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Recap guide

Recap the Super NES and Super Famicom

Capacitor lists for the SNES, in several board revisions, are kept in a community repository.

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

Difficulty: Easy to Medium

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.

  • SHVC-CPU-01 (NTSC/Japan, 1990-1992) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Largest NTSC board, with a detachable sound module. Capacitors: ConsoleMods says it has a 1000 uF filter cap at C67 (later US units dropped it); norly keeps a separate list for it, and a shmups poster found SMD C63 and C64 leaked on one and decided it needed a recap. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: yes. Source
  • SNS-CPU-GPM-01 and -02 (NTSC, 1992-1994) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Smaller board with all sound hardware on the mainboard; GPM-02 is the last with a removable cartridge port. Capacitors: norly has a separate list for SNS-CPU-GPM-02; ConsoleMods says through-hole parts were reduced and SMD integration increased. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: yes. Source
  • SNSP-CPU-01 and -02 (PAL, 1992-1995) (Medium confidence). How to tell: PAL board the same size as the SHVC-CPU-01. Capacitors: ConsoleMods says polarized cap C59 is prone to failure and most -02 units had it swapped for a bipolar part; norly has a combined list for -01 and -02. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: yes. Source
  • SNS-CPU-RGB-01 and -02 (NTSC, 1994-1995) (Low confidence). How to tell: Carries the ROHM BA6596F S-RGB encoder, and the cartridge port is soldered in. Capacitors: No cap list found; ConsoleMods only says -02 changed the audio DAC. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
  • SNS-CPU-APU-01 (NTSC, 1995-1996) (Low confidence). How to tell: Last three-chip board, with the S-APU sound chip and S-MIX amplifier. Capacitors: No cap list found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
  • SNS-CPU-1CHIP-01, -02, -03 (NTSC, 1995-1997; PAL SNSP-CPU-1CHIP-01/02; Brazil SNSM-1CHIP) (Low confidence). How to tell: Marked 1CHIP on the board; US serials begin UN3. Capacitors: No cap list found; ConsoleMods says PAL 1CHIP boards use a four-diode series instead of a bridge rectifier, and a Console5 kit seller says its kit covers SHVC-CPU-01/02, GPM, RGB, APU and 1CHIP in SMD and leaded parts. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
  • SNN-CPU-01 / SNS-101 / SHVC-101 (1997-2003) (Low confidence). How to tell: Small rounded redesign with circular power and reset buttons, one revision. Capacitors: ConsoleMods says the Japanese version adds a 2200 uF filter cap. 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.

  • Wavy lines (Low confidence). On one Super Famicom, wavy-line interference was traced to failing surface-mount power filter caps C63 and C64, and one had visibly leaked. The board revision was not stated. Source
  • Do I even need a recap? (Medium confidence). RetroRGB says the SNES is not particularly known for leaky capacitors. Check for leaks before you spend the money. Source
  • Dead console (Low confidence). In one repair a failed D1 reverse-protection diode caused no power. Check that diode, and the ceramic capacitors near the CPU, before you blame the electrolytics. 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.

  • Story: Wavy lines after about 20 minutes (Low confidence). In the Shmups Super Famicom thread, the wavy lines appeared after roughly 20 minutes and with a Super Everdrive cart but not original carts. Meter readings showed C63 and C64 above 20 ohms ESR, and the poster also discussed swapping the supply regulator for a 2A part and needing several power cycles after the recap before it settled. Source
  • Tip: Jailbars: stack ceramics on decoupling caps (Low confidence). A Shmups thread describes a jailbar fix that solders 10uF ceramics (X7R or C0G, 6.3V minimum, 0805 or 0603) onto existing small decoupling caps, listing C5, C57, C63, C64 and C69 on 1-chip boards, C70 to C75 on 2-chip, and mainly C5 on the Jr. Results varied from near total to marginal, and one user reported black bars in some games afterwards. Source
  • Watch out: Jailbars survived a full recap (Low confidence). A Super Famicom owner on the videogameperfection forum found vertical bars and buzzing only over RGB to an OSSC, and neither a full recap nor extra decoupling caps cured it. Lifting pin 3 of PPU-2 on an SNS-CPU-RGB-01 board did, a fix first documented for other board versions. Source
  • Tip: Darkening with diagonal white lines (Low confidence). For a Super Famicom whose picture darkened and gained white diagonal bars over time, a reply on the same forum said to try a different power supply first (9-10V DC, at least 1A, centre negative), then recap if that does not help. Source
  • Tip: 1CHIP ghosting: C11 (Medium confidence). RetroRGB describes a faint ghosting on 1CHIP consoles fixed by changing C11, just under the cartridge pins, to a 0.47uF ceramic. The write-up says it is hard to photograph and, once noticed, hard to ignore. Source
  • Watch out: Star Fox glob-top cart cap (Low confidence). A RacketBoy PSA says the glob-top Star Fox cartridge has an SMD electrolytic that can dry out or leak onto the PCB, so owners should open the cart, check the revision and replace the cap with the correct part. This is a cartridge, not the console. Source
  • Tip: Regulator swap and 22uF at its output (Medium confidence). RetroRGB's SNES restoration notes suggest replacing the 7805 with a 78S05, swapping a 1uF SMD cap on the regulator output circuit for 22uF, and replacing C11 for ghosting on 1CHIP and Mini units. It warns some newer regulators add vertical interference, and lists a white vertical line down the middle as a 1CHIP symptom. Source
  • Watch out: Community cap lists are examples (Medium confidence). The norly capacitor-lists repository (SNES SHVC-CPU-01, SNS-CPU-GPM-02, SNSP-CPU-01/-02 and PS1 PU-18 to PU-23) says its parts, sourced from LCSC, are examples from personal experience and may contain analog mistakes. It points readers to the Console5 wiki and other repositories to cross-check before buying. Source

Before you start

  • Board revision matters. Look for the numbers printed on the board (such as SNS-CPU-GPM-02).

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.

  • capacitor-lists (List) by norly on GitHub. A repository of capacitor lists for several consoles. Read the license in the repository before copying values.
  • Console5 wiki: SNES (Wiki) by Console5. A community wiki page for this machine, often with board photos and capacitor lists.

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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