2.3.4.3. Digital Board Section
One of most difficult problems to deal with is when the system will not boot up.
The symptom: No response when the power is turned on. (No LCD display, keys are not accepted.)
Then first thing to do is check the power source, If there is no problem with the power supply unit, then there is a problem with the
digital unit (main board).
As there are many potential causes in this case (ASIC, etc.), it may be difficult to specify what you should check first. If a mistake
is made in the order of checks, a normal part may be determined faulty, wasting both time and money.
Although the tendency is to regard the problem as a serious one (IC malfunction, etc.), usually most cases are caused by solder
faults (poor contact due to a tunnel in the solder, signal short circuit due to solder waste).
Note:
1. Electrical continuity may have existed at the factory check, but a faulty contact occurred as a result of vibration, etc., during
transport.
2. Solder waste remaining on the board may get caught under the IC during transport, causing a short circuit.
Before we begin mass production, several hundred trial units are produced at the plant, various tests are applied and any
malfunctions are analyzed. (In past experiences, digital IC (especially SRAM and ROM) malfunctions are extremely rare after
installation in the product.)
This may be repaired by replacing the IC, (ASIC etc.). However, the real cause may not have been an IC malfunction but a
soldering fault instead.
Soldering faults which are difficult to detect with the naked eye are common, particularly for an ASIC and RA (Resistor Array). But
if you have an oscilloscope, you can easily determine the problem site or IC malfunction by checking the main signal lines.
Even if you don´t have such a measuring instrument, by checking each main signal line and resoldering it, in many cases the
problem will be resolved.
An explanation of the main signals (for booting up the unit) is below.
What are the main signals for booting up the unit?
Please refer to the 2.3.4.3.1. Digital Block Diagram.
The ASIC (including the CPU) (IC1) controls all the other digital ICs. When the power is turned on, the ASIC (CPU) retrieves the
operation code stored in the ROM (IC2), then follows the instructions for controlling each IC. All ICs have some inner registers that
are assigned to a certain address.
It is the address bus by which the ASIC (CPU) designates the location inside each IC. And the data bus reads or writes the data
in order to transmit the instructions from the ASIC (CPU) to the ICs.
These signal lines are all controlled by voltages of 5V (H) or 0V (L).
54
KX-FT21RS