Checking solder joints with multimeter?

[Bullet1979]

Ok... so I've been having the same problem for the past 4-5 days where my xbox does nothing when I press the power or eject buttons with the adapter in place, and when I turn it on without the adapter, the blue leds turn on on the chip, but the switch lights red and the xbox powers up and down 3 times and stays on the 3rd time with no video output.

My first concern was getting the reset adapter working and then worrying about getting the chip itself to work right... There really hasn't been any definite help in that area, neither in the topics I made nor topics I've found on the matter... The answer to everything seems to make sure your solder points are good, which brings me to my next question:

Can you test your solder joints for integrity with a multimeter? I have a multimeter but I have no idea what the procedure is or if you can even test just regular solder joints. Does the xbox have to be plugged in to get a voltage reading or can I do it with the motherboard completely disconnected from the case? All I know is I'm supposed to keep the black wire on a ground and use the red wire to do the testing. Am I supposed to use the LPC voltage map on the sticky in this forum as a guide? Any help would be greatly appreciated as it's going on a week and I'm getting very doubtful that I'll be able to get a successful install...

 

[garyellis]

well..maybe misery loves company..You described the exact problem I am having...I am sitting here with a multimeter trying to figure out how to check the soldering..

My chip turns on blue, but the external switch lights up red..a couple of on and offs and then stays on red..

You should be able to measure resistance by touching the end points of the circuit. Your multimeter will be on "OHM"....if you touch the ends of the circuit then if the soldering is good, the meter will register..No power required..

But, I don't know how to find the ends of the circuit..one end is the prongs on to of the module with 14 pins..

 

[Bullet1979]

So you can't just touch the lead to the actual solder joint itself and test it? Damn I was hoping this would be easy... haha

 

[Killarny]

bullet, it sounds like you are having multiple problems.. both of them sound like what I had to work through, so maybe I can help

First of all, your power/eject board (which isn't allowing you to turn on your box) might have a short on the back of it, caused by solder bridging two connections. Try peeling off the adhesive from that board and checking closely at all the connections on the back. Mine was bridged between the two points for the long red wire that goes to your X3. I hope that makes sense.. if not, I'll check this thread later and try to help more... Even after fixing the short, my power/eject assembly turned out to be flaky anyway, so I ended up not using it.

Secondly, your xbox powering up and down twice with no video output is called FRAG. (I don't think this is a technical term, but it seems to have stuck in the console modding world) Usually a FRAG is caused by improper LPC soldering. This could mean that you need to recheck your soldering there.

My FRAG problems were caused by not connecting the D0 wire properly. I'd check that connection as well, were I you.

 

[Bullet1979]

Can you tell me exactly how to detect a bridge on the adapter?

Also, as for the d0 point... it is pretty vague on what you're supposed to do with it... in the wire install, it has you solder it to one point, but on the rebuild install, the rebuild is soldered to a point close to but not the same as the one in the wire install.

Right now, I have solder going to the point closest to each solder point on the board and the grey wire soldered to the top of the rebuild at the d0 point. Thanks a lot for your help... If I find out how to detect a short or a bridge on the adapter, I'll definitely try that out.

 

[Killarny]

It sounds like you are using the proper point for D0 - I'd just check it for continuity to be sure.

As far as detecting a bridge, you can use the multimeter on the diode test mode. In this mode, the multimeter will make a continuous beeping sound when the red and black leads are touching.

Now, just place one lead on each point that you want to test on the circuit board. If there is no sound, then there is no continuity, and if sound occurs, then those two points are shorted.

If they are shorted, you can probably look at the points carefully and possibly see if there is a bit of solder accidentally joining them together. If so, just use an exacto to break the connection.

 

[hungabunga]

I would first get the chip working before anything else.

Here is how I do it to make sure.

Firstly just fit the X3 and the red,green and grey cable, and plug in the yellow xbox power eject cable. Now switch on the xbox and you should see 2 blue L.E.D's on the x3 light up and the Cromwell Bios flashing screen

If either of the L.ED's don't light up the search for this problem and reslove it. (either your chip is not getting 5v or 3.3V)
If you get the lights but no cromwell bios the check solder points. (a good guide here http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/solderpix.htm)

If you get the cromwell bios then it is either your Extrenal switch or the Reset/eject adaptor causing the problem.

Instal these one at a time and test if you still get the cromwell bios.
The Extrenal panel can cause problems if you have damaged/trapped the leds under the controller ports.
The Reset/Eject adaptor had some boards where the solder was bridged causing problems. To check remove the sticker on the back and look at the connection that you would connect the X3 to see if it is bridged.

Sorry about the post being rushed I am at work and only had few mins.

Sully

 

[Lucky4me]

Wave 5 and 6

ive extracted the patchs for wave 5 and 6 i did them i did them one at time the same i did with wave 3 and 4 then the installations pack they had up

still comes up with video not found or recongize anyone else having this problem

 

[RO13]

Re: Wave 5 and 6

I am too. i dont know whats happening.

 

[Lucky4me]

Re: Wave 5 and 6

yea i hope someone let me know if i did somethin wrong

 

[RO13]

Re: Wave 5 and 6

i think i just found a way. PM me if you want some help

 

[smokinjoe79]

Re: Wave 5 and 6

I am using a WAVE4 disc activator prior to running Bad Company 2. During gameplay, I always have issues where the game simply stops working and I get several disc read errors. I have used 4 different discs, from different sources and all show the same problem. Does this game require a different WAVE loader or a specific MOD version?