In this post I will explain how to recap the N64 using my Japanese model. It is one of the easiest consoles to replace the capacitors for and always recommended to do so.
Complete video tutorial
Watch the entire video first then refer back to this article for further guidance.
Recapping guide
It is always a must that you read the recapping guide (and watch its video) so you get all the necessary information to proceed. You can check it here:
https://thundertronics.net/blog/recapping-electronics-ultimate-guide/
Tools and capacitor kit
All capacitors in this device are SMD type, thus the only tools needed are the soldering iron and hot air station.
I used this cap kit: https://console5.com/store/n64-nintendo-64-smd-cap-kit.html
It is from Console5 which uses high quality capacitors. I noticed most of the caps used are solid polymer type which is fantastic as these caps have more life in them and do not deteriorate over time.
Disassembly
You will need the so called gamebit screw driver to disassemble this console similar to other Nintendo ones. However, since I do not have such a screw driver bit, I used a plastic pen shell to disconnect all screws.
It is basically just heating the pen then quickly stick it to the screw, wait for couple of seconds for the plastic to cool, then unscrew the screw. Repeating this until all screws are out, then later on replace them with regular screws.
Then take the motherboard out of the shell so you can work easier on it.
You also need to take off the heatsink which should be easy, just couple of screws then it will pop out. Be sure not to damage the thermal pads while taking it out.
Old capacitors marking
It is a nice practice to label the old capacitors by a marker so you keep following up nicely. This is essential step to prevent any mistake or negligence.
Tinning old capacitor pads
The first actual step we take is to put fresh new solder to all capacitor pads. This is for making desoldering them later on easier especially if there is flux.
Capacitors removal
Since I have RGB mod installed, I did not want to harm it. Thus, I used the snipping method to take out the capacitors which are near it.
Then proceeded to other capacitors and desoldered them using hot air as planned. I used flux as well which helps spread the heat.
Soldering new capacitors
Before soldering any capacitor, I cleaned all the pads with solder wick and IPA. Then, I put fresh new solder on all the pads so that when I install the new capacitor it sits properly without any junk in the pad or under it.
Put the new capacitor on the pads using tweezers, then while holding it, touch one pad with soldering iron to melt solder to the capacitor leg. Do the same for the other leg and it will be done.
Re-assembly and final thoughts
Re-assembling it was not hard, and I used new traditional screw drivers instead of gamebit ones, and you must do this too.
With polymer capacitors being the majority of new caps, this will boost the lifetime of the console a lot.
I do encourage people to use polymer caps and test them with different consoles then report back on the result, so that we document which console had problems and which did not
Overall this was easy. SMD caps are easier to remove than through hole as through hole require desoldering gun which may not do the job perfectly. I do however recommend changing the thermal pads if you have replacements.
