Don't get smoked! Remove your filter caps before it's too late.

Apple II, III, Macintosh 128k, 512k, Plus, and many PCs computers have Rifa brand filter capacitors on their power supplies. These caps start to crack over time, and eventually they will blow up and let out all of their magic smoke. And boy, is that some stinky smoke. When these caps go (and trust me, they will), you will definitely regret not clipping them out sooner.

Now luckily, usually no damage is caused when they blow up. Still, do you want nasty smelling smoke in your house? No! So go and deal with them now!

These capacitors are generally not necessary for the thing they're attached to to function, and as such, many people just remove them and leave it at that. Still, I would recommend replacing them instead. They prevent electrical interference from travelling back into the wall, and it's generally good practice to not leave them out. Not strictly required, but strongly recommended. They were there for a reason.

Exploded RIFA Filter Capacitor
Image coutesy of @joshc on the 68kMLA forums.

Page last updated: 11/09/2023
Update Reason: text updated

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