something smells... uh oh.

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ejs262
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something smells... uh oh.

Post by ejs262 »

I was unable to get my MS3x to connect to my laptop, finally I decided to pull it out of the car and take a peak....

this is what I found. I'm no electronics technician, but I think that's no good. on the bright side, I didn't see any other damage, but I'm also not sure if this visable failure would cause a total system failure, or if there is more damage elsewhere.

Image

Image


as of right now, I have no idea what caused this to happen, or what can be done, if anything, to fix it, any advice? I really hate the thought of spending another $650+ on a new one when this hasn't done anything yet...
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slow_hemi6
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by slow_hemi6 »

I think that is the barrier diode for the table switch input. Pin 11 on the ms3x. Did you have anything connected to that?
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ejs262
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by ejs262 »

there's a wire in the DB37, but it goes to a connector that has nothing on the other side, I set it up so I could add features later on, so no it's not connected to anything.
"I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."
grom_e30
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by grom_e30 »

it looks like the ribbon cable is on wrong from the pick

http://www.msextra.com/doc/pdf/html/MS3 ... 4-233.html
1990 bmw 320i daily driver with m20b25 ms3 sequential fuel, 380cc injectors, d585 coil near plug, home made cam sync, launch control, fan control, vss, homebrew egt logging what's next????
billr
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by billr »

Remove both cables from the MS3 to MS3X and see if the MS3 will power up and connect with TS.
Six_Shooter
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by Six_Shooter »

grom_e30 wrote:it looks like the ribbon cable is on wrong from the pick

http://www.msextra.com/doc/pdf/html/MS3 ... 4-233.html

Looks correct to me.
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ejs262
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by ejs262 »

Six_Shooter wrote:
grom_e30 wrote:it looks like the ribbon cable is on wrong from the pick

http://www.msextra.com/doc/pdf/html/MS3 ... 4-233.html

Looks correct to me.

as much as I hate to say it, he's right, it's not right. if you look closely, you can see that the red stripe is on the right side of both connectors, whereas the two striped wires should be as far apart as they can be.

reading that post made my stomach turn...
"I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."
grom_e30
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by grom_e30 »

bad news that, as billr mentioned disconnect the ms3x ribbon cables from the ms3 card and see if the ecu power's up and if you can communicate with tuner studio. if that checks out the cpu card is good. and its just the ms3x card that took it, maybe it will just be that diode and you can get it repaired.
1990 bmw 320i daily driver with m20b25 ms3 sequential fuel, 380cc injectors, d585 coil near plug, home made cam sync, launch control, fan control, vss, homebrew egt logging what's next????
elaw
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by elaw »

ejs262 wrote:
Six_Shooter wrote:
grom_e30 wrote:it looks like the ribbon cable is on wrong from the pick

http://www.msextra.com/doc/pdf/html/MS3 ... 4-233.html

Looks correct to me.

as much as I hate to say it, he's right, it's not right. if you look closely, you can see that the red stripe is on the right side of both connectors, whereas the two striped wires should be as far apart as they can be.

reading that post made my stomach turn...
I agree.

To be really anal, the cable is reversed on the CPU card, not the MS3X. The red stripe should be at the end of the connector marked "1 2" not the end marked "33 34".
Eric Law
1990 Audi 80 quattro with AAN turbo engine: happily running on MS3+MS3X
2012 Audi A4 quattro, desperately in need of tweaking

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billr
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by billr »

I am totally lost here about that ribbon cable. I see only one picture from the OP showing the cable, and it shows only the MS3X end of it; and that looks installed correctly. What am I missing???
elaw
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by elaw »

On the very left side of the top photo, about halfway down, you can see the end of the connector where the wide ribbon cable connects to the MS3 board. The red stripe on the cable is visible at the high-numbered end of the connector (the end with "33 34" printed next to it).

That would be okay if the cable were connected to the MS3X the same way... but it's not. On the MS3X you can see the red stripe is at the low-numbered end of the connector, so it's backwards.
Eric Law
1990 Audi 80 quattro with AAN turbo engine: happily running on MS3+MS3X
2012 Audi A4 quattro, desperately in need of tweaking

Be alert! America needs more lerts.
billr
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Re: something smells... uh oh.

Post by billr »

Indeed that is what I was missing! I looked at that photo (several times) and didn't really notice the MS3, or cable, or little bit of red on the cable. Thanks. As I have said before, I find that once I make a mistake, I tend to continue the same mistake until I get a second set of eyes involved.
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