Apple iMac G5 Motherboard Repair Manual

Apple iMac G5 Motherboard PowerPC capacitors replaced. The iMac mother board pictured above shows the locations of the new capacitors installed. Note: The heights and diameters of the new capacitors are slightly bigger in this picture, than the original caps. Upgraded to 1,800 uf 10 volts from the original 1,800 uf 6.3 volts.

Back cover still clears (barely clears) all components. Important notes are as follows. It appears as though lead free solder was used and a polymer was coated on the assembled motherboard on the bottom. A very hot soldering iron is required. Doing it yourself is not for the faint at heart. But fear not, you can do it if you follow this procedure.

Everything has to be disassembled, beginning with the removal o the power supply, which also can be a victim of bad caps and/or poor engineering, (see: DIY G5 power supply repair) in order to get to the bottom of the motherboard. Refer to the various Apple user manuals for details and visual instructions on how to remove various items. The cover is easy to take off by simply turning the three screws completely counter clockwise on the bottom of the computer’s lower edge and then lifting up the rear cover.

See this YouTube Video for what is inside the iMac G5 Computer. However once the cover is removed, the rest of the computer disassembly is an enormous task for most non technical people and requires special tools. Apple never intended for the end user to remove everything that I removed in order to get to the root of the matter. Spline or Torx are not necessarily needed, though it would be helpful. I had some precision screwdrivers that fit somewhat precisely in the fasteners. Here are some additional service notes and soldering tips. In addition to requiring a super hot soldering iron, one with good heat transfer and quick heat recovery.

Download Manual PDF Apple G5 Motherboard Repair