ECU Capacitor Replacement Question
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 19,311
Likes: 97
From: Waterloo, Iowa
That, or it's highly stressed for some reason. Motorola or whoever made them used to use a 1600 volt buffer capacitor in their vibrating power supply for car radios. Do you think it saw 1600 volts? Nope. But that's what they had to use or it would fail.
It's possible FORD got a bulk deal on them, 63 volts is overkill, and you can put a 16 volt cap in there and be fine, but unless you know for sure don't do it. It probably should be pointed out the 63 volt capacitor in there now HAS failed.
If you really want to try it, do this. When two capacitors are seriesed, the voltage rating is doubled. BUT, the capacitance is halved. If you parallel two capacitors, the voltage rating stays the same, but the capacitance is doubled. Did you buy four of them?
...
Just buy the right parts if you're going to the trouble, imo, but this will work fine electrically, if a bit of a kluge.
It's possible FORD got a bulk deal on them, 63 volts is overkill, and you can put a 16 volt cap in there and be fine, but unless you know for sure don't do it. It probably should be pointed out the 63 volt capacitor in there now HAS failed.
If you really want to try it, do this. When two capacitors are seriesed, the voltage rating is doubled. BUT, the capacitance is halved. If you parallel two capacitors, the voltage rating stays the same, but the capacitance is doubled. Did you buy four of them?
... Just buy the right parts if you're going to the trouble, imo, but this will work fine electrically, if a bit of a kluge.
pedant
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 23,576
Likes: 38
From: EXTREME southwest CT
I have no Idea where my dad picked this stuff along the way.
There's one bigger than a can of tennis ***** that is marked Sprague Electrolytic 6,000,000 μf, 60V !!!
I do not charge these up and play with them.
They really should be stored shorted with a resistor.
There's one bigger than a can of tennis ***** that is marked Sprague Electrolytic 6,000,000 μf, 60V !!!
I do not charge these up and play with them.
They really should be stored shorted with a resistor.
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 56,966
Likes: 2,728
From: Virginia
I used to have a supply of those. My Dad used to work for IBM. They had power supplies in their equipment that used huge capacitors like that, mainly the power supplies.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 1,926
Likes: 116
From: Saskatchewan Canada
Did consumer electronic repairs for years. 1970 till 2000 when I finally realized it was a dying trade.
16V electrolytic caps will be kind of hard to find. The reason you find higher voltage caps is because it became cheaper to manufacture them. They also tend to be physically smaller than the caps produced in the 70's and 80's because of manufacturing advances. Rule of thumb is do not replace with a lower voltage rated cap. Higher is OK. Actual capacitance should be the same as it may affect circuit performance. Capacitor type should remain the same, but I do not think there would be any performance issues if you replace the electrolytic caps with tantalum capacitors. Polarity is important and you should get the better quality parts that are certified for the expected temperature range.
16V electrolytic caps will be kind of hard to find. The reason you find higher voltage caps is because it became cheaper to manufacture them. They also tend to be physically smaller than the caps produced in the 70's and 80's because of manufacturing advances. Rule of thumb is do not replace with a lower voltage rated cap. Higher is OK. Actual capacitance should be the same as it may affect circuit performance. Capacitor type should remain the same, but I do not think there would be any performance issues if you replace the electrolytic caps with tantalum capacitors. Polarity is important and you should get the better quality parts that are certified for the expected temperature range.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 4,698
Likes: 47
From: Mexico, Missouri
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026
Brett Foote
5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time
Joe Kucinski
Thread Starter
|
Freshman User
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 39
Likes: 0
Sorry its been so long guys! With work and all that I totally spaced updating this. Also just bought a school bus so there's been a ton of conversion work going on there... I replaced them all with relative ease and a soldering iron with some patience. Took around an hour. My contacts on the computer pins also had some corrosion, so I cleaned that up too. Put it all back together after soldering the caps in, and it ran like a champ. All issues fixed, ran the codes with a solus pro shortly thereafter and it wasn't throwing a single one. power and MPG's were up as well as my loping idle was fixed. They were all in bad shape but none were leaking yet.
5th Wheeling
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 37
Likes: 4
From: Williston, FL
Received a reman computer today, Cardone brand, no Standard Parts brand in stock or at their warehouse. I inspected it and found new capacitors installed. they used 63v 47uf on 2 of them and 100v 10uf on the other one, CNHG was stamped on the sides of all. There is a void in one of the solder lines near the front. They ran a wire on the bottom side from 2 transistor looking things to repair it. The yellow caps or what ever they are look new too. Over all unit is very clean and recoated. I will find out if it fixes my problems this week end.