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> How to fix your MPx200 when it will not charge....
huckfinn
post Nov 29 2004, 05:51 PM
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DISCLAIMER: You do this at your own risk! There are very small parts on the circuit board and many of them are probably static sensitive. You WILL void your warrantee by doing this and I take NO responsibility for any of the procedures or information that I am providing below. This procedure fixed my phone, yours may be a different problem so you are on your own. Sorry I have to state all this, but you should understand that if you ruin your phone, it is not my fault. Also, if you have never soldered before – I would highly recommend you find someone to do this for you. Again these are very small parts, so you need a very fine tipped soldering iron with a low heat setting. No 100W soldering guns allowed ;-) I would also recommend you wear a static strap that is grounded and you work on a very clean hard surface. With all that stated – Good luck!

Tools needed:

Torx T5 dirver
Digital Multi-meter
Very fine tipped soldering iron settable to low heat
Acid free solder, very thin – NOT PLUMBING SOLDER
Solder wick
0603 size replacement fuse, 0 Ohm resistor, small piece of wire, blob of solder – something to repair the fuse. Obviously the best thing to do is to use a replacement fuse. The designer of the phone thought it was needed, but you do what you want. You can find suppliers of 0603 surface mount fuses on the web, such as http://www.schurterinc.com . The fuse that was used is marked with an F, which signifies a 0.5A rating. If you want to go up a size or two, G is a 0.75A and H is a 1.0A. Surface mount fuses are notorious for de-rating after time, reflow soldering, etc. So very likely 0.5A is the correct size to use, but just after time or the manufacturing process the fuse just blew at a lower current level.


Take your phone apart according to the directions in the "How to strip your MPx200" sticky. You only need to remove the main PCB under the battery compartment. Once you have done this flip the PCB over and look towards the top and locate the fuse, see the attached picture. It is ironically marked with an "F".

With your multimeter check the continuity over this component, if it is open then your fuse is blown. If you have continuity over this part, then you have a different problem with your phone. I would start by checking the solder joints on the USB connector.

First, remove the old fuse. This is easier if you have two soldering irons. Then remove any excess solder from the pads with the solder wick. Then carefully solder the new fuse in it's place. There are other traces and components near by, so use as little solder as possible and be very carefull not to short anything else out. That is it, put the phone back together and see if it works.

This has worked on two phones, so 2 out of 2 isn't too bad. ;-)
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stiletto
post Nov 30 2004, 06:58 PM
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Firstly, how did you come across this? Do you have any knowledge as to why this affects the charging of the battery to full capacity? What does doing a hard reset have to do with this fuse? The procedure you gave is very detailed and easy to follow. I just like to know the why's before I crack open cases on cell phones.
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huckfinn
post Nov 30 2004, 07:16 PM
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I came across this as my phone stopped charging the battery. I tried the hard reset bit with no success. I then spoke with some other members and they also had this same problem. I have a technical background, so I figured it should not be too hard to figure out why a battery will not charge. So I took my phone apart, plugged in the charger and started probing every pin on the board for voltage. I came across this part, the big "F" on it grabbed my attention anyways, and found 5 volts on one side and 0 volts on the other - BINGO. Then started looking into what this component was and found that the F marking stands for a 0.5A fuse. So when this fuse blows, the 5 volts from the USB port is disconnected from the phone - basically it is like it is not even plugged in.

In thinking about this further, the 0.5A rating makes sense as USB ports are rated at a maximum of 0.5A. If you exceed this ammont most computers will shut that USB port down. This fuse probably protects the computer as well as the phone.

From what I have gathered there are two possible causes for the phone not charging, one being a software glitch fixable by a hard reset and the other being a true hardware fault - this fuse.


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stiletto
post Nov 30 2004, 07:41 PM
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Was your fault that it completely would not charge, or that it had poor battery life? I am experiencing poor battery life, and in rereading your post, I doubt this is my problem.
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huckfinn
post Nov 30 2004, 07:46 PM
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It would not charge at all - no indication on the phone that it was even plugged in.

I have heard that if you hard reset with a partially dead battery that the phone records that battery voltage as the "full" level - so it will not charge past that point. I do not know if this is true, but the problem I see is that if this is true - how do you get a fully charged battery to reset it to the right level then?


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stiletto
post Nov 30 2004, 08:40 PM
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The only way that I can think of would be to charge the battery with an external charger, AKA another MPx200 that works. I haven't tried that yet because I don't have any friends with an MPx200. Do any other motorola's use the same battery? Probably not, knowing Moto.
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huckfinn
post Nov 30 2004, 08:48 PM
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In reading this post it seems that if you turn the phone off and let it completely charge until it vibrates indicating that it is done, it will fully charge. Then reflash the phone and it "should" recharge normally to that level. I am not sure of all this, just passing on what I've read.


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huckfinn
post Dec 1 2004, 10:43 PM
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Just for my own gratification I would love to hear if this information helped you fix your phone. I am curious if there are other hardware faults besides this fuse that is causing the same type of failure. So please post here if this has helped or not.

Thanks


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Toad
post Dec 2 2004, 10:16 AM
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If you're having problems charging your phone, before taking apart your phone, I would first suggest you go into engineering mode by dialing * #**364# and pressing the middle blue key, and then going to Options > Layer 1B > Force Charge. Also, I would suggest sending your phone back to Motorola under warranty rather than taking it apart, as that would void your warranty.
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clava
post Dec 12 2004, 12:56 AM
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Force Charge. I saw that in the Eng mode as well. Do you know for sure that this resets the phone to see the battery as fully charged or are you just guessing because it has the words 'force' and 'charge' in it?

-c
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Mr DDD
post Feb 9 2005, 12:31 PM
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QUOTE (huckfinn @ Nov 30 2004, 01:16 PM)
I came across this as my phone stopped charging the battery. I tried the hard reset bit with no success.
*



hi huckfin

tell me how to hard reset my mpx200

i want to do this fist before open my phone

its brand new but the ebay seller no see again have waranty but no answers


regards biggrin.gif
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mastercd
post Feb 10 2005, 04:10 AM
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Hey, I was reading this post and decided to create an account just to say this worked for me!

My phone was acting funny (sim not detected, then not booting) and finally it just *died*. I couldnt charge it, and even when plugged in, nothing would show up.

I took the plunge to try to *fix* it and it works! Although I didnt replace the fuse, I just bridged the connections across the fuse. Hopefully this wont melt my phone, or at least until I can get a good deal on a newer gen. phone biggrin.gif .

Thx for everything!
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huckfinn
post Feb 15 2005, 04:39 PM
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QUOTE (Mr DDD @ Feb 9 2005, 07:31 AM)
hi huckfin

tell me how to hard reset my mpx200

i want to do this fist before open my phone

its brand new but the ebay seller no see again  have waranty but no answers
regards biggrin.gif
*


Hold the blue button while you turn the phone on and then answer YES when it asks you. Be sure your battery is fully charged and be patient, the hard reset can take a few minutes to complete.


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othello
post Feb 22 2005, 11:17 PM
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wow. thank you very much. worked like a charm.

Due to lack of tools and expertise, instead of replacing the fuse, I shorted it out, too. However my main charging device is my laptop. So there should be a fairly stable voltage coming out ot my USB port. Therefore the fuse may not be a vital component for me.

This post has been edited by othello: Feb 22 2005, 11:27 PM
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Seba641
post Apr 2 2005, 11:47 PM
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i want to know what is the name of that fuse that i need to buy to repair my phone i went to that website what u gave in post before but i dont know witch fuse i should pick so please tell me the name of that fuse in this website


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Audiovox SMT5600 (512MB MiniSD), Motorola MPx200 (512MB SD),
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nbercasio
post Apr 17 2005, 11:25 PM
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QUOTE (Seba641 @ Apr 2 2005, 06:47 PM)
i want to know what is the name of that fuse that i need to buy to repair my phone i went to that website what u gave in post before but i dont know witch fuse i should pick so please tell me the name of that fuse in this website
*



Did you get a reply which fuse to buy?
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huckfinn
post Apr 18 2005, 05:38 PM
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If you get the fuse from Schurter it is the following...

3412.0113.24 for the 0.5 A fuse (stock size)
3412.0114.24 for the 0.75 A fuse
3412.0115.24 for the 1.0 A fuse


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Neeki
post May 1 2005, 10:07 AM
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for those who use only standart charger and usb cable to charge the phone. it is not necessary to change the broken fuse with another one. More easier is just to short the broken fuse and the other step is to insert any other 0.4-0.5 fuse in the charger. Also if your mpx charges with no problems now it will be good if you insert 0.4-0.5 fuse in your charger. may be it will protect your phones fuse in future. So why i writing all this. i just can't find 0.4-0.5 fuse. if i'll do parallel connection between two 0.25 fuses will it work like one 0.5 ????

sorry for my bad english, but i guess the main idea of the post is quite clear smile.gif

huckfinn thx for useful solution
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madmaxedcn
post May 9 2005, 05:28 AM
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well i have 3 mpx 200's and 1 died a long time ago, because i pluged in the charger wile doing a hr... unsure.gif so i didint change the fuse i just bridged it to see and it will still not turn on and i know its that part of the phone because i put one from one of the others and it turns on what else can it be???
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wizzlesteets
post May 12 2005, 03:24 PM
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QUOTE (madmaxedcn @ May 9 2005, 05:28 AM)
well i have 3 mpx 200's and 1 died a long time ago, because i pluged in the charger wile doing a hr... unsure.gif  so i didint change the fuse i just bridged it to see and it will still not turn on and i know its that part of the phone because i put one from one of the others and it turns on what else can it be???
*

My MPx200 stopped charging a couple days ago. I took the phone apart according to the guide and repair instructions. I decided to take the risk and bridge the fuse instead. My MPx lives again!! This phone is starting to remind me of my 1st "do it yourself " pc... An Emachine! Thanks to: Awarner, Huckfinn and Neeki.
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