Macintosh SE

The Macintosh SE (not to be confused with the later SE/30) was released in 1987 and discontinued in 1990.

They contain the usual infamous leaky 3V lithium cells, and occasionally explosive bipolar capacitors. It does not contain any SMD parts.

'''WARNING: As this has a built-in CRT, treat it with the same caution and respect as a CRT TV. Always follow safe practices and assume lethal voltages are present, even on powered-off units. Always safely discharge the tube before working inside.'''

Causes

 * The lithium batteries soldered to the SE's logic board often rupture and leak highly corrosive contents, destroying any of the board or other materials it comes in contact with. They need to be removed in practically any example.

Solutions

 * If the battery has ruptured without irreparably destroying the board, or has not yet ruptured, it should be removed as soon as possible. They can often be replaced with modern equivalents.

Causes

 * The capacitor C15 on the analog board tends to violently explode. If you see the monitor's image start to squish/collapse in any direction, immediately turn off and unplug the machine as quickly as possible, and let it sit for a while (days) to discharge, and replace C15 with the exact  bipolar electrolytic  before trying to use it again.

Solutions

 * C15 should be replaced with a modern equivalent. Do not apply power to the machine if any above symptoms are exhibited. If it's not replaced with a bipolar capacitor, it will immediately and violently explode when powered.
 * This is likely the only capacitor that will need replacing in the device.

Disassembly Notes
'''WARNING: As this has a built-in CRT, treat it with the same caution and respect as a CRT TV. Always follow safe practices and assume lethal voltages are present, even on powered-off units. Always safely discharge the tube before working inside.'''

A fairly long T15 Torx screwdriver is required to open up any similar style of Macintosh. A few vendors on Amazon sell 6" long Torx bit sets.

Lay down a soft towel and set the Mac front side down, safely on the towel. Remove the two T15 screws towards the bottom of the rear, and the two T15 screws inside the handle pocket at the top. If the back shell does not lift off easily, you can use one of these screws to gently push down and separate the case.

Before removing the logic board, make sure all connectors including the small 2 pin speaker connector are unplugged to avoid destroying their pins.

Logic Board - MACINTOSH SE 820-0176-B
''From the now-defunct 68kMLA Wiki: "Some logic board revisions may have a different number of capacitors, so make sure to look first and verify this information." ''

(Only electrolytics listed for now, various glass tantalums are not easily readable)

Analog Board - MACINTOSH SE ANALOG 820-0206-B 630-0147-C
''From the now-defunct 68kMLA Wiki: "Some logic board revisions may have a different number of capacitors, so make sure to look first and verify this information." ''

(Only electrolytics listed for now, various cermaics and glass tantalums are not easily readable)

Logic Board - MACINTOSH SE 820-0176-B (C) 1986
From the now-defunct 68kMLA Wiki: "Some logic board revisions may have a different number of capacitors, so make sure to look first and verify this information." If parts are not available or different selection is preferred, you can use the values in the Original Parts section to perform a parametric search.

Kits

 * Digikey BOM: https://www.digikey.com/

Related Links

 * https://recapamac.com.au/macintosh-se/