Hwfly burn itself, smell of smoke

linkref

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Hi !

I soldered my HWFLY and everything was fine, i was able to see the NO SD screen.


During the re-assambly of the switch i was trying to boot the switch to make sure it worked. I was able to boot like 10 times.
But at the final step, when i put back the HEATSINK, i tried to boot and then :

The chip turned off --> I see and smell smoke --> and everything turned off
I was very scared ! But nothing happened, if i remove the heatsink i can boot normally....

Everytime i try to bot back the heatsink, looking for shortcirtuit, i can't boot...

Any ideas guys ?
 

randy_w

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If you see and smell smoke, something definitely fried up. Always cover exposed part of the chip with kapton tape to avoid stuff like this. Add a picture of the aftermath, both chip and motherboard, see if someone can help you spot what's been damaged.

Also you can try to remove the chip and see if switch boots to ofw. If it boots then switch itself should be ok and you just need to replace the modchip.
 

linkref

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Just cover the chip with kapton tape.

Okay but it's weired, there is no physical contact between the heatsink and the chip

If you see and smell smoke, something definitely fried up. Always cover exposed part of the chip with kapton tape to avoid stuff like this. Add a picture of the aftermath, both chip and motherboard, see if someone can help you spot what's been damaged.

Also you can try to remove the chip and see if switch boots to ofw. If it boots then switch itself should be ok and you just need to replace the modchip.

The chip is dead here a picture of it : https://ibb.co/7jXm8sf
The componant I point with the twizzors is somehow white...

Switch can boot OFW.

Do you guys know what happened ? I do not want to replace the chip for the same thing to happen...
 

randy_w

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The componant I point with the twizzors is somehow white...
That's the fpga chip, they just sanded the model number off to make it harder for others to copy it.

Didn't see anything wrong in the picture. You need to check yourself which component was burnt and fix it. Next time remember to use kapton tapes.
 

linkref

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That's the fpga chip, they just sanded the model number off to make it harder for others to copy it.

Didn't see anything wrong in the picture. You need to check yourself which component was burnt and fix it. Next time remember to use kapton tapes.
Do you think this happened because of the lack of kapton ? Cuz i've seen a lot of people just rebuilding the switch without kapton

Maybe i did something else wrong ?
 

linuxares

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smelt burning? Then you need to find where the burning is coming from. Kapton should always be used to be fair. Such a cheap insurance from shorts.
 

linkref

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I've check basically everywhere nothing fried except the chip..
How can is this even possible... i was so close to do it

I'm trying to understand is this because of like I left some IPA or flux on the board ?
 

master801

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I've check basically everywhere nothing fried except the chip..
How can is this even possible... i was so close to do it

I'm trying to understand is this because of like I left some IPA or flux on the board ?
IPA is non-conductive (lower percentage has distilled water in it, but still not conductive).

Flux is also non-conductive (well, most, anyway) but will corrode if not cleaned off.
 

linkref

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IPA is non-conductive (lower percentage has distilled water in it, but still not conductive).

Flux is also non-conductive (well, most, anyway) but will corrode if not cleaned off.
Do you have any ideas what happened to me ? Maybe bad chip ?
 

The Real Jdbye

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Okay but it's weired, there is no physical contact between the heatsink and the chip



The chip is dead here a picture of it : https://ibb.co/7jXm8sf
The componant I point with the twizzors is somehow white...

Switch can boot OFW.

Do you guys know what happened ? I do not want to replace the chip for the same thing to happen...
Put IPA all over the hwfly board, turn it on without the heatsink, and see where it evaporates/heats up fastest. That is likely to be your failed component.
 

linkref

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Someone said i had to big SP1 ans SP2 points, and when the heatsink is back, it pressures the metallic shield and then cause de short circuit by touching the big solder points.

Now chip is dead but switch is okay... maybe i can save my chip ?

Oh guys do you know where I can find a solder iron like this with a bended tip? : https://ibb.co/M8Wr60c
 

Hassal

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Someone said i had to big SP1 ans SP2 points, and when the heatsink is back, it pressures the metallic shield and then cause de short circuit by touching the big solder points.

Now chip is dead but switch is okay... maybe i can save my chip ?

Oh guys do you know where I can find a solder iron like this with a bended tip? : https://ibb.co/M8Wr60c
It's impossible to short the caps to ground on the CPU cause there's an insulating white tape right on top of it.

I think you shorted your chip to the shroud. It's a tight fit between the chip at that shroud.
 

linkref

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It's impossible to short the caps to ground on the CPU cause there's an insulating white tape right on top of it.

I think you shorted your chip to the shroud. It's a tight fit between the chip at that shroud.

Oh yeah there is an insulating tape you're right !!


Hi, thanks for you answer,
What do yo mean by shroud ?
 
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