Recap guide

Recap the Philips CD-i

Many SMD electrolytics sit across the video, audio, servo and power sections. Console5 lists the CDI 220 boards (/20, /37 and /57) and the digital video cartridge, and one retrostuff.org write-up lists all 76 caps on the CDI350.

Open the interactive checklist Tick off each capacitor as you replace it. It saves in your browser.

Worth a recap. Reports say it is a common and useful fix on this machine.

Which board do I have?

Boards changed during production. These notes come from the linked sources, and many are only partly documented, so check the board in front of you.

• Mini-MMC boards (CDI 205/00, 210/00, 210/20, 220/00, 220/20) (Low confidence). How to tell: icdia groups these first-generation models as Mini-MMC boards; ConsoleMods lists the 910, 210 and 220 as 1991-1996 early models. Capacitors: Console5 lists capacitors for the CDI220/20 main board and power board. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
• Monoboard I to IV (later CDI 210/40 up to 740, 450, 470, 490, 550) (Low confidence). How to tell: icdia says later models use Monoboard variants combining player functions into fewer ICs. Capacitors: No cap list found for these boards. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
• CDI350 main PCB (Medium confidence). How to tell: Portable CD-i player whose main PCB is covered in detail by retrostuff.org. Capacitors: A retrostuff.org write-up lists all 76 caps on the main PCB, mostly SMD with some through-hole and film parts, from 0.33 uF to 470 uF and 4V to 63V, and finds reversed caps C938 and C991 in a later fix. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source

Where to start

Clues from write-ups and forum threads, not a diagnosis. Low confidence means one thread or one repair; high means several write-ups agree.

• Full CDI350 list (Medium confidence). One write-up lists all 76 caps on the CDI350 main board, grouped by section with sizes and sourced parts, and reports flickering screens, disc read failures and port issues fixed by recapping. Source
• Polarity and the extension module (Medium confidence). A follow-up notes reversed-polarity caps C938 and C991 and covers the caps in the Philips 9142 extension module. Source

Tips, tales and maybes

Found in write-ups and forum threads. These are other people's reports, not tested by us. Check part references and values against your own board.

• Watch out: Settings not saved: Timekeeper (Medium confidence). A CDI350 repair write-up says settings that would not save came from a dead Timekeeper chip, fixed by fitting a socket and a new Timekeeper or Dallas RTC. The chip is often soldered from both sides, so it needs a strong desoldering gun and patience, and the fault is separate from the cap work. Source
• Tip: PAL 210 with no audio (Low confidence). On r/CDInteractive (seen on the twt.omada.cafe mirror) a PAL CD-i 210 with video but no audio got the reply that general recapping is unlikely to help, but the two green BP MUSE audio caps should be checked. The reply also said to check the op-amp and to use a step-up converter of at least 35 W for a 220-230V unit used in the US. Source
• Watch out: Failed ferrite bead cut the video supply (Medium confidence). The CDI350 follow-up says S-Video loss came from two reversed-polarity caps (C938, C991) and a failed ferrite bead LP05 that cut the +12E line to the video stage. LP05 carries a safety marking so the author says only the original type should be used, and missing or mislabelled test points slowed the diagnosis. Source

Before you start

• Boards changed during production. Check your board number against the guides before you order parts.

Manuals and technical documents

Service manuals, schematics and datasheets for this machine, kept in our own library. Check your own board and part numbers against them.

• Philips CDI 220 (00) Service Manual (Service manual)
• Philips CDI 220 (20-25-31-37-39) Service Manual (Service manual)
• Philips CDI 220 (40-41-45-57) Service Manual (Service manual)
• Philips CDI 220 (60,61,65,77) Service Manual (Service manual)
• Philips CDI 220 (80-85-97) Service Manual (Service manual)

All 5 documents for Philips CD-i in the library

Guides we used

This page and the interactive bench are built from these. They have the photos and the full detail, so please read them and support their authors.

• Philips CDI350 recap (76-cap list) (List) by Rosewood (retrostuff.org). Has a capacitor list. Complete list of all 76 caps on the main PCB grouped by section, with sizes and sourced parts. Best CD-i source found
• Philips CDI350 Repair Part 3 (Write-up) by Rosewood (retrostuff.org). Has a capacitor list. Follow-up: reversed-polarity caps C938/C991 and the Philips 9142 extension module caps

CD-i 220/20 main board

Thirty-eight capacitors. Console5 marks 2613 and 2614 as empty positions, and 2531 and 2551 as bipolar. 2461 is listed twice with two different values, so check your board.

CD-i 220/20 power board

Eight capacitors, including the 3300 uF and 2200 uF filters.

CD-i 220/37 main board (NTSC)

Thirty-eight capacitors. Console5 marks 2651, 2652 and 2653 as empty positions. Its cap map for this board is a photo with circles colored by value, so it shows how many of each there are but not which ref is which.

CD-i 220/37 power board

Eight capacitors, the same list as the /20 power board.

CD-i 220/57 main board (NTSC with RF modulator)

Forty-two capacitors. 2534 and 2554 are non-polar audio caps. 2637 is listed twice with two different values, so check your board.

CD-i 220/57 power board

Eight capacitors. 2808 is 2200 uF 25 V here, where the /20 and /37 boards use 4700 uF 6.3 V.

CD-i Digital Video Cartridge 22ER9141/37 (3104 128 0318 Rev B and F)

Six capacitors, all 100 uF 6.3 V.

Shopping list

148 capacitors in all, grouped by value. Buy a few spares.

• 39 x 100 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 29 x 33 µF, 35 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 19 x 470 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 10 x 10 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 6 x 2.2 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 6 x 22 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 6 x 47 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 6 x 100 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 6 x 100 µF, 6.3 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 1.5 µF, 63 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 220 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 1000 µF, 35 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 1000 µF, 6.3 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 2200 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 3300 µF, 35 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 2 x 4700 µF, 6.3 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 2200 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay

Skip the sourcing

• Ready-made kit: Amazon · eBay
• Already recapped: Amazon · eBay

While you are in there

• Need the machine itself?: Amazon · eBay
• A box of spare capacitors: Amazon · eBay

Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These links only search by name. Disclosure

Step by step

1. Photograph both sides of the board before you touch anything. Zoom in on every capacitor. The photo is your map when you are three hours in.
2. Unplug it, take out the batteries and let it sit. Old power supplies and CRT parts can hold a charge. If your machine has a tube, leave the tube and its board to a professional.
3. Open it up and keep the screws sorted. A muffin tin or an egg carton works. Different screws go in different holes, and the holes never forgive you.
4. Look for leaks. Clean any sticky residue off with isopropyl alcohol and a soft brush. A leaked capacitor leaves brown crust and can eat copper traces. Look at the traces under it, not only the part itself.
5. Mark the polarity of every capacitor on the photo before it comes off. On an electrolytic, the stripe marks the negative leg. The board usually shows a half-shaded circle or a bar for the same spot.
6. Remove the old capacitors one at a time. Surface mount: add fresh solder to both ends and rock the part off, or use flux and a low-melt alloy. Through-hole: heat one leg at a time and clear the hole with wick or a pump.
7. Clean the pads and check for lifted pads or damaged traces. Clean flux off with isopropyl. A bad pad needs a jumper wire, not hope.
8. Fit and solder the new capacitor, matching polarity. Same capacity, same or higher voltage, and it has to physically fit. Work from the smallest parts up.
9. Clean the flux off and look at every joint. A good joint is shiny and shaped like a tiny volcano. A dull blob or a ball is a cold joint: reflow it.
10. With a multimeter, check for shorts across the power rails before you power it on. Use the continuity or resistance setting. A reading near zero means stop and look for a solder bridge.
11. Power it up and test everything: video, sound, controls, the lot. If something is wrong, check polarity first. It is the most common mistake and the easiest fix.

Tools

• Temperature-controlled soldering station. Steady heat so you do not cook pads. Most recaps are done between 320 and 350 C. Top: Hakko FX-951 · Mid: Hakko FX-888D · Budget: Pinecil
• Good solder. Rosin-core 63/37 flows and looks right. It is cheap and it matters. Kester 44 63/37
• Flux. Flux is what makes old joints let go and new joints flow. MG Chemicals flux pen · Chip Quik flux syringe
• Low-melt alloy (for surface mount). Melts old solder on both ends of a surface mount part at once, so it lifts off cleanly. Chip Quik SMD1
• Desoldering tool. Clears the old solder out of through-hole pads. Top: Hakko FR-301 · Mid: Engineer SS-02 pump · Budget: Solder wick
• Fine tweezers. For holding small surface mount parts exactly where you want them. ESD-safe tweezers
• Board holder. A third hand for the board, so both of yours are free. PanaVise circuit board holder
• Magnification. You cannot fix what you cannot see. Surface mount parts are tiny. Top: Stereo microscope · Mid: Head visor · Budget: Lighted magnifier
• Multimeter. Continuity, shorts and rail voltages. The one test that saves boards. Top: Fluke 117 · Mid: Fluke 101 · Budget: AstroAI
• ESR and capacitor tester. Checks old capacitors and your new ones before they go in. Top: Peak Atlas ESR70 · Budget: LCR-T7
• Isopropyl alcohol (99%) and a brush. For cleaning leaked goo and flux. Use the high-percentage kind. MG Chemicals 99.9% isopropyl
• Brass tip cleaner. A clean tip transfers heat. A dirty one does not. Hakko 599B
• Fume extractor. Pulls the smoke away from your face. Hakko FA-400 · Budget: Small bench fan
• Precision screwdrivers. Most old gear uses a mix of Phillips, Torx and security bits. iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit
• Kapton tape. Heat-proof tape to protect parts that sit close to the one you are changing. Kapton tape

Safety

• Good airflow, or a fume fan. Solder smoke is not for breathing.
• Safety glasses on. Solder spits and clipped legs fly.
• Iron in its stand when you are not holding it. Know where the cord is.
• Touch bare metal first, or use a wrist strap. Static kills old chips.
• No tube, no mains power supply. Leave those to a professional.
• Wash your hands after, especially if you used leaded solder.

Values are shown as published in the guides above, and boards changed during production. Check the board in front of you. A recap involves hot tools and, on some machines, dangerous voltages. You do it at your own risk.

More

• All recap guides
• The interactive Recap Bench
• Fix a dead vintage computer
• Philips CD-i on the timeline