Time Capsule Powered Off, Won't Power Back On

Yes, i open it and look inside...all seems ok...i send also pics to freddietheone and he told me that is tha logic board dead.

I also tried to power on without fan, or HD, or Logic Board...but nothing!

My PSU is made from Delta.

The Delta are superior power supplies.. If you powered on with all the unpluggable components removed and it did not start up then logic board is dead.

What are the exact symptoms??

Does the main LED flash at all?

What about the ethernet ports, they should all flash for a moment?

What about the fan .. does it go on at all?

Have you measured that the power supply is actually putting out 5v onto the board?

Power supplies can blow primary fuse. Or loads of other things happen. You can also just supply 5v to the main board and see if it works.

Measure the voltage from each of the converters on the board. There are 4 in total.

Measure from Gnd to each side of the inductor which is grey square near the power input.. marked 1R8.. the one on top is 1.0v underneath are 1.1v (maybe should be 1.2v) 3.3v next to it and the wireless card.. and 1.8v next to the processor. Any of those not working .. particularly 3.3v and 1.8v and it sure won't start.

There is definitely an issue in Gen 3 boards. I am trying to find the cause but I have no idea even if I find a cause if a solution is possible.

I can barely see most of the components on this thing let alone fix them.

Thanks a lot!

So, i powered on with all components removed and, it didn't start.

But i try the PSU, it's ok and also make a little noise.

The Led does't flash, ethernet and fan both off.

How could i measure that PSU puts out 5v on board?

I don't understand the part of converter...I'm not an expert in electronic...but i could try if you help me!

This is my TC, inside:

And this is my tester:

What can i do?

A power supply should not make any noise.

Please recognise this has high potential and can hurt you.. !! Do not touch the power end of the power supply at all. Plug and unplug with power off.

I am also reluctant to suggest you start sticking your meter probe into places you have no idea about.. the care you need with this is extremely high.. I blew up a router a few weeks ago by slipping the meter probe.. and I have been doing it for > 40years.

But there is a simple test.

External to the TC..

Setup the power supply and plug the sata power connector into the hard disk.

Plug the power supply into wall socket with the switch off.

Now turn on the wall switch.. the hard disk should spin up. And you should hear the heads hunt for track1.

If nothing happens, then most likely the power supply is faulty.. some hard drives do not start at power on unless signalled to start but most do. I tested an apple disk from a TC and it did start. Your model has a different hard drive though.. If you have another hard drive and the Apple one didn't start you can test on another one.. don't forget to power off the supply at wall before you touch anything.

Yes i know the risk..i pay attention!

It's strange, now the PSU not make noise but before yes, seems like to have charged something.

Test:

- i connected the HD to PSU and then power on: no spin...nothing, no noise.

I don't have another HD, but i'm sure that HD is ok, because i read it with an external box.

About PSU, it's a Delta type, and it must be more resistant...also Chris said that it doesn't seem, from photos. Maybe i could check it with tester?

No, the tester will not help. it has to be tested under load.. If the hard disk does not spin up, then I would say the power supply has failed. There are multiple types of failure.. you could have a high voltage surge that blew the primary side.. it is not just failure of the secondary capacitors.

If you are really intent on trying,, leave the power supply out of the TC.. but plug it into the board plug.

Look carefully at the power plug.. just below it is the first of the power converters. There are a pair of large brown capacitors to the right of the chip and the grey coloured inductor.

Turn power on..

Switch the meter to 20v dc range.

Place the black meter lead on the TC metal frame.. anywhere on the frame is gnd.

with extreme care place the red meter probe on the large brown capacitor ends.. one should read 0v and the other side should read 5v. (the side closest to the chip). Sorry I am not able to fiddle with the pictures at the moment.

You can also put your meter probe on the end of the grey inductor. it has a very large metal end.. it should measure 1.0v

If you blow up the TC, your meter.. or yourself ... be it on your head.

Here i am...i'm not dead, for now! 🙂

So, i tried with the PSU connected to the wall power, but not connected to the TC: the PSU make noise and with meter probe i did this...

Always 0....maybe is not correct what have i done? The same result i have with the PSU connected to the TC board, but in this case i don't here any noise from PSU.

The PSU board is this:

And this on other side:

I tried also to verify the power in on the board, and seems ok:

Now i'm thinking to trash all..... 😟

Just use an external power supply.

That is my standard repair nowadays anyway.

All you need is a power supply that puts out 5v and 12v at suitable current.. every computer ever made does this. All computer power supplies can be used at a pinch but it is better to use something like the cisco power supply I pointed to.. or buy a suitable one locally if you can find it.

Or use 12v power supply and a 12-5v converter, which I am also doing now.

You can recover the board and sata plugs off the existing supply.

I would post you a replacement but Italy has a terrible reputation for postal deliveries.

Ok, then it's a PSU fail, not a wrong misuration by me?

I have found many PSU 5v and 12v, but the problem is how i could connect to Logic board....i'm opened to every test...and i've not problem to deliver, i also could receive in the USA.

After the number of places you stuck your probes, if it wasn't dead it is now. And since you survived it.. be thankful and move on.

You have an excellent set of logic board plugs.. soldered into the now useless power supply. Unsolder them.. and solder wires to them.. so you can connect the new power supply.

There is the full screed with pics even to show you how to convert a Cisco power supply .. which unlike the Apple one could go another 20years.. although ironically made by delta..

http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repair/cisco-adp-30rb-4pin-molex

This can cost you $20US plus posts.. there are heaps of them on ebay in USA.. and HK.. but I find the HK ones a bit rough..

I just woke up this morning to the same issue. My TC has just stopped working. Is there anything I can do to restore? It's about 18 months old. There is no indication that it is being powered.

Welcome to the TC dead club! 😟

@ LaPastenague: thanks for all your support...now i'll send the PSU to Chris, if it's not ok maybe i'll buy a Cisco and with a friend we'll try the mod.

But now, i'm using an old Linksys Wag200g, and this morning i bought a Synology with 2 disks. I think it's more professional of the TC.

The dreaded 18 month delay before the TC bites the dust, is, many would say, 'Classic Behaviour'.

Either one of two things will happen and this seems to be something of a lottery as to which it will be...

1. Take it back to Apple and speak in sweet tones, being very nice and extra polite to the lovely people in the store, that the TC you own (showing them same) has stopped doing what it should do. If pressed a little more, the nice people may admit to knowing a little something about the 'unexpected and totally unlikely failure' of the TC. If you have been very good, you might just get a replacement. Ask if they can transfer the very valuable data from your old TC please. etc etc.

2, Take it back to Apple and be told in sweet and very understanding tones by the very nice and knowledable people in the store that Apple will not be able to do anything for you. It's beyond its one year warranty you see? Bit of a blow... soothing tones... but no real help, etc etc.

If 1 occurs, modify the thing so it runs cool - this may involve forgetting about the warranty but what is that worth? As we all know, the TC is made from very high grade materials that do not go wrong - IN FACT the hard drive is 'SERVER GRADE' and there surely is no higher spec than that?... unless we drift in miltary use! Always rememebr the Apple tag line from way back... 'Apple's just work'.

I suppose your TC was having an off day? That would be it. So... all OK there then?

If 2 occurs, get the TC to a repairer (see the list) and get it modified in some way to keep cool. Almost unnecessary I would have thought, with all the SERVER GRADE mularky inside, and Apple's 'just working' but well, it could be the TC is on top of a radiator, or in the sun maybe or just 'unlucky'.

I know mine was 'just unlucky' and the failure was 'just one of those things'... but that apparently is a rare occurence.

For what it is worth, the internal hard drive, unless you have dropped it down a flight of stairs, will still have all your data backed away on its surfaces. The hard drives do not fail - SERVER GRADE and all that...

Also for what it is worth, the TCs seem to run a bit hot. Too hot to hold, although you would not want to hold it sir... it is a high reliability back-up device... not a hand warmer. The fact it will almost give you blisters if you hold it for long may just suggest something is not as it should be...

Remove the heat from the TC and it becomes as reliable as the tag line suggests... 'Apple's just work'

I have two TCs that run very cool indeed and have been doing so for more than two years... and counting.

Join the club.

See Ray's list for repairers:

http://sites.google.com/site/lapastenague/a-deconstruction-of-routers-and-modems /apple-time-capsule-repairers

See

http://www.fackrell.me.uk

for methods of making it run cool - like modifying the fan.

Welcome to the Dead TC Club... :-(

Regards,

Chris

YORK, UK

Ah, the Billster from Victoria, Canada has just joined the Dead Capsule Club. In the wee hours of this morning the green lamp of my 1TB of Jun 09 winked out. The unit is 2.5 years old.

I am using an Airport Express 11n I keep around so we have Internet again. Coverage is surprisingly good.

Judging by what I read here it overheated albeit it was in a cool cellar fully ventilated. What a royal nuisance this is. There are no critical data on the drive so no panic about that.

I take it that the newer units, 2 and 3 TB have the same design problem with the PSU, fan orientation and sensor, and no vents. Right?

What is the record for the Airport Extreme? Opinions gratefully accepted here, please. I'm looking for a good WiFi unit perhaps with the ports that the TC and Extreme have.

As for backup HDs, I'll switch to Lacie models with USB 3.0 ports.

The Billster