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Recap guide

Recap the Power Mac G4 Cube power brick

The Cube's external power brick is a known failure with dried-out caps, and a recap thread lists values.

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.

  • G4 Cube power brick (Low confidence). How to tell: Marked designators C1, C2, C6, C15 and C33. Capacitors: Five electrolytics; C15 is most likely to fail and C6 second. The thread's value readings look like measured, not nominal, so read the originals off the board. 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.

  • Power brick caps (Medium confidence). One thread measured the original values and lists replacements for C1, C2, C6, C15 and C33, with disassembly steps. 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: Which caps fail first on the brick (Medium confidence). A restorer's thread on the Cube brick says C15 and C6 are the most failure-prone and deserve robust replacements, and that replacing all the electrolytics is better than one. Measure the output (about 28V no load) after soldering the shield plates and before closing the cage. Source
  • Watch out: Opening the brick breaks things (Medium confidence). Posters report the plastic end cap tabs break even after drilling the holes, metal cage tabs may need cutters, and the silicone holding the plates takes effort to separate without tearing solder points. One cap's negative lead must keep its stock length because it solders to both the board and copper plates. 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.

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.

  • G4 Cube Power Brick RECAPPING (Step-by-step) by TinkerDifferent forum. Has a capacitor list. Measured original values, replacements and disassembly steps

The capacitor list

We have not checked a capacitor list for this machine yet, so none is shown. Follow the guide above for your board, then add the capacitors in the interactive checklist and it builds a shopping list for you.

Skip the sourcing

While you are in there

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

Steps, tools and safety

The steps, the tools in top, middle and budget picks, and the safety list are the same for every machine, so they live on one page: How to recap, step by step.

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.

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