The capacitor plague (also known as bad capacitors or "bad caps") is a problem with a large number of premature failures of aluminum electrolytic capacitors with non-solid or liquid electrolyte of certain brands, especially from some Taiwanese manufacturers.
The first flawed capacitors were reported in 1999, but most of the affected capacitors failed in the early to mid 2000s. High failure rates occurred in various electronic equipment, particularly motherboards, video cards, compact fluorescent lamp ballasts, LCD monitors, and power supplies of personal computers. News of the failures (usually after a few years of use) forced many equipment manufacturers to repair the defects. The problem seems to be ongoing; faults were still being reported as of 2010.
Read more about Capacitor Plague: Prevalence, Diagnosis, Industrial Espionage Implicated, Development of Electrolytic Capacitors With Water-based Electrolytes, Evidence of Defective Electrolyte, Electrolytic Capacitor Failures After 2007
Famous quotes containing the word plague:
“Love is sinister,
is mean to us in separation;
makes our thin bodies thinner.
This fellow Death
lacks mercy
and is good at counting our days.
And Master,
you, too, are subject
to the plague of jealousy
so think:
how could womenfolk,
soft as sprouts,
live like this?”
—Amaru (c. seventh century A.D.)