Recap guide

Recap the Neo Geo

AES recaps are common, with big 2200uF-class caps plus video and audio parts, and CD models show up in leaking-cap logs. MVS boards vary by revision.

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.

• Neo Geo AES rev 3-3 and 3-4 (Medium confidence). How to tell: Board revision is printed on the AES PCB; RetroRGB says these two have flawed audio circuits. Capacitors: Console5 sells one kit for NEO-AES 3-3 and 3-4, and hitmanmcc says SNK left filter parts off both, fixed with FirebrandX mods (a 470 uF electrolytic across the JRC 2066D and new polyester caps). Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
• Neo Geo AES rev 3-5 and 3-6 (Low confidence). How to tell: Revision printed on the PCB; 3-5 and 3-6 use 75 ohm RGB resistors where older boards use 68 ohm, and RetroRGB calls 3-6 notorious for poor video. Capacitors: ConsoleMods says to check the RGB and composite video caps are 470 uF 16V, and an Arcade-Projects poster suggests 2200 uF Panasonic FG 16V or 25V low-ESR for the AES 3-5. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
• Neo Geo AES NEO-AES4-1 (latest) (Low confidence). How to tell: Sixth and final AES board, with power circuitry next to the connector and many parts moved from through-hole to SMD. Capacitors: neogeodev says this board moved from through-hole to surface-mount chips; no cap list found. 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.

• AES 3-5 caps (Low confidence). One Arcade-Projects thread mentions 2200uF Panasonic FG low-ESR parts and the 410uF video caps removed for RGB bypass. It is community advice, not a list. Source
• AES recap logs (Low confidence). Two Hitman's Museum logs cover Rev 3-4 and Rev 3-3 AES recaps, including leak damage and a sprite fault repair. Neither gives values. Source
• MVS audio tweak (Low confidence). A ConsoleMods page lists an audio filter cap tweak (C11, C14) on an MV1C MVS board. It is a mod, not a recap. 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: Unstable or rolling picture, AES (Medium confidence). ConsoleMods suggests, for an AES that loses sync on bright screens, adding 220uF caps in the empty footprints near the AV output, together with changing four 68 ohm resistors to 75 ohm. It describes the original values as cost cutting. Source
• Story: MVS sound fades as you play (Low confidence). On Shmups, an MVS whose volume faded away during play was advised to have every cap in the audio amplifier section replaced, the board checked for corrosion and traces, and any original battery removed at once. It is advice from one poster, not a confirmed fix. Source
• Tip: 60 cycle buzz on Rev 3-3 and 3-4 AES (Medium confidence). A Hitman's Museum log says SNK left out some filter parts on AES revisions 3-3 and 3-4, causing a 60 cycle buzz, and the FirebrandX fix in the Console5 kit adds the missing ceramics, a 470uF electrolytic across the JRC 2066D and swapped polyester caps. The author called the job a service and upgrade rather than a fault chase. Source
• Watch out: Leave C11 and C14 empty (Medium confidence). ConsoleMods' Omega MVS page says that when removing the 75pF audio filter caps C11 and C14 on an MV1C board you should leave the pads empty, not bridge them or add filler parts, and that larger 0603 caps roll off highs earlier. It is a mod, not a repair. Source
• Story: Garbled RGB after new caps was not the caps (Low confidence). A Shmups poster replaced four caps near the video chip on an AES (2x 10uF, 100uF, 4.7uF) and got garbled RGB with fine composite. It turned out the BVM sync settings had changed and the OSSC was not set to RGB, so check the external gear before redoing the board. Source
• Watch out: MVS battery leak looks like a sound fault (Low confidence). On an MVS with missing or wrong sound effects, the cause was battery leakage eating the traces on the Z80 to 68000 data lines, not caps. The author says replacing the RAM chip was unnecessary and tracing the lines first would have saved the work. Source
• Watch out: Pulled trace at AC1 near the heatsink (Low confidence). An Arcade-Projects poster on an MV-1C accidentally pulled the negative through-hole trace from cap AC1, which sits close to the heat sink, and found a leg stuck in AC5. Be gentle with caps beside the heat sink. Source
• Tip: Battery first on MV2 boards (Low confidence). On r/neogeo (seen on the reddit.birdcat.cafe mirror) commenters said the battery beside the backup RAM is a typical failure point on MV2 boards, corroding the traces around the NEO-ZMC2. The owner removed the battery at once, cleaned with water and dried below about 55C, and re-tinned exposed traces. Source

Before you start

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

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.

• Neo Geo AES Rev 3-4: recap, Unibios and FirebrandX fixes (Write-up) by hitmanmcc. Full Console5 recap plus audio and video resistor fixes; no values
• Neo Geo AES Rev 3-3: sprite fault, broken traces and recap (Write-up) by hitmanmcc. Recap with a sprite-fault repair; shows leak damage cases
• Arcade-Projects: Neo Geo AES 3-5 capacitor discussion (Forum) by Arcade-Projects forum members. Has a capacitor list. Mentions 2200uF Panasonic FG low-ESR parts and the 410uF caps removed for RGB bypass; community advice, not a list
• Neo Geo: Omega MVS (Write-up) by ConsoleMods Wiki, CC BY. Has a capacitor list. Audio filter cap tweak (C11, C14) on an MV1C MVS board; a mod, not a recap

Neo Geo AES 3-3 and 3-4

Console5 gives counts for these boards, not reference numbers, so the checklist rows are by value. Its kit swaps the five 100 uF parts near the AV jack for 470 uF, which it says improves video, and the list says to do this on the upper-left ones. Its notes also say these revisions lack some audio-section capacitors and show a bypass fix with a 470 uF and a small DAC bypass part. The 0.1 uF and pF parts there are not electrolytic, so they are not listed.

Neo Geo AES 3-5

Console5 lists this board by count only, so the rows are by value.

Neo Geo AES 3-6

Console5 groups the 3-6 parts by area of the board, so the rows are too.

Neo Geo AES power supply PRO-POW-UL / NEO-0

Mains-voltage supply. The big primary capacitor can hold a dangerous charge, so only work on it if you know how to discharge it safely.

Neo Geo AES power supply PRO-POW-PAL

Mains-voltage supply. The big primary capacitor can hold a dangerous charge, so only work on it if you know how to discharge it safely. Console5 has no reference numbers for this one yet, so the rows are by value.

Neo Geo CD front loader CDROM-2 (94.6.28)

Console5 notes the 6800 uF part by CN4 looks like a last-minute addition with no reference number, so it is a count row here. Console5 lists AC2 as 0.1 uF 50 V.

Neo Geo CD front loader CD-ANA-2 (94.6.13)

Thirty capacitors, mostly 470 uF 16 V and 10 uF 16 V.

Neo Geo CD front loader CD board KSK-1230A

Nine capacitors.

Neo Geo CD top loader controller board NEO-CDD3-1 (1994.9.8)

One capacitor.

Neo Geo CD top loader power / AV board NEO-CDA3-1 (1994.9.8)

Console5 marks the 10 uF parts as audio. C1, C28 and C29 are listed with this board.

Neo Geo CD top loader power / AV board NEO-CDA4-1 (1994.12.12)

Console5 marks the 10 uF parts as audio. C24, C25 and C28 are listed with this board.

Neo Geo CD top loader main board NEO-CDM3-1 (1994.8.22)

Ten capacitors. Console5 lists a separate set for the 1994.9.8 date of the same board.

Neo Geo CD top loader main board NEO-CDM3-1 (1994.9.8)

Console5 lists AC8 as 0.1 uF 50 V.

Neo Geo CD top loader main board NEO-CDM3-2 (1994.9.8)

Console5 lists AC8 as 0.1 uF 50 V.

Neo Geo CD top loader main board NEO-CDM4-2 (1994.11.14)

Console5 lists AC8 as 0.1 uF 50 V.

Neo Geo CD top loader main board NEO-CDM5-1 (1995.3.06)

Console5 lists AC8 as 0.1 uF 50 V.

Neo Geo CD top loader CD controller board F3801AF

Console5 also lists one unnumbered 100 uF 10 V part, which is the last row here.

Neo Geo CDZ main board NEO-CDC1-1

Twenty capacitors.

Neo Geo CDZ CD board F3821AF

Fifteen capacitors.

Neo Geo MVS 1 slot MV1 / MV1T

Console5 gives counts only for this board, with no reference numbers. Thirty-four capacitors in all.

Neo Geo MVS 1 slot MV1-1

Console5 gives counts only for this board, with no reference numbers. Thirty-two capacitors in all.

Neo Geo MVS 1 slot MV-1F / MV-1FS

Console5 gives counts only for this board, with no reference numbers. Thirty-two capacitors in all.

Neo Geo MVS 1 slot MV-1A

Eleven capacitors, AC1 to AC11. The MV-1A and MV-1B lists differ in the values of AC6 and AC7.

Neo Geo MVS 1 slot MV-1B / MV-1B1

Eleven capacitors, AC1 to AC11. The MV-1A and MV-1B lists differ in the values of AC6 and AC7.

Neo Geo MVS 1 slot MV-1C

Eleven capacitors, AC1 to AC11. Console5 links a cap map for this board.

Neo Geo MVS 1 slot MV1FZ / MV1FZS

Console5 gives counts only for this board, with no reference numbers. Twenty capacitors in all.

Neo Geo MVS 2 slot MV-2F

Console5 gives counts only for this board, with no reference numbers. Thirty capacitors in all. Its map shows where each value sits rather than which reference number is which. The map also marks three 1 uF parts that the count list leaves out: two at the bottom left and one further up the board. Check yours before you order.

Neo Geo MVS 4 slot MV4

Console5 gives counts only for this board, with no reference numbers. Thirty-nine capacitors in all, including two 1000 uF parts. The wiki also has top and bottom cap maps for this board.

Neo Geo MVS 4 slot MV4F / MV4FT2

Console5 gives counts only for this board, with no reference numbers. Thirty capacitors in all.

Shopping list

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

• 103 x 470 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 101 x 10 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 95 x 4.7 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 65 x 100 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 34 x 330 µF, 6.3 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 27 x 22 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 23 x 1 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 20 x 220 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 16 x 100 µF, 10 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 14 x 47 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 12 x 330 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 7 x 47 µF, 10 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 7 x 220 µF, 10 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 5 x 0.1 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 4 x 33 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 1000 µF, 16 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 3 x 2200 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, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 2 x 2200 µF, 6.3 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 10 µF, 50 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 22 µF, 25 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 120 µF, 400 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 150 µF, 200 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 1000 µF, 10 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 2200 µF, 10 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 3300 µF, 6.3 V (check your board): Amazon · eBay
• 1 x 6800 µF, 6.3 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.

• Snk Neo Geo AES Neo AES 33 34 Cap Kit
• Neo Geo AES Neo AES 3 5 Cap Kit
• Snk Neo Geo AES Neo AES 3 6 Cap Kit
• Snk Neo Geo AES Power Supply Cap Kit 5V Pro Pow Ul Neo 0
• Snk Neo Geo AES Neo AES 3 3 3 4 Audio Fix Cap Kit
• Snk Neo Geo Cdz Cap Kit

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
• Neo Geo MVS on the timeline
• Neo Geo (Japan) on the timeline
• Neo Geo CD on the timeline
• Neo Geo CDZ on the timeline
• Hyper Neo Geo 64 on the timeline