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Recap guide

Recap the Macintosh Portable

Capacitors are routine to recap, but the lead-acid battery and the hybrid module are the bigger worries.

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.

  • Macintosh Portable M5120 (no backlight) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Model number M5120. Capacitors: Has a hybrid module prone to cap damage; caps no worse than other Macs of the era. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: yes. Source
  • Macintosh Portable M5126 (backlit) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Model number M5126. Capacitors: The sound power control circuit and hybrid problem of the 5120 are absent; cap list not given. 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.

  • Caps and the hybrid module (Low confidence). One experienced owner says the caps are no worse than on other Macs and used Console5 kits. Leaked electrolyte can damage the 5120's hybrid 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: Do not use PowerBook adapters (Medium confidence). The thread says PowerBook adapters can damage a Macintosh Portable and recommends the correct M5136 7.5V 1.5A adapter or a battery eliminator. It also says the Portable power circuit needs a healthy battery. Source
  • Watch out: Portable bench-test traps (Medium confidence). A repair write-up says the +V pins on connector J17 are not tied together on the board, so wire both when bench testing, and warns in capitals not to connect a VGA cable directly to the Portable. It also says capacitor leakage can degrade the hybrid module and not to test with drives installed at first. Source
  • Tip: Sound crashes have three common causes (Medium confidence). A Portable repair thread lists dirty crud in the hybrid module pin holes, a faulty Q3 or its voltage regulation, and the high-side load switch MOSFET (which Apple removed on backlit models) as common causes of crashes during sound. It says ultrasonic cleaning can cure board contamination and to hard-wire both +V harness pins when bench powering. 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.

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

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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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