When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I was under the dash yesterday checking out some wiring trying to chase down the causes of an airbag code I've been getting lately and noticed what appeared to be condensate on the box tape covering the Hydra. Long story short I didn't find any water damage but do see a chip that may or may not have gotten hot. Also the tinning on the contacts looks a little on the thin side. I was hoping to get a 2nd, 3rd, 10th opinion from y'all. So am I going crazy or does my PCM need a little love.?
My opinion is that I don’t see anything wrong here.
Email the photos to the guy everyone uses for PCM repair and ask him. 1 “opinion” from the expert trumps 10 guesses from us on the peanut gallery. Jonathan at dieseltechchat?
My opinion is that I don’t see anything wrong here.
Email the photos to the guy everyone uses for PCM repair and ask him. 1 “opinion” from the expert trumps 10 guesses from us on the peanut gallery. Jonathan at dieseltechchat?
This is a good idea that I hadn't considered. Thx.
Yeah one side I didn't question but the other I'm not so sure about. I can see touches of copper showing up around the edges. I grabbed a few more pics this morning before reinstalling maybe I got the light a little better and you can see what I'm talking about. This is the side I question. This is the chip I mentioned. I'm not sure if that's heat or possibly somebody trimmed a high spot in the coating. It's right under where a chip would be installed. The side that looks like new.
The tin over the copper contacts look good to me sir. As you said, you can just make out the copper on the edges, but in my humble opinion that is not a concern. When it becomes a concern is when there is more copper color than tin color and the contacts may not provide a clean path of continuity from and to the chip.
I don't want to speculate on the chip or the coating that seems to be damaged or purposely scrubbed off a bit. Jonathan at Diesel Tech Chattanooga will provide you a definitive answer though. I know you will, but please let us know what he has to say regarding the chip coating.
You could always tin it for fun. Not difficult to do.
I was 1 decent YouTube video away for it last night. I understand the broad strokes of how it's done, and I've been looking for a proper test of the soldering station I got for Christmas, but figured I should at least watch a proper video before have a go at my daily driven work truck. The three videos that popped up on a search of the subject, the first one was the chemical method, the second one was a guy that talked so much he even talked about how much he talked. Plus he had this really stupid soul patch goatee thing, I couldn't take it anymore and bailed on that one. The third was some guy trying to sell a kit and demonstrating the process. He utilized the word utilize entirely too much and was about as interesting as watching paint dry.
Be careful applying heat to PCB traces. They shouldn’t get too hot or they might separate from the fiberglass substrate. Repeated heat cycles makes them more vulnerable also. Look here for guidance. https://www.mclpcb.com/blog/pcb-temperature/
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
