Recap guide

Recap the ColecoVision

Worth doing mainly for the potted power supply and power switch, not the logic board. The PSU, VRAM and switch are the usual failures.

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

Check first. A recap is not always the answer here, so look at the guides before you order parts.

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.

• Rev F board (Low confidence). How to tell: One owner notes its printed silkscreen schematic is shifted about an inch to the right, making parts hard to identify. Capacitors: No capacitor information found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
• Rev H2 board (possibly latest) (Low confidence). How to tell: Thread poster guessed this was the latest revision as of 2011. Capacitors: The thread says differences from Rev F are minor and gives no capacitor detail. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
• CBS Electronics PAL and French AV variants (Low confidence). How to tell: PAL units carry a TV tuner daughterboard, wired in 1982 units and connector-based in 1983, and a French 1983 version has a SCART-capable AV output. Capacitors: colecovision.dk gives different power supply ratings for US, European and French units but does not mention capacitors. 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.

• Where faults really are (Medium confidence). colecovision.dk ranks the power supply, then VRAM, as the top failures. Source
• PAL supply sagging (Low confidence). One PAL supply sagged to 4V because two 10nF (103z) ceramic caps failed inside the potting resin. Removing the resin was a hard repair. Source
• Power switch (Low confidence). A companion page covers the power switch, a top failure, with no cap changes. 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.

• Tip: Ceramic caps across the supply for stability (Low confidence). An AtariAge poster blamed the ColecoVision's bouncing power switch and loose power connector for noise that stresses the TTL, and said adding ceramic caps across the supply greatly improved reliability on machines modified decades ago. This is one expert's opinion. Source
• Story: Recapped but graphics still scrambled (Low confidence). One owner recapped, replaced VRAM and fitted a fast BIOS and AV mod yet still had scrambled graphics, with C70 and C106 suspected along the way. The real cause was a wrong VDP data line jumpered to U14 pin 14, so verify RAM to VDP wiring rather than assuming earlier work was right. Source
• Watch out: RF board soldering (Low confidence). A poster chasing RF noise on a ColecoVision warned that they nearly toasted the console soldering the RF board, since some unsoldered pads are intentional and the original solder melts at a higher temperature. The advice was to avoid it unless experienced, and the fixes tried were reflowing cracked RF-board joints and cleaning the power switch. Source
• Story: Something popped, all caps looked fine (Low confidence). After a ColecoVision popped and smoked near the RAM, with a faulty supply giving about 17V, the owner found no bulging caps. Swapping in an original supply showed the console still lived. Source
• Tip: Opening the potted PAL supply (Low confidence). The PAL supply thread says the aged resin turns hard and cracked and can be chipped out with a hammer and tiny screwdriver, and that the clipped and glued case and the fragile 103z ceramics (any 10nF part works) make it delicate. The author added hot glue spots afterwards to replace lost resin support. Source
• Watch out: Power switch wiring can fry the chips (Medium confidence). A switch-replacement page says the ColecoVision needs a double-pole switch for the +5V and +12V rails, and that mixing up the four wires can put +12V on chips that only take 5V. It also says to solder to the four holes furthest from the expansion connector, and it makes no cap changes. Source

Before you start

• Boards changed during production. Check your board number against the guides before you order parts.
• A mains power supply can hold a dangerous charge. If you are not trained to work on one, have a professional do it.

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.

• Colecovision Technical Manual (Service manual)

All 1 documents for ColecoVision 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.

• ColecoVision PAL power supply fix (Forum) by AtariAge forum (thread). Detailed resin-removal repair of a PAL PSU; swapped two ceramics and a joint. Hard, niche
• ColecoVision technical page (Write-up) by colecovision.dk. Failure ranking, regional PSU specs, chip list. Not a cap guide but the best summary of where the faults really are
• ColecoVision power switch fix / upgrade (Step-by-step) by Callan Brown. Switch fix only (no cap changes); useful companion because the switch is a top failure

ColecoVision NTSC main board

Eight capacitors plus one on the modulator. Console5 says later revisions may have 10 uF at C3 but 1 uF generally works, though an F18A or other video replacement may prefer 10 uF so the new chip has longer to start. C66 and C67 are only on some revisions.

ColecoVision PAL board 91162 Rev D

Nine capacitors.

ColecoVision power supply PC-016-1 (110 V, Taiwan)

Console5 says to keep the mica insulator when you replace the 7905 regulator. Mains power supply: unplug it and let it discharge first.

ColecoVision power supply (110 V, Haiti)

An unusual version with slightly different parts. Console5 lists it by value and count only. Mains power supply: unplug it and let it discharge first.

Shopping list

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

• 10 x 10 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 1 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 22 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 47 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 2 x 0.47 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 2 x 4.7 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 2 x 1000 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 2 x 4700 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 10 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 220 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 220 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 470 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 1000 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay

Console5 capacitor kits for this machine

Console5 sells ready-made capacitor kits. Kits come in different versions, so match the board number in the kit name to yours and check the listing before you buy.

• Colecovision Console Power Supply Cap Kit
• Colecovision Console Cap Kit PAL 91162 Rev D

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
• ColecoVision on the timeline