Re: System Saver IIgs -- ID of burned part?

[russotto@wanda.pond.com (Matthew Russotto)]

In article <3b2ee077.13731649@newsflash.concordia.ca>,
Mitchell Spector <a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca> wrote:
>    I just opened up my Kensington System Saver IIgs to have a look
>inside (I've been wanting to replace its noisy fan for years) and just
>found something I wasn't expecting. The orange disc-like part at
>location 'V1' (there's also one at V2 and V3) split open and the
>plastic cover above it is badly scorched and burned. It looks to be
>some sort of large capacitor, resistor or regulator--I'm not sure,
>only that I've seen these on other electronics only much, much 
>smaller in size. It has two points that solder to the board, probably
>a postive and negative contact.

This sounds like a standard non-polar ceramic disk capacitor (they
come in a wide variety of sizes), though "V" isn't the right
designation for a capacitor.  Might be a surge protector too -- an MOV
-- though they usually fail undetectably rather than obviously.

>    The fan, LEDs and power-outlets seem to be working just fine, so
>I'm wondering what this bit of electronics does and how safe is it to
>continue running with it blown. 

If it is a capacitor, it is likely there to smooth out the ripple in
the DC power.  Not having it could contribute to failure of other
parts.  If it's a surge protector, you have no surge protection any
more (but you probably wouldn't anyway by now), but otherwise it's not
a problem.  Do the surviving ones have any writing on them?
-- 
Matthew T. Russotto                                russotto@pond.com
"Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in pursuit
of justice is no virtue."