Hardware Broken usb-c port or charging control chip?

[Moquedami]

Hello everyone!

Recently I got a Nintendo Switch that suddenly stopped charging.

Now it is completely dead. Black screen, no battery charging signal whatsoever.

When it is placed on the dock, the green light starts blinking fast and stays that way until unplugged.

I tried replacing the battery to no avail.

I´m not sure if the USB-C port could be the problem, or maybe i need to replace the M92T36 charging power control chip.

Any suggestions on how to find out the damaged part?

Thanks in advance!

UPDATE:

I managed to get the system started with the new battery, everything works, but when i connect the psu in the charhing port it doesnt respond. It shows no signal of charging. When the charger is connected, the system strarts to overheat (even when it is off).

It seems this is a port problem. What do you think?

 

[TheCyberQuake]

Flashing light seems to indicate rapid connecting/disconnecting, probably a broken port. Did you do anything that could have caused it to break?

 

[Bowl0l]

Not to state the obvious, but why didn't consider warranty claim?

 

[Moquedami]

Flashing light seems to indicate rapid connecting/disconnecting, probably a broken port. Did you do anything that could have caused it to break?

I bought it like this to try to repair it, i don't know if the previous owner did anything wrong. I would guess he used a bad quality charger or cable. Or maybe an alternative dock, i have seend many saying the Nyko dock fried ports like this.

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Not to state the obvious, but why didn't consider warranty claim?

in my country there is no official warranty, and the previous owner told me the problem appear after a year. He bought it at launch

 

[Bowl0l]

in my country there is no official warranty, and the previous owner told me the problem appear after a year. He bought it at launch

For my country, our official warranty requires us to pay 100 to ship the console to claim warranty (Thanks Maxsoft)

 

[ciaomao]

Did you tried to clean the contacts. My mobile had the same problem. Dust and stain can cause this. If it is the case, lucky you.

 

[Moquedami]

Yes, i tried cleaning the contacts. Sadly it seems a component problem. What i don't know if how to identify the faulty part.

 

[Onibi]

Hmm. Seems bad Sorry for you.

Could be the charger, too though. Maybe try it with a different (phone) charger or power bank at 5v, 2a/4a? It should charge the device. Not enough to load the battery while playing, but it should charge. If that works, maybe get a new switch charger to test?

Other than that, you could solder in a new USB-C port, but if there is something wrong with the chipset that would be more difficult. You could look for some water damage or short ...
Chinese devices sometimes come with a factory short because some part of the charging circuit connects to some metal shielding / part. Maybe try to see if something like this is the case. Be careful, a short may also damage the battery. So you may damage the new battery by trying all of this ...

 

[Moquedami]

Thanks for your answer.
I should say that i already tried another switch charger and an anker powerbank.
I tested everything with another switch too and it all worked fine.
I tried another battery, and while its charge lasted the system would boot and work fine. But it wouldn't detect any power suppy connected at all to charge.
Ussually when you connect the charger it would show at least the little battery icon with the ray on it, this never happened. Also when placed on the dock the green light would blink fast and would not give video signal. Thats why i think there is something wrong with the port itself, even though i cannot see any physical damage.

 

[Onibi]

Hmm. You could solder in a USB-C port. Not the easiest soldering job, but possible (there are also some boards with ports on them - soldering them in to test would be easier).

The switch will not provide video out without power supplied, so I think you are right. Either the port is broken or something in the charging circuit on the board is shorted out.

I would try to trace the charging lanes / circuit and see if there maybe is some metal shielding touching because you likely don't want to solder in a new USB-C port unless there really is nothing else to test. Check if maybe some pin leg / soldering got loosened?

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I tried to find your issue online. Sadly I got nothing really
This mentions blinking as well, maybe try it: http://bestgamingtips.com/nintendo-switch-charging-issues-fix/ But I think yours is a different issue ...

 

[Moquedami]

It's really wierd because if something is shorted out it would boot at all, and I managed to make the system run with a new battery (while its charge lasted)Even then, with the system running, when i plugged anything in the changing port it would be detected.
I was wondering, if the IC change controller was damaged,would the console turn on at all?
If i only had some way to charge the batteries outide the console, i could try if everything else still works with a full battery.

The thing is,i know many consoled got their USB-C ports broken using the Nyko dock, or cheap alternatives with bad cables. But all the cases i find simply send their console to nintendo. I don't have such option so i'm trying to find someone who actually fixed this on his/her own

 

[KeoniAzugon]

Can you provide a Pic of the Motherboard , especially near the Charging port in a clear enough photo and the actual motherboards model number please.

Edit: Using Ifixit teardown as reference and saw that you posted the issue there as well.

 

[Moquedami]

Thanks for your time
Here are some pics. You can see the port, the usb-c IC controller and the battery charge IC controller.

 

[KeoniAzugon]

Great, This is helpful. You mention that if it is left charging, it overheats. If your able, connect it again without the back plastic shell and lightly use your finger to check the IC and corresponding components nearby. If you have an IR Infrared Thermometer Gun or someone that does, It would help in pinpointing the area better.

 

[Onibi]

It's really wierd because if something is shorted out it would boot at all, and I managed to make the system run with a new battery (while its charge lasted)Even then, with the system running, when i plugged anything in the changing port it would be detected.
I was wondering, if the IC change controller was damaged,would the console turn on at all?

To me a battery charge working and power not charging or running the console sounds like there is an issue with the charging circuit. It could still be a short. Just because the battery charge can be carried to the rest of the system that does not imply that there can't be a short between the charger and the battery somewhere. I mean there could even be a short in the port, no?

But yea, if somehow a wrong charge was applied, I guess the controller could be damaged ... strange that it still works to detect devices thou. I guess the device could boot with a damaged USB controller.

Again, if you find nothing else to try, I would solder in a USB-C test-port I guess.

 

[Moquedami]

I've been trying the reproduce the overheating with no luck.
Maybe it went stand by when it still had some charge left and the heat i felt was the normal iddle temperature without the aluminium cover. It was over the CPU are as spected.
Yesteday was the last time i could make it boot after disconnecting the battery, pressing power 10 seconds and reconnecting again. and it showed 30% battery left, but the readings could be wrong. Today it is totally blank,maybe because the battery is depleted, i cannot tell

 

[KeoniAzugon]

If you can get someone to let you borrow there switch again to charge the battery, that could help with the charging for now. Its not a great solution but other ways of charging could damage the battery. Also forgot to ask if you have a multimeter handy and how are your skills in using one?

 

[Moquedami]

I don't have a multimeter right now. I was looking for one this morning because i thought it could be usefull to check the battery charge at least since i don't know how to test the port with it or even if it is possible.
I could borrow one tomorrow maybe.

 

[KeoniAzugon]

Here is a basic pin-out for a USB Type C connector

Pin | Number Pin | Name Description
1 | A1 | GND
2 | A2 | TX1+
3 | A3 | TX1-
4 | A4 | VBUS
5 | A5 | CC1
6 | A6 | D+
7 | A7 | D-
8 | A8 | SBU1
9 | A9 | VBUS
10 | A10 | RX2-
11 | A11 | RX2+
12 A12 GND
13 | B1 | GND
14 | B2 | TX2+
15 | B3 | TX2-
16 | B4 | VBUS
17 | B5 | CC2
18 | B6 | D+
19 | B7 | D-
20 | B8 | SBU2
21 | B9 | VBUS
22 | B10 | RX1-
23 | B11 | RX1+
24 | B12 | GND

CC1 and CC2 (Yellow) along with +V (Red) are your best bet to check the voltage passing through.

 

[Moquedami]

That's usefull. Thanks!
I'm going to try this as soon as i get a multimeter.
If voltage is passing fine thru the port, tben the problem would be in the board or in the ic, right?