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eMac clicks but won't start

N

nugentc

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 10, 2014
7
0
My old eMac (vintage 2003-ish) has stopped starting up. For a while before it stopped turning on, I was getting messages about resetting the time and date, so after researching a bit I was 99% sure the problem was the PRAM battery. It tested dead with a multimeter, so I replaced it and then pressed the small button for a reset. But I'm sad to say it didn't solve the problem.

On the first try pressing the button, it will make a "bong" sound and make a good effort to turn on, but then it can't. If I press the power button a couple of more times, I just hear a click and less effort to turn on unless I let it sit for a while. Do I have any hope of getting it to start up just one more time to see what didn't get backed up after the last time using it?

Any help/advice/tips/tricks would be appreciated!
 
Can you hear the fan and hard drive when you turn it on? Does the monitor come on?

My eMac has intermittent monitor issues in which the screen will sometimes flicker, and even turn off while in use; it won't turn back on until I give it a good hour or so, then I change the resolution which "solves" the problem for a good while.
 
The monitor definitely does not come on. I'm not sure about the fan, but my first inclination is to say no. It's literally one second while all of this is taking place when I press the button before I know it's not coming on, so it's hard to tell. I'll try again when I get home tonight and see if I notice the fan.
 
The capacitors may have died. Is this a problem that has slowly been getting worse or did it just happen one day?
 
It just happened one day all of a sudden, to my knowledge. I'm not the only one who turns it on, but my husband never mentioned any issue getting it to turn on.

If it's the capacitors, how would I tell and is it repairable?
 
An easy way to check some of the capacitors is to remove the memory access door on the bottom of the eMac. Once it's removed look around for the capacitors. They are the little cylinders. A properly working capacitor is flat on top. A failing or bad capacitor is puffy on top. You won't be able to see all of the capacitors, only some of them. In order to see them all, you've have to remove the eMac's shell. They are repairable. Knowledge of a soldering iron is required in order to replace them.
 
Thanks so much for the tips on checking the capacitors! I actually couldn't see any of them with the memory access door removed, so I took off the outer shell and the large metal plate covering a majority of the green board.

It looks like there are two capacitors that have gone bad. They are slightly puffy on top and have a little brown substance on the tops. They are on the right hand side, some of the larger brown ones turned sideways. They say 16v on the side. There is only one capacitor I can't see. It's a blue one on the left hand side that is behind a bunch of stuff near the ports where things plug in. Is there a way to view it, or can I assume it's fine given that I identified two already that are bad?

I have done soldering once--some bulbs on the control board of my car stereo, and it went okay. I think I'd like to give this a try. Are there any tutorials on doing this I should look at first or just general tips? Any good sources for buying the capacitors? Does Radio Shack sell this kind of thing? I did see some at CapKing, but they are a whole set.
 
The capacitors on the board that is sideways are the power supply capacitors. Various online stores have complete capacitor kits for eMacs. I'd suggest getting one of those for your model and replacing all of the capacitors. That way you won't have to open the eMac up again to replace anymore original capacitors that may fail in the future. There are at least two very different eMac designs, make sure you get the correct one for your model. I believe the kits are around $10-$20 for all the needed capacitors. If you need help finding a kit, post your eMac model. It will be either PowerMac4,4 or PowerMac6,4. You can find it by looking in the first page of System Profiler.
 
Thanks, Intell. It does seem that the layout of my board is different from other eMacs I'm seeing online.

Mine won't power on, so I can't see the System Profiler. Is there another way of knowing whether it's PowerMac4,4 or PowerMac6,4?
 
What are the first five digits of the serial number? You can find the serial number on the optical drive door.
 
I looked it up by serial # and apparently it's a PowerMac4,4

Everything I was seeing for these kits before I looked specifically for the PowerMac4,4 was saying that there are two types of capacitors in the kit. My eMac has several different sizes, not just two. How can I be sure that the ones I need will be in the kit?

Also, to access the board these sideways ones are soldered to, I need to remove the outer metal ring that runs around the perimeter of everything. Is this possible or are the boards integrated into that piece?

Thank you!
 
Thanks, Intell!
I didn't find a manual on ifixit, but there was a youtube video that I could get some ideas from despite it being a little bit on the fast-moving side. I'll post it here in case it's helpful to anyone else:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpsKXQXDO1M

I got the board removed and found actually six of the power supply capacitors are faulty. Let me know if you find the power supply capacitor kit, and I'll keep looking myself as well.

Thanks again!
 
I'm unable to locate a kit for the power supply. You may have to identify and locate the individual capacitors. When dealing with capacitors, make sure you get the same Farad as the ones you are replacing. The voltage isn't as important. Make sure you get the same voltage or higher. Never use a lower voltage. Lastly, try to get the 105C temperature rated ones. They'll last longer in your eMac.
 
Hi,

I am facing weird issues with the eMac. I have a huge Mac collection, and I make sure I turn on each computer every weekend. But yesterday I watched a video on YouTube on how to make a macOS Leopard bootable USB Drive. The thing is my iBook G4 is having some issues and I wanted to reinstall MacOS Tiger. I downloaded a macOS X 10.4 Tiger ISO file from online and copied the 2.6GB file from my Windows PC to eMAC. While doing it, I got a call and I turned off the MAC. I clearly remember I did not make changes. After 2 hours, I turned on the MAC and since then the eMac is acting weirdly. It does turn on but no boot chime and the display remains blank.
 
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