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XBox Won't Turn On, Please Help


angelauds1990
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  • 2 weeks later...

There are 3 fine traces along the outer edge of the xbox motherboard on the solder side (back side) of the PCB that carry the control signals from the front panel power and eject buttons to the PIC processor that controls power and eject functions.  The electrolyte leakage can be great enough that it runs down the edge of the board and has corroded these traces.  As the signals no longer carry the signals well all sorts of strange things can happen.  My Xbox would come on by itself in the middle of the night (ghost power on) until I repaired the traces.  

Take that clock cap out on v1.0-1.5 Xbox's and clean any leaked electrolyte from the top and bottom side of the board.  I've seen some that have leaked enough to get to the bottom of the case leaving a large area of dried up residue.  Most use vinegar to neutralize the electrolyte followed by isopropyl alcohol soaked q-tips to clean up the mess the little aerogel cap left behind since he could no longer hold is electrolyte.

Vinegar is acidic (read before 4.5 pH) and the electrolyte if acidic can't be neutralized by another acid so I think the electrolyte is alkaline >7 pH (i've seen printed that electrolyte can have a pH from 4 to 8, so it can be either acidic or alkaline).  I don't have any litmus paper to verify the pH.  Looks like I need to purchase some strips and test the residue on the next Xbox I repair.

Edited by KaosEngineer
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  • 2 months later...

I have some ph paper somewhere and at least one crusty Xbox I can test it on.

Curiously I have  a 1.6 that sometimes won't boot or turn on. every part in it works correcly in other Xboxes so it got to be the board, there's no damage no leaking caps , in fact it's one of the most dust free Xboxes I have ever bought second hand. 

The trick with this particular box is unplug the HD and DVD and rep plug the power, turn it on and it will error. Then plug it all back in and it's ok.

Sometime another 1.6 I have won't turn on with that its a case of removing it's mod chip and powering it on which causes it to throw a tantrum. Then put the chip back in and it's ok. The chip works fine in another 1.6 and has one of those removable  pin header things.

I put it down to mass produced ten plus year old electronics that for the most part have probably not had the greatest of life's best treatment, and weren't really built to the best standards.

These boxes we love so much are no more reliable than old cars, so I expect to have to tinker with them, it's all part of the fun.

Buy em cheap and if you break one "fixing" it no worries just break out another and use the spares.

 

Edited by big F
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Board startup date: April 23, 2017 12:45:48
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