3 contact capacitor (older Sansui Integrated)

[ALL212]

I'd like to put in some new "main" caps in an older (1970's) Sansui Integrated AU-3900.  As I pulled the first cap I found it had three leads.

Is this something that I can get today?  If not, is there a way around this?  I've put it back in again - everything works fine.

This is a 3300uf 35v cap.

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[2wo]

There are a  few possibilities, one, it is two caps in one can, unlikely in a 70's era amp or the third pin is an extra connection point to keep a heavy part in place.  It is probably connected to the neg pin or nothing. Have a look at the bottom of the circuit board to see if two pins share a leed or remove it and check with an ohm meter.  The third possibility is the third pin connects to the outside shell of the cap, that would connect to ground. In any case, unless it is two caps you should be able to replace it with a two leed cap and given the age of the amp, not a bad idea...John

 

[ALL212]

Sounds good - I'll give that a try.

Thank you!

 

[Paul Joppa]

If you can decipher the part identification, you should be able to find a data sheet on the web. That will answer your questions. (Of course it may lead to new questions ...)

 

[braubeat]

it is a good idea to try and figure out the original circuit. there are several possibilities.

Michael