Date   : Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:58:14 +0000
From   : zeem.uk@... (Alex Taylor)
Subject: PSU Failure

2008/12/15 Phill Harvey-Smith <afra@...>:

> Humm there's something "wrong" about carrying on using a machine that
> has acrid smoke comming out of the PSU !

The smoke only lasts a few minutes! The smell's the worst thing, it
can hang around for ages, and the goo that comes out of the capacitor
smells when the machine warms up. The last one I replaced, I washed
the PCB with an industrial detergent before replacing the cap.

The last one I had blow, I wasn't there at the time and I still
noticed it. In the shed, I plugged in a battery charger for a portable
VHS-C recorder (not camcorder, a portable separate deck) that hadn't
been used for quite a long time. I went into the garden to do
something, went back to the charger, and the shed smelled of exploded
capacitor - it's easy to pick up after about the first 10 or 15 times
it happens!

- -
Alex Taylor