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MP 900 power question

PDXMark Page Icon Posted 2016-02-25 3:37 PM
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I'm considering purchasing a MP 900 that is in good physical condition, but won't turn on and won't charge when connected to power (the charger has been tested and is good, but when plugged in the charging light doesn't come on and the MP won't turn on). Any thoughts on what the issue could be?
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2016-02-25 9:29 PM
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Since you get no power at all, sounds like you have a bad power connector on the 900 itself. I've seen several that way. You might be able to take it apart and resolder the power jack...or not.

Best thing would be to stick in a good battery from another unit and see if it works...if so, then it might be a good deal if it was cheap enough. Though I doubt you will get it at that .99 cent starting price. But I'd probably go as much as $20 for the unit as it is knowing I could always swap out the motherboard. It would always make a good LCD/Touchscreen backup as they hardly ever go bad.

AlanComputech sells good motherboards for $20 + $17 shipping, but I offered them $10 before and they've taken it...

Utica is way down by Detroit...otherwise I'd drive over and check it out for you..
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PDXMark Page Icon Posted 2016-02-26 10:12 PM
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Thanks for the information and the offer....what, you don't want to drive for a few hours for an HPC?

Soldering and I aren't on good terms, so I think I'll let this one pass.
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2016-03-07 6:45 PM
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Well, since you didn't buy the machine, I did. No one else bid, so the total cost was $7.77. I was very pleased with the cost, and after I got it working, left good feedback to the seller and sent him a picture of the thing playing solitaire. I told him it was a dirty reset switch...mainly because I didn't think he would understand what a tantulum capacitor was, or how it was part of the filter circuit. Since the reset contacts built onto the motherboard are within a 1/4" away in distance, I just told him it was that. Easier to explain and hopefully he will be pleased that I got it working since it didn't for him.

I had to pull the whole machine apart to figure out the problem. It wasn't the power jack at all. It had a blown capacitor (see the top picture below).

It was a hell of a deal for me, though one of the hardest soldering jobs I've ever had to perform. And to find a replacement Tantulum capacitor of the proper values took me forever. I literally spent 7 hours doing just that, and had to drive 40 miles to Grand Rapids to pick it up. That was one way too.

If I figure my time based on my normal pre-retirement salary of $27/hour, then this MP900 costs me $196.77. I could have bought one working and saved myself a lot of work. And that doesn't cover travel time.

Anyways, the capacitor came in and I mounted it in place after cleaning up from the previous owner who tried to do something with the motherboard. Not the neatest soldering job I ever did, but it is okay (second picture with capacitor in place).

Now I have a MP900 and a MP900C.



(pic1.jpg)



(pic2.jpg)



Attachments
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Attachments pic1.jpg (161KB - 1 downloads)
Attachments pic2.jpg (204KB - 1 downloads)
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PDXMark Page Icon Posted 2016-03-07 8:05 PM
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I wondered if you were the lone bidder, Rich - I figured you couldn't resist it.

Glad you were able to get it working. If I had picked it up, I probably would have ended up sending it to you, anyway.
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C:Amie Page Icon Posted 2016-03-08 8:30 AM
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Bloody hell Rich, if that was the state you found that capacitor in, it must have been one hell of a blow out for something running at 3.3v
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2016-03-08 2:25 PM
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I think the capacitor blew and someone tried to solder on a replacement or something...it was pretty screwed up. And whoever soldered it got the board so hot it actually burnt away the solder contact points. I had to take a teensie weenie wire and poke it through the drill hit on the motherboard and solder it on the opposite side...and you know how hard it is to find a solder point on the solder mask...
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2016-03-09 3:43 AM
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That upper pic actually looks like one of my solder jobs.
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C:Amie Page Icon Posted 2016-03-09 8:18 AM
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Quote
Rich Hawley - 2016-03-08 2:25 PM

I think the capacitor blew and someone tried to solder on a replacement or something...it was pretty screwed up. And whoever soldered it got the board so hot it actually burnt away the solder contact points. I had to take a teensie weenie wire and poke it through the drill hit on the motherboard and solder it on the opposite side...and you know how hard it is to find a solder point on the solder mask...
yeesh!
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zurita Page Icon Posted 2016-08-05 10:39 PM
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Admirable. I had no hope for my 900C "dead", but after reading your explanations and view your images, I put hands to the work to recover it. For me, the 900C is a jewel. Thanks
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