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Original Xbox can stop working due to hardware defect

Moderator: JC Denton

Original Xbox can stop working due to hardware defect

Unread postby Gaius » 05 Sep 2014 00:08

Apparently the original Xbox has a time capacitor which will start leaking and damage the motherboard leaving you with an Xbox that doesn't work. But you can remove the capacitor though and the Xbox will still function, it just won't remember the time. Keep in mind that you can't remove the capacitor from Xbox versions 1.6 or higher as they will not function without it, the capacitor would have to be replaced. It seems like those Xbox's aren't at risk though or not as urgently at least. I found out about the problem from this thread:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread. ... t121581685

I have watched this yesterday that was telling of the dangers of leaving Xbox's time capacitor unattended for too long.

tl;dr

* If you have Xbox version below 1.6, you can safely remove the capacitor, however if your Xbox is 1.6 or higher the Xbox will not function without the capacitor, so you would need to replace it instead. An easy way to see if your Xbox is 1.6 or not is to check the manufacturing date on the sticking underneath the Xbox. If it's before 2004 then it's OK, if not, it's probably 1.6.
* Xbox time capacitor, as in the thing that keeps your time rolling while Xbox is off, is prone to leaking
* The leakage can cause corrosion and ultimately motherboard failure of the Xbox
* The capacitor can be safely removed from the motherboard without affecting any functionality aside from internal clock resetting every time you power the thing off
* It doesn't matter whether the Xbox is unplugged or turned off


The video the guy above linked to, it shows how to remove the capacitor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cdR8Ryn4wE

From the video description:

****NOTE*** Xboxs with version 1.6 motherboards CANNOT do this and do not have to look for it either. Only other versions.

If you are experiencing trouble with your xbox resetting or other problems related to clock settings than this is something you should do on your xbox right away.Even if it is working properly you should inspect and remove this component asap.

One very good thing to do would also be to replace any and all other leaky caps on the board when you open it up clean out the disk drive and lubricate it. Put new fresh thermal compound on the cpu and gpu and REMOVE the clock capacitor located in the bottom left corner near the controller ports. It is a capacitor marked 2.5v 1uf and is the root of the lack of the clock time working in your xbox. Although this could be replaced and even modified to fit a coin cell battery, the first thing should be to remove this old cap from the board.

After removing the cap, what will happen? The answer is you will not notice any change from before except that every time you start up your system it will say to input the date and time, something the system does already as it is.

What happens if I leave it in? you will risk having the leaky acid eat through your motherboard and destroy the system eventually

What do I do if I see leaky acid or white/green color liquid around the capacitor? First remove the capacitor (2 ways shown in the video) then, using a q-tip with some Vinegar or Lemon Juice on the end, wipe around the affected area several times and let dry. After, test the system. If everything works out ok then you are set, if things are not changing than you may have a couple of eaten traces and will need to patch them.

Hopefully this will help you with keeping your xbox running a bit smoother for a little bit longer.

Big thank you to iDavidP for mentioning this subject as it can be easily forgotten and an unknown secret killer that destroys your xbox.


Another person on the issue:

http://dannygalaga.com/xbox.html

I've posted this on a couple of forums, but it bears repeating here. A friend warned me maybe a year ago that I should remove the clock capacitor from my xbox if it hadn't already been done. The capacitor is an aerogel capacitor and at least in the case of the xbox, pretty much has a 100% chance of leaking! (Yes, you could say all capacitors fail at some stage, but not as quickly or as messily as these!) When it leaks, it will corrode and damage the motherboard and/or any components in the vicinity, which may cause your xbox to fail. Why even use a capacitor for the clock instead of a battery like everyone else? This guy seems to have the answer. Not one to drag my feet, I finally did it today.If the capacitor is leaking, you don't even have to replace the capacitor, just remove it. Fix it now before it's too late! Note: apparently this isn't happening with V 1.6 xboxes, but it doesn't hurt to have a look anyway.


I was given a spare xbox, so I decided to open it up straight away. I determined it to be a V1.6. It has a newer type of clock capacitor. Look for a gold coloured capacitor near the DVD IDE cable. Mine looks fine, so I guess they are right and the V1.6 boxes aren't leaking.


So yeah, you probably want to look into this if you have an orginal Xbox that you want to keep in working condition. My Xbox seems to be version 1.6 or higher (date of manufacture is in 2004), so I am wondering whether the capacitor will have to be replaced at some point. Consider this post:

http://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showt ... ost1987934

All electrolytic capacitors have a 100% failure rate given enough time. This one just seems to fail a bit faster than the rest inside the thing.
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Gaius
 
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