HD100 power supply repair

[CyRex]

Yet another failing HD100 here. Like many others have mentioned, I noticed very weak IR reception, and a faint buzzing noise coming from the unit. I picked up the new caps from Radio Shack and had them installed in 15 minutes.

I was planning on being proactive and replacing the caps in my 2nd unit too, but Radio Shack only had 4 caps in stock, so I guess I'll just wait it out...

-Dan

[jchong]

My two extenders died within a week of each other

Hopefully I can get them fixed in time for the weekend (College Football)

[Djc208]

Well, add mine to the list too. No real warning, seemed a little sluggish the last day or two but otherwise nothing till it shut off and the red light started "flashing".

I'll have to see if it's under warranty, though even if it was I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to send it back. Guess I'll just do the fix when I get the chance.

[spanky]

Another unit to the list. Purchased May 2008. Came home from work to see the flashing red LED. Picked up the caps at RS and was back up an running. Biggest hassle was having to go to two stores as the first only had 2 caps in stock. Thanks to those who posted the fix

[cslatt]

Originally Posted by spanky

Picked up the caps at RS and was back up an running. Biggest hassle was having to go to two stores as the first only had 2 caps in stock.

That was my Radio Shack experience as well - anyone planning on going that route may want to make sure they know the address of the 2 closest Radio Shacks before they head out. The ones I went to only stocked 2 Caps each.

[MrD]

add 2 of mine.

[matterw]

Early in the morning I heard beeps every five seconds coming from my stereo. It turns out it was my HD100. I was pleasantly surprised to find this thread and the step-by-step instructions by CocoonTech (see http://www.cocoontech.com/portal/art...hd100-extender). His instructions not only worked flawlessly, but only cost me a mere $7 in parts and tools. Total time to fix it was 15 minutes.

If there is anything I would add to his instructions it would be a short tutorial on desoldering to remove the bad parts from the circuit board. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcbezX8TrOU for a simple example.

Again, thanks for the great help!!

Regards,
Matt

[paulbeers]

I just replaced the caps in one of my HD100's this morning with no issues! Even though it was in perfectly working condition, I have sold one to my parents and became concerned that if theirs failed I wouldn't have an easy way to get them a replacement so in a preventative measure I replaced the caps in one of my HD100's with the idea that I will swap out the one I replaced the caps in with theirs next time I am at their house.

With that said, even with my poor soldering skills and never having desoldered anything in my life, it went pretty well. Just remember to give your soldering iron plenty of time to heat up! I also found a little wiggle on the caps when the solder is hot can make the desoldering process go much faster!

Edit: Total cost was $15 dollars and that included the 30watt (el cheapo) Soldering Iron, pump, solder and 10 Caps all purchased off ebay (now I have all the caps I need to replace the caps in all 3 HD100's I and my parents own) and the total time including rounding all the tools up and waiting for the iron to heat up was around 35 minutes. Not bad at all. This little fix on my own could end up saving me $102 dollars if I had to send them all into Sage to have fixed!

[Djc208]

Repair completed.

Other than needing to buy the soldering iron and solder bulb the caps were $1.60/each and the repair took maybe a half hour. Hardest part was getting the hang of de-soldering the old caps. Much quicker than sending it back, and even with the purchase of the tools still cheaper.

It may suck that they used questionable parts but at least they're easily replaceable parts, unlike my TV repair.

[MartyJ]

I noticed that the original capacitor was 10 volts and the fix seems to be to replace the faulty capacitor with a 1000uf 35 volt capacitor. Will this cause a problem with the circuitry since the new capacitor allows more voltage?

[Qusix]

Count me in also. Purchased on 6/2/08 dead on 9/28/2009.

I bought another on 6/24/08. I guess that one will be going soon too.

[hemicuda]

Originally Posted by MartyJ

I noticed that the original capacitor was 10 volts and the fix seems to be to replace the faulty capacitor with a 1000uf 35 volt capacitor. Will this cause a problem with the circuitry since the new capacitor allows more voltage?

Not that it "allows" more voltage, it's just rated to handle a higher voltage. This means the voltage on the circuit will be a smaller % of capacitor rating therefore increasing the life of the component. I speculated earlier that the OEM parts were a bit under-rated for use in a power supply. I should have checked the voltage on that circuit before I put the cover back just to see.

[RayGannon]

Originally Posted by hemicuda

I should have checked the voltage on that circuit before I put the cover back just to see.

The circuit with the two capacitors is the 5 volt rail. The 10 volt capacitors should have been more than adequate for the task. There is likely a problem with the electrolyte in the capacitors. To date, I have had to replace failed power supply capacitors on two DVD players, two ASUS motherboards, a dozen Intel motherboards, several Acer LCD monitors, and my HD100. This is an industry wide problem that has been going on for several years now.

[JDK Ents]

The 2 failed electrolytic caps are part of the main filter in a switching power supply. A large amount of surge current passes thru them. This surge current raises the internal temperature of the capacitor, which causes the failure. The failure is a boiling of the electrolyte, raising the internal pressure, which is finally relieved by the capacitor "venting" - i.e., the seams along the top open up, some of the electrolyte is lost (look at the cover of your box for the brown residue), and the capacitor loses capacitance and filtering ability.

The correct fix is to replace the failed caps with ones specifically designed for switching power supplies. They could be called low ESR caps, or surge tolerant caps. Radio Shack caps will work for awhile but may fail again, so keep a stock on hand. If you want your fix to be bulletproof, use the correct parts. I haven't researched purchasing them (since I had a few in stock at home) but they are likely to be available at Mouser Electronics.

[chiledog]

Mine died today. Bought 5/08. Died 10/09.

I think I might try replacing the caps. It looks pretty simple. (Originally I was afraid it would be surface mount, I don't have the skilz for that).

Thanks all for the posts and the link to the repair.

-----

BTW, those that shipped it into Sage. Where do you ship it, how do you pay, and how long does it take to get it back?

[bastafidli]

It took 2 weeks, paid by credit card, shipped it to address George provided.

[hemicuda]

Originally Posted by JDK Ents

<snip>

The correct fix is to replace the failed caps with ones specifically designed for switching power supplies. They could be called low ESR caps, or surge tolerant caps.<snip> they are likely to be available at Mouser Electronics.

Good info to know.

[motulal]

Add mine to the list as well.

Purchase 2008-07-29. Received 2008-08-15. Power supply failed on 2009-08-30. Used for about four hours a day max, average.

Has two bulged caps, while the third looks good ( for now ).

The unit is operated in the open with the closed wall behind it about 6" away, the other three walls are at least 6 feet away. Just trying to convey that there are no obstructions to airflow. So, restricted air flow is not the reason for the failure. Maybe the unit requires a fan but i would agree with everyone else on the forum that the caps are bad.



/// Motu.

[MrD]

repaired one last night... my soldering iron sucks... it took way too long to remove the old caps. new caps went in in 10 seconds. Powered up.... success!

I used Nichicon 16v 1000uf caps, too bad they were not esr caps

[photon]

I have two that were ordered on May 16 2008.
My first one was under warranty when it died and Sage fixed it. I appreciated that very much.

My second one I was beginning to think I got lucky with but it just died a few min ago while I was watching a recorded show from it. It just turned off and began the periodic red light blink. 1 year 4 months of use.

You, me and Sage are not the only victims of the bad cap problem. Dell and other companies have suffered a lot from it as well.

I have the skills and the knowledge so I'll just fix this one myself so I can finish watching the show I was watching :-).