Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Lirithiell

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 10, 2020
2
0
Hello everyone,

I tried upgrading the CPU on a late 2013 Mac Pro... I know, I shouldn't...

However, I didn't get that far. Due to 2 screws on the bracket, where the thread inserts came out and blocked the bracket for me, I had to work with pliers + screwdriver. I slipped once and a capacitor broke off.
Does anyone have any idea where to get such a capacitor from? Or which company sends such (to Austria / Germany)?
Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful at the local electronics stores, apart from the information on the capacitor, which no one can use:
346
SEPF
160
16

Can someone help me?
Thanks in advance. :)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0303.JPG
    IMG_0303.JPG
    598.9 KB · Views: 201
Common US distributor is DigiKey, shipping costs vary a lot for domestic, no idea if they ship international.
Should be plenty of major components distributors in Europe.

I'm not sure if your numbers are right they don't quite match the picture -- maybe thats why others could not find?

Usually capacitors are stamped with voltage, capacitance, temperature rating, and vendor specific information.

The vendor information "SEPF" seem to match these products:
https://industrial.panasonic.com/cdbs/www-data/pdf/AAB8000/AAB8000COL87.pdf
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lirithiell
Hello everyone,

I tried upgrading the CPU on a late 2013 Mac Pro... I know, I shouldn't...

However, I didn't get that far. Due to 2 screws on the bracket, where the thread inserts came out and blocked the bracket for me, I had to work with pliers + screwdriver. I slipped once and a capacitor broke off.
Does anyone have any idea where to get such a capacitor from? Or which company sends such (to Austria / Germany)?
Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful at the local electronics stores, apart from the information on the capacitor, which no one can use:
346
SEPF
160
16

Can someone help me?
Thanks in advance. :)

As you can see in this thread Power Supply I myself had a little journey with capacitors :)

I used https://www.digikey.com and managed to find a replacement via the numbers on the original capacitors. The information that you have provided doesn't quite help me find a solution.

Maybe you can send the picture and information from the capacitor to digikey and see if they can help you...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lirithiell
I meant 180 instead of 160, I made a mistake o_O
The numbers in the picture are of course the correct ones.^^
Thanks for your help.
 
Hello everyone,

I tried upgrading the CPU on a late 2013 Mac Pro... I know, I shouldn't...

However, I didn't get that far. Due to 2 screws on the bracket, where the thread inserts came out and blocked the bracket for me, I had to work with pliers + screwdriver. I slipped once and a capacitor broke off.
Does anyone have any idea where to get such a capacitor from? Or which company sends such (to Austria / Germany)?
Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful at the local electronics stores, apart from the information on the capacitor, which no one can use:
346
SEPF
160
16

Can someone help me?
Thanks in advance. :)
You can't solder the old one back ? If you tin the wire stumps maybe ?
also sometimes you can get riser boards (its actually the motherboard) cheaply for parts that have failed. The good ones, especially the new ones, are very expensive. I have done 3 processor swaps so far and this part of the procedure just requires a T10 driver.
 
I meant 180 instead of 160, I made a mistake o_O
The numbers in the picture are of course the correct ones.^^
Thanks for your help.

I only guess, but you can measure the knocked-off capacitor or desolder another to check.
Your lost capacitor is an aluminium through-hole 180uF 16VDC, can be ordered at the link below or any local electronic parts dealers you can find. Desolder the remaining legs and solders the new capacitor in won't be a big issue for any local repair shop. You can even desolder similar capacitors from dead/old motherboards, if they have the same marks and read-out (on multimeter)

 
Replacing a capacitor I'd go this route:
-try to find the same cap by the number on top
-if impossible , look for a cap with the same number on the pcb and measure the capacity
-I assume its an electrolytic type , so watch the polarity ! ( marked pin normally is the + )
-choose a 16volt type or above.

EDIT: To choose a capacitor there are only 4 parameters :
-Type of capacitor (its electrolytic)
-Capacity (in uF or nF or pF)
-max voltage (e.g. 16V )
-Temp range
 
Last edited:
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.