GCN XenoGC modchip problem

[Elrinth]

Hi!

I installed two xenogc in different region consoles. One in a PAL console and one in a japanese console.
Both worked fine for a bit, but then stopped working.
Any tip on what might be wrong?

 

[kutteke]

Try reflowing the solder? did you do a wireless install?
if you did a wired install you could try to use a multimeter to measure if there's connection between the contact points on the motherboard and the contact points on the chip. if these are all working it must be the chip that died.

 

[vickdu31]

Hello, I come here to ask about my issue, I made 2 failed installation both on PAL console with Xen8GC from aliexpress and I did the same mistake twice (5+ years passed since my first attempt) I should have use wired installation but again decided not to and fucked it up agian. Its the little gold plate on the up-right hole were the soldering is touching 2 of the plates instead of one, all the rest is ok I think.
Now I would like to remove it somehow and use alternative points but how can I remove it safely without too much damage ? I tried to melt it again to remove the metal but it doesnt come off at all and I cannot remove the chip...
Is it ok if I buy another chip and leave this one ? (it turn on with red led and doesnt blink).
Any advice is welcome

Edit : I managed to remove it, the XenoGC looks good but the pins doesnt look good. Can I go ahead and try alternative points or should I try to repair these first ?
Here is my board : http://imgur.com/a/Hq1DU

 

[kutteke]

you should use solder wick to clean the points. then use electrical tape to tape off the points you do not need. and try again. I was able to do it with shitty ass soldering skills. If you really want to be sure it will work go wired. but that will double the amount of points to solder.

 

[TankedThomas]

I screwed my first try up but managed to get the thing off and use alternate solder points.

I don't remember who showed this to me, but here is an image of alternate solder points:



Pro-tip: ALWAYS do a wired install for the XenoGC. The wireless install is just a bad idea. Or a good idea with poor execution, if you will.

 

[vickdu31]

I screwed my first try up but managed to get the thing off and use alternate solder points.

I don't remember who showed this to me, but here is an image of alternate solder points:

View attachment 92520

Pro-tip: ALWAYS do a wired install for the XenoGC. The wireless install is just a bad idea. Or a good idea with poor execution, if you will.

Thanks guys, I think i'll try alternate points but is it fine if i leave the "original points" like in the picture or do i need to try to repair it ?

 

[TankedThomas]

Thanks guys, I think i'll try alternate points but is it fine if i leave the "original points" like in the picture or do i need to try to repair it ?

You can't really repair them (not with ease anyway) but the point of alternate solder points is that you don't need to repair the original ones.

 

[vickdu31]

You can't really repair them (not with ease anyway) but the point of alternate solder points is that you don't need to repair the original ones.

Thanks, im just waiting for the wire to arrive (0.25mm should be fine), i'll post the results here.
The image you sent me seems to have points in both side of the board, I found other pictures that only need soleding in the opposite side of the "original points" I will try that so I have all points on the same side

 

[TankedThomas]

Thanks, im just waiting for the wire to arrive (0.25mm should be fine), i'll post the results here.
The image you sent me seems to have points in both side of the board, I found other pictures that only need soleding in the opposite side of the "original points" I will try that so I have all points on the same side

I think point 10 might be on the back (it's been a while since I did it) but the rest are on the same side as the chip. I'm not sure what those other pictures you found are (there weren't many I found when I did it, but it was a few years ago now so there's that) but I thought that was the only alternate solder point for #10. It's entirely possibly that it isn't though, but I can tell you that I used the image I posted and it works fine for me, so there's that.

Anyway, that wire should be fine - I believe that size is kynar wire, so that'll work nicely. Good luck! Hopefully it ends up cleaner than mine.

 

[vickdu31]

Ok so I went wired, first time I tried point 1 and 10 on the back like your pic And the chip didnt turn on.
I tried to re-do all the wired again so they would connect better and I changed the pin 10 and 1 like in this picture (purple cable) : http://oi57.tinypic.com/346kiec.jpg

Now it seems to be working (LED blinks + turn kind of orange) BUT (it was same also with first attempt) the discs wont start spinning (yeah, I pressed those two little plastic) but anyway, even with original games, it wont spin.

I havent put all screws back yet but where can the problem come from ?

Edit : Ok im stupid.. I didnt connect one thing with 2 blue wires... Now its working, XENOGC is recognised (xeno shell stuff appears when pressing start but we cant really see any text there)

Now my problem is that it cannot read any of my burned disc, only the original one. I tried on TDK disk and VErbatim 4,7GB and none of them is detected, i cannot burn under 4X so maybe thats the reason, I will try to adjust potentionmenter anyway and see

 

[vickdu31]

Ok so it doesnt work. I was wondering if its possible that XenoGC is recognised but its not installed correctly : I can see the XenoShell but any games I burn it just wont play it, it tries to read it for a while and then says "please insert nintendo gamecube disc".
My pot was by default at 198,4ohm which I find pretty low so I lowered it to 150ohm but still nothing happens.

I have TDK disc rated 1-2X but I can burn them only at 4X, I also tried verbatim full size DVD at 16X but it doesnt work as well.
Is it possible to burn swiss on a CD-R instead of a DVD ?

What would you recommend me to do ?