Edision OS Mio+ Wouldn't Boot

[cyberham]

Since the Mio+ wouldn't boot, I suspected too low input voltage from the AC adapter while using it in my RV. Original AC adapter output voltage measured 12.12V, no load. I tried inputting 13.8 V DC, positive center pin. This produced smoke from the right side of the case when looking from the front.

On opening the Mio+, I found just one user serviceable electronic part: a small 330 uF (could be a decimal in that value somewhere) electrolytic capacitor across the DC input plug. All else is surface mount. A thing of beauty. The electrolytic doesn't appear to be physically damaged.

At this point, I still don't know if the Mio+ is actually damaged. But smoke and damage usually walk hand-in-hand.

Besides advising to carefully put the Mio+ back together, anybody have any tips at this stage?

[el bandido]

Not really a need to put it back together if it does not work unless you are sending it in for warranty.

Got any good pictures?

[cyberham]

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[MikeB]

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Look very carefully at those two gray wires in the top left of the first photo. Your photos aren't sharp enough to tell, but it appears to be blackened there for some reason.

IF that blackened area is normal when YOU look at it (that is, doesn't appear to be fried) get out a magnifying glass if need be, and a very bright light, and look the board over very carefully for smoked/popped parts. IF there was smoke as you said, it's very likely you will be able to find a part that POPPED or sizzled black.

[cyberham]

Your eyes are good even with a fuzzy photo. Those two grey wires are connected to the wifi antennas. Those connections are indeed ugly (fried). A few more photos below showing more ugly (burnt?) connections. They are on the S/PDIF and Ethernet connectors.

Some history: about a year ago we had a lightning storm that stopped power. One strike in particular seemed strong/close. It's possible the box was never quite the same after that. I had issues with HDMI connections. However I got the Mio+ working and I was never able to discover anything specifically wrong with it. Could that lightning have caused these burns, I wonder.

It's possible that smoke yesterday didn't necessarily mean the end of the Mio+. But the original symptom was I couldn't boot the Mio+. So with that original symptom, it's hard to say if I'm any worse off after the smoke came out.
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[el bandido]

IMO, It's probably better to look for a replacement. Even if you get this one to boot again, it will probably have other problems.

[MikeB]

Your eyes are good even with a fuzzy photo. Those two grey wires are connected to the wifi antennas. Those connections are indeed ugly (fried). A few more photos below showing more ugly (burnt?) connections. They are on the S/PDIF and Ethernet connectors.

Some history: about a year ago we had a lightning storm that stopped power. One strike in particular seemed strong/close. It's possible the box was never quite the same after that. I had issues with HDMI connections. However I got the Mio+ working and I was never able to discover anything specifically wrong with it. Could that lightning have caused these burns, I wonder.

It's possible that smoke yesterday didn't necessarily mean the end of the Mio+. But the original symptom was I couldn't boot the Mio+. So with that original symptom, it's hard to say if I'm any worse off after the smoke came out.
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That carbonized glue or whatever it is blobbed all around those FRIED parts, may be conductive now. Use a dental tool or something sharp and small, and try scraping it all off in-between the connections, down to the board.

Maybe the Mio+ will then boot again, of course using the original 12.12 volt power brick.

[cyberham]

Because I have more time than anything else right now, I unboxed and unassembled the Mio+ again. I'm getting fast at this. I used an old small pocket knife to scrape away the residue from the wire terminals. It looks better now and no components at least are covered any longer. I re-assembled the Mio+ and then fired up the Mio+ again using a USB stick that has worked for this purpose in past. I tried many configurations (using an osmio4kplus folder containing unzipped startup files and also placing the unzipped startup files directly in the USB stick root) and placements of the USB stick (back and side USB connectors). But the box gives no reaction at all.