My iMac G5 adventure has come to an end?

Well you certainly have my sympathy for a start.
I can't begin to think that the addition of a RAM or opening up the iMac has caused this. Some of the early iMac G5's were plagued with bad batches of capacitors. Yes there's a relatively easy fix, to change ALL the capacitors, and kits available for this. Although the bag of parts is small, postage to Australia may make you think twice. Plus I'd read that they are difficult to remove due to the thickness of the motherboard necessitating a de-soldering heat gun. After having removed the MB I outsourced the repair task to a little guy downtown, cost 30dollars. Check out my earlier post.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/imac-g5-brought-back-to-life.1957007/

 

I bought my 2.1 iSight iMac G5 last year for £20...I'd say wait for another (or other PPC) to turn up, particularly if you are cost conscious and not one for the thrill of DIY and restoration.
I've always been unlucky when looking for a particular Mac - when I haven't been looking, that's when the bargains appear.
My attitude to these machines is that I expect something to go wrong, that's why I have a few that can immediately be pushed to the the frontline - anything major goes wrong that'll be it, onto another. That's why I have no concerns about my Quad with it's water cooling - it cost me £35 - no major loss if/when it dies.
I've been lucky so far that no favourite Mac has died but I fully sympathise!
I would say if you wait for another iMac G5, wait for an iSight series - they were the top of the line and most reliable.

 

you can get replacement capacitors from just about anywhere, but mouser or digikey have pretty simple search tools to find the ones you need.

 

Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm far from being a sensible person I kept my Mitsubishi convertible jeep on the road far longer than I should have because it was a part of me.....
But, with computers and on a budget, I have to weigh up if a possible fix might not work but lead to another possible fix and another....
but that's from personal experience.
You've got the caps so you're halfway there - you'll be all smiles once that desolder kit appears

 

Good luck with those capicators! I understand the need to fix old stuff up! I feel you with not finding old stuff near you, it's virtually nonexistent here. About fixing old stuff, keep at it and good luck! Nothing better than using something ya fixed up

 

Dont need a desoldering gun really, but a hot air station with soldering gun for about 100 US is right on for doing that job.

 

You say you bought a pack of 6 capacitors. This will certainly help especially if you start with the replacement of the leaking or bulged units. But one has to be careful and start by knowing exactly the model of iMac G5 and order the number of capacitors for that particular model.
Total of 25 capacitors for the early iMac G5 motherboards in the 17" & 20" models, comprising (20) 1800uF 6.3V and (5) 1000uF 16V.
The later model iMac 20" takes a total of (29) capacitors, comprising (24) 1800uf 6.3v and (5) of the 1000uf 16v.
The problem with just changing six, is that there is a high chance of others failing in the short/medium term, which requires an additional, annoying major tear-down of your iMac.
The above info comes from data I scribbled in my diary at the time of the repair. I don't immediately have the link to the site I ordered the kit from, but will dig that out too and re-post, as it was a mine of excellent information, not only on the G5 iMac but on replacing capacitors in general.

 

I have brought back over 2 dozen dead iMac G5s. I am NO PRO or anything, and I was able to do them fine. You will need a soldering iron, a needle/thumb tack, and some solder. Also will need the replacement capacitors and something to clip the long ends off when done soldering.

First of all, I always read to replace ALL CAPs, but I have done a few several years ago and I only replace the ones that I can see are bad. The repairs are still kicking and no signs of more caps leaking, so its up to you, but replacing all of them will take much longer.

Get the measurement of the CAP you need off the bad one and source them locally if online shipping is expensive where you live.

Then remove the board and to remove the cap I just warm up the pad on one side while with my other hand I grip the cap underneath the board and rock it in the opposite direction of the pad I am heating up, GENTLY. This will cause the capacitor to slip out of the hole as soon as the pad is warm enough to melt. Then do the other side. You will have to go back and forth 2-3 times before the cap is free. Be gentle, you don't want to pull the cap off the board leaving its "prongs" still in the board. Once the cap is removed, you can put in the new one. If the hole is full of solder, I usually heat it up a bit and use a thumb tack or something similar to press a hole thru a bit. Only the solder, don't widen the hold any larger than it was supposed to be. Be sure you put the cap on in the SAME DIRECTION as the one you remove. There is a positive and negative side. (A quick Google will show you what to look for if you are unsure).

Don't forget to peek inside the PSU as well, there are sometimes bad caps in there as well.

Good luck!

 

Here is some interesting reading matter pertaining to capacitor change on the iMac G5.
http://jimwarholic.com/2008/07/how-to-repair-apple-imac-g5.php

http://jimwarholic.com/2009/08/apple-imac-g5-take-apart-procedure-1st.php

It's well worth while checking out the PSU too. I found 'breaking' into it was a little tedious, due to the presence of security torx fasteners (described below). Fortunately all was fine within mine.

http://jimwarholic.com/2008/11/apple-imac-g5-power-supply-issues-and.php

Have fun, and let us know eventually of your experience.

 

To desolder components you only need some copper cable (and a solder machine). Check iBook guy: