a 'shopping list' of the specific parts I'll need to recap a Mac IIci? Bonus points for any tips / tricks / guidance a first-timer would find helpful. 

Thanks!

Huxley

 

[LaPorta]

Unless someone already has one (MacCaps site, etc.) you will have to go through and mark each one. I've done that and made my own lists so far. Tedious, but rewarding.

 

[Huxley]

Unless someone already has one (MacCaps site, etc.) you will have to go through and mark each one. I've done that and made my own lists so far. Tedious, but rewarding.

Oooh, great suggestion - looks like MacCaps does have a reference page for the IIci (not sure why this didn't come up via Google). Thanks!

Hey @uniserver - do you / would you sell a "DIY kit" of the specific parts I'd need to attempt this? 

 

[LaPorta]

Another suggestion: on Mouser or the like, make your order into a saved project. I did this: now, whenever i need, say, a Classic re-cap, I just order the project and there it is.

 

[Compgeke]

Personally I'd buy probably 50 10v 47uf, and 10 16v 10uf caps. They're common values found in just about every Mac of the era and they all need work.

In the past I've used: 

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/581-TAJC476K016SNJ

and 

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/F931C106MAA

The other thing you're going to need to recap is the power supply, I don't know of any in person that've outlasted the motherboard at this point. That one you'll need to crack open for values though. Unlike the motherboard there're multiple revisions of even the "Astec" that have different parts inside.

 

[LaPorta]

Buying in bulk is also a good idea. I usually will do that by ordering, say "3 x SE/30 MB" projects that I have so I have just enough for three SE/30 boards, for example.

 

[trag]

Oooh, great suggestion - looks like MacCaps does have a reference page for the IIci (not sure why this didn't come up via Google). Thanks!

Hey @uniserver - do you / would you sell a "DIY kit" of the specific parts I'd need to attempt this? 

I sell a set for the IIci for $10.   There are a few IIci's out there with 11 47uF caps instead of 8, so you should check your board.  They're pretty rare though.

 

[Huxley]

I sell a set for the IIci for $10.   There are a few IIci's out there with 11 47uF caps instead of 8, so you should check your board.  They're pretty rare though.

Hey that’s great, thanks! I’m out at a doctors appointment right now but I’ll PM you later to buy a couple sets of capacitors - given my total-novice status, I figure it’ll be smart to have a healthy supply on hand...

 

[Alex]

Another suggestion: on Mouser or the like, make your order into a saved project. I did this: now, whenever i need, say, a Classic re-cap, I just order the project and there it is.

Here is an example Mouser Capacitor list

NOTE: The mouse list is for an SE/30 Analog board - not your machine. https://eu.mouser.com/ProjectManager/ProjectDetail.aspx?AccessID=90c3e21fea

To learn how to do this on Mouser please check out the video already queued up for you. 

 

[LaPorta]

Who is that guy? He is awesome!

 

[olePigeon]

Obviously some famous YouTuber too good for the likes of this place.

 

[Cory5412]

Hey @uniserver - do you / would you sell a "DIY kit" of the specific parts I'd need to attempt this? 

Administrative side-note: Uniserver is no longer on this site.

 

[netfreak]

I would strongly recommend learning to read the values of each capacitor and then place your order based on that. While logic boards will all USUALLY be the same, PSUs and analog boards (if you have any of those) may have different vendors/models/revisions and the caps list will vary. This might not really apply if you're only ever going to recap one single machine but I think I'm learning a bit more about electronics as I continue recapping everything I own.

 

[LaPorta]

It’s true. I’ve looked at Rev. A through C of the SE analog board, and some of the C caps are at least higher voltage rated (probably the lower voltages were found to fail commonly on the earlier revs). Still, you never know what may differ.