RGH Slim nand points destroyed

[Ticallion]

Howdy,

So I got ahold of a slim trinity board for cheap because the guy had made a horror show of trying to RGH it. The damage is all to the nand-x points, I tried a wire install to the top and underneath the board as well but not getting anything other than "usb interface not found" so it seems the points are well and truly fried.

Now I know what you're thinking "Send it to a pro", well yes thats an option but I see this as a good learning opportunity, if I kill the board permanently then so be it.

I will post better pictures when I get a replacement usb microscope as mine packed in the other day.

I was thinking that since the points themselves appear ruined would the next local step be to use a fibreglass scratcher to expose the traces on the underside leading away from the points and solder the relevant wires to those - would this be the step that the pro's would look towards first?

 

[BL4K3Y]

You could try exposing the traces underneath and soldering the wires there instead but it looks like the previous owner made a real pigs ear of that board :facepalm:!

 

[oO Elite Oo]

WOW! some people shouldnt touch a soldering iron at all. Try under the motheboard to see if it reads and write

 

[sick360mods]

Best is to try the traces. If that didn't work then u could always try the progskeet with the 360 clip. Looking into getting this to start downgrading ps3s as a service

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[Fisticuffs]

It looks likes there's some bridging on those points, I'd think you'd need to clean that up with some desoldering braid and flux first before attempting an ALT fix, I'm no expert though

 

[WNYConsoles]

That's pretty bad, the nand points are some of the easiest.

 

[trippy86]

WOW

Use some braid clean it up but if that makes no difference i would go with what was suggested earlier try the trace instead.

That's pretty bad, the nand points are some of the easiest.

they are the easiest lol

 

[Oggy]

I dont see any reason that you can't clean it up and use the standard points unless they're fried.

You can of course solder to the traces, I had to do it on a phat once, delicate work.

 

[Ticallion]

It looks likes there's some bridging on those points, I'd think you'd need to clean that up with some desoldering braid and flux first before attempting an ALT fix, I'm no expert though

Used a multimeter to test continuity between all the points and then did the same on an untouched trinity board and it matches so no bridges apparent, I scratched off the untouched trinity and the trces run between some of the points so makes it look like there is bridging when in fact the points are connected, will still clean it up mind.

I dont see any reason that you can't clean it up and use the standard points unless they're fried.

From what I can gather a QSB was soldered on and then basically pulled off, taking it with it the useful parts of the points themselves so I think I will end up soldering to the fine trace lines, although a quick look this morning and following those traces it seems there are some easy solder points futher up the line so shouldn;t be too much hassle. As long as I can get some nand dumps and get the .ecc written then she'll live to glitch another day, will have to wait a couple days before I have time to sit down and do it properly but will report back when I succeed/throw it out the window.

 

[alexhore]

I would use header pins. The pad is only missing on one side use the other to hold the pin and if the trace is on top then bridge it...

1 desolder both sides using flux and wick to ensure no shorts.
2 expose a very small amount of trace next to the pad missing or not just to be sure.
3 Solder pin headers.
3 Bridge the pin header and trace.
If you take your time, use plenty of flux and a sharp enough tip you should be able to ensure some of the solder flows onto the trace.

Picture I knocked up of the bridging....
http://www.picvalley.net/u/2972/135580651218989587051330950222x2efja86Q38SV6PrJUEv.JPG
　
A close up of the top to eliminate shorts, I dont have the bottom but asume he did not touch the bottom...
http://www.360squirt.com/diagrams/SQUIRT-360-SPI-SLIM-DIAGRAM.jpg

Good luck

 

[Ticallion]

It did initially cross my mind to use pin headers however I've never used them before and hear that getting all the solder out can be a pain in itself and given the already uncertain state of what's going on there I'm not sure if hitting them up with a soldering iron for extended amounts of time will do it any favours, great idea though and the diagram illustrated your point very well, thanks for the suggestion. I'll clear it up as much as I can first then decide where to go from there.

 

[Loomingx]

Get yourself a desolder pump and getting the solder out of the holes is a breeze. With a fine tipped solder iron you can poke it through one side of the board and use the desolder pump on the other side.

1. Squeeze desolder pump
2. Let go of desolder pump
3. Remove soldering iron as soon as you let go of desolder pump.

Voila!

 

[Ticallion]

Worth a shot I guess, I've ordered one and a finer tip for my soldering iron as my current one is most deffo too thick to get in there.

 

[Ticallion]

Ok this is starting to annoy me now. I scratched down all the traces and just before I started painstakingly solder wire to them I figured I might as well check the points, and all of them still had continuity from the holes, so I then redid a wire install, and checking continuity from the wires to further along the traces it's all there, and there is no additional bridging where they shouldn't be when comparing to a stock untouched slim, yet when connecting up still getting the old "cannot find usb interface", so I'm pretty stumped now - any other ideas?

Only other thing is if the nand-x is playing up, I'm gonna check on another RGH I have to rule that out, but it's a long shot to be honest.

 

[Ticallion]

Nand-x working fine as expected. Reading a post on another forum it seems there are no alt. points for the nand since it's the only SPI port into the southbridge ie the business end of things, but apparently one guy had continuity on the traces like I do but said he had to clean them up anyway for them to work - I did wonder last night whether continuity alone is enough or whether quality of the signals is a crucial factor. Luckily the guy posted alternate soldering points further along the traces which I could solder to instead of farting around with traces so will give that a try. Another guy used an alternative ground point and got it reading again so there's also that to try.

Will report back later this evening, it boils my piss to have to admit defeat so I will solder on (see what I did there! )

 

[Martin C]

1. Test continuity between the hole and the trace leading to it.
2. Test voltages and impedence for each point, using my NAND-x troubleshooting guide.

If both the above are checking out, solder to the points and away you go.

 

[Ticallion]

Thanks will give that a try this evening.

 

[Ticallion]

Ok going by the numbers in your troubleshooting guide, I'm getting the following:

1 - 0.25v
2 - 3.29v
3 - 0.01v
4 - 41.3 ohm
5 - 3v
6 - no reading - meter reads 1.

So it seems poiints 1, 3 and 6 are shafted - what would be the normal cause for these points giving bad readings? Is there hope for this board yet?

 

[Martin C]

6 should give you around 5kOhm - you're not getting anything?

 

[Ticallion]

Apologies for being a twat - had meter set wrong, 6 is kicking out 5.59kohm so looks to be ok, so just points 1 and 3.