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Nintendo Famicom Capacitor Replacement Guide

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Famicom HVC-CPU-07 mainboard (right) and the RF modulator and power board with the DC jack (left)

The Family Computer (Famicom, HVC-001) has a few through-hole electrolytic capacitors on its mainboard and on the separate RF modulator and power board.[1] Nintendo's service manual does not list capacitors as service parts: its Famicom repair price list has the CPU board as an assembly, the RF modulator unit, the DC jack and the 7805 regulator, but no capacitors.[2] The lists below are Console5's, compiled from boards.[3]

Board revisions

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The mainboard revision is printed on the board, for example HVC-CPU-07 or HVC-CPU-GPM-02.[1][3] The AV Famicom (HVC-101) has a different board, HVCN-CPU-01, with its own list below.

Nintendo's manual draws two versions of the Famicom power circuit. The plain HVC circuit has no fuse or choke between the DC jack and the 7805; the HVC (VCCI) circuit adds a choke and a fuse in the input, and the price list marks the fuse as a VCCI part.[2]

Capacitor lists

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HVC-CPU-07
Designator Value Voltage Board
C1 0.47 µF 16 V Main
C1 10 µF 16 V Power
C2 1 µF 50 V
C19 1 µF 50 V
C24 47 µF 16 V
C25 1000 µF 6.3 V
(controller 2) 0.33 µF 50 V Controller 2
HVC-CPU-GPM-02
Designator Value Voltage
C1 10 µF 50 V (16 V acceptable)
C2 1 µF 50 V
C7 1 µF 50 V
C8 0.47 µF 50 V
C21 47 µF 16 V
C22 1000 µF 6.3 V
(controller 2) 0.33 µF 50 V
HVCN-CPU-01 (AV Famicom)
Designator Value Voltage
C1 1 µF 50 V
C4 1 µF 50 V
C5 220 µF 6.3 V
C13 1000 µF 25 V
C14 47 µF 6.3 V (1 µF 50 V on early HVCN-CPU-01 boards)
C15 0.47 µF 50 V

Console5 notes that Nintendo changed C14 on the AV Famicom from 1 µF to 47 µF during HVCN-CPU-01 production, and recommends fitting 47 µF. The HVC-002 adapter has one electrolytic, C1, 2200 µF 16 V.[3]

Console5 gives only the board for the two HVC-CPU-07 C1 positions. Read the remaining positions off the silkscreen before ordering, and check each value against the can. On the HVC-CPU-07 in Evan-Amos's photograph the silkscreen at C24 reads 470 µF 6.3 V and the position is empty, where Console5 lists C24 as 47 µF 16 V.[1][3]

Supply voltages

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The HVC-002 adapter is rated DC 10 V at 850 mA, centre negative.[4] Nintendo gives its no-load output as DC 13.5 ± 1.5 V, and the 7805 sees 13-14 V on its input and gives 5 V out.[2] The 7805 and the power section are in the RF modulator unit.[2] Keep replacement voltage ratings at least as high as the originals.

Before you open it

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  • Check the supply before the capacitors. Nintendo's fault diagram for the Famicom (p. 2) blames the adapter, the solder joints of the DC jack and RF socket, the RF switch, the card connector, the CPU board and the controller cords, and does not mention capacitors. Measure the adapter with no load against Nintendo's DC 13.5 ± 1.5 V. If the picture cuts out when the plug is moved, the DC jack's joints have cracked; Nintendo's repair is to reinforce three marked joints with solder (p. 6).[2]
  • Unplug the adapter. The transformer is in the adapter, so the console itself has only low-voltage DC inside.
  • Do not check ICs for continuity on a multimeter's high-resistance range. Nintendo warns that 4.5 to 22.5 V can appear across the probes on those ranges and damage the chip.[2]
  • Use an earthed soldering iron that does not leak, and keep soldering times short, as Nintendo's IC handling notes say.[2]
  • Nintendo's tool list for the console is a Phillips No. 2 driver, radio pliers, tweezers, a non-leaking or IC-rated soldering iron of about 30 W, and a solder sucker (p. 7). For the controllers it lists a Phillips No. 0 to No. 1 driver and the same iron (pp. 8-9), and for the RF switch's coaxial cables an iron of about 40 W (p. 5).[2]

Replacement procedure

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  1. Photograph both boards before removing anything.
  2. Note the value, voltage and polarity of each capacitor against its designator.
  3. Remove each capacitor with braid or a desoldering pump, heating one lead and then the other. Do not pull a part out against the solder; the pads lift.
  4. Clean the pads with isopropyl alcohol and check them and the nearby traces under magnification.
  5. Fit 105 °C parts of the same value, with the polarity stripe matching the silkscreen.
  6. Check for solder bridges before applying power.
  7. Power up and check the adapter input and the 5 V rail.

See Recommended Tools and Capacitor Failure Symptoms.

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Evan-Amos, "Nintendo-Famicom-Motherboard-BR.jpg", Wikimedia Commons, public domain. HVC-CPU-07 mainboard (silkscreen dated 1984) with its RF modulator and power board.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Nintendo, ファミコン・スーパーファミコン・ゲームボーイ サービスマニュアル (Famicom, Super Famicom and Game Boy service manual), issued 7 August 1992. Hosted as Nintendo Famicom Service Manual. HVC section: p. 1, IC handling; p. 2, layout and faults by unit, with the AC adapter at DC 10 V and DC 13.5 ± 1.5 V with no load, and the power section in the RF modulator; p. 5, RF switch repair and tools; p. 6, DC jack solder reinforcement, voltage checks and the HVC and HVC (VCCI) power circuits (7805, 13-14 V in, 5 V out); pp. 7-9, exploded views and tool lists for the console and controllers; p. 10, Famicom repair price list.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Console5 TechWiki, "Famicom" (retrieved 2026-10-01). Chip maps for HVC-CPU-07 and HVC-CPU-GPM-02; capacitor lists for HVC-CPU-07, HVC-CPU-GPM-02 (headed "HVC-GPU-GPM-02" on the page), the HVC-002 adapter and the AV Famicom's HVCN-CPU-01.
  4. ↑ Famicom World, "Famicom Power Adaptor" (retrieved 2026-10-01). HVC-002: AC100V 50/60Hz 18VA in, DC10V 850mA out, centre negative.
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