r/consolerepair 1d ago

Dropped switch doesn't turn on, need help troubleshooting

Hello everyone I got an unresponsive switch from a friend, apparently it fell and hasn't been able to turn on ever since. I'm here to ask for advice about what could be causing this, here's what I know and what I've done.

I've opened the device, I haven't noticed any structural damage, the battery already installed is drained, I have a new one that outputs the correct amount of power but the console still doesn't power on. I've checked every pin and the relative solder, but the multimeter confirms it works. I've checked the power button as well but it isn't the culprit.

With the multimeter I also tested the M92 caps which I read online usually causes problems but it works as it should.

It has been completely cleaned and now I'm at a bit of a loss about how to keep looking for the problem. I can provide every possible photo you guys need, thank you in advance, it would be awesome to give this thing a second life.

3 Upvotes

7

u/Good_Desk_7206 1d ago

With fall damage there's always a possibility that bga solder joints got cracked. CPU, GPU, RAM, etc

2

u/Brick-44 23h ago

I see, how would I go about checking or trying to fix it, should I desolder and resolder some of these components?

3

u/ItsaSinch90 23h ago

Do you have experience with hot air or doing a reball? Do you have access to a bga rework station? If the answer is no, then this repair is better left to a professional.

2

u/Good_Desk_7206 23h ago

You could look for shorts around the mentioned components, but honestly leave the repair to a professional. Even if there's a bga problem somewhere, finding and fixing it is on a whole other level.

1

u/Brick-44 22h ago

I understand, I don't have experience but I plan on gaining it in the next year, this is not an urgent matter as I've just recently picked up this hobby and this is advanced right now. I've started with disassembling, cleaning and part swaps :)

My main goal here was to learn where and how to check for shorts as well as troubleshooting other possible causes to the issues, thank you for responding of course!

2

u/The_Infamousduck 21h ago

Don't do anything until you've done a continuity test on every pin of each chip unless you find one just obviously broken or disconnected. You don't want to go down this microsoldering/trace creating path if you don't have to.

But i do agree with the poster above. I bet one of these pins have broken free of it's trace and that's your problem

1

u/Brick-44 6h ago

I appreciate it, I will do what you said, if no culprit is found eventually I think I'll give it to someone who would enjoy fixing it with more expertise.

3

u/Dismal-Mechanic6504 21h ago

What amps does it draw when plugged into a charger? Does it have a boot sequence where the amps fluctuate?

Knowing what the console is doing will give you a clue to the issue at hand. Otherwise, you are blindly poking around you can make it worse

2

u/Brick-44 6h ago

This is a very nice input, thank you for it, I'll check the boot sequence and the amps it draws when plugged in as soon as I can

1

u/Dismal-Mechanic6504 5h ago

Excellent, let me know what you find happy to help where I can