CAVE ESP RA.DE PCB - ceramic capacitors typically replaced?

[Joe]

I just received a Japanese ESP RA.DE board. I noticed that there was some flux on the underside against three or four of the blue ceramic capacitors. One does not look a great job on the soldering from the top. Has anyone else had this on their ESP.RA.DE boards or knows if there is a reason the blue capacitors may have been replaced or resoldered on these boards?

Although the board was sold as working from a store I am concerned if this is at risk of longer term failure that cannot be immediately seen.

Any technical gurus with advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[benime]

Less likely that they were replaced and more likely that they were reflowed because it came loose.

In the first pic you can see the original solder on the leg of the cap where it looks like it broke free from the parts side of the board. Notice how it flares out.

 

[twistedsymphony]

Less likely that they were replaced and more likely that they were reflowed because it came loose.

^this

The board would run fine even if the caps were completely removed, I don't think that these were re-soldered will have any effect on the long term reliability of the PCB.

 

[ShootTheCore]

OP, the ceramic caps are used to smooth out the 5V power supply rail to each chip - notice that each chip has its own adjacent ceramic cap. I agree that while the board will run without any of them, it's better for the long-term life of things if all the ceramic caps are present. It's better for the longevity of the board that the damaged ceramic cap was repaired - just take a Q Tip and some isopropyl alcohol to the leftover flux on the bottom to clean it up, then enjoy the game!

 

[Joe]

Thanks for everyone's replies! A quick and decisive consensus. It does make me wonder whether the board has been bashed around for the components to need reflowing like that. I tend to dwell/focus too much on small issues with my boards rather than playing- quite distracting (once seen, cannot be unseen etc.) Now, if only my game playing prowess can be repaired as easily.