Smoking/Burning V2 Controller

[Tre-Cool]

Okay, wierd one here. This happened to me for the 2nd time last night while i was working on my drag car (vz ute) 1st time it happened it was on my ve probably about 6 months or more ago.

Anyway i could smell and then seen some smoke eminating from my v2 so immediatly unplugged the serial wb,usb & obdi plug from the unit itself and could feel the heat immediatly on the back of the unit near the left hand screw near the 12v inputs (if turning it over to the left, in fact i think i can even see a round mark on the back of the unit where the heat was obviously the most as the plastic now has a perfect circle mark) capacitor maybe?

Anyway the unit still works via the usb/obdi ports and i can still scan. ( havent tested programming or the wb02 or analog ports yet as it was late when i was in the shed)

Now, normally with electronics once you smell burnt parts the equipment is ussually farked and it's time for a replacement. but like i said this is the 2nd time it has happened to me and the unit keeps working (for how much longer i dont know) but over the past few months i've had tremendous trouble trying to scan via my laptop or the software not able to find the ecm when tryign to program, yet after a simple unplug/replug it will work.

Problem there is doesnt do it all the time. (except the scanning which does it 8/10 times)

I'll be honest here and say i havent tried another laptop to see if it's my laptop and it's redirected mydocs playing havok with the software.

As for the smoking/burning problem is it possible for the screws in the back of the case to earth the device out or even get 12v sent down the wb cable? (im using a te2 device)

[ChipsByAl]

Make sure all of your engine grounds are in tip top shape, you do not want the V2 to be the ground source for the ECM.
Al

[Tordne]

On rare occasions there has been a fault in the vehicles OBDII port wiring that has caused FlashScan to do that.

[Tre-Cool]

digging up an old thread. v2 is still working fine, but i have noticed that it's had a bit of a rattle to the unit when moving around. so i have removed the rear casing to find a broken resistor half melted to the back of the casing and the other part just moving around. it appears there are quite a few other chips that have gotten hot and have signs of melted housings.

Who do i need to send my v2 to get repaired/replaced and what's the cost/time to replacement involve?

I was looking to get another v2 anyway, but obviously i need to keep all my existing licenses.

[Tordne]

Can you email me (support@efilive.com) your FlashScan V2 Serial Number and Auth Code (as per here http://support.efilive.com/kb_article.php?ref=2143-YUOG-8049) so I can check warranty status?

If it is out of warranty you might consider our License Recovery Service. Customers wishing to replace their (out of warranty) damaged or faulty FlashScan V2 device will need to purchase a V2 device (US$399) and the License Recovery option (US$99). The option is a service provided by EFILive to recover the existing VIN Licenses and Stream Licenses from the old V2 device and to copy the licenses to the replacement device. The old V2 device must be returned to EFILive before the replacement device is shipped. If the old V2 device is damaged beyond EFILive’s ability to recover the licenses, the customer must supply the appropriate license backup file (*.lbu) that is automatically generated by the EFILive software and saved on their laptop.

This new device of course has a renewed 1 year warranty period. Given the requirement to ship us your device I guess the turnaround time would be in the region of 5 business days (allowing for express shipping both ways). The cost of shipping the device to EFILive is at the customers expense. Shipping costs will be added to the order of the new device by the EFILive online store (for basically a new product purchase).

You probably know most of that already, I just made it verbose for the benefit of other customers also :)

[Tre-Cool]

device is over 3 years old now so no warranty. i've just ordered some new engine parts today so money is gonna be tight for a bit. when i get some spare cash i'll send it in.

atleast for now it's still working fine, so i got no idea what the broken parts were actually doing. lol

[Tre-Cool]

So, device is still going strong. lol. however i just placed my order in for a 2nd unit to use in the interim once i send the existing device off.

will be in touch soon.

[Ira]

Can you describe the resistor or post a close-up picture of the damaged area?

Ira

[mr.prick]

It's burnt up inside and still working? :w00t:

[GMPX]

Well, we might as well leave those parts out in the future then, they ain't needed apparently :grin:

[Tre-Cool]

http://www.vyssute.com/downloads/efilive/IMG_0301.JPG
http://www.vyssute.com/downloads/efilive/IMG_0302.JPG
http://www.vyssute.com/downloads/efilive/IMG_0304.JPG
http://www.vyssute.com/downloads/efilive/IMG_0305.JPG
http://www.vyssute.com/downloads/efilive/IMG_0306.JPG

[nevinsb]

Wow, those diodes got hot.

[GMPX]

Tre-Cool, you'll have to send that one back to NZ for repair, I don't have all the parts here in Aus to fix that.
If you want to do that contact support via here - http://support.efilive.com/

[Tre-Cool]

yeah i will do. im not in any hurry. like i said it still works fine.

the only issuie i have is with the cable that plugs into the unit. if i move it a certain way it reboots. ive remade the cable plug a few times thinking it was a loose pin. but last night i noticed one of the pins (in the cat plug) was not sticking all the way up. so i rebent it up.

if it has fixed my problem i'll leave it as is.

[GMPX]

I have USB plugs and the OBD-II connector as spares, anything else is back to NZ.

[JezzaB]

I have always wondered what the Smoke tunes does that comes with the V2 :p

[Tre-Cool]

just thought i'd update this thread, it seems the part that is no longer functioning is the analog side of things.

found this out the other day when trying to log on my brothers car. been swapping between another v2 i have for logging and this one for changes. lol

time to fix it i think..

[Ira]

The part that's missing is a tantalum filter capacitor. It very occasionally burns and takes the two diodes next to it. Just like it did in your case. When I was in charge of support in the USA, that problem was always fixed under warranty as I was supplied higher voltage capacitors to replace the blown one with.

Ira

[GMPX]

just thought i'd update this thread, it seems the part that is no longer functioning is the analog side of things.
I can see quite a number of damaged parts on that PCB. Apart from the damage in the bottom left corner, there's a popped chip just to the right of the CPU as well, then the bottom right corner, things aren't looking too good there either.

Cheers,
Ross

[Ira]

The one to the right of the CPU is the op-amp on the analog inputs, they often pop if you put the 2 pin orange connector on one pin off with the power on.

Ira