Jump to content
OGXbox.com

XBox Works but No Light Around Eject Button


psnap777
 Share

Recommended Posts

My XBOX turns on and works but the green light around the eject button does not come on. The system is a 1.0 version and has been successfully Tsoped. A red light comes on around the eject button when booting with the Helen 2017 disk, but I don’t ever get a green light under normal operation. Any idea what would cause this or how I can fix it?  Thanks. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for replying and your advice. I pulled the front panel board and didn't find any loose wires or solder connections. Next I pulled a front panel board from another working XBOX that I have and tried it in the XBOX I'm working on and the result was the same; no green lights. So I'm guessing maybe it's a problem with the motherboard. I'm going to pull the motherboard and look at the solder joints under the port that the front panel plugs in to. Is there anything else you can think of that might be the problem?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The daughterboards only found on v1.0 consoles are for the controller ports.  Must be something else on the motherboard that's broken - damaged/corroded trace.

Check for continuity from pin 2 of the PIC processor at location U7B2 to the RED LED contact of the front panel connector - J2G2. And, same for PIC pin 3 to the GREEN LED front panel connector pin. 

Update: Hmm, not quite right. Not sure if the PIC connects directly to the front panel connector pins.  There are left and right RED and GREEN LED connections on the front panel connector.  LED driver circuitry, a transistor, may exist between the PIC and those front panel pins.

Edited by KaosEngineer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Messed up edit.

 

Update for V1.1 motherboard:

Q2V1 on bottom of MB is the GREEN LED driver transistor.

Q2V2 on bottom of MB is the RED LED driver transistor.

Layout:
Q2V1 (PNP transistor)
B -> R3V3 (10KOhm res) -> SMC pin 3
   C -> to current limit res for GREEN LED (R2G9 [top] and R3V1 [bottom])
E -> 3.3Vdc

Q2V2 (PNP transistor)
B -> R3V2 (10KOhm res) -> SMC pin 2
   C -> to current limit res for RED LED (R2G10 [top] and R3V4 [bottom])
E -> 3.3Vdc

Bottom side traces along edge of motherboard (for V1.1 MB):
 
Right side R3V2-/\/\/-Left side -> SMC Pin 2 (RED LED ENable)
Right side R3V3-/\/\/-Left side -> SMC Pin 3 (GREEN LED ENable)
J2G2 pin 4 -> Right of R3G2-\/\/-Left side -> SMC Pin 5
J2G2 pin 2 -> Right of R3G4-\/\/-Left side -> SMC Pin 18

SMC (system management controller) PIC Processor location U7B2

20180432 3:14PM CDT

A 1.0 motherboard is most likely a bit different as it had the daughterboards for the USB hubs to the front control panels.

Pics of the 1.1 Mother board top and bottom J2G2 Front Panel connector:

Top5ade3f7c0c31e_ogXboxV1.1Motherboard(top)FrontPanelConnector(J2G2).thumb.png.aac85455e4704fc2f4ffedf63c2eafcd.png

Bottom5ade3f77aa4c4_ogXboxV1.1Motherboard(bottom)FrontPanelConnector(J2G2).thumb.png.cad7cde7b6a9beba448851e850b6ad7b.png

Edited by KaosEngineer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/23/2018 at 1:17 PM, KaosEngineer said:

Messed up edit.

 

Update for V1.1 motherboard:

Q2V1 on bottom of MB is the GREEN LED driver transistor.

Q2V2 on bottom of MB is the RED LED driver transistor.


Layout:
Q2V1 (PNP transistor)
B -> R3V3 (10KOhm res) -> SMC pin 3
   C -> to current limit res for GREEN LED (R2G9 [top] and R3V1 [bottom])
E -> 3.3Vdc

Q2V2 (PNP transistor)
B -> R3V2 (10KOhm res) -> SMC pin 2
   C -> to current limit res for RED LED (R2G10 [top] and R3V4 [bottom])
E -> 3.3Vdc

Bottom side traces along edge of motherboard (for V1.1 MB):
 
Right side R3V2-/\/\/-Left side -> SMC Pin 2 (RED LED ENable)
Right side R3V3-/\/\/-Left side -> SMC Pin 3 (GREEN LED ENable)
J2G2 pin 4 -> Right of R3G2-\/\/-Left side -> SMC Pin 5
J2G2 pin 2 -> Right of R3G4-\/\/-Left side -> SMC Pin 18

SMC (system management controller) PIC Processor location U7B2

20180432 3:14PM CDT

A 1.0 motherboard is most likely a bit different as it had the daughterboard for the USB hub that connected the controller ports.

Pics of the 1.1 Motherboard top and bottom J2G2 Front Panel connector:

Top5ade3f7c0c31e_ogXboxV1.1Motherboard(top)FrontPanelConnector(J2G2).thumb.png.aac85455e4704fc2f4ffedf63c2eafcd.png

Bottom5ade3f77aa4c4_ogXboxV1.1Motherboard(bottom)FrontPanelConnector(J2G2).thumb.png.cad7cde7b6a9beba448851e850b6ad7b.png

 

Update (20180425 - fixed a few typos above. No new info.

Edited by KaosEngineer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

1 hour ago, dag05 said:

I am having the exact same issue, havent fixed it yet tho and Im not really sure whats causing it, its for sure not the yellow cable for the light ring.

What version Xbox?

There are several possibilities to what's causing this problem.  

I'd try UnleashX dashboard's System -> Settings -> System -> Test LED option to cycle through the list of available color options; see which don't work properly.

You can use this menu item and test the output of the PIC processor and the drive transistor base and collector voltage levels.  The RED and GREEN LED drive transistors are on the bottom side of the motherboard. :(

A few possible problems

Trace carrying the signal from the PIC processor (v1.0-1.5)/Xyclops(v1.6) (System Management Controller) to the drive transistor may be broken or corroded, dead transistor, open resistor, and/or burnt out LED.

Edited by KaosEngineer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much for all the information you shared KaosEngineer. It has been quite helpful. Unfortunately I haven't been able to fix the problem yet. I ran the Test LED you mentioned and the only lights that function are red; neither orange nor green worked. I'm probably going to have to pull the motherboard again and see if I can find any traces that look bad. Although I have done this twice and have not found anything just by visual inspection. My motherboard version is a 1.0 by the way. I don't know if anyone else experiencing this same problem has had any luck figuring it out, but please post if you have. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since only red works, either a bad PIC processor, a broken trace for the GREEN LED control line from the PIC (U7B2), broken/disconnected series resistor between the PIC and drive transistor base pad, burnt out GREEN LED drive transistor near the Front Panel connector (solder side of the motherboard) or current limiting resistors.

Since neither side lights, I doubt it's the current limiting resistors for the LEDs.  There are two one for each side of the lighted ring on the front panel.  Most likely the trace from the PIC to drive transistors opened/cracked somewhere along its long route or the transistor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I pulled the board again and found the problem. The clock capacitor strikes again.  It damaged the traces controlling the lights around the eject button. The only one not damaged is the red light trace. Unfortunately repairing this is beyond my experience / ability at this time. So I'm just going to set it to use the red light for everything in UnleashX settings since it's the only light still working.  Just wanted to share what was causing the problem incase anyone else runs into this. KaosEngineer had mentioned this as a possibility in one of his earlier posts and it turns out he was right.

IMG_1244.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...
  • 2 weeks later...

It could be bad solder joints in the switch panel or more likely trace damage to the underside of the main board.

You really need to disassemble it and check for clock cap leakage especially the 4 traces across the front on the bottom of the motherboard..

 

Cheers

SS Dave


Soft modding is like masturbating, It gets the job done but it's nothing like the real thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's a trick I like to use to repair PCB traces. It doesn't always work, but might be worth a try.

If you're steady with a little knife, you could scrape off the PCB insulation for each trace. Making sure to scrape enough so the solder gets a good grip, and to use thin wires that won't tear up the trace. If you accidentally cut more than one trace right next to each other, you might need to abandon that area and start again, moving further up the trace.

Ideally, you would expose traces in a staggered way, so the solder won't bridge to other traces

The other way is to follow the traces till they reach a component, and solder from the components

pcbtrace_staggering.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, SS_Dave said:

It could be bad solder joints in the switch panel or more likely trace damage to the underside of the main board.

You really need to disassemble it and check for clock cap leakage especially the 4 traces across the front on the bottom of the motherboard..

 

Cheers

SS Dave


Soft modding is like masturbating, It gets the job done but it's nothing like the real thing.

Yeah, I was planning on it this weekend when I got my chips for the two 1.6s. It was 3:30am when I posted that. I had never known about the clock cap and was wondering if or when it would strike. I'll give an update on what I find.

 

1 hour ago, van0014 said:

There's a trick I like to use to repair PCB traces. It doesn't always work, but might be worth a try.

If you're steady with a little knife, you could scrape off the PCB insulation for each trace. Making sure to scrape enough so the solder gets a good grip, and to use thin wires that won't tear up the trace. If you accidentally cut more than one trace right next to each other, you might need to abandon that area and start again, moving further up the trace.

Ideally, you would expose traces in a staggered way, so the solder won't bridge to other traces

The other way is to follow the traces till they reach a component, and solder from the components

pcbtrace_staggering.png

Yeah, I'm familiar with repairing traces but any advice or tips is always welcome. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thing to do first if its modded is use the UnleashX dash which has a LED test/change in its settings.

Its a bit unusual for both sides of the LED to go at the same time but still best to check if you can get any response. The two instances I've had of such matters were both caused by dried solder cracking.

The front LED board is held under some compression and if the solder has dried out it is ripe for cracking and that can be enough to break the connection. Just reflowing the solder around the LED joints solves the problem, if it is that.

Edited by HDShadow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/26/2020 at 6:34 PM, HDShadow said:

Thing to do first if its modded is use the UnleashX dash which has a LED test/change in its settings.

Its a bit unusual for both sides of the LED to go at the same time but still best to check if you can get any response. The two instances I've had of such matters were both caused by dried solder cracking.

The front LED board is held under some compression and if the solder has dried out it is ripe for cracking and that can be enough to break the connection. Just reflowing the solder around the LED joints solves the problem, if it is that.

I did use UnleashX to test them. The green on both sides went out. I've been so busy this week I haven't had the chance to sit down with it. I'm looking forward to when I can though. This was my first xbox so I'm going to look it over real good. Thanks for added info.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check through the whole set of UnleashX Test LED options. The LEDs on each side have three solder points. It could just be the one(s) used  for Green are the problem. It would be very unusual, to say the least, if all three on each side had cracked.

If you do still get nothing check that the LEDs themselves are not busted before resigning yourself to some trace identification and repair work.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I lost one side of the LED with one machine it was caused by cracked solder on one of the legs of that side's LED. But when I checked the other side, since I was there, that too was cracked and no down would have failed sometime. Both were reflowed and its worked perfectly ever since.

I think the chances are it is not the solder or LEDs themselves but it pays to check the simpler to fix stuff first.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

Board Life Status


Board startup date: April 23, 2017 12:45:48
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.