Mten 3 died!

[Scottie888]

50 minutes ago, Cary said:

Yes i just held the broken wire to touch the area where it came off from.

Do you think if i unplug the spin kill switch from the motherboard will work? Of course i won't have any way to control wheel if i lift it.

I'm not sure what you mean by unplugging the kill switch but make sure you complete the circuit when disabling the switch. Otherwise you're back at square one.

You can try yanking out the connection from the mobo but I think it maybe wired to the power switch too. Anyhoos no harm trying, you can always plug it back it.

[Cary]

58 minutes ago, Scottie888 said:

I'm not sure what you mean by unplugging the kill switch but make sure you complete the circuit when disabling the switch. Otherwise you're back at square one.

You can try yanking out the connection from the mobo but I think it maybe wired to the power switch too. Anyhoos no harm trying, you can always plug it back it.

Well i unplugged the lift switch from the mother board. The wire was just a simple quick disconnect plug.  No luck, still doesn't work. 

I gave up for today. I just put everything in a box. Just really frustrated now.

[Scottie888]

3 minutes ago, Cary said:

Well i unplugged the lift switch from the mother board. The wire was just a simple quick disconnect plug.  No luck, still doesn't work. 

I gave up for today. I just put everything in a box. Just really frustrated now.

IMO 2 options -

1. the spin kill wires aren't connected properly so if you don't want to solder it to the connector, try cutting out the other wire above the connector (so you twist reconnect) & twist connect both wires together to see if it powers up.

2. the kill switch itself is busted which can explain why there's no juice even when you hook the loose wire to the connect. If so, then the above #1 option should bypass the switch.

I know its frustrating as heck but don't give up now. IMO you're likely down to the last wire (pun intended😜). If it makes you feel any better, imagine the guys on the BNIB hollow bore motors tearing apart their wheels for new bearings & ghostly noises!

Goodluck

 

[Cary]

19 minutes ago, Scottie888 said:

IMO 2 options -

1. the spin kill wires aren't connected properly so if you don't want to solder it to the connector, try cutting out the other wire above the connector (so you twist reconnect) & twist connect both wires together to see if it powers up.

2. the kill switch itself is busted which can explain why there's no juice even when you hook the loose wire to the connect. If so, then the above #1 option should bypass the switch.

I know its frustrating as heck but don't give up now. IMO you're likely down to the last wire (pun intended😜). If it makes you feel any better, imagine the guys on the BNIB hollow bore motors tearing apart their wheels for new bearings & ghostly noises!

Ok i'll try to twist connect the two wires from the lift switch together and plug the wires back into the mother board. I'll try this tomorrow and see what happens.

Thanks for all your help👍

[Cary]

I tried connecting the two wires from the lift switch and plugging back into the mother board. Still nothing happened. Looks like the wheel is dead!

The only thing i did not too is tear open the battery to see if any of the connectors burnt off like what happened to Marty Backe's Mten 3. Just don't feel like tearing the battery apart yet. 

[pico]

Tearing apart the battery is a last resort IF you don't know what to look for.

Do you have a Voltmeter so can you measure the voltage at the battery connector?

Edited January 10, 2021 by pico

[pico]

The sequence of the way you are doing things may also have an importance.

Connect the kill switch BEFORE turning on the Wheel.

My unit does not have the switch and I can only guess how Gotway may have implemented the kill switch feature.

My suspicion revolves around the kill switch. A double failure has a low probability.

I could be wrong.

[Cary]

41 minutes ago, pico said:

The sequence of the way you are doing things may also have an importance.

Connect the kill switch BEFORE turning on the Wheel.

My unit does not have the switch and I can only guess how Gotway may have implemented the kill switch feature.

My suspicion revolves around the kill switch. A double failure has a low probability.

I could be wrong.

This is what i did. I connected the black and red wire from the lift switch (so basically disabling the lift switch) together by twisting bare ends of these 2 wires together (taped with electrical tape). Then i plugged it back into the motherboard. Then i reconnected the power cables back to the battery. Then i tried to turn on the wheel. No go! 

Is there another sequence i could do?

[pico]

2 hours ago, Cary said:

Is there another sequence i could do?

OK, lets go back to basics.

When debugging electrical systems the very first step is to check the Power source (here the battery)

This is why I asked you if you have a Multimeter (or a Voltmeter).

If so locate the battery connector, disconnect and measure at the terminals. Be sure to put the Multimeter in V DC mode!

This would be a nice starting point.

 

Edited January 10, 2021 by pico

[Surfling]

1 hour ago, Cary said:

This is what i did. I connected the black and red wire from the lift switch (so basically disabling the lift switch) together by twisting bare ends of these 2 wires together (taped with electrical tape).

If I'm reading that correctly - you connected the bare ends of the red and black (lift switch) wires together?

So basically, that connection is "shorted" - meaning, now the lift is switched "on" permanently. Try undoing that and see. 

Again, I could be reading it wrong. 

[Scottie888]

Sorry to hear that Cary. Somehow I still think its a short issue. Worse comes to worse, call around for to some electronics repair or perhaps appliance repair depots. I figure they'd be able to diagnose the short in 5-10mins.

Goodluck

[.....]

5 hours ago, Surfling said:

If I'm reading that correctly - you connected the bare ends of the red and black (lift switch) wires together?

So basically, that connection is "shorted" - meaning, now the lift is switched "on" permanently. Try undoing that and see. 

Again, I could be reading it wrong. 

I'm just guessing, but it seems like the lift switch is a Normally closed circuit? It could easily be either way n/o or N/c, but my money is on the circtui being broken when the button is pushed. Either way, I JUST checked mine and it WILL power up, even if i hold the lift button down while pushing the power button. Mines an older version however. Checking continuity at the power button and verifying its working with a multimeter, should be in your first tests. Depending on how it seems to work, one could easily bypass the button and power it up by shorting or adding power to the button. REALLY easy to burn shit up if yuo arent familiar with those circuit types however.

Sucks to hear about the mten being 'broken'. Mine has taken many major hits and still keeps chugging along. Such an odd thing to happen, it's more than likely something we wouldnt normally expect to be a culprit.

I would avoid opening batteries. If its showing 70% charge, you definitely would have had some kind of response to powering it up. A multimeter and some knowledge will get you really far. If you arent much for electronics knowledge, perhaps sending it to someone would be a good choice? Good news is that the mten isnt too large or heavy. Its definitelty worth getting it fixed.

Edited January 10, 2021 by ShanesPlanet

[Cary]

37 minutes ago, ShanesPlanet said:

I'm just guessing, but it seems like the lift switch is a Normally closed circuit? It could easily be either way n/o or N/c, but my money is on the circtui being broken when the button is pushed. Either way, I JUST checked mine and it WILL power up, even if i hold the lift button down while pushing the power button. Mines an older version however. Checking continuity at the power button and verifying its working with a multimeter, should be in your first tests. Depending on how it seems to work, one could easily bypass the button and power it up by shorting or adding power to the button. REALLY easy to burn shit up if yuo arent familiar with those circuit types however.

Sucks to hear about the mten being 'broken'. Mine has taken many major hits and still keeps chugging along. Such an odd thing to happen, it's more than likely something we wouldnt normally expect to be a culprit.

I would avoid opening batteries. If its showing 70% charge, you definitely would have had some kind of response to powering it up. A multimeter and some knowledge will get you really far. If you arent much for electronics knowledge, perhaps sending it to someone would be a good choice? Good news is that the mten isnt too large or heavy. Its definitelty worth getting it fixed.

I don't have a multimeter. But i'll take it in to get checked out at a local EUC shop. Hopefully they find something simple to repair.

[Cary]

Ok i finally got a voltmeter. The battery is good.

I did find a little burn spot where the plate where the fan is mounted on.....this plate seemed to have touched a metal piece that is attached to the motherboard.

I took some photos. Other than the 2 burn marks (on the fan plate and on the metal thing attached to the motherboard). I could not find any damage on the board itself.

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/ipNHRnyFOW1Z

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/t3EYYJz07P3c

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/ox7oPwPKZg33

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/jwAktlcpFl9D

[Cary]

3 minutes ago, Cary said:

Ok i finally got a voltmeter. The battery is good.

I did find a little burn spot where the plate where the fan is mounted on.....this plate seemed to have touched a metal piece that is attached to the motherboard.

I took some photos. Other than the 2 burn marks (on the fan plate and on the metal thing attached to the motherboard). I could not find any damage on the board itself.

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/ipNHRnyFOW1Z

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/t3EYYJz07P3c

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/ox7oPwPKZg33

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/jwAktlcpFl9D

What do you guys think? Worst case is the motherboard is fried. How much does a new motherboard cost?

[Scottie888]

50 minutes ago, Cary said:

What do you guys think? Worst case is the motherboard is fried. How much does a new motherboard cost?

Wooah hold ya horses there cowboy! Unless you're into spending a coupla hundo for something that hasn't been shown to be shot, at least to my eyes. 1st before anything, do a continuity test with your newly acquired multimeter on the circuit from mobo to power switch. One click on power switch should show close circuit & another should show open. Do similar on spin kill switch as well. That will proof if they're working correctly or not.

 

 

Edited January 14, 2021 by Scottie888

[EUChristian]

12 minutes ago, Scottie888 said:

Wooah hold ya horses there cowboy! Unless you're into spending a coupla hundo for something that hasn't been shown to be shot, at least to my eyes. 1st before anything, do a continuity test with your newly acquired multimeter on the circuit from mobo to power switch. One click on power switch should show close circuit & another should show open. Do similar on spin kill switch as well. That will proof if they're working correctly or not.

 

 

Yes!!!! We are close now Cary!  Might save you some serious cash. 

[Cary]

1 hour ago, Scottie888 said:

Wooah hold ya horses there cowboy! Unless you're into spending a coupla hundo for something that hasn't been shown to be shot, at least to my eyes. 1st before anything, do a continuity test with your newly acquired multimeter on the circuit from mobo to power switch. One click on power switch should show close circuit & another should show open. Do similar on spin kill switch as well. That will proof if they're working correctly or not.

 

 

I did that with my meter on the 2 wires from the power switch. It shows a high number of 10.5-11. So i knew that was no good. I then traced the wire back to the motherboard. Found the connector. I then pulled off the connector, so i can test the 2 pins this connector is plugged into. Same thing.....i got a high number of 10-11. 

So there is somerthing wrong that is causing the blockage. I pulled the motherboard off of the heat plate to see if i see any burning from under the board but i could not find anything.

So far it's just those 2 tiny burn marks from the pictures i posted. 

So not sure what else i can do??

[Scottie888]

17 minutes ago, Cary said:

I did that with my meter on the 2 wires from the power switch. It shows a high number of 10.5-11. So i knew that was no good. I then traced the wire back to the motherboard. Found the connector. I then pulled off the connector, so i can test the 2 pins this connector is plugged into. Same thing.....i got a high number of 10-11. 

So there is somerthing wrong that is causing the blockage. I pulled the motherboard off of the heat plate to see if i see any burning from under the board but i could not find anything.

So far it's just those 2 tiny burn marks from the pictures i posted. 

So not sure what else i can do??

Well IMO you did a lot.

1.You discovered that the wiring circuit from mobo to power switch is open so there's a break in the circuit somewhere. 

2.Its more likely than not that its the power or kill switch/s than the wires.

3.Did you do a power on power off continuity test? If not do that so you can identify if its the switch itself.

4.Do the above for both power & killspin switches.

The whole point of this exercise is to localize the exact point of contention which will then make it an easy fix. Wires are cheap & easy to replace. Same for switches.

[Cary]

22 minutes ago, Scottie888 said:

Well IMO you did a lot.

1.You discovered that the wiring circuit from mobo to power switch is open so there's a break in the circuit somewhere. 

2.Its more likely than not that its the power or kill switch/s than the wires.

3.Did you do a power on power off continuity test? If not do that so you can identify if its the switch itself.

4.Do the above for both power & killspin switches.

The whole point of this exercise is to localize the exact point of contention which will then make it an easy fix. Wires are cheap & easy to replace. Same for switches.

I tested the 2 wires for the lift switch. I got a continuity reading if 1.0 (so that is a good reading). When i tested the 2 wires from the power switch, i got a continuity reading of 10-11. 

So i though maybe there is break in the one of the power switch wires. That's why i traced the power switch wires back to the motherboard. I unplugged it so i can rule out any possible break in the wires. I tested these 2 leads on the board. Got 10-11 ......so not good right from the motherboard.

[Scottie888]

2 minutes ago, Cary said:

I tested the 2 wires for the lift switch. I got a continuity reading if 1.0 (so that is a good reading). When i tested the 2 wires from the power switch, i got a continuity reading of 10-11. 

So i though maybe there is break in the one of the power switch wires. That's why i traced the power switch wires back to the motherboard. I unplugged it so i can rule out any possible break in the wires. I tested these 2 leads on the board. Got 10-11 ......so not good right from the motherboard.

Sweet! Now you've localized it to the power switch circuit. Its easy to test if its the wire itself. Do a test of the wire from the mobo side to just before the switch. Do that for both leads. You can do the same on the switch itself but ensure its close (ie. on). I have a feeling it could be as simple as a bad solder connection from lead wires to switch caused by the impact. 

If the leads are fine, do a fresh resolder of leads to switch before thinking of replacing.

[Cary]

12 minutes ago, Scottie888 said:

Sweet! Now you've localized it to the power switch circuit. Its easy to test if its the wire itself. Do a test of the wire from the mobo side to just before the switch. Do that for both leads. You can do the same on the switch itself but ensure its close (ie. on). I have a feeling it could be as simple as a bad solder connection from lead wires to switch caused by the impact. 

If the leads are fine, do a fresh resolder of leads to switch before thinking of replacing.

I did all that. I tested the 2 power switch wires and they were good. But the problem is at the motherboard where the 2 wires plug into. That is where i'm getting the 10-11 reading.

[Scottie888]

Ahh I get you now. In that case, its going to be a tad more troublesome. Do a YT vid on mobo testing/diagnosis & you'll find lots of diy help. Luckily the Mten3's mobo is alot less complex than a pc so it's going be much easier & less work. It could as simple as the mobo pin connector itself.

Bad news is soldering mobo is trickier than soldering wires to a switch but it's doable even for a newb. Otherwise, take the mobo to a electronics repair (or handy dandy friend) & let them do the dirty work. If you're a bit braver, you can search your local kijiji/craigslist (whichever's relevant for your hood) for a tech. It's really not a difficult diagnosis repair & I've seen teens do it easily. But for sure, it can be somewhat daunting for a beginner.

Or you can take it to your local EUC store (I think there's one atleast in Montreal no?) & perhaps they can do a repair or order you a new mobo. Or you can order it on Ali for cads$182.

[Cary]

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/h4yhA4dcf02T

https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/uBtmxaNUGQbk

This red connection is the power switch. So i tested the pins in the board and got 10-11 for continuity on the meter.

[Cary]

Well i finally got the Mten3 back up and running.

I had to get a new motherboard. I hooked it up and it fired up. So it appears the cooling fan plate ended up touching a piece of metal that was connected to the motherboard. I could see where there was an electrical arc. This was caused by a crash from the impact. It stopped working right after that crash. 

On the new motherboard, the cooling fan plate is really close to this metal piece on the motherboard. So i put some electrical tape in between the plate and this piece to prevent this from happening again.