Sony Playstation Capacitor Identification

[DaveWarnock]

Hi folks, first post here. I am looking for some help identifying the SMD capacitors on the original Sony Playstation, mainboard model PU-18. Here is what I know:

• The size of the capacitors.
• The voltage rating and capacitance of the originals.
• The Sony part number for the originals.
• The service manual describes these capacitors as either ELECT (which I think we can assume is electrolytic) or ELECT CHIP (which has me confused because these are visually identical to the others).

I've asked around a few other forums, specifically Playstation Forums, and the general consensus there seems to be "those looks like standard Aluminium Electrolytics". I've e-mailed Console 5 (who sell capacitor replacement kits) to see if they would share any technical info, but they wouldn't (which is fair, it's their business!). Buying the kit is a problem because of Brexit so on top of paying 5x the price of the kit for shipping, the parcel might get grabbed by customs. I'm also curious about these capacitors and want to learn more about them, especially if it's possible to replace with longer-life components.

Basically, what I want to know:

• Can anyone help me identify the original parts here?
• Would I be able to replace the original parts with long-life capacitors as long as they match in terms of voltage ratings/capacitance? The Panasonic website makes it look there's a frequency relationship here, so I would be looking for different capacitors based on the frequency, but that all depends on knowledge I just don't have. I think ideally I would want to use capacitors with a long lifecycle, but I'm not clear on the implications.

Here are some photos of the caps (I can take more if it helps).

EDIT: Can't seem to get the insert image code to work, but the photos are at the bottom of the post.

Here is a link to the service manual (PDF warning).

And finally, here is what I've got so far for the capacitor shopping list. I may be barking up the wrong tree with what I have so far. Note that there is a height requirement here due to a steel plate that sits on top of the mainboard. It is difficult to measure precisely, but the largest of the existing caps are about 5.5mm tall, and I think there is is 6-6.5mm of space. So the tallest replacement capacitors I could get would need to be 6mm, I think.

ID	F	VR	Dia	Part
C325	47uF	6.3v	5mm	UWX0J470MCL1GB
C406	10uF	16v	3mm
C407	10uF	16v	3mm
C423	10uF	16v	3mm
C424	10uF	16v	3mm
C443	22uF	6.3v	4mm	UWX0J220MCL1GB
C508	47uF	6.3v	5mm	UWX0J470MCL1GB
C511	10uF	16v	3mm
C513	100uF	6.3v	6.2mm	UWX0J101MCL1GB
C518	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C519	10uF	16v	3mm
C522	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C527	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C528	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C601	47uF	16v	6.2mm	UWX1C470MCL1GB
C602	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C605	47uF	16v	6.2mm	UWX1C470MCL1GB
C611	10uF	16v	3mm
C616	22uF	6.3v	4mm	UWX0J220MCL1GB
C624	10uF	16v	3mm
C705	0.47uF	50v	4mm	Maybe use UWX1H010MCL1GB?
C731	10uF	16v	3mm
C734	10uF	16v	3mm
C738	47uF	6.3v	5mm	UWX0J470MCL1GB
C745	10uF	16v	3mm
C756	22uF	6.3v	4mm	UWX0J220MCL1GB

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can offer. I've been digging on this for weeks now and gotten nowhere. I'm sure I could get away with using Nichicon Aluminium caps but I really want to understand what I'm doing more, and if possible to sub out for higher quality capacitors, I'd like to do that.

[DaveWarnock]

Update: I've completed the shopping list using only Nichicon capacitors. It does somewhat seem that Nichicon have a capacitor of exactly matching size, capacitance and rating for all the capacitors on the board. I'm starting to think these might be mostly/all Nichicon capacitors, as both of the Sony power supplies I've recapped already were 100% Nichicon. It was a little tricky there because Nichicon have revised their lineup, so I had to figure out what type of capacitor was a suitable replacement. There might be something similar going on here, because the capacitor's markings don't match up to the guide on the capacitor product sheet (PDF warning).

ID	F	VR	Dia	Part
C325	47uF	6.3v	5mm	UWX0J470MCL1GB
C406	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C407	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C423	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C424	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C443	22uF	6.3v	4mm	UWX0J220MCL1GB
C508	47uF	6.3v	5mm	UWX0J470MCL1GB
C511	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C513	100uF	6.3v	6.2mm	UWX0J101MCL1GB
C518	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C519	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C522	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C527	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C528	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C601	47uF	16v	6.2mm	UWX1C470MCL1GB
C602	220uF	4v	6.2mm	UWX0G221MCL1GB
C605	47uF	16v	6.2mm	UWX1C470MCL1GB
C611	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C616	22uF	6.3v	4mm	UWX0J220MCL1GB
C624	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C705	0.47uF	50v	4mm	UUA1HR47MCL
C731	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C734	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C738	47uF	6.3v	5mm	UWX0J470MCL1GB
C745	10uF	16v	3mm	UWX1C100MCL2GB
C756	22uF	6.3v	4mm	UWX0J220MCL1GB

Any feedback on this would be great, but at this point I'm leaning towards just getting all-Nichicon caps under the assumption that these are like-for-like replacements, which is good enough for me.

[Zero999]

One question? If it's working, the general advice is to leave it alone. Only bother replacing defective capacitors.

The exception is really old equipment, containing thermionic glassware, in which case it's a good idea to replace paper and wax capacitors, but even then, I'd leave good electrolytic capacitors alone.

[DaveWarnock]

It's currently not working, but I don't think it's due to a capacitor issue. I am planning to make some modifications to the console (XStation) and due to its age I wanted to ensure an expensive change like I have planned doesn't get undone by leakage of a 26 year old capacitor! Anecdotally, I've also heard that the 3mm capacitors on this are prone to leakage, and 2 of the capacitors appear to have some rounding at the top. I have no idea if that's how they came. Essentially, I don't relish this task but for peace of mind I'd like to make sure it's in good shape for years to come. Having dealt with Capacitor leakage on the Game Gear, I don't want to have to deal with that with other consoles.

I have another Playstation here that I will not be recapping, with the exception of the power board. Apparently, the vibration from the disk has been known to cause issues with the power board which wasn't properly hardened against vibration. It's a pretty trivial recap, then reflow around the VRMs and good to go. Unfortunately failures there tend to lead to destroyed components (hopefully just fuses) but I'm not wanting to take any chances.

FWIW after reading more and more into this, I am now pretty certain these are standard electrolytics. The service manual points out other cases where a special capacitor is required (e.g. tantalum) so I'm now fairly confident these are standard electrolytics.

There's just one problem; they don't make the 3mm capacitor anymore. The only company still making that size is Wurth, and there's none in stock for 2 months! I've purchases some 4mm caps to see if they can be installed (there is some wiggle room, but not much) but I've also done some digging, and apparently these capacitors are probably part of a "bulk" capacitance pattern and can probably be replaced with modern ceramics. But this is way outside of my understanding, so I'm not going to second-guess Sony's engineers; like-for-like is what I'm going to go for.

Also, to anyone finding this in future, since ordering I have just found out that Console 5 now offer a much cheaper shipping rate to the UK; $10 down from $25, last time I checked (although the Brexit/customs issue remains). So if you're looking for capacitors, I implore you not to make the same mistake as I did. Just get your kit from Console 5.

Cost of buying the capacitors individually and getting them delivered: £23 (so far, I may still need to buy the 3mm ones).
Cost of buying the kit and getting it delivered: about £11 (assuming no issues at customs).

Only caveat with the above is that the kit will take 1-8 weeks to arrive, while my locally sourced capacitors will arrive today.

Thanks for the help everyone, I will report back with a further update later in case this is of interest to anyone else. Also if you're super curious I'll be streaming my work on twitch under the same username as I have here. I won't link it because I'm not really here to self-promote.

Thanks everyone!

[BrokenYugo]

One question? If it's working, the general advice is to leave it alone. Only bother replacing defective capacitors.

The exception is really old equipment, containing thermionic glassware, in which case it's a good idea to replace paper and wax capacitors, but even then, I'd leave good electrolytic capacitors alone.

I'm not sure when the problem was solved but at least some of the early SMD electrolytics you see in early 90s stuff are known to leak and trash boards.

[wraper]

It's currently not working, but I don't think it's due to a capacitor issue.

Then why do you even bother? As of now it might turn out to be a complete waste of time and money since it's far from guaranteed you'll be able to fix it.

[Zero999]

Why do you think it's the capacitors? You'd be better off spending your time trying to diagnose the fault, rather than blindly replacing the capacitors.

[DaveWarnock]

Hi folks. I have since fixed the Playstation. It appears to have been an issue with the modchip that was installed. Possibly it was always working, but as it was an older model (4 pin) modchip, the newer games are able to combat them. So with the modchip removed I was able to get it to play Vagrant Story, which is a later PS1 title. Knowing that it was in a working state puts me in a position where I'm optimistic it will continue to work afterwards.

Again, I am doing this for my own peace of mind. I was able to remove all the SMD caps last night without any problems (I believe) and found no leakage. So next Sunday I will put fresh caps on, re-test, and hopefully start to install the XStation.


EDIT: On re-reading some of the replies, I think I've given the impression that I thought there was a problem with these capacitors. I don't, and I never really thought the capacitors were the reason the Playstation wasn't working. The most likely culprit for that would have been a problem in the disk assembly, either related to the laser or motor. When I bought it, I didn't know it was modchipped - not sure the seller did either. My first steps here were to check the fuses on board, inspect the board itself, discover the mod chip, remove that, verify all the connections, etc. Then when I re-tested it last night it worked. It looks like the gears on the laser's carriage need to be lubricated, but other than that it's in a good condition. The purpose of replacing the caps is to ensure that it stays in a good condition, as I don't want a capacitor to leak over the next however many years and ruin all the work I'm putting in (which is also why I originally asked about long-life capacitors).

[Mario87]

To answer the OP's original question, those are just standard SMD electrolytic caps. Go to RS or Farnell and order ones with the same capacitance, voltage rating and physical dimensions. Job done, nothing more to it than that.

Not to mention, even if you replaced the electrolytic with a say a tantulum or ceramic capacitor the system would likely still work fine. Electrolytics have their uses (usually for power rails), but in theory (I want to stress that....in theory) a capacitor is a capacitor.

Some are slightly better suited than others for certain situations, but at the end of the day they all perform much and such the same job, they store energy and then release it again. A 100uF electrolytic will do the same job as a 100uF ceramic cap, the electrolytics are just usually rated for higher operating voltages.

So don't over think it, you have all the specs at hand. RS Components & Farnell will have them but you will pay high "handling" fees if you are not a trade account holder, so maybe Rapid Electronics or eBay would be a better bet. The problem with eBay though is you run the risk of getting fake "high quality branded" caps.

However, I will say, if you have never done any SMD rework (these caps are the easier things to work on as well), practice on a scap board from some old electronics you don't want, even an old BT Home Hub or similar.

PlayStation is what got me into electronics, but I killed a lot of them in my time as I was young (circa 13) and dumb when I started. Now in my mid-30's I can rework 100-pin TQFP IC's with 0.5mm pin pitch by hand without issue.

First thing I will say is PLEASE do not remove these caps with the "twist & go" method I have seen others use, by literally just twisting off the capacitor, then de-soldering the legs. I have seen traces get pulled from people doing that.

Use a hot air re-work station, even a £25 858D from eBay will work fine here and use good flux, other than that, enjoy 

[DaveWarnock]

Thanks Mario87! I did not twist and pull, I was able to clear them all by removing excess solder then removing them by clearing one side then the other (gently). Then I cleaned up with solder wick. Lots of Flux was used.

I bought all the components from RS Components. I did, as you say, pay what felt like an excessive amount. There's a shop in my city and I had hoped to pick them up from there, but oddly one of the components was "mail order only" so after spending ages picking components I gave in and just paid to get them delivered.

I've done SMD components before but I have not specifically done SMD Electrolytic, so I will get some practice in before I do them. I don't have a hot air rework tool here but I'll look up the one you suggested. I was planning to just tin the pads, hold the component in place, touch the tinned pad with the iron and let it work itself out with physics. I'll take a look at what you suggested, and I'll try and find an old circuit I can use for practice.

[Mario87]

Thanks Mario87! I did not twist and pull, I was able to clear them all by removing excess solder then removing them by clearing one side then the other (gently). Then I cleaned up with solder wick. Lots of Flux was used.

That's good, and yeah, "the 1 side, then other side" method also works well if you don't have hot air.

I bought all the components from RS Components. I did, as you say, pay what felt like an excessive amount. There's a shop in my city and I had hoped to pick them up from there, but oddly one of the components was "mail order only" so after spending ages picking components I gave in and just paid to get them delivered.

That's the problem with RS & Farnell if you are not a trade account holder, as they don't really want your business because selling you £3 worth of capacitors will cost them money in labour, so they make you pay for it. Trade customers can get £1 parts with free next day shipping if they want as RS will generally make up for it over the year as the trade customers put in bigger orders. At least that's the theory RS & Farnell go by.

I have noticed now that Farnell have started charging trade customers £2 for delivery if the order is under £40, it used to be free even for £1 orders.

I've done SMD components before but I have not specifically done SMD Electrolytic, so I will get some practice in before I do them. I don't have a hot air rework tool here but I'll look up the one you suggested. I was planning to just tin the pads, hold the component in place, touch the tinned pad with the iron and let it work itself out with physics. I'll take a look at what you suggested, and I'll try and find an old circuit I can use for practice.

I personally find hot air is best for this type of work, but what you have suggested of tinning the pads then doing 1 side then the other can also work well, I just prefer hot air as I can ensure a nice flat component against the board. Doing it by touching the pad with the iron 1 side at a time will get a good connection, but it can result in the component being slightly askew or 1 side under a bit of strain as it was soldered first, then pulled down as the 2nd side was soldered, etc.

For £25 the 858D is a good cheap hot air station. I have one and it does all I need, I have used more expensive ones as well and they are obviously better, but for personal projects its hard to justify £250 or more. I let my work pay for the expensive kit and I buy the more reasonably priced stuff. If I need the expensive kit I can usually make use of it out of hours, but so far the 858D has been all I've needed.

[Zero999]

The reason why I advised against replacing the capacitors willy-nilly is because there's always a risk of damaging the PCB, using inferiour components, or making a mistake, such as getting the polairity wrong. The original capacitors were good, so there was little benefit in replacing them, other than for a bit of soldering practice and learing about capacitors.

Most of the capacitors on the board will be for supply decoupling. You'll probably even find it will still work, with many of them missing. I think Dave did a video on this while ago.

If you get capacitors from RS Components, avoid their own brand RS Pro, which could be just about any crappy Chinese manufacturer. Normally there isn't anything wrong with them, but they're not very consistant and it's worth paying a little more, for piece of mind. Aim for known brands such as Panasonic, Würth, Nichicon, Chemi-Con etc.

Be careful when replacing aluminium capacitors, with tantalum, which need more of a generous voltage rating and are more susceptable to high current surges.

[fanOfeeDIY]

The mark on the C528, C522, C527 looks like they are nippon/united chemi-con.

[fanOfeeDIY]

The ELECT and ELECT CHIP are the same meaning for electrolytic SMD capacitors, since SMD components are also called CHIP components in Japan.

[DaveWarnock]

For £25 the 858D is a good cheap hot air station.

I have purchased one on eBay, thanks for the recommendation! I already have some solder paste here that a friend sent me, so I'll get some practice in on a junk board and if I think I've got the technique I'll use that for the resoldering. Obviously that would be much quicker.

The reason why I advised against replacing the capacitors willy-nilly is because there's always a risk of damaging the PCB, using inferiour components, or making a mistake, such as getting the polairity wrong. The original capacitors were good, so there was little benefit in replacing them, other than for a bit of soldering practice and learing about capacitors.

This is a totally fair point, especially about making a mistake. I've made several mistakes live on stream, enough that I'm planning to use a montage of them as a channel trailer.

That said, I'm pretty surprised by the reaction to the idea of recapping from this community. In many of the video game hardware communities, recapping this hardware is viewed as "preventative maintenance" due to the potential for a cap to blow and cause catastrophic damage or to leak and destroy the board. The Game Gear community in particular recommends recapping all Game Gears if it's not already been done, although that might be specifically due to the capacitor problems that console faces. In the Playstation community I don't think it's as prevalent, although there is advice to reflow/resolder the power supply as apparently many of the power supplies struggled to cope with the vibration, and can fail in a way that specifically damages many components on the PSU (but I believe isn't thought to put the mainboard at risk).

Anyway I'd love to hear more opinions on this subject, and I'd like to assure you that I am listening and learning.

Most of the capacitors on the board will be for supply decoupling. You'll probably even find it will still work, with many of them missing. I think Dave did a video on this while ago.

This is something that keeps coming up, and I've seen several sources that suggest I can replace some of these capacitors with a modern ceramics. I don't yet have the knowledge required to understand how to use this information. I'd be interested in learning more about it, so if you can link me to Dave's video on this I'd appreciate it.

If you get capacitors from RS Components, avoid their own brand RS Pro, which could be just about any crappy Chinese manufacturer. Normally there isn't anything wrong with them, but they're not very consistant and it's worth paying a little more, for piece of mind. Aim for known brands such as Panasonic, Würth, Nichicon, Chemi-Con etc.

I've tried to match the original capacitors as closely as I possibly can. All the replacements I have bought are Nichicon, although I have held off on the recap because I'm waiting on some Würth capacitors in 3mm. Those should arrive next month.

The mark on the C528, C522, C527 looks like they are nippon/united chemi-con.

Thanks, I also thought that many of these were Nippon Chemi-Con! I couldn't find a data sheet that matched all the markings, and at that point I'd gotten pretty confident I could replace with Nichicon caps without too much difficulty, so I didn't look too deeply.

The ELECT and ELECT CHIP are the same meaning for electrolytic SMD capacitors, since SMD components are also called CHIP components in Japan.

Thanks, this is really useful info. I'm not sure why the service manual would not be consistent with its terminology, but if they're considered interchangeable then I guess it doesn't matter too much.

Thank you everyone for the feedback, I am learning a lot.