What happens when a circuit board (motherboard?) "goes bad" or fails?
#11
Power Poster
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: MN
Posts: 24,660
Specifically, I was wondering what happens -
do connections break? does plastic melt? do components fall off? do the parts corrode somehow? does the programming "disappear" - and if it does, how does it disappear"
do connections break? does plastic melt? do components fall off? do the parts corrode somehow? does the programming "disappear" - and if it does, how does it disappear"
#13
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 2,891
If you can find someone who can repair a board, they un-solder the component on the board and replace it with a new one. Like I mentioned earlier, some of the more advanced boards are produced in vacuums or other sterile environments that a guy in a shop can't replicate.
Many of the newly designed boards contain the same components that were designed years ago and are still being made. They are just put together in a different way or in a different environment. They are combined with newly designed components to make a new board for a new application. So, the failed component may very well be available, just not the board.
I want everyone to know that I'm repeating what I've been told and do not have any direct knowledge of electronics. I had a lady who worked for me who used to be a technician at Texas Instruments. We discussed the boards in sewing machines and the ability to repair them on several occasions. I'm repeating what I think she said.
bkay
#14
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Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: ND
Posts: 2,817
My Bernina kept getting hotter and hotter and then would shut down. The dealer said the mother board would have to be replaced as it was still on warranty it was replaced free so can't tell you the cost but for a Bernina $$$$$
#15
There is a guy in the east who is well known for repairing sewing machine computer boards. I've read about him on other groups but don't remember any specifics because well, I don't use these machines so had no reason to remember anything. This guy could be who your repairman is talking about.
Cari
Cari
Janey - Neat people never make the exciting discoveries I do.
Last edited by OurWorkbench; 11-27-2017 at 05:37 PM. Reason: remove duplicate
#17
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Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Central Ia
Posts: 1,120
Waiting for this fateful day... My service person gives me the disclaimer every time I take in my Pfaff 2044 for service. There is the possibility that the servicing will trigger the demise of the motherboard and there is no replacing, the machine will be dead.
My machine is a 2003 model, 14 yrs old. RE: My motherboard has a life expectancy of 10-15 yrs. Oh Ugh!
My machine is a 2003 model, 14 yrs old. RE: My motherboard has a life expectancy of 10-15 yrs. Oh Ugh!
#18
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Va.
Posts: 5,753
Waiting for this fateful day... My service person gives me the disclaimer every time I take in my Pfaff 2044 for service. There is the possibility that the servicing will trigger the demise of the motherboard and there is no replacing, the machine will be dead.
My machine is a 2003 model, 14 yrs old. RE: My motherboard has a life expectancy of 10-15 yrs. Oh Ugh!
My machine is a 2003 model, 14 yrs old. RE: My motherboard has a life expectancy of 10-15 yrs. Oh Ugh!
Rob
#19
Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: NE Wisconsin
Posts: 219
About 5 years ago, when the motherboard went on the fritz on my beloved Pfaff1475, my DH found a guy online who was selling a DVD of the electronic schematics of the Pfaff 1475 for a reasonable price. I think there were other Pfaff models on the DVD, too. We took a chance and ordered it. My electrical engineer DH was able to repair the board--but it took three tries to get all the buttons, stitches, and gizmos to work correctly. What I'm saying is, check online to see if someone has electrical/electronic schematics for your machine.
#20
You could have an overcurrent incident that "lets the smoke out" of a part. A diode can go bad (it happens), a soldering joint can become loose and lose the electrical connection, a little corrosion can cause the resistance to be too high. Dust could build up, and with exposure to moisture, oil, small metallic particles, etc, could become conductive between two parts of the circuit, shorting them together. They could also overheat, damaging the internal components.
Depending on how the memory is stored/used, it can become corrupted, overheating of a chip may damage the memory storage, electricity in the wrong spot could cause it to be erased. There could be an error in part of a loop that won't allow the rest of the program to run (often caused by Gremlins). Programs can be insane, and one little glitch can easily make everything crash.
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