Xbox Dev Kit clock capacitor removal

I just spent a day removing the clock capacitor in my collection of original Xbox machines. I've got a couple of devkits which I assumed also have this capacitor but before I dig them out and start tearing them apart I figured I'd ask here to see if anyone has already done this and confirm that there is a clock capacitor like the retail version.

The PSA portion of this is if you value your original Xbox and haven't removed the clock capacitor go do it now!

 

I'm still wary of this advice, it will be a selling highlight in 30 years, "has original capacitor and factory seals still intact".

Does anyone have a cap they removed that leaked on the motherboard? I'd like pictures of the cap so we can decode the date(s) and manufacture of the defective capacitor and perhaps narrow down what factory and plant shipped the bad caps and what time-frames were. Then we can use a flashlight and look inside for known bad caps before opening a rare Xbox.

More reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

 

It was bad enough to where Microsoft was removing it from some of their test Xboxes hah.

 

I can confirm that my 2 DVT-4s and my debug kit had retail like clock capacitors and I removed them. The systems still work fine.

 

Unfortunately I threw them out but the three I did were all bad in various stages of corrosion.

 

Do you happen to know if debug units have the same issue. Just opened one up and all the caps look fine and I can't seem to identify which might be the clock capacitor since the layout is very different than retail.

 

Hi guys,
Very worrying thread. I have an untouched DVT-4, still in his fluffly bubble pack.
What are your % educated guess that the cap indeed leaked, based from your experience in opening xbox hardware from this era?
Sad it might end up being a born dead one

 

The layout of the capacitors should be the same. I know this sounds weird but what I did was YouTube clock capacitor removal and I was able to find the capacitor in my dvt4 and debug kit. That part of the board should have the same layout.

And if yours has never been opened or used then it's difficult to know if it popped or not. If I personally owned it I would remove the cap. But some people want to keep their stuff unopened. So it's up to you.

 

It's still in its MSFT carton delivery box. I got it 10+ years ago and I never even touched it.
I cannot imagine myself tearing all the wrap-ups apart to desolder the cap
[GALLERY=media, 1324]Sealed crystal dev kit. Still wrapped in its plastic bag. Comes with blue foam wedges and leaflet. by roubignolo posted Aug 13, 2016 at 8:17 PM[/GALLERY]

 

Microsoft had their test consoles running 24/7 and was probably why they went from 1.0 to 1.1, etc.
If power was never applied to it, I'd say you're safe. I myself have never ran into on an Xbox with this issue, PC motherboards and video cards from 2002-2007 is a different story, I've seen hundreds of those.

 

I've seen quite a lot off xbox motherboards over time and i can tell you there's no need to check production dates!
Every Xbox with a black clock capacitor will leak sooner or later. Almost every second one has already started and the good ones that haven't leaked get harder to find. Well that's my findings here in Germany maybe the climate does effect it after all!
The only ones i never seen leaked ones are the gold clock caps in the Rev 1.6 xbox consoles. I personally seen around 25 rev 1.6 consoles and not a single one had leaked. 3 or 4 off them had dried out caps and didn't turn on anymore but after replacing the caps against working ones they worked fine again.

So my personal oppinion is get rid off the clock caps and safe the board from dying!
For those who never seen what the clock cap does to the board i took 3 quick shots off a still fully working board!
I use this one as a test console quite regularly since about a year and it really doesn't show any problems.
From the outside you won't notice the leaking clock cap until it's way too late...

 

Gold supercaps are Japanese (Nichicon I think). Those American made aerogel supercaps were a fiasco and I think the company which made them went bankrupt. So much for trying to help a company on your own country, no?

While there were fires related to the mains input cable, some of the XBOX fires were related to the clock supercapacitor.

 

@l_oliveira Just checked it and your right! The golden ones were made by Nichicon and the black aerogel capacitors were made by PowerStor.
The PowerStor capacitors really were a disaster and sadly most xbox consoles will be damaged in the long run...

 

Well I removed them from all but my debug unit. The debug unit had a different layout but also seemed to have a Nichicon cap where I suspected the clock cap was so I think it is okay right now. The rest seemed relatively corroded and one severally leaked. I'm pretty happy that I actually opened things up and removed the caps. I'm more about functional hardware preservation than pristine condition personally.

 

Yep, when youre talking about the difference between having a slightly messed up sticker, or a hole in the motherboard, I know what I pick. That said, I havent done all of mine yet, need to get on that.