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Roland SC-55: leaky capacitor? need help

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First post, by p6889k

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Just opened my Roland SC-55 and see that the biggest capacitor on the board is leaking. I have ok soldering skills but never replaced a capacitor. Any recommendation on how to go about replacing this one myself. The existing capacitor says "2200uf 16v", so do I just buy one with the same spec? Any specific recommendation for a brand? How do I remove the part that leaked onto the circuit board? It doesn't look like it caused any major damage yet. The bottom of the circuit board looks clean.

Is it safe to use until I replace it?

Edit: just came across another post that says it may not be a leak but glue...thoughts?

Thank you.

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Reply 1 of 5, by keropi

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this is glue used in assembly process to hold the capacitor , it is just old and became like this
it is safe to remove it, some types of glue can become acidic but I have not seen that on SC-55s yet
needless to say the capacitor is fine 😀

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Reply 2 of 5, by p6889k

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keropi wrote on 2021-07-23, 19:23:

this is glue used in assembly process to hold the capacitor , it is just old and became like this
it is safe to remove it, some types of glue can become acidic but I have not seen that on SC-55s yet
needless to say the capacitor is fine 😀

Thank you Keropi, that saves me some unnecessary work.

Sinclair ZX Spectrum 48k, 48k+, 128k, +2
Amiga 1200, 68030/40mhz
386DX/33, ET4000, SBPro2, MT32
Dual PPro/200, Millennium II, Voodoo 2, AWE32, SC-55
etc.

Reply 3 of 5, by BraveToaster

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Yep, yours looks fine. Mine had the same drop of glue at the bottom (which you'd see on just about any SC-55 these days), but also a slightly bulge at the top and some residue: Re: Have you opened your SC-55 to check the battery inside?
Planning to get that replaced as soon as I can.

Yours shows neither of these two effects, so I think it's safe to assume that this capacitor is fine.

Reply 4 of 5, by Shreddoc

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Capacitor is (editor: "possibly") fine.

The only thing that can happen with the glue is self-combustion in some cases (if the burnt-dark glue and accompanying carbon soot residue up the side of the capacitor in my unit, is any indication). Not that that did any harm.

And anyway, could be prevented by carefully/physically chipping away the main pool of glue residue, and removing it e.g. with a piece of plastic.

Last edited by Shreddoc on 2021-07-27, 20:38. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 5 of 5, by Doornkaat

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I had a look at the same capacitor in my SC-55mk2 after not being too sure about glue vs. electrolyte.
The brown stuff turned out to be glue but the capacitor had just started to leak underneath. There were crystals forming at the rubber seal/metal can.
I'm happy the glue got me alarmed and made me check.👍

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