Hi guys,
Looking to get some help that’s outside of my expertise.
We use industrial PCs in our parking equipment and having some issue with the PC mainboard.
It is an Asrock IMB – 150
These items are hard to come by these days and have very long leadtimes attached when we can find them.
We have had a large batch of motherboards fail recently and we are currently out of stock.
The supplier that we originally ordered them from has changed the main board they use twice.
The issue we have is that some of our sites have old software that do not work with these newer model motherboards.
I have found some motherboards have a blown NPN and have replaced this from an alternate motherboard however each time that I do this the LVDS no longer works.
The biggest issue I am finding is of course the motherboard does not power on with no visible signs of any damage components.
Any advice on how to diagnose and hopefully repair these? my knowledge and expertise would be likely advanced beginner.
You might be lucky and find someone familiar with that board. Could be used in other equipment.
An underlying common problem maybe???
Possibly have to renew or upgrade software as well to maintain serviceability.
There is usually a reason for this. Particularly if the failure is visible, usually catastrophic. Normally a successful repair involves finding that reason. What is the LVDS, that could be the reason for the failure in the first place.
Could be a multitude of reasons including a blown fuse. Be aware that not all fuses are obviously a fuse. There are quite a few forms. If a failure or cause is obvious it is usually a catastrophic failure (literally “blown up”) and as stated there will be a reason.
Sight unseen not really I think. Very difficult. As for repair this sort of thing will have a board made up of quite a few layers. Without some specialty de soldering and/or component removing facilities repair is difficult and due to the multilayer construction by no means certain of success. I think if a repair is beyond simple most commercial repairers discard a faulty motherboard and replace with a new one as the most viable and cost effective option. I don’t know of too many who repair down to component level.
Cheers Bob
It’s just such a huge waste along with expense. These motherboards cost around $400-500 each and maybe sometime soon won’t be available I guess.
The issue with software is the licensing costs that the site must pay for.
This could be $6000 or $20000 depending on their configuration so it’s no easy task.
Being industrial, they shouldn’t just be “throwaways”
I agree. But you still have to find someone that will be able to repair them. Its a wonder the company responsible might have an exchange service.
Cheers Bob
Seems to be a pretty crazy problem you are having with those motherboards. We don’t really deal with anything outside of maker electronics and some SBCs, but it seems like if this is an issue that has occurred with multiple boards it would be worth contacting the manufacturer/supplier to get them looked at.
Sorry I cant give any solid advice on it as it seems like a component level issue and is a bit outside of our wheelhouse. We wish you the best of luck with it though!
