Nintendo switch BLOD / After reflowing the APU works but the MAX77812 is super hot

Nintendo Questions Nintendo Switch
#1

Hello Guys,

yesterday I received a Switch (already the new 2019 version) with blue light of death. After reflowing the APU it came back to life but it is draining the battery quite fast. This is already a brand new battery. What I can feel is that the MAX77812 next to the speaker connector is hot but I mean like super hot. If I touch an earplug flooded with IPA there I can hear how it is evaporating immediately. I can measure 0,6V and 3,7V around the MAX regulator on the capacitors.
I know that BLOD is not always repairable but this works now otherwise perfectly since a day.
Do you have any ide what could be wrong?

Thanks.

#2

Given this voltage drop on the output, it’s likely this rail produced by this max IC is short to ground, this could be as a result of failed Max IC, failed SoC or merged balls below SoC.

Measure the resistance to ground on one of the incudctors pads relative to ground and note the reading. If it’s less than 30 ohm, then start by removing this Max IC and see if it clears the short… you will require reball experience and solder paste and stencils if this IC is not the culprit.

Refrain from powering on this unit until the fault is resolved, less you’ll kill the SoC (if it isn’t dead already)

#3

I can confidently say that if you reflowed the apu, it won’t last. Reflowing/reballing is very temporary and can (and probably will) damage the console itself more than doing anything. The apu 99% of the time needs to be replaced

#4

My guess is unless the solder merged when he reflowed it, is the flip chip was defective from the factory and was doomed to die unfortunately. Unless nintendo is locking the apu to the motherboard it could be replaced if you want to go down that path

#5

They do unfortunately, they tie it to the EMMC

While i would agree with you that reflow is not the best resolution long term depending, i think in certain circumstances a reball can be faultless until the consoles natural death many years from now :smiley: under certain circumstances.

Reason: I’ve noticed that these consoles - being a handheld, are subject to incredible board warp, this can be as a result of flex issues and/or poor prior repair attempts (USB in particular) this can cause opens under the SoC, typically once the SoC is removed (and if applicable all other issues relating to prior repair attempts are resolved - USB etc) then the board will return to it’s normal “flat” state after heat, and the leaded solder adds more ductility in future.

In some cases, the board warp is so severe it pulls the pads and sometimes traces below the SoC, in this case the board cannot be used… or you have to painstakingly repair the pads and traces.

So provided the critical rails on the SoC measure fine, and provided the board is in good condition and not beyond a certain point, a reflow, but prefereably a reball is fine. Though, if you were doing this repair for a customer, you would inform them of this and guarantee the repair or charge them less and make it clear it could fail down the line.

1 Like
#6

Thank you for the reply. Yes! I also have the feeling that I have some kind if short(not a dead short) on one of the rails. I can measure 18 Ohm on the rails where I can only measure 0,6V which is for sure low. At first I will try to remove the caps because that it easier to do than the Max ic. I have the feeling that due to the reason that the Max IC kinda works can be that a dying capacitor is my problem. Lets see.

#7

Yes I know. When I saw the Blod I thought ok! I have a donor board but I thought maybe I will mess with it. This is why I reflowed the apu and it turned on. I will for sure not sell it :slight_smile:

#8

In my personal experience I have only seen 2 consoles that actually needed to be reballed, the rest needed new gpus. Though I don’t really work on switch consoles as much, so if reballing could actually fix the apu then it should be alright

#9

In this case it definetly came back to life from reflowing. I can also imagine that it was dropped down and the fragile lead free solder cracked at some point. I this case a reflow/reballing could help. I think if here the Apu would be dead it would have not come back to life. Or maybe because of the heat shock something happend.