PCE DUO Controller problems.

[Desh]

The quest to repair my Duo continues.  I finally have sound again after many nightmares and a few hours everyday for the past week looking into it.  I couldn't wait until I had time to play it tonight.  I fired it up and, go to play and the right d-pad and II button are not working.  WTF!  I jiggled the connector and reflowed the solder joints for the connector on the board.  None of that worked so I robbed a known good TG16 controller and swapped the cords.  Still, the exact same issue.  I checked continuity in the controller cord itself and checked few things on the Duo board.  I'm at a loss.  For the little info I've found online I believe both of my failed functions are on pin 6 of the controller port.

This bastard is really starting to piss me off.  The controller worked perfectly before I dish washed the board and had to make repairs to get sound back.

Anyone have some ideas?

[CGQuarterly]

Did you clean the conductive rubber pads with alcohol and clean the contacts on the controller PCB with an eraser?  What did you put in the dishwasher?

[thesteve]

trace pin6 back to the HuC6280
odds are you have an open trace/via

[schweaty]

Edit:  reread the original post.  nothing to add really

[schweaty]

whoops... double post

[Desh]

Did you clean the conductive rubber pads with alcohol and clean the contacts on the controller PCB with an eraser?  What did you put in the dishwasher?

Yes, I did that as well just in case.  I put the whole Duo PCB in the dishwasher to thoroughly clean it after I was having intermittent static issues in the sound.  This was all after I did a full cap replacement.  I must say it worked well other than every small item that was a bit weak became non-operational afterwards.  Hopefully, this means that this Duo will be reliable as all hell when I get it figured out.  I also am not too butthurt as I got this one super cheap and, it appears someone has already repaired the disc portion so that works flawlessly.

trace pin6 back to the HuC6280
odds are you have an open trace/via

Yeah, I was working towards this a bit and followed it into an IC on the top of the board and was unsure of where to go next.  Also, I didn't spend a ton of time on it due to my frustration level.  I will go back at it tonight with a calm mindset.  Thank you again for your masterful knowledge!

[thesteve]

Sometimes the board has corrosion in vias that is still resistive
When washed they go open

[Desh]

Traced all inputs to PCB back to hu6280.  I did not find anything open so I double checked power and ground (I figured it would be OK since the other buttons work and it was).  I then ran jumpers one by one to each corresponding pin to hu6280 with no change.  Since then while poking around I must have messed something up as now nothing will work.  I really love working on this Duo. 

[Desh]

OK, I repaired my mess up and am back to all functions EXCEPT right D-pad and button II.  According to everything I have found online these two functions correspond to pin 3.  I did run a jumper direct from this pin (after FL903) and had no change.  I also checked voltage on this circuit all the way down to pin 24 of HU6280.  I measure 5VDC to any ground on the PCB and the voltage drops to zero when I press button II.  I also get a small drop (about .2 VDC) when I press the right D-pad.  I've measured this even at pin 24 of HU6280.  This leads me to believe the input is working fine but something inside or beyond HU6280 is screwed?  I'm out of ideas for now.

[thesteve]

6280 is as far as it goes
i have seen a few 6280 chips with bad controller pins

[Desh]

6280 is as far as it goes
i have seen a few 6280 chips with bad controller pins

Well... shit pickle.  If worst comes to worst, I have a spare TG16 that is rough on the outside but works.  There aren't any differences between a North American and Japanese HU6280 right?  The only difference I know of is how pin 27(?) is wired for region lock.

[toymachine78]

Did you clean the conductive rubber pads with alcohol and clean the contacts on the controller PCB with an eraser?  What did you put in the dishwasher?

Yes, I did that as well just in case.  I put the whole Duo PCB in the dishwasher to thoroughly clean it after I was having intermittent static issues in the sound.  This was all after I did a full cap replacement.  I must say it worked well other than every small item that was a bit weak became non-operational afterwards.  Hopefully, this means that this Duo will be reliable as all hell when I get it figured out.  I also am not too butthurt as I got this one super cheap and, it appears someone has already repaired the disc portion so that works flawlessly.

trace pin6 back to the HuC6280
odds are you have an open trace/via

Yeah, I was working towards this a bit and followed it into an IC on the top of the board and was unsure of where to go next.  Also, I didn't spend a ton of time on it due to my frustration level.  I will go back at it tonight with a calm mindset.  Thank you again for your masterful knowledge!

Can you really dishwasher a PCB or is this sarcasm?

[BlueBMW]

I may have a spare bad TG16 board (wont read hucards) if you need one for parts.

[Desh]

I may have a spare bad TG16 board (wont read hucards) if you need one for parts.

Thanks for the offer.  I will let you know.  I am going to double check everything again tonight and make sure I'm not missing anything.

[NightWolve]

Can you really dishwasher a PCB or is this sarcasm?

'tis true. I thought the idea was absurd when I first heard it, and I still wouldn't do it either, I would wash it in a sink with dishwashing liquid soap, not throw it in a machine that'll be squirting pressurized water in all sorts of directions and what not.