Repair Service (Exchange) for Charger DCDC Converter

[kiev]

The troubleshooting thread is primarily for digging in to the technical details to figure what is causing the failures. This thread is about an idea i've had for an On-Board Chargger & DCDC Converter repair service for non-usa cars.

i thought we were going to be on our own to make OBC repairs, and this got real serious after mine failed. Thank goodness, Mits came thru with the extended warranty

But over the past couple of years i have collected lots of extra OBC parts, boards and boxes from salvage cars and broken donor units--even bought 2 complete salvage units from Japan (very expensive shipping, but still cheaper than buying a new unit).

Now that these are covered under warranty, nobody in the US will need to make these repairs, so i would like to offer an exchange service for those without the warranty to swap out parts or entire OBC units to help you get it working again. There would need to be some nominal charges to cover expenses and shipping, but i'm not looking at this as a profit-venture.

If anyone in the US does get their OBC replaced under warranty, please ask to get your old unit back. There will likely be a month or two before they get the scrap report and can release it. We can recycle these for parts and cores to repair other units. Just drop them in any mailbox, i'll pay the shipping.

 

[kiev]

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i have some quick tips and tricks for opening and testing your OBC if you have one that is not working, and i will post these here.

Opening the cover:
the cover is held with (use 8mm socket) bolts and 1 T25 torx head screw. The it has a layer of gray sealant along the edges. i use a gasket scraper and putty knife to lift up the edge near a flat boss such that there is a place to pry against. Once a small gap appears, use the putty knife to hold it open while you work around the edge with the gasket tool. It is soft steel cover so any distortion of the bollt holes can be easily repaired with a small hammer.


Connector tabs on the bottom board:

These are tab connections such as faston or 1/4" spade terminals, but the female side has a locking feature that makes it very difficult to remove, and they have a white plastic housing that shields the end. To remove these i use a thin 6" length of spring steel that is about .120" (3mm) wide and 0.032" (0.8mm) thick. i have found this steel laying in curbs and gutters of roads which have been cleaned with a street sweeper machine--these are the bristles in the big roller brush.
Another source for a piece of steel such as this is from an old windshield wiper--there are usually 2 thin strips of metal there.
Another source is the metal staples sometimes used with heavy cardboard boxes, they are about 3" long when you straighten it out, check them with a magnet (copper or alum coated). Make one if you can find something to work.

Insert this tool between the white plastic and the spade terminal and press down and away as you apply slight upward pressure with your other hand, the terminal will release and you can easily pull it off the tab.


Testing the Waffle Plate:

This is an important test to determine if the unit is repairable or not. It involves the use of a multimeter which has the diode check function.

 

[kiev]

Some folks have tools and are capable of electrical and electronic troubleshooting, soldering, etc.

Other folks have no tools or electrical skills. Then a group of folks in the middle, with tools and some skills and lots of motivation to get it fixed.

So there will likely be several levels of exchange available, such as parts only, board only, board and waffle plate, or entire box.

The OBC unit easily weighs 30 lbs for shipping purposes, so it can be quite pricey depending upon the delivery service.

Most of the failures have been the snubber caps and the MCU fuse, but there have been some with more extensive such as damage to the waffle plate.

if you have questions then send them in...

 

[Gary12345]

Hi there,

I am in the UK and would love to buy some circuit boards from US chargers !!!

The main board which seems to fail is the one with the big 3 capacitors on it, and I have a failed charger in my garage that has a hole burned right through the circuit board ! So far no warranty replacements over here, so we have to do what we can with fixing the old ones and some spare parts from the US would really help !!

Cheers.

 

[kiev]

Howdy Gary,

Can you post a picture showing the board with the burn hole?

What is your skill and comfort level with dealing with these electronics, soldering and de-soldering a large number of joints, etc?

 

[Gary12345]

Hi.

I'll put some pictures on but i doubt its repairable, a hole has burned right through. Im comfortable with repairing electronics and I know some good repair guys who can do the stuff I can't.

Cheers.

Gary.