Dynapath boards

[ramsey321]

I need some help. I have a watch dog timer light on my Aux board. All my voltages seem to be ok and I dont have any AC ripple coming from my power supply. I had my power supply checked out and it seems to be ok. I talked to Dynapath and they said if my power supply is ok then is is most likly the PIC board or the Auxiliary board. My question is what should I be looking for when I look at these boards and what would most likly be the problem. I appriciate your help. Thanks

[lavrgs]

I have limited experience with repairing these boards but capacitors degrade over time and replacing them could help. Its a shotgun approach but you may get lucky- the replacement is pretty cheap and not too difficult. If you find someone would can debug down to the component level that would be ideal.
I would start with a thorough cleaning of the board(s). Mine were covered in years of oil and ?. Being able to do a detailed inspection will be much easier to see an open trace or a bad solder joint, or burnt component. Using a meter in suspect areas will confirm continuity.

My approach, as I've mentioned before, was to get rid of all the electronics and start over because I have very little knowledge of electronics repair.
Either way its a big job but I found it easier to work with new stuff that I knew would work than old stuff that will always be suspect.

Bill

[ramsey321]

Well at this point I am going to start with cleaning the boards in the Dynapath control but I am not sure how to clean these boards and what kind of chemicals I can use. What can I use to clean these boards without screwing something up. Thanks for your help.

[laszlozoltan]

remove the board from the machine and discharge all the caps, isopropyl (rubbing alcohol) should be good enough; take some good macro/ close up pics with a digital camera that will allow you to reference any details. I agree with replacing the caps- digikey is a fantastic source with super fast shipping. If unfamiliar with good soldering techniques check out some vids on youtube ( guys fixing their monitor, graphic cards etc.); and practice with some old board first. Make sure your soldering iron is adequate wattage to flow industrial solder. Should be a piece of cake actually- you might be able to hire a high school kid to do it if you feel it's beyond your ability ( ask an electronics/ computer teacher who's the most promising in the class)

[lavrgs]

you can buy aerosol cans of Isopropyl alcohol and contact cleaner and use a toothbrush to scrub. IPO did not remove the crud off my boards but where I work they have a tank with some nasty board cleaner that did an amazing job

[ramsey321]

Thanks I will give it a shot.