LCIII Chime of death - caps look ok is it another problem?

[ALibraryDweller]

For the first time in a long time I booted my LC III and got the dreaded minor notes. I pulled out the board and looked it over, but the caps weren't visibly bulging or anything.

What I did notice was that some legs of chips (e.g. U4) were kind of corroded. I gave them a dry scrub with a toothbrush but no change.

Is cap replacement still a best bet? I don't have much surfacemount experience, are people in the community still doing it?

Pictures - https://imgur.com/a/mo14dfv

 

[jessenator]

In most cases, a re-cap is always a good idea, and most often necessary with vintage Macs. My SE/30 had no drastic, visible signs of cap leakage, but I had a few problems that cleared right up with a re-cap.

As for the chimes of death, I'd start with removing the DRAM and VRAM chips and see if you still get the chime or if it boots normally. Sometimes RAM can go bad, and the LCIII has soldered VRAM and DRAM.

If you're still getting the chime, there might indeed be some other issues, but I'd start there.

 

[bibilit]

For sure those capacitors are leaking. 

Look at the dusty area compared with the contaminated one where fluid has covered the board. 

 

[Alex]

I don't have much surfacemount experience, are people in the community still doing it?

Pictures - https://imgur.com/a/mo14dfv

Recapping services by these three gentlemen. The chap in Japan can be contacted via a comment to his Youtube videos, he will reply.

http://www.maccaps.com/MacCaps/Repair_Service.html

lives in the US

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXy8pDuiwZoY8_bNISGQ_Cw

lives in Australia

http://recapamac.com.au

Find his email here: https://www.youtube.com/user/brrayne/about

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQlrWbkbU-N-HddTe_Ydajw

is an American expat who lives in Japan

Find his email here: https://www.youtube.com/user/JDW26/about

They both have absolutely **excellent** walk throughs on recapping, they both take their time to explain carefully and clearly. I encourage you to watch if you want to try on your own. It's not difficult you just need tools, patience and an interest.



Also here is the LCIII caps list, http://www.maccaps.com/MacCaps/Capacitor_Reference/Entries/1993/2/10_Macintosh_LC_III.html

A fine video to boot.

 

[ALibraryDweller]

That's extremely helpful Alex, thank you! I've recapped some things in the past, I think I'll give this a shot....