Not sure why tantalum was chosen over electrolytics, but here's my
source
article:
http://www.benplace.com/vanagon_intermittent_syndrome.htm
Maybe I can use an electrolytic, afterall...
No engineering at all, in other words. Looks like the guy just
grabbed the generic 'good capacitor' and it worked for him. No
idea if it was the bulk capacitance it needed, or more high
frequency noise shunting. I wouldn't want to use a regular
electrolytic cap in a harsh environment, but I hate them anyway.
But one of them in parallel with a decent .1 uF orange drop or
something would work even better than the tantalum, most likely.
The proper engineering fix involves finding out the failure mechanism,
using an oscilloscope, etc., then putting in the right component to
take care of it. That takes time, knowledge, and equipment that
most people don't have though.
Heck, in that application just try anything. It won't hurt!
-- Jim
