B point issue after modding Switch OLED

[Jeik]

Hi everyone,

I had decided to install the Instinct NX on my OLED Switch and I managed to connect all points besides B properly and now the Switch is unresponsive (won't boot).

For some extra context, I went with the "no reflow" approach to the flex cable meant for the EMMC chip.

The multimeter shows good values for all of the soldered points except the B/RST one (it should be 2.9V from what I've read online but for me it's 0).

I figured that the B point shorted with the ground ring around it (absolutely not sure if it's is for passthrough of the capacitor next to the B point or ground as I couldn't find too much info online).

Despite trying so hard with flux, various temperatures and even trying to use lower temp solder to make cleanup easier on that point, there's always a silver layer on it (unlike others which have a ring).

Does anyone know what my options here are?

Because all I can think of is:
a) stopping the trace which shorted with the B point and then rewiring the transistor to the distanced point (after exposing it with a dremel/engraving tool) it's meant to reach, but that's pretty invasive and I'd like to do that only after I definitely know how exactly that section of the board is supposed to be connected here (because all I can do now is speculate) and only if I have no other option.

b) Trying to carefully sand off the silver layer(solder?) Until the point and ring are perfectly exposed and separated, applying solder mask, curing it, exposing just the middle part of the point and soldering on it.

I've attached a photo (the microscope I have has a horrible pic quality so this was the clearest one I could snap) of the board along with a mark-up of the "a" idea (red lines for a trace cut and blue line for rewire - but that's just me guessing that's how it's supposed to go...).

In conclusion, I'd like to ask if my thinking process regarding the available options is okay (with the way I think the connections are supposed to be like) and if there's a better way to resolve this issue.

Any kind of help/ would be greatly appreciated.

 

[LPRM]

Does it beep on diode mode or only shows 0?
Some Multimeter does not show readings on point B, so if you have no beep it should be good.

 

[Jeik]

Does it beep on diode mode or only shows 0?
Some Multimeter does not show readings on point B, so if you have no beep it should be good.

I tried a continuity test with one prod on the bottom part of the capacitor and another on the B point and it beeps (so I guess it's shorted). I also thought to myself "well, it won't beep but other connections are proper, maybe it will work once I reassemble the console" but the Switch won't boot (nothing happens if I press or hold the power button).

 

[LPRM]

Test B point on the usb shield. Does it beep?

 

[Jeik]

Test B point on the usb shield. Does it beep?

It doesn't beep while prodding B nor does it beep if I prod the bottom part of the capacitor next to the B point (it beeps e.g. with the yellow, bigger capacitor on the right though).

 

[LPRM]

I tested on my oled. No beeps to the yellow one and that yellow one side is ground.

 

[grubgrub]

It doesn't beep while prodding B nor does it beep if I prod the bottom part of the capacitor next to the B point (it beeps e.g. with the yellow, bigger capacitor on the right though).

I have installed mod chips on 2 switches. (both working fine)
Neither of mine shows the B point with 2.9v that other people have.
I get "OL" for my B point
I have seen some youtubers doing the install and some of them also get a "OL" value for the B point.
Check if you are getting "0" or "OL"

So the issue might be something else.
Check the values of the CPU ohm values (the SP1 and SP2 inner points I get around 13 ohms, the outer points i think i got 0 ohms)
My second switch was initially not booting as i had too much solder on the SP2 and was bridging the connections)

 

[Jeik]

I have installed mod chips on 2 switches. (both working fine)
Neither of mine shows the B point with 2.9v that other people have.
I get "OL" for my B point
I have seen some youtubers doing the install and some of them also get a "OL" value for the B point.
Check if you are getting "0" or "OL"

View attachment 376396


So the issue might be something else.
Check the values of the CPU ohm values (the SP1 and SP2 inner points I get around 13 ohms, the outer points i think i got 0 ohms)
My second switch was initially not booting as i had too much solder on the SP2 and was bridging the connections)

By CPU you mean the capacitors the APU flex cable is soldered to? I'll test asap and get back to you.

 

[grubgrub]

By CPU you mean the capacitors the APU flex cable is soldered to? I'll test asap and get back to you.

Yea the flex cable, I'm getting similar values to this youtube video.

 

[Jeik]

Yea the flex cable, I'm getting similar values to this youtube video.



View attachment 376398

I tried as much as possible, but the resistance never reached 13 ohms (2-3 at best). I decided to remove the flex cable and the SP1 capacitor (0201 1UF 6.3V X5R apparently) fell off.

Not sure what to do about it (since I don't have such a capacitor at hand along with a heat gun). Maybe I'll try asking a local repair shop if they can attempt a repair...because I doubt I can sell this for parts online.

Still, though, thank you for the help.

 

[grubgrub]

I tried as much as possible, but the resistance never reached 13 ohms (2-3 at best). I decided to remove the flex cable and the SP1 capacitor (0201 1UF 6.3V X5R apparently) fell off.

Not sure what to do about it (since I don't have such a capacitor at hand along with a heat gun). Maybe I'll try asking a local repair shop if they can attempt a repair...because I doubt I can sell this for parts online.

Still, though, thank you for the help.

Aww man, sorry to hear that, didnt think that you would try to remove the flex cable :'(

Yea I try to be quick soldering those points so as to not put too much heat on them as they can move around/get damaged.

Have you tried booting your switch without the capacitor?

Do you have the white or black Instinct NX?
I had issues with a white one, where it would just give red flashing lights, but when i switched to the black instinct nx, it worked fine.

 

[Jeik]

Aww man, sorry to hear that, didnt think that you would try to remove the flex cable :'(

Yea I try to be quick soldering those points so as to not put too much heat on them as they can move around/get damaged.

Have you tried booting your switch without the capacitor?

Do you have the white or black Instinct NX?
I had issues with a white one, where it would just give red flashing lights, but when i switched to the black instinct nx, it worked fine.

I somehow managed to solder it back and it gives values like before, but the device still won't boot, even with the flex cable removed and the chip removed.

The thing is that I avoided high temps on it, it came off while I was desoldering with 250 degrees C (and while soldering the max I went for was 300 once).

I guess it's gonna be useful for replacement parts...

 

[jkyoho]

CONSOLE wont boot without the RST/B POINT(red circuit) intact, no matter you have the mod or removed everything.
Fix the trace(connect the resistor on the right to the left via to make the circuit back in normal, then you could try solder B point to the resistor to test mod

 

[grubgrub]

I somehow managed to solder it back and it gives values like before, but the device still won't boot, even with the flex cable removed and the chip removed.

The thing is that I avoided high temps on it, it came off while I was desoldering with 250 degrees C (and while soldering the max I went for was 300 once).

I guess it's gonna be useful for replacement parts...

Post some pics of the points where u soldered the wires on the switch motherboard,
APU, D, A, C, GND, 3.3V, B

 

[HelloShitty]

I tried as much as possible, but the resistance never reached 13 ohms (2-3 at best). I decided to remove the flex cable and the SP1 capacitor (0201 1UF 6.3V X5R apparently) fell off.

Not sure what to do about it (since I don't have such a capacitor at hand along with a heat gun). Maybe I'll try asking a local repair shop if they can attempt a repair...because I doubt I can sell this for parts online.

Still, though, thank you for the help.

For how much would you be selling it as is?

 

[grubgrub]

I somehow managed to solder it back and it gives values like before, but the device still won't boot, even with the flex cable removed and the chip removed.

The thing is that I avoided high temps on it, it came off while I was desoldering with 250 degrees C (and while soldering the max I went for was 300 once).

I guess it's gonna be useful for replacement parts...

Have you found a solution to the issue?
Would be interested to find out what was wrong

 

[Jeik]

Have you found a solution to the issue?
Would be interested to find out what was wrong

Sorry for disappearing, I got extremely bummed out after trying several times afterwards and failing.

I didn't manage to make it work and instead ordered a new tablet and will just use everything from the old one (except the mobo...and maybe the daughterboard if it still breaks touch after replacement) for spare parts.

The last thing I tried was cutting the traces and rewiring like previously mentioned, and that finally had progress in the form of at least some numbers appearing rather than an absolute 0 but the Switch still is unresponsive.

Took out the modchip parts and will just have someone else install it for me on the new mobo since micro-soldering clearly isn't my strong suit and I really don't feel like taking the "trial and error" approach when each unit costs at least 240 €.

P.S.
Thank you for trying to help me, I greatly appreciate it (got ignored in other places when I asked for help).

 

[grubgrub]

Sorry for disappearing, I got extremely bummed out after trying several times afterwards and failing.

I didn't manage to make it work and instead ordered a new tablet and will just use everything from the old one (except the mobo...and maybe the daughterboard if it still breaks touch after replacement) for spare parts.

The last thing I tried was cutting the traces and rewiring like previously mentioned, and that finally had progress in the form of at least some numbers appearing rather than an absolute 0 but the Switch still is unresponsive.

Took out the modchip parts and will just have someone else install it for me on the new mobo since micro-soldering clearly isn't my strong suit and I really don't feel like taking the "trial and error" approach when each unit costs at least 240 €.

P.S.
Thank you for trying to help me, I greatly appreciate it (got ignored in other places when I asked for help).

Aww, sorry to hear about that
Yea the soldering can be quite tricky, easy for something to happen and then not know where the issue is.

 

[JonJaded]

Sorry for disappearing, I got extremely bummed out after trying several times afterwards and failing.

I didn't manage to make it work and instead ordered a new tablet and will just use everything from the old one (except the mobo...and maybe the daughterboard if it still breaks touch after replacement) for spare parts.

The last thing I tried was cutting the traces and rewiring like previously mentioned, and that finally had progress in the form of at least some numbers appearing rather than an absolute 0 but the Switch still is unresponsive.

Took out the modchip parts and will just have someone else install it for me on the new mobo since micro-soldering clearly isn't my strong suit and I really don't feel like taking the "trial and error" approach when each unit costs at least 240 €.

P.S.
Thank you for trying to help me, I greatly appreciate it (got ignored in other places when I asked for help).

Dang, you were so close. I respect you for trying! But you have the equipment now so I would say don't give up. Find little projects and test boards so you can practice and get better. Microsoldering is simply precision * patenience.

 

[adomela]

Hi everyone,

I had decided to install the Instinct NX on my OLED Switch and I managed to connect all points besides B properly and now the Switch is unresponsive (won't boot).

For some extra context, I went with the "no reflow" approach to the flex cable meant for the EMMC chip.

The multimeter shows good values for all of the soldered points except the B/RST one (it should be 2.9V from what I've read online but for me it's 0).

I figured that the B point shorted with the ground ring around it (absolutely not sure if it's is for passthrough of the capacitor next to the B point or ground as I couldn't find too much info online).

Despite trying so hard with flux, various temperatures and even trying to use lower temp solder to make cleanup easier on that point, there's always a silver layer on it (unlike others which have a ring).

Does anyone know what my options here are?

Because all I can think of is:
a) stopping the trace which shorted with the B point and then rewiring the transistor to the distanced point (after exposing it with a dremel/engraving tool) it's meant to reach, but that's pretty invasive and I'd like to do that only after I definitely know how exactly that section of the board is supposed to be connected here (because all I can do now is speculate) and only if I have no other option.

b) Trying to carefully sand off the silver layer(solder?) Until the point and ring are perfectly exposed and separated, applying solder mask, curing it, exposing just the middle part of the point and soldering on it.

I've attached a photo (the microscope I have has a horrible pic quality so this was the clearest one I could snap) of the board along with a mark-up of the "a" idea (red lines for a trace cut and blue line for rewire - but that's just me guessing that's how it's supposed to go...).

In conclusion, I'd like to ask if my thinking process regarding the available options is okay (with the way I think the connections are supposed to be like) and if there's a better way to resolve this issue.

Any kind of help/ would be greatly appreciated.

Greetings. I have a problem, I'm hoping for an answer from you. I completely destroyed the rack (B) from the board, it is not possible to bridge it again. the question is whether I can bridge the board from the other side and where it is located. Thanks everyone

Post automatically merged: Sep 4, 2023

Hi everyone,

I had decided to install the Instinct NX on my OLED Switch and I managed to connect all points besides B properly and now the Switch is unresponsive (won't boot).

For some extra context, I went with the "no reflow" approach to the flex cable meant for the EMMC chip.

The multimeter shows good values for all of the soldered points except the B/RST one (it should be 2.9V from what I've read online but for me it's 0).

I figured that the B point shorted with the ground ring around it (absolutely not sure if it's is for passthrough of the capacitor next to the B point or ground as I couldn't find too much info online).

Despite trying so hard with flux, various temperatures and even trying to use lower temp solder to make cleanup easier on that point, there's always a silver layer on it (unlike others which have a ring).

Does anyone know what my options here are?

Because all I can think of is:
a) stopping the trace which shorted with the B point and then rewiring the transistor to the distanced point (after exposing it with a dremel/engraving tool) it's meant to reach, but that's pretty invasive and I'd like to do that only after I definitely know how exactly that section of the board is supposed to be connected here (because all I can do now is speculate) and only if I have no other option.

b) Trying to carefully sand off the silver layer(solder?) Until the point and ring are perfectly exposed and separated, applying solder mask, curing it, exposing just the middle part of the point and soldering on it.

I've attached a photo (the microscope I have has a horrible pic quality so this was the clearest one I could snap) of the board along with a mark-up of the "a" idea (red lines for a trace cut and blue line for rewire - but that's just me guessing that's how it's supposed to go...).

In conclusion, I'd like to ask if my thinking process regarding the available options is okay (with the way I think the connections are supposed to be like) and if there's a better way to resolve this issue.

Any kind of help/ would be greatly appreciated.

Greetings. I have a problem, I'm hoping for an answer from you. I completely destroyed the rack (B) from the board, it is not possible to bridge it again. the question is whether I can bridge the board from the other side and where it is located. Thanks everyone