Technical > PC Hardware Discussion/Reviews > Leaking Capacitors - ANTEC Truepower 430

Leaking Capacitors - ANTEC Truepower 430

LOCATION
TEST
CAP Closeup

Good information for the consumer, bad for Antec.
Do us all a favor and call their support line (they're located in CA) and point them to this thread.
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reply to bichi
catseyenu,
Wazza matter, yer fingers broken?

Email sent, attached pics and data to both:
- ANTEC, USA
- FUHJYYU ELECTRONIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.

Will update, if any news/corrective action occurs.

I hope there is BUT to be FAIR ANTEC did not make the capacitors just they and you got stuck with them

Maybe just going for the cheapest (and maybe you were looking for that too?)... but S* just happens too.
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reply to bichi
Had the exact same situation here.

I had a True430 - one cap vented and two were swelling. I noticed it when I was dusting the PSU and immediately called for an RMA.

I checked my other system which had a SmartPower SL300S that came with the Antec case. I noticed similar symptoms - two blue Fuhjyyu's had vented and a black one was starting to swell.

They replaced both units with the same model, but a newer ATX12V 1.3 version. The newer True430 has SATA connectors as well as an improved +12V rail (26A instead of 20A). Same goes with the SL300S: 19A instead of 15A. Anyway, I peered inside both units and alas, they had the exact same construction. It was still made by Channel Well Tech and it still used the same Fuhjyyu caps.

reply to Hayward
Hayward,
Eh? - ANTEC sold the product to me, therefore, is responsible for any defects.

I posted this as a reference to others, so they can choose to look inside their power supplies.

Note: I suspect this is NOT particular to ANTEC supplies and any brand of PSU should be looked at, especially if purchased in 2001~2003 timeframe. There were a LOT of products affected by "suspect" capacitors, not just motherboards...

REF: »www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/re···cap.html

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reply to bichi
So this means I better take a look at the Antec TP 330 I bought 2+ years ago. Thanks for the post and the pics. I'll now where to look.
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reply to bichi
Some photos of the new TruePower 2.0 480 seem to show that Antec still uses Fuhjyyu caps.

»www.pcmoddingmy.com/content.php?review.228.1
»www.obengware.com/uji/antectruep···-480.htm

I'm pretty sure they're well aware of the problem. Cap leakage is such a widespread problem and has been going on for years. If they really cared about quality, they wouldn't be using Taiwanese brands at all. Rubycon, Nichicon, Sanyo, Panasonic... there are so many proven Japanese brands.

reply to bichi

reply to bichi

said by bichi:

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Hayward,
Eh? - ANTEC sold the product to me, therefore, is responsible for any defects.

I posted this as a reference to others, so they can choose to look inside their power supplies.

Note: I suspect this is NOT particular to ANTEC supplies and any brand of PSU should be looked at, especially if purchased in 2001~2003 timeframe. There were a LOT of products affected by "suspect" capacitors, not just motherboards...

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reply to bichi
What were the effects on the power supply output?

reply to bichi

reply to bichi
-

I just inspected the caps in my Antec True 430 power supply, which was purchased back on October 23, 2003 approximately 15 minutes ago and they appear to be OK.

I was worried about bad caps, too.

3SGTE,

"...What were the effects on the power supply output?..."

Good point! - will edit/add to main post...
EDIT: guess I can't add to main post...

Did not notice any operational problems, only a "low 3.3vdc rail" under high
processor load. (about 3.12vdc) Did not do any measurements, after finding the leaking
caps, but instead, removed/replaced them.

Suspect output failure/voltage issues would be different, depending on which caps fail or
are out of tolerance, since they are connected to different voltage sections.

I discovered the problem, during yearly system cleaning/dusting, same as
BAuyoung did.

Chopstix,
"...On an item that is "Age: about 3yrs old"? Good luck !!!..."

Eh? - consider the issue could be classed as possible "firehazard..."
Then, think of children, homes, and the UL/TUV/FCC, etc......

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reply to bichi
So do you think Antec has fixed this problem with later releases of the PSU? I just got my Truepower 430 in Jan. Guess, I need to be on the look out for bad caps.

Moonjo,
"...So do you think Antec has fixed this problem with later releases...

I suspect most capacitor/product manufacturers have corrected the problem, since this issue was widely publicized. Be aware "bad caps" affected MANY vendors.

If you do a Google on "leaky capacitors," you will find lots of data on the topic. But, to be sure, I would contact the maker and ask directly. Otherwise, keep a watchful eye open.....

Start point:
»www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/re···cap.html

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If you look around you'll find bad capacitors turning up on Dell motherboards (SC400 and Opti) in the last year.
We've not seen the last of this.
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reply to bichi
Antec doesn't even make the power supplies - they OEM them from Channel Well. So, Channel Well got stuck with them, after which Antec got stuck with CHannel Well PSUs with their name on them that had bad caps in them. Widespread problem. I still see motherboards with "balloon caps" often. Seems the cheaper boards even made today have this issue soon after installation.

reply to bichi
In my humble opinion it really is kinda unforgivable, that is the cap maker. They run tests and have ways to know how well the material that makes their caps will hold out in different circumstances. The fact that a manufacturer would continue to do business with such a company is pretty sorry. .

As I have said before, unlike most people around here and many other sites, I don't consider Antec supplies to be the best made, good, but not the best, and this lowers my opinion of them. Fire hazards, if that were the case, are unforegivable. That is less likely, though.
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