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Hardware that goes with your Mac, like external HDDs, TV tuners, HTPCs, monitors and other accessories. Includes AppleTV, AirPort and Time Capsule.
Time Capsule Dead Power Supply
My out-of-warranty first-gen 500Gb Time Capsule is dead. Power supply is gone. Won't power the unit, no light, no drive spin. A different cable and power point were tried. The power supply, of course, is internal.
I took it to the Genius Bar today and they said that they don't repair them. They replace the whole unit, like iPods, if in warranty.
So what to do? Does anyone know of a mob in Sydney that might repair it? If not, would anybody be interested in buying it for a project?
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How old is your newest Mac?
Normally the airport stuff can be done as part of the warranty on that. (or at least, that's been my experience)
iPhone & iPhone 3GS, Macbook Pro 17" C2D 2.8ghz. iMac alu. 20" C2D 2ghz. iMac 20" CD 2ghz & Cube 450mhz. Website
Good point. I bought the Time Capsule 17 months ago but my last computer in March/April this year. I might ring AppleCare tonight and see if it counts.Originally Posted by Lutze
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Only if your Airport stuff is on the same receipt as the purchase.
Well that stuffs it then. Back to the original question: does anyone know where I might get this repaired? Other dealers like NextByte would just do the Apple thing of getting a replacement, which is no good to me.
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You probably won't be able to get it repaired if Apple doesn't sell replacement parts even to authorised service centers. You can always try taking it to an old-school TV repairman though, they're pretty awesome at fixing things without any external resource.
Apart from that, have you tried opening it up and checking for a blown fuse? In the worst case scenario you could always run it from an ATX power supply and put the lot in a new case.
Same issue just reported here.
Apple Time Capsule dead - Mac - Apple - Whirlpool Broadband Forums
I suspect they are all headed to ewaste doom. Apple are probably using standard lousy Chinese made power supplies for these and there are no replacements available. (Edit. On later inspection of a couple of TC's I have repaired now, this isn't so. They are actually very good quality. The issue is entirely of Apple's making by running them at too high a temperature and providing no proper cooling.)
The user on whirlpool tried replacing the dead caps but the supply is still bad. (But that is a fair repair strategy if you know what you are doing.. please read later repair warning... apple did not include bleeder resistors in the TC power supply... it can carry a mean charge for weeks after the last turn on.)
I am interested in these sorts of projects and hate to see these things go to waste. So if you haven't sorted out having it repaired Japester I would be interested to do it and can publish the results so others can figure out how to do it. You can email me or contact me in the whirlpool thread. I couldn't sign on here as Revs Per Min which I use on that site.
Cheers
Last edited by LaPastenague; 15th September 2009 at 07:51 AM.
The TC I bought in LA this time last year expired not long after I got my new iMac in April. The iMac has Applecare and the person on the phone when I called said the TC is covered under the Applecare for the iMac. It wasnt on the same receipt and the TC was replaced.
Intel iMac 24" 3.06ghz 4GB 1TB HD
MacBook 2.16 Core 2 Duo 2GB ram 200GB HD
If anyone has the skills whilst opening a TC to upgrade disks or something would like to take the voltages and picture of the pinouts of the power supply connection to the main board, we can back engineer a suitable power supply.
The power cable to sata drive doesn't matter as that is standard.
I am guessing the 6 wires... all black for easy identification... Henry Ford would love APPLE. 3 are ground return and voltages which are common are 5v, 3.3v and 1.8v but of course it could have 12v or something else.
For anyone who chips in a big banana smile.
Always love answering my own posts. The board only uses 5v. So easy. 12v and 5v. I simply removed the existing power supply. Filed out the power socket so a molex socket would fit and soldered the leads up to the original sata and board power leads.
Now it can use a standard external hard disk power supply (under $10 on ebay) or a proper computer power supply. Anything that can supply 12v 1.2amp and 5v 3A although I think 2A enough if you don't stress it. The normal hdd external supply is 2A on each, and seemed to work fine.
Edit... don't use the ebay type power supplies... from a later post they do not supply sufficient current, nor are they going to handle long term 24/7 and the construction quality is too cheap... they cause RF interference to adsl lines.
I will post some instructions shortly.
Last edited by LaPastenague; 7th September 2009 at 12:32 PM.
DUDE!!! THANK YOU!!! I am eagerly awaiting your instructions as well as a suitable source... I guess an external HDD PS would work, especially the 4 or 5 pin ones that already separate the 12V and 5V!!! Good idea!!! Need to check the Amp ratings.
I have written up a pdf which is pretty small, 113KB. Edit: Now second edition up to 183KB. Same name so please download again if you have an old one.
You can download from here.
http://sites.google.com/site/lapaste...attredirects=0
You can see the mod here, with some high definition pics which I have also zipped up to download.
Apple Time Capsule Repair (LaPastenague)
Overall the hard work was in making a neat mounting for the molex connector rather than actually wiring it. If you need a quick repair, just leave the molex connector hanging out of the existing power connector hole. Or hard wire the power supply to the TC.
I tried to think of other ways of doing it, but this is by far the cheapest. The external hdd power supplies from China are less than $10 including post... but be warned they are not great quality. I have searched for something a bit better but haven't found anything beyond a normal computer power supply.
An alternative solution is using a regulated 12v power supply which are also easily available and rather better quality. And a simple 12v to 5v dc - dc converter inside the TC. You can also get these via ebay for less than $10, just do a search for UBEC. They are used for model radio control and rated exactly to the specs needed.
When I did the conversion of the TC I used a very old Digital Router power supply which is rated at 2A 5v and 1A 12v. It ran for a few hours without heating up the supply, and the voltages remained spot on.
Last edited by LaPastenague; 7th September 2009 at 11:39 AM.
So you are the same guy as REVs per minute and fixed matrixx's TC??? I built a 5v power supply using a few discreet components from Radio Shack (Voltage Regulator chip mainly) back in my University days for a supplemental power source. I'm thinking of your second option using a 12V supply branched to 5V where the 5V regulator would be internal to the enclosure... I like your solution a lot, but struggle for the settling for the right 12V source. My Coolmax External PS has 12V/2A and 5V/2A so that's not enough. Too bad this one won't work:
12V+5V AC Adapter Power Supply FOR HARD DISK DRIVE,057 - eBay (item 230295758886 end time Sep-22-09 03:40:21 PDT)
it would fit your molex solution well... How certain are you about the 5V 3A requirement?
I mentioned in the first post I did above that I tried to sign on as Revs Per Min, but name was already taken... so using my secondary nom de plume.
So yes me is him...!!
The rating 5v 3A is what is currently written on the power supply that Apple built into the box...
I think you will find 5v 2A is enough... especially if you are not using the full current on the 12volt supply as the transformer will be more than likely made with continuous windings, 5v perhaps double wound with the 12v. So try and see. It will more than likely work...
And I doubt it will draw that much current unless all the gigabit ports are filled. And the box is working flat out. It will also depend on the current draw of the particular hdd you have. More recent green drives using less current.
I just noticed your name UNDER revs per minute...
Thanks for sharing, but the reason I am concerned is that I have a printer on the USB port that all my laptops use... Generally, I only have my iMac plugged in. I have found a few potential dual voltage enclosures that I may purchase, or I will just get a 12V/5A supply and *tap* it for the UBEC that you suggested... ah, decisions... at least I haven't opened my newly purchased TC!!! May have an opportunity to RETURN it!!!
The USB port is not supplying power so its current consumption will be negligible. But I did say the supplies from China are nothing to write home about... plainly they are cheap and nasty.. it is just simpler and if you do run into trouble with it, you should have no issues in buying an itx type power supply and simply use a laptop power supply. These are available as a tiny little board. But still better to leave it outside the case... the issues are caused by heat. Removing all and any extra source will give it longer life.
Hi LaPastenague !
Thank you very much for this post.. I will receive in few days a TC with no hard drive and power supply, so i will have to find a way to buid one..
I have few pb with your pdf.. actually i have some skills in computer, but for some things, not all (solder etc..), so i still confused..
My questions are : can you tell me (by giving eBay/commercial websites links ?) exactly what i need to buy, with the right voltage for the power supply, molex + little cables, etc.. Join to my message i give you a pic of what i bought, and you can see which cables i will get.. it seems i dont get the power cable, but only the sata..i dont know, i try to guess referring to your pic in the pdf..
Also could you send me by mail the original size of the pictures of your pdf, to let me zoom on it ?
Is it possible as well to have some explications for some points : I didnt get at all the solder part ; i didnt get for the fan (is it really necessary to modify its shape ? Won't it fit ?) ; about the part where you "drilled a 1mm hole through the molex" can you say again your sentence, with other words (i am french and i really block in this sentence)..
I thank you in advance for your answer.. i will take my time to repair this TC, and will do it carefully, and will learn how to manage this psu pb so i thank you again
I think I may have found the perfect Power Supply: 12v/2A and 5v/3A with a nice plug... search for:
Cisco PWR-1700-WW1
or
ADP-30RB
on eBay... from $8 to $30.
Now I need to locate the 6 pin female molex... it will regulate 12v and 5v with 30W like the original!!!
Last edited by RIP662; 3rd September 2009 at 01:42 PM.
Just chop off the cisco plug and solder on a molex.. you will have to do that anyway as you need to short ROF to gnd (??? or something) to actually turn it on. This power supply is switched on via the router.
You can always buy a cisco router from ebay and hack out the power socket... now that is real hacking.
Good Point! I was just thinking that when I saw the price and shipping costs of this 6 pin molex!!!
$1+$8.99 S/H
Last edited by RIP662; 3rd September 2009 at 01:54 PM.
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