Replace the swollen capacitor

by Antony Chazapis

It feels like magic when you repair something. The first time it was a DVD player. Just replace the swollen capacitor and breathe new life into what someone else threw away.

I had a Pioneer XR-MT3 all-in-one stereo lying around for quite some time. I got it from its previous owner’s trash can, just to peek inside and play around. It would produce a constant buzz through the speakers. I opened it up to see if I could somehow repair it. The main “rectifier board” capacitor had a small bump on the top, instead of being flat. In went a new capacitor and no more buzzing!