Hardware Help diagnosing for DIY repair

ScrumpyJack

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Hello all,
Like many, my Switch is showing no signs of life. I've researched around the forum and haven't come up with the answer so here are the details

- Used lightly when first purchased about a year ago. CFW 5.0.1, autorcm
- Left it for a few months and came back to it once or twice.
- Came back to it most recently and charged up from dead just fine, I upgraded to CFW 8.1.0, played a couple games, etc, all good. I powered it off like I always do by pressing the power button and selecting shutdown from the menu
- A week or so later, come back to it and its completely dead

Tests:
- Tried holding the power button for 15-20sec many times
- Tried official charger both on and off dock (flashing green light when docked)
- Tried connecting to multiple PCs with multiple cables, absolutely no recognition from any PC so no TegraRCM recognition - I also reinstalled drivers just to be sure(side question, does the switch need power to be recognized in a PC?)
- Disconnected and reconnected the battery, still nothing
- Disconnected battery and connected it to a 5v USB cable I cut and fed the red/black wires to try to charge it removed from the switch (this was a very finicky operation and im not 100% sure I made contact on both sides but I tried a few times - if anyone has tips or knows any posts for trying this, let me know)

So now im deciding on weather to purchase a new battery and swap them out or a new USB-C chip and solder that on.

Based on what i've attempted so far, can someone give me their best guess at what it might be or the best next step I should take?
Thanks for the help all.
 

Pintglass

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Based on what i've attempted so far, can someone give me their best guess at what it might be or the best next step I should take?
Thanks for the help all.

Test for shorts on the caps near to M92T36 and around BQ24193

Check first of all that you have continuity across the fuse just above the usb port
 

Testo

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First of all, check the battery voltage with a multimeter. If it's really low the switch won't boot or show a charging screen. Connect it a couple of hours, yes really several ours, and check again if it's in RCM Mode (if auto RCM is activated due to the update) or booting normally
 

The Real Jdbye

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Hello all,
Like many, my Switch is showing no signs of life. I've researched around the forum and haven't come up with the answer so here are the details

- Used lightly when first purchased about a year ago. CFW 5.0.1, autorcm
- Left it for a few months and came back to it once or twice.
- Came back to it most recently and charged up from dead just fine, I upgraded to CFW 8.1.0, played a couple games, etc, all good. I powered it off like I always do by pressing the power button and selecting shutdown from the menu
- A week or so later, come back to it and its completely dead

Tests:
- Tried holding the power button for 15-20sec many times
- Tried official charger both on and off dock (flashing green light when docked)
- Tried connecting to multiple PCs with multiple cables, absolutely no recognition from any PC so no TegraRCM recognition - I also reinstalled drivers just to be sure(side question, does the switch need power to be recognized in a PC?)
- Disconnected and reconnected the battery, still nothing
- Disconnected battery and connected it to a 5v USB cable I cut and fed the red/black wires to try to charge it removed from the switch (this was a very finicky operation and im not 100% sure I made contact on both sides but I tried a few times - if anyone has tips or knows any posts for trying this, let me know)

So now im deciding on weather to purchase a new battery and swap them out or a new USB-C chip and solder that on.

Based on what i've attempted so far, can someone give me their best guess at what it might be or the best next step I should take?
Thanks for the help all.
DON'T ever try to charge a battery directly off USB. They don't charge off 5V, they charge off 4.2V and the charge current needs to follow a curve if not trickle charging slowly (charging at a lower speed when battery is nearly empty or nearly full) so as to not damage the battery. You can buy USB based trickle chargers designed to revive "dead" batteries cheaply, these have a voltage regulator built in like the Switch does and should be safe to use.

You should check the battery voltage, if the battery is measuring above 3.3V ish there is probably nothing wrong with it. That should be enough charge for the Switch to display the charging symbol when plugged in, so that would indicate another issue (doesn't mean there's no issue with the battery, only that it's not the main issue)
Also maybe get one of those USB testers and measure the current draw when plugged in to a powerbank or PC or 5V wall adapter.
 
Last edited by The Real Jdbye,

ScrumpyJack

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Thanks for the help so far guys...
Noted about the battery - I wont do that again, but I tested the battery and bought another one - both near 4v and both tested and I got nothing.
Tested all of the capacitors and they're all good
If this the Fuse in the pic?:
upload_2019-10-18_21-30-55.png


If so I tested both ends and got continuity from the multi-meter
I dont have the USB draw tester. I did test on the pin when plugged in and had 1.78a but im guessing that just means the USBc pins are good.

Any more advice would be great.
 

ScrumpyJack

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What voltage do you get on pin 1 of BQ24193 with a charger plugged in?

Just to make sure i've got the right pin, pin 1 is the first pin to the left of the dot in the corner correct? I circled it in this picture:
upload_2019-10-19_12-49-14.png


If that is the case then I am not getting any reading. Various pins around the chip give me about 2.93v, but that one gives me nothing.
Is this an indication of something?
Thanks for the help
 

ScrumpyJack

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Yes that is pin 1
Is that with the charger plugged in?

Yes, with the charger plugged in I got no voltage off pin 1. I also had nothing on the last pin, pin 24 on the top left. There was a 2.93v reading on some of the other pins, but not pin 1.
 

ScrumpyJack

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What pin do you get 2.93v from, what do you get on pin13/14 and 15/16

Its difficult because one of the capacitors is too close to 15/16 but I got a reading of 1.59v accross 13/14 and I think it was similar on 15/16, but like I said, I might have been hitting the cap.
 

Pintglass

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Its difficult because one of the capacitors is too close to 15/16 but I got a reading of 1.59v accross 13/14 and I think it was similar on 15/16, but like I said, I might have been hitting the cap.

When your measuring say pin 13 have you got one probe on ground?

What voltage have you got on the battery?
 
Last edited by Pintglass,

ScrumpyJack

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When your measuring say pin 13 have you got one probe on ground?

What voltage have you got on the battery?

Yeah ive got the grounds from the metal plate over the ram, the large metal area near the fan (same place that TronicsFix uses in his YT videos)
The voltage reading on the battery is 3.99v
 

Pintglass

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What reading do you get on pin 4 of BQ24193 with charger plugged in
What voltage do you get on the cap closest to pins 13/14 and what do you get on the cap just below it closest to pins 15/16
 

ScrumpyJack

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What reading do you get on pin 4 of BQ24193 with charger plugged in
What voltage do you get on the cap closest to pins 13/14 and what do you get on the cap just below it closest to pins 15/16

The numbers seem to fluctuate a bit. I got no voltage on any pins from 1-12.
Voltage on cap near 13/14 is consistent 1.74
Voltage on cap near 15/16 is 0.05
 

Pintglass

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The numbers seem to fluctuate a bit. I got no voltage on any pins from 1-12.
Voltage on cap near 13/14 is consistent 1.74
Voltage on cap near 15/16 is 0.05

Have you checked those caps for shorts, test in resistance mode one side of the cap will give a high reading the other will be around 0.03 ohms.

If you haven't got any shorts i don't understand why your only getting 1.74v on the batt rail when your battery is showing 3.9v, is the battery reading with it connected to the board, did you say you have tested 2 different battery's.

Is the switch still in autorcm
 

ScrumpyJack

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Have you checked those caps for shorts, test in resistance mode one side of the cap will give a high reading the other will be around 0.03 ohms.

If you haven't got any shorts i don't understand why your only getting 1.74v on the batt rail when your battery is showing 3.9v, is the battery reading with it connected to the board, did you say you have tested 2 different battery's.

Is the switch still in autorcm
Thanks again for the help so far

The battery itself wasn't tested on the board. Can you tell me how to do that because the battery is clipped in and I dont know where to make a connection to test the voltage when its clipped in.

The short test I've done on the capacitors was with the continuity tester where one side does not provide continuity and the other does and they were all good, but i'll go back and check the resistance.

Does it stay in autoRCM after the battery has been disconnected? If so then its possibly still in autoRCM, but then again, i've tried all the powering down stuff and I can't even get a connection to a PC.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

OK, so I retested the battery plugged in AND the charger plugged in. I tested the battery off the solder points and it gave me 2.92v (the same I was getting off the BQ24193 pins) - this appears to be delivering power to the battery when plugged in.
retested the BQ24193 - still nothing on pin1,
Pin 3 gave me the same 2.92v and pin13/14 also gave me 2.92v

note that when the charger is removed i am not getting any readings from the battery or BQ24193 pins
 
Last edited by ScrumpyJack,

Pintglass

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Your readings keep changing.
What voltage have you got on the battery with it disconnected
what voltage have you got on pin 13 when the battery is connected and no usb cable plugged in

Its not charging your battery as BQ24193 hasn't got any power going to it

What revision of board have you got?
 
Last edited by Pintglass,

ScrumpyJack

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OK sorry for the confusion,
It appears to match the voltage of the battery. The original battery was 2.92v (unplugged) and that matches pin 13 when the battery is plugged in and the usb isnt

I changed the battery to the new one which reads 3.74v and pin 13 matches it at 3.74v when the new one is plugged in (again with the usb unplugged)
Where can I check board revision? My model is XAW10078587563, if that helps
 
Last edited by ScrumpyJack,

Pintglass

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OK sorry for the confusion,
It appears to match the voltage of the battery. The original battery was 2.92v (unplugged) and that matches pin 13 when the battery is plugged in and the usb isnt

I changed the battery to the new one which reads 3.74v and pin 13 matches it at 3.74v when the new one is plugged in (again with the usb unplugged)
Where can I check board revision? My model is XAW10078587563, if that helps

Its printed on the pcb under the Soc/ram shield.
 

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