options for OBC replacement / repair

[Zombieron]

Hello, this is my first post. I have a 2012 i-miev that I ordered online on a whim in 2010 or 2011 when I saw an ad saying the i-miev was coming to America in 2012 . I put my $100 deposit and picked my options. I must say it has been a great car for us. Had the main drive battery replaced under warranty after 9 1/2 years and the OBC was replaced many years ago under warranty also. My OBC has gone out again. Burnt under the cover confirming this. Trying to decide the best option for me to fix it. I am not sure about trying to repair it myself.

1. Send it to Softelectronic in Bulgaria (does anyone have experience trying this?) cost is $1,115 US
2. I found a new one for $3,100
3. There are several used i-miev's for sale for $2,000 to $3,000 with poor range but still has working chargers
4. open to other suggestions

Thanks for all the great information on this forum!\

 

[coulomb]

5. Repair it yourself. It might cost you a few days and a few dollars. But you should be comfortable with high voltage electronics.

The troubleshooting and repair thread is a great help.

 

[Zombieron]

I know I should try, have looked thru the troubleshooting and repair thread a lot, it is a little intimidating. I am good at mechanical stuff: brakes, suspension and can wire a house, but high voltage electronics not so much. Maybe I can find someone local who can help me. thanks.

 

[MickeyS70]

Hello and welcome to the forum

Might help with your quest if you update your profile with your location, you never know, there could be an ‘OBC’ expert living nearby..

https://myimiev.com/threads/admin-how-to-let-us-know-where-you-are-located.5446/

Mickey

 

[kiev]

Post up a picture or two of the inside of your OBC--we might be able to give better advice seeing which version, extent of damage, etc.

 

[Zombieron]

OK, thanks.

 

[Zombieron]

Thanks again

 

[Gary12345]

Thats the worst burn marks on the lid i've ever seen and i've fixed about 10 of these. Looks like its coming from near the yellow stripe topped transformers. I wonder if it is the main IGBT below that has blown.

If you turn it upside down and shake do bits of black plastic come out? The IGBT in the base is like this one and i've seen transistors explode and break some of the black resin off.

Cheers

 

[kiev]

My OBC has gone out again. Burnt under the cover confirming this.

Need to see the DTCs to know.

The scorch marks don't mean it is broken, they just run hot and the cheap plastic tubing outgasses and the vapors condense on the cooler lid.

The blue snubber caps appear intact so likely the car will still go to READY and the 12V battery is getting 14.4 ? i.e. the 20A fuse under the MCU access cover is OK?

The white ceramic precharge resistors don't appear cracked or burnt from the picture angles. But check for resistance from the AC input terminals over to the
"L" and "N" solder junctions on the power board.

What do you hear and see when you plug in the EVSE to charge? Any fault lights on the EVSE or on the dash?

 

[Zombieron]

Ok, thanks for the help. might take me a few day's and I will get the codes. The 20A fuse was ok. I will have to look thru the threads to find out what "L" and "N" refer to (load and neutral ?) and how to find them and check the resistance, I have a decent volt meter but confess I am good at using it. When I plug in the 220v wall charger the wall charger clicks and it says it is charging but the car does not click and no fan comes on. I will do some more work and post more information in a few days. Thanks again for your help.

 

[kiev]

L and N refer to Line and Neutral of the incoming AC (for 120vac). With 240vac both sides are "hot" but the OBC doesn't care and it will charge faster and higher power.

The resistance measurement is with no power, but just uses the meter to check the continuity/resistance thru the board to the waffle plate solder junctions which are numbered and labelled.

From your description it sounds like the EVSE is engaging it's relay and putting AC thru the handle and into the port. The OBC is waiting to "see" the AC arrive thru the L and N junctions, but there is a defect that is blocking it. Listen carefully if you happen to hear the main contactors in the car clacking during the prelude to the charging session.

 

[Zombieron]

L and N refer to Line and Neutral of the incoming AC (for 120vac). With 240vac both sides are "hot" but the OBC doesn't care and it will charge faster and higher power.

The resistance measurement is with no power, but just uses the meter to check the continuity/resistance thru the board to the waffle plate solder junctions which are numbered and labelled.

From your description it sounds like the EVSE is engaging it's relay and putting AC thru the handle and into the port. The OBC is waiting to "see" the AC arrive thru the L and N junctions, but there is a defect that is blocking it. Listen carefully if you happen to hear the main contactors in the car clacking during the prelude to the charging session.

Ok, I will try again on Tuesday and let you know what I can find out. Thank you!

 

[frank1]

is that a burnt resister ?

 

[MickeyS70]

is that a burnt resister ?

Looks more like a fuse to me…

 

[kiev]

That's a 20A fuse in the HV DC Output Section. Never reported to have failed, even when the snubber caps and the MCU fuse fails.

 

[coulomb]

That's the worst burn marks on the lid I've ever seen and I've fixed about 10 of these.

I'll agree with that. Though I've maybe only fixed 8 or so.

But I agree with Kiev that it doesn't necessarily indicate catastrophic failure. But it's definitely not a good look.

I see a fine white powder on the black potting material in some photos. Is that just dust settled from the boards being uncovered for a week or more? If not, it may indicate that something has outed its innards, perhaps a capacitor. Though nothing stands out so far.

is that a burnt resistor ?

It's just a "sand" filled DC rated fuse. The idea is that if the fuse element melts, the white beads melt and form a glassy substance that helps quench any DC arc. It looks fine, even though you can't see the actual fuse wire.

My only concern, apart from the horror lid, is in the seventh photo of the first set. It looks like the PCB got so hot that it's started to de-laminate, although the heating wasn't localized enough to start charring.

But check for resistance from the AC input terminals over to the
"L" and "N" solder junctions on the power board.

See this post for where to measure. Perhaps leave the relay activation (second part of that post) for now; it's a bit harder if you're not electronically minded.

 

[Zombieron]

I'll agree with that. Though I've maybe only fixed 8 or so.

But I agree with Kiev that it doesn't necessarily indicate catastrophic failure. But it's definitely not a good look.

I see a fine white powder on the black potting material in some photos. Is that just dust settled from the boards being uncovered for a week or more? If not, it may indicate that something has outed its innards, perhaps a capacitor. Though nothing stands out so far.

It's just a "sand" filled DC rated fuse. The idea is that if the fuse element melts, the white beads melt and form a glassy substance that helps quench any DC arc. It looks fine, even though you can't see the actual fuse wire.

My only concern, apart from the horror lid, is in the seventh photo of the first set. It looks like the PCB got so hot that it's started to de-laminate, although the heating wasn't localized enough to start charring.


See this post for where to measure. Perhaps leave the relay activation (second part of that post) for now; it's a bit harder if you're not electronically minded.

That might just be that i used a flash, I don't think it's de-laminated.

 

[Zombieron]

I'll agree with that. Though I've maybe only fixed 8 or so.

But I agree with Kiev that it doesn't necessarily indicate catastrophic failure. But it's definitely not a good look.

I see a fine white powder on the black potting material in some photos. Is that just dust settled from the boards being uncovered for a week or more? If not, it may indicate that something has outed its innards, perhaps a capacitor. Though nothing stands out so far.

It's just a "sand" filled DC rated fuse. The idea is that if the fuse element melts, the white beads melt and form a glassy substance that helps quench any DC arc. It looks fine, even though you can't see the actual fuse wire.

My only concern, apart from the horror lid, is in the seventh photo of the first set. It looks like the PCB got so hot that it's started to de-laminate, although the heating wasn't localized enough to start charring.


See this post for where to measure. Perhaps leave the relay activation (second part of that post) for now; it's a bit harder if you're not electronically minded.

Thank you for the link also.

 

[Zombieron]

It has taken a little while but here is where I am at, any help is greatly apricated.

I checked the 12v battery and it checked out good :

I checked all the fuses and relays under the hood that had a Plug symbol and they all were good.

I checked the continuity of the "L" and "N" little dots on the bottom board of the OBC. The 2 "L's" beeped when tested to each other and the 4 "N's" beeped when any 2 were tested. When either of the "L's" was tested to any of the "N's" there was no continuity (no beeps). I know that is a very non technical description but I hope it make's sense.

Video's of plugging in charger:
View attachment 20240815_201536_1.mp4
View attachment 20240815_201837 (1).mp4

Car Scanner ELM OBD2
Version: 1.110.0/401100/GP
DTC report
Connection profile: Mitsubishi i-MiEVDate: 8/20/2024 6:05:50 PM
============================
OBD-IIOBD-II
DTCs: 1
----------------------------
P1AA7 [0x1AA7] Archive (inactive)
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory
============================
ABS control unit #2ABS control unit #2
DTCs: 1
----------------------------
U1100 [0xD100] Archive (inactive)
SCP (J1850) Invalid or Missing Data for Primary Id; Engine CAN timeout
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory
============================
Dashboard/Meter #2Dashboard/Meter #2
DTCs: 2
----------------------------
U1116 [0xD116]
SCP (J1850) Invalid or Missing Data for Electrical Energy Management; KOS CAN timeout/Not equipped
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory, Validated fault present at time of request
----------------------------
U1100 [0xD100] Archive (inactive)
SCP (J1850) Invalid or Missing Data for Primary Id; Engine CAN timeout
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory
============================
EV
No DTC found.
============================
BCM/ETACS #2BCM/ETACS #2
DTCs: 1
----------------------------
U1111 [0xD111]
SCP (J1850) Invalid or Missing Data for Primary Id; Display CAN timeout/Not equipped
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory, Validated fault present at time of request
============================
A/C), climate), heater #2A/C), climate), heater #2
DTCs: 1
----------------------------
U1100 [0xD100] Archive (inactive)
SCP (J1850) Invalid or Missing Data for Primary Id; Engine CAN timeout
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory
============================
BMUBMU
DTCs: 1
----------------------------
P1AA7 [0x1AA7] Archive (inactive)
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory
============================
CMU #1
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #2
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #3
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #4
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #5
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #6
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #7
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #8
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #9
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #10
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #11
No DTC found.
============================
CMU #12
No DTC found.
============================
E/V ECUE/V ECU
DTCs: 3
----------------------------
P1A12 [0x1A12] Archive (inactive)
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory
----------------------------
U1161 [0xD161] Archive (inactive)
SCP (J1850) Invalid or Missing Data for Primary Id
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory
----------------------------
U1160 [0xD160] Archive (inactive)
SCP (J1850) Invalid or Missing Data for Primary Id
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory
============================
MCUMCU
DTCs: 1
----------------------------
P1B18 [0x1B18] Archive (inactive)
Status: Validated and stored in non volatile memory

 

[Zombieron]

After looking around the forum I understand I did not check the L and N correctly.

Also wondering if Mitsubishi 9481A171 OBC is a direct replacement for 9499D991 OBC or if it has the different connectors that need to be addressed? Thanks again for your help.​