Super Famicom Capacitor Replacement Guide

Capacitor list for the Super Famicom, by board revision. Most of the electrolytics on these machines are surface-mount parts, and the board revisions differ enough that a list for the wrong revision will have you looking for capacitors that are not there. Read the revision off the PCB silkscreen before you order anything. The Super Nintendo boards are numbered differently and are covered on Super Nintendo Capacitor Replacement Guide.

The Super Famicom is not a machine with a reputation for leaking capacitors — unlike the Game Gear or the PC Engine Duo, where recapping is effectively mandatory. The usual advice from restorers is to open the console and look rather than to recap on principle. The catch with surface-mount electrolytics is that early leakage hides underneath the can, so a board can look clean and still be quietly corroding.^[1]

Discharge C67 before you start

Nintendo's own first step in the console disassembly procedure is not about screws:

Before disassembling, switch the console's power supply ON with the AC adapter disconnected, in order to discharge capacitor C67. This capacitor is known to discharge during maintenance, causing damage to components.^[2]

C67 is the main reservoir on the DC input and it holds its charge after the adapter is out. Flicking the power switch on with nothing plugged in empties it through the console's own load. It costs nothing, and it is the difference between a clean recap and a damaged board.

How solid are these numbers

Four sources agree on the Super Famicom and SNES capacitor lists where they overlap — including, unusually, a Nintendo document:

Nintendo's own parts list, in the Playtronic Manual Técnico do Super NES. Its console parts list gives the chip electrolytics as 10 µF/16 V ×3, 33 µF/25 V ×2 and 2.2 µF ×1 — which is exactly the SHVC-CPU-01 complement of C61/C65/C66, C63/C64 and C62, in the right quantities.^[2]
The SNES schematic hosted on this wiki, drawn for the SHVC-SOUND, SNS-CPU-GPM-01/02 and SNS-CPU-RGB-01/02 boards.^[3]
Console5's TechWiki, a secondary source whose lists are compiled from physical boards.^[4]
Altomare's capacitor list, compiled from boards the author repaired personally, which adds can diameters, lead pitch and heights.^[5]

On the SNS-CPU-GPM boards the schematic and Console5 agree on every shared designator and value. The one designator Console5 lists that the schematic does not show is C67, which Console5 records as "not present on North American units" — and the schematic is a North American drawing. The two sources are consistent even in what they omit, and Nintendo's own description of the GPM redesign says C67 was one of the parts removed.^[3]^[4]^[2]

One disagreement, and it is in the safe direction. Nintendo's parts list specifies the 2.2 µF chip electrolytic at 25 V; Console5 and Altomare both record the part fitted at C62 as 50 V. Since C62 sits in the same circuit either way, and a higher voltage rating is never a hazard, fit 50 V and the question does not arise. It is noted here only so that a reader comparing the manual against the community lists is not left wondering which is wrong.^[2]^[4]^[5]

SHVC-CPU-01 — the original Super Famicom board

**SHVC-CPU-01 (1990)**
Designator	Value	Voltage	Package	Note
C50	47 µF	10 V	Radial, 6.3 mm can	On the SHVC-SOUND module
C51	47 µF	10 V	Radial, 6.3 mm can	On the SHVC-SOUND module
C57	100 µF	6 V	SMD, 6.3 mm
C58	100 µF	6 V	SMD, 6.3 mm
C59	100 µF	6 V	SMD, 6.3 mm
C60	100 µF	6 V	SMD, 6.3 mm
C61	10 µF	16 V	SMD, 4.0 mm
C62	2.2 µF	50 V	SMD, 4.0 mm
C63	33 µF	25 V	SMD, 6.3 mm
C64	33 µF	25 V	SMD, 6.3 mm
C65	10 µF	16 V	SMD, 4.0 mm
C66	10 µF	16 V	SMD, 4.0 mm
C67	1000 µF	25 V	Radial, 13 mm can, 5 mm pitch, 25 mm tall	Main reservoir on the DC input

Thirteen electrolytics in total.^[4]^[5]

C50 and C51 are on the sound module, not the mainboard. The SHVC-SOUND daughterboard is where the S-SMP, S-DSP, audio SRAM and the µPD6376 DAC live, and it carries these two capacitors. The clearance between the module PCB and its shield is only about 8 mm, and the original parts were roughly 5 mm tall — do not fit a standard-height 47 µF part here, it will not go back together. The board footprint is 5 mm pitch but the original capacitors were 2 mm pitch with the legs bent out.^[5]

C67 is 25 V rated and must stay that way. It sits on the rectified DC input, upstream of the regulator, on a supply that is nominally 10 V but unregulated. A 16 V part in this position is under-specified.

Super Nintendo boards

The North American SNS-, European SNSP- and SNES Jr SNN- boards are numbered differently from the SHVC- family — the C57–C67 range does not survive into the later revisions at all — and their per-revision lists are on Super Nintendo Capacitor Replacement Guide. That page also carries the PAL C59 bipolar issue, which is a Nintendo design fault rather than an ageing problem and applies only to the SNSP-CPU-01.

If your silkscreen does not begin SHVC-, the tables on this page do not apply to your board.

GPM boards

Nintendo's manual documents a later mainboard built by the "ground-plane method", which allowed the lower RF shield to be deleted. Two changes matter for a recap: C67 and the 4 MHz oscillator were removed, and the sound module circuitry was built directly onto the mainboard rather than on a daughterboard. On a GPM board there is no reservoir at C67 to discharge and no SHVC-SOUND module carrying C50 and C51.^[2]

Revisions with no published list

No per-position capacitor list has been published for the Japanese SHVC-CPU boards later than SHVC-CPU-01, or for the SHVC-1CHIP boards, as distinct from their SNS- and SNSP- equivalents. If your board carries one of those numbers, read your own board: the designators are silkscreened, and the value and voltage are printed on every can.

Replacement procedure

Discharge C67 as described above.
Open the console. Six security screws in the lower case, taking a 4.5 mm Gamebit driver. The sound module, where fitted, comes off with two screws on its far side and lifts straight up.^[2]
Remove the RF shield and lift the mainboard out of the lower shell, taking care with the cartridge connector and the sound module.
Photograph the board before you remove anything. Polarity on surface-mount electrolytics is marked by a stripe or a bevel on the can, and it is not consistent between positions.
Remove the surface-mount capacitors by heating both ends. Hot air at a moderate setting, or a fine iron with fresh solder and flux added to both terminations, then rock the can gently. Do not lever a capacitor off — that takes the pad with it.
Clean the pads. Old electrolyte is corrosive and will keep working on the traces if it is left. Isopropyl alcohol and a nylon brush, then inspect under magnification for pads that have gone dull or traces that have thinned.
Fit the new parts to the correct value, voltage and polarity, tacking one end before soldering the other.
Inspect for bridges under magnification and check for continuity between adjacent pads before powering up.

Through-hole positions — C50/C51 on the sound module and the main reservoir — come out with braid or a pump in the normal way. Mind the height limits noted above.

Recommended parts

105 °C rated capacitors from a reputable manufacturer.
Match or exceed the original voltage rating. The 25 V positions sit on the unregulated input side and genuinely need 25 V.
Fit a bipolar part at C59 on PAL SNSP-CPU-01 boards.
Surface-mount positions can be rebuilt with leaded radial parts if you prefer, provided the height and clearance work out. Kits are sold in both forms.

Related pages

References

↑ Bob, "Restoring A Super Nintendo", RetroRGB, 31 May 2020 — https://www.retrorgb.com/restoring-a-super-nintendo.html . Used for the assessment that the SNES is not known for leaky capacitors, and that SMD leakage is concealed under the capacitor body until the can is removed.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 Nintendo / Playtronic, Manual Técnico do Super NES, Rev. 01/94, hosted at Nintendo Super NES Technical Manual (Playtronic, Rev. 01-94). General disassembly instructions for the console (the C67 discharge step, six security screws in the lower case, two screws on the sound module); GPM mainboard description (C67 and the 4 MHz oscillator removed, sound module built onto the mainboard); console parts list, chip electrolytics 10 µF/16 V ×3, 33 µF/25 V ×2 and 2.2 µF/25 V.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 SNES Schematic (multi-revision NTSC drawing from wiki.superfamicom.org), hosted at File:Snes schematic.pdf. Covers SHVC-SOUND, SNS-CPU-GPM-01/02 and SNS-CPU-RGB-01/02. Read directly from the drawing: C57 220 µF, C59 220 µF, C61 10 µF, C62 2.2 µF, C63 33 µF, C64 33 µF, C65 10 µF, C66 10 µF, C73 47 µF, with every remaining position 0.1 µF or smaller.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Console5 TechWiki, SNES — https://wiki.console5.com/wiki/SNES . Secondary source: a community wiki whose capacitor lists are compiled from physical boards rather than manufacturer documentation. Used here for per-revision capacitor lists and voltage ratings, the chip maps, and the transcription of Nintendo's Control Deck diagnostic table.
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 Altomare, snes-capacitors — https://github.com/Altomare/snes-capacitors . Secondary source: a list compiled by one repairer from boards handled personally. Used for capacitor package types, can diameters, lead pitch and height, the location of C50/C51 on the SHVC-SOUND module, and the C59 bipolar history on PAL boards.

[retrorgb-1] Bob, "Restoring A Super Nintendo", RetroRGB, 31 May 2020 — https://www.retrorgb.com/restoring-a-super-nintendo.html . Used for the assessment that the SNES is not known for leaky capacitors, and that SMD leakage is concealed under the capacitor body until the can is removed.

[nintendomanual-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 Nintendo / Playtronic, Manual Técnico do Super NES, Rev. 01/94, hosted at Nintendo Super NES Technical Manual (Playtronic, Rev. 01-94). General disassembly instructions for the console (the C67 discharge step, six security screws in the lower case, two screws on the sound module); GPM mainboard description (C67 and the 4 MHz oscillator removed, sound module built onto the mainboard); console parts list, chip electrolytics 10 µF/16 V ×3, 33 µF/25 V ×2 and 2.2 µF/25 V.

[snessch-3] 3.0 ^3.1 SNES Schematic (multi-revision NTSC drawing from wiki.superfamicom.org), hosted at File:Snes schematic.pdf. Covers SHVC-SOUND, SNS-CPU-GPM-01/02 and SNS-CPU-RGB-01/02. Read directly from the drawing: C57 220 µF, C59 220 µF, C61 10 µF, C62 2.2 µF, C63 33 µF, C64 33 µF, C65 10 µF, C66 10 µF, C73 47 µF, with every remaining position 0.1 µF or smaller.

[c5snes-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Console5 TechWiki, SNES — https://wiki.console5.com/wiki/SNES . Secondary source: a community wiki whose capacitor lists are compiled from physical boards rather than manufacturer documentation. Used here for per-revision capacitor lists and voltage ratings, the chip maps, and the transcription of Nintendo's Control Deck diagnostic table.

[altomare-5] 5.0 ^5.1 ^5.2 ^5.3 Altomare, snes-capacitors — https://github.com/Altomare/snes-capacitors . Secondary source: a list compiled by one repairer from boards handled personally. Used for capacitor package types, can diameters, lead pitch and height, the location of C50/C51 on the SHVC-SOUND module, and the C59 bipolar history on PAL boards.

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