Just saw a 2015 MacBook Air come back to life after a $2 capacitor swap

It had been a 'dead logic board' case for months, but a local shop in Tampa found the exact 0201 size cap that failed. Anyone else have a go-to source for those tiny SMD parts?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_mia1mo ago

My last attempt at a tiny cap swap looked like I was trying to do brain surgery with oven mitts on. I definitely need a better source than my shaky hands and a cheap Amazon kit. Those little bags have saved me a few times, but half the sizes are wrong and the other half vanish into the carpet forever. I've had better luck just buying a strip of the exact value from a proper electronics site, even if I only need one.

gavin_kim1mo ago

Ever wonder if those cheap component kits on Amazon are actually worth it for sourcing oddball sizes?

barbara_jenkins6617h ago

You know it's the same kind of decision you make at the hardware store when you buy that big pack of mixed screws and washers. You think you're getting a deal but half of them are sizes you'll never use and the other half are the wrong thread pitch. I've got a couple of those Amazon kits in my toolbox for emergency fixes but I wouldn't trust them for anything where the exact value really matters. For oddball sizes it's actually worse because you're hoping that one random value out of a thousand will be the one you need. The carpet monster is real too I've lost more tiny resistors and capacitors to my shop floor than I care to admit.

richarddixon1mo ago

@gavin_kim I read those cheap kits are mostly leftovers from factories... so you get what you pay for.