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Capacitor plague
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Period of high failure rate of capacitors
Failed aluminium electrolytic capacitors with open vents in the top of the can, and visible dried electrolyte residue (reddish-brown color)<br>The capacitor plague was a problem related to a higher-than-expected failure rate of non-solid aluminium electrolytic capacitors between 1999 and 2007, especially those from some Taiwanese manufacturers,[1][2] due to faulty electrolyte composition that caused corrosion accompanied by gas generation; this often resulted in rupturing of the case of the capacitor from the build-up of pressure.
High failure rates occurred in many well-known brands of electronics, and were particularly evident in motherboards, video cards, and power supplies of personal computers.
A 2003 article in The Independent claimed that the cause of the faulty capacitors was due to a mis-copied formula. In 2001, a scientist working in the Rubycon Corporation in Japan stole a mis-copied formula for capacitors' electrolytes. He then took the faulty formula to the Luminous Town Electric company in China, where he had previously been employed. In the same year, the scientist's staff left China, stealing again the mis-copied formula and moving to Taiwan, where they created their own company, producing capacitors and propagating even more of this faulty formula of capacitor electrolytes.[3]
History<br>[edit]
First announcements<br>[edit]
The first flawed capacitors linked to Taiwanese raw material problems were reported by the specialist magazine Passive Component Industry in September 2002.[1] Shortly thereafter, two mainstream electronics journals reported the discovery of widespread prematurely failing capacitors, from Taiwanese manufacturers, in motherboards.[4][5]
These publications informed engineers and other technically interested specialists, but the issue did not receive widespread public exposure until Carey Holzman published his experiences about "leaking capacitors" in the overclocking performance community.[6]
Public attention<br>[edit]
Results of fire on a printed circuit board, caused by leaked electrolyte which short-circuited conductors carrying power<br>The news from the Holzman publication spread quickly on the Internet and in newspapers, partly due to the spectacular images of the failures – bulging or burst capacitors, expelled sealing rubber and leaking electrolyte on countless circuit boards. Many PC users were affected, and caused an avalanche of reports and comments on thousands of blogs and other web communities.[5][7][8]
The quick spread of the news also resulted in many misinformed users and blogs posting pictures of capacitors that had failed due to reasons other than faulty electrolyte.[9]
Prevalence<br>[edit]
Most of the affected capacitors were produced from 1999 to 2003 and failed between 2002 and 2005. Problems with capacitors produced with an incorrectly formulated electrolyte have affected equipment manufactured up to at least 2007.[2]
Major vendors of motherboards such as Abit,[10] IBM,[1] Dell,[11] Apple, HP, and Intel[12] were affected by capacitors with faulty electrolytes.
In 2005, Dell spent some US$420 million replacing motherboards outright and on the logistics of determining whether a system was in need of replacement.[13][14]
Many other equipment manufacturers unknowingly assembled and sold boards with faulty capacitors, and as a result the effect of the capacitor plague could be seen in all kinds of devices worldwide.
Because not all manufacturers had offered recalls or repairs, do it yourself repair instructions were written and published on the Internet.[15]
Responsibility<br>[edit]
In the November/December 2002 issue of Passive Component Industry, following its initial story about defective electrolyte, reported that some large Taiwanese manufacturers of electrolytic capacitors were denying responsibility for defective products.[16]
While industrial customers confirmed the failures, they were not able to trace the source of the faulty components. The defective capacitors were marked with previously unknown brands, including Tayeh, Choyo, and Chhsi.[17] The marks were not easily linked to familiar companies or product brands.
The motherboard manufacturer ABIT Computer Corp. was the only affected manufacturer that publicly admitted to defective capacitors obtained from Taiwan capacitor makers being used in its products.[16] However, the company would not reveal the name of the capacitor maker that supplied the faulty products.
Symptoms<br>[edit]
Common characteristics<br>[edit]
The non-solid aluminium electrolytic capacitors with improperly formulated electrolyte mostly belonged to the so-called "low equivalent series resistance (ESR)", "low...