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Philips CDI 601 Capacitor Replacement Guide

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Philips CDI 601 front and rear panels (Philips brochure)
CDI 601 front and rear panels (Philips brochure). The mains inlet (16) and voltage selector (11) feed the internal switch-mode supply.

No capacitor values have been published for the Philips CDI 601. No service manual for it has been found, ICDIA's list of service manuals has none for the 601 or 602, and retrostuff, the CD-i repair site with the most detail on Philips boards, says little is known about the Maxi MMC board that the 601 and 602 use.[1][2] For failure signs in general see Capacitor Failure Symptoms.

What is known

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  • The supply is a switch-mode unit that accepts 100 to 120 V or 220 to 240 V ± 10 %, set by the 110/220 V selector on the rear panel. The player draws about 35 W without extensions.[3][4] Retrostuff warns that the large filter capacitors in CD-i supplies can give a shock if they have not discharged, and advises unplugging the player and leaving the power switch on for some time before touching the supply.[4]
  • The main board is the Maxi MMC, and the disc mechanism is a caddy-loading CDM 9.[2][5]
  • The DS1216C SmartWatch socket that holds the NVRAM contains batteries, not capacitors. It is covered on the maintenance page.[6]
  • The later Mini MMC players (604, 605) use a different board, so the values in the Philips CDI 605 Capacitor Replacement Guide do not apply to the 601.[2]

Recording your own board

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Record sheet (one row per electrolytic)
Board Reference Capacitance Voltage Temperature rating Diameter x height Polarity mark Notes
Supply
Main board
  1. Photograph each board from directly above before removing anything, with the reference numbers legible.
  2. Read each capacitor's value, voltage and temperature rating from its sleeve, and measure its diameter, height and lead spacing.
  3. Philips's service part codes have twelve digits. In the parts lists of the later CDI 450 and 470 service manuals, every electrolytic capacitor that has a code has one beginning 4822 124, which helps when matching a part to a list.[7][8]
  4. Note the polarity marking on the board for each position. On a Philips CDI 350, retrostuff fitted two electrolytics the wrong way round by following the + marks instead of the white dots printed on the board.[9]

Procedure

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  1. Unplug the player, leave the power switch on for some time, and check the supply's large capacitors for charge before touching them.[4]
  2. Do not disturb the SRAM chip in the SmartWatch socket; lifting it out deletes the stored data.[6]
  3. Replace like for like: the same capacitance, at least the same voltage, and the same polarity.
  4. Before switching on, check that the voltage selector matches the mains supply.[3]
  5. After reassembly, check that the player starts to the player shell and reads a disc; see the Philips CDI 601 Troubleshooting Guide.
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References

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  1. ↑ The New International CD-i Association, "CD-i Service Manuals" (retrieved 2026-10-21): no manual for the CDI 601 or 602.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Retrostuff, "Modifications for Philips CD-i Players" (retrieved 2026-10-20), section "JNMS, Maxi MMC and Mini MMC (prof.)": 601 and 602 with the Maxi MMC mainboard, 604 and 605 with the Mini MMC mainboard; "Not much is known about the first two".
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Philips Interactive Media Systems, CDI 601 Professional CD-I System, brochure, p. 5: power supply 100-120 V and 220-240 V ± 10 % selectable, power consumption approx. 35 W without extensions; rear panel key (11 mains voltage selector 110/220 V, 16 mains power connector). Hosted as File:Philips CDI 601 Brochure.pdf.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Retrostuff, "Philips CD-i Power Supply Units", 2024, updated 2026 (retrieved 2026-10-20): general information and warning ("Always unplug the power cord and leave the power switch in the 'on' position for some time before inspecting a power supply unit"); section "Maxi MMC / Mini MMC": switch-mode, multi-voltage, voltage selector on professional players.
  5. ↑ The New International CD-i Association, "Comparison table of all Philips professional and authoring CD-i players" (retrieved 2026-10-21): CDI 601/00, caddy, CDM 9, Maxi-MMC.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Retrostuff, "NVRAM+RTC Solutions for Philips CD-i Players", 2021, updated 2025 (retrieved 2026-10-20), sections "32 KB (SmartWatch)" and "8 KB (SmartWatch)".
  7. ↑ Philips, CDI 450/00/05/11/17 service manual, P.S. 0694, 4822 725 24741, parts lists (PDF pp. 31, 32 and 35). Hosted as File:Philips CDI 450 Service Manual.pdf.
  8. ↑ Philips, Compact disc interactive player CDI 470/00/05/06 service manual, P.S. 0795, 4822 725 24768, sections 8.2 and 8.4, parts lists (PCS 85 629 and 85 633). Hosted as File:Philips CDI 470 Service Manual.pdf.
  9. ↑ Retrostuff, "Philips CDI350 Repair Part 3", 24 May 2020 (retrieved 2026-10-20): C938 and C991 soldered with the wrong polarity because the + marks were used as indicators and not the white dots.


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