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My Second Liberation: Mac IIcx
Posted by: LC_575 on 2010-12-02 14:23:22
Yet again I have liberated a Macintosh from my school's basement (as well as a IBM Model M keyboard!). This time it's a IIcx, with the full 8MB of RAM, a 160mb HD, Apple High Resolution Display Card, Apple Ethernet, and my favorite Apple floppy drive! GE Power supply too.

I have tested it once, a while back - it did not boot. 99% chance that's due to a bad battery, but who knows. (If anyone knows how to make a 3.6v batt, let me know)

I've taken a glance at the caps, and they look fine, but honestly I don't really know what to look out for besides bulging.

Whatever it's condition, the last thing I want is a repeat of my IIsi disaster. What should I do to clean up this Mac and make sure we don't have any magic smoke liberation?
Posted by: applefreak on 2010-12-02 14:31:06
a IIcx doesn't need a battery to start up

step one :

remove the ram

clean the contacts with a pencil eraser

reseat ram
Posted by: LC_575 on 2010-12-02 14:48:05
How do you remove the PSU?
Posted by: LC_575 on 2010-12-02 14:56:58
Band News: Just found a cap, under the drive unit, that is encrusted in a white, frosty substance. I'm guessing it's electrolytic. xx(

Posted by: LC_575 on 2010-12-02 14:58:42
It appears nearly every small, silver capacitor on the mainboard has leaked.

Dishwasher time?
Posted by: jsarchibald on 2010-12-02 15:04:10
I would try replacing the capacitors with a soldering gun and some solder before using the dishwasher. That should be for absolute worst case scenarios.

I've done this on about a dozen eMacs and it works a treat. Give that a go first, as the capacitors are shot and no amount of dishwashing will fix that. It is more to get rid of battery leakage and dust buildup.

PS - Every time I get a new computer now, I take it apart, clean everything as best I can, check that every part looks as it should, and then start it. I'm not an overly patient person but I have to force myself to be, it's better in the long run.
Posted by: applefreak on 2010-12-02 15:11:41
download the service source

mac IIci, IIcx, quadra 700 pdf
Posted by: Unknown_K on 2010-12-02 18:04:13
IIcx machines are like IIci ones, they don't want to start because of bad capacitors or issues with the power supply. If you want the IIcx recapped I can do it for a fee (pretty easy, did mine and I have units to test the boards with).
Posted by: LC_575 on 2010-12-02 18:14:33
I managed to remove the PSU and Drive Units - and made a harrowing discovery. I'll let the pictures explain:









That last picture is of the floppy drive, which sits above the fallout zone. It won't be used in another Mac.

My only guess is that years of disuse allowed the battery to acidify the entire area. Add a little moisture and the corrosion comes in like never before. This entire corner of the motherboard is simply destroyed, and has rusted out any metal within a 5in radius of the battery.

Thankfully, the NuBus and memory cards seemed to have been spared.
Posted by: Unknown_K on 2010-12-02 19:34:22
Bummer, wonder if that happens if the battery gets wet in storage?
Posted by: jsarchibald on 2010-12-02 19:48:32
I've got a Macintosh SE that did the same thing. The finish has come off the inside bottom of the case, half of the mobo is covered in rusty scale, and the capacitors are bulging big time like they absorbed the acid inside themselves. It is equally as unpretty as this one.
Posted by: Concorde1993 on 2010-12-02 20:03:52
Well, if it was in the school's basement, one should take into consideration drastic temperature changes. If this computer was left exposed, moisture developed from the school's AC & boiler, and heat from the furnace could easily have caused the caps to bulge, and eventually explode.

I can relate from experience. When I received my Amiga 2000, the computer was "supposedly" left in cold storage in a school basement. Although the internal components seemed fine (no bulging caps, rust, etc.), some rust did develop on the bottom, and rear end of the case.
Posted by: applefreak on 2010-12-03 03:16:56
(If anyone knows how to make a 3.6v batt, let me know)
My Homebrew LC 575 PRAM Battery

all the pram batteries are removed from my computers(no battery = no leak)
for the fiew who need a battery to start up (macintosh II, IIx, IIfx, ..) and the ones with a bad accessible pram battery location (IIci, IIcx, ..)i use a (or two) mono mini jack (female) at the back of the computer
3*1,2V (rechargeable battery)
Posted by: trag on 2010-12-03 12:02:25
It's probably obvious but....

*always* remove the battery before storing a Macintosh.

It should be obvious, but I had to make time a year or two ago to go up into the attic and open every Mac and pull the batteries. I hadn't thought of it before I put them up there.

So it's not always something that one thinks of. Especially if one isn't sure how long the Mac will be stored away.

Of course, in a case like a Mac found in a school basement, this is out of the Liberation Army's control. 🙂

Posted by: LC_575 on 2010-12-03 12:51:45
I've decided that there's nothing worth my time here. The IIcx will be getting the old heave-ho. I've also discovered that the Nubus Video card has bad caps as well. The only salvageable parts are the HD, memory and Ethernet card, and maybe the FDD, if i'm lucky.
Posted by: trag on 2010-12-03 14:23:56
Is the 68030 in a socket?
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