What does a busted capacitor look like?

A busted capacitor can be obviously broken (leaking brownish fluid, corroded, or with the leads severed), but sometimes it's subtle. The top of a blown capacitor will be slightly bent outwards in a convex shape, rather than flat or slightly indented inwards like a working capacitor. See the photos above for examples.

How do you desolder a faulty capacitor?

Prepare Soldering Equipment: Heat up the soldering iron to the appropriate temperature for desoldering electronic components. Desolder Capacitor Leads: Apply the soldering iron to each lead of the faulty capacitor, melting the solder joints to facilitate removal.

How do you remove a faulty capacitor from a circuit board?

Desolder Capacitor Leads: Apply the soldering iron to each lead of the faulty capacitor, melting the solder joints to facilitate removal. Use a desoldering pump or solder wick to remove excess solder and free the capacitor leads from the circuit board.

What happens if a capacitor fails?

If one capacitor has failed, there is a good chance the ones around it will fail, or may have partially failed. They were manufactured around the same time. Also, when a component fails, the rest of the circuit can be damaged by the electrical stress. Doing them all at the same time is fairly easy. New capacitors cost a few cents.

How do you replace a capacitor?

Trim the leads of the new capacitor so that they are both even, and will sit at about the same height as the old capacitor. Position the new capacitor leads at the holes where the old capacitor was, with the correct polarity. Just like before, press the tip of the soldering iron directly onto the joint in the back of the circuit board.

How do you know if a capacitor is bad?

Identifying bad capacitors is fairly simple. Start with a search for images of bad capacitors to see what they look like. If one capacitor has failed, there is a good chance the ones around it will fail, or may have partially failed. They were manufactured around the same time.