vettef6

Since I got ripped off from a guy on the Corvette Forum, he sold me a defect opti box with the complete system. I thought since the box doesn't work I might as well take it apart and see if anyone has some schematics that could help me out. I have a few people on hand, electronic engineers, which might be able to help.

I already have the wiring harness schematics from the Delteq site. Any help would be appreciated and maybe we can get down to fixing these damn opti boxes.

lt1slowz28

d1... missing resistor. check it out, if something was soldered there and broke off easy fix?

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

good eye dave but thats a diode lol............D1 is a diode its actually there and in place.......however that output transistor is showing signs of excessive heat see the darker black spot in the middle that looks like its wet?......OP what are the symptoms of the box? also pull out the center screw and check the back of the board for broken/cold solder joints

1963SS

I don't really see the "output transistor". The big device at the top/center is a 5 volt regulator. Probably designed to get all the 12 volt signals down to 5 volts that the PCM/ECM can better work with. Anything marked TVS 1,2,3 is only a transient voltage suppressor and they are very low current devices that rarely fail.

The only transistor that I see is Q1 located on the left side between R10 and D2. That big thing with the label on it will probably be some sort of EAPROM that is programmed for a specific sequence of events.

SMD's are fairly easy to remove and troubleshoot. There's not much on there to fail and just wonderin' if you're sure that's the problem. The Delteq site mentions a troubleshooting LED on the board somewhere. Is that D2 mounted to the rear of the board? Have you checked the LED for what it "thinks" is wrong with it? If you could get me the part number off U2 and a pic of the back side of the board I could maybe reverse engineer a schematic for you. Peel the label back off OBA00 and see if there's a number there also.

I need to open me up an electronics repair shop. There's money to be saved and made. I've been involved with troubleshooting components at board level most of my life and although I have no formal electronics training, (Other than 50 years of OJT) I rarely get stumped.

Good luck ---Gunny---

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

i stand corrected.......that is a voltage regulator ....im a BSEE but i been doing automation design for the past 4 years i saw that and jumped to output transistor lol.....guess i need to look better next time lol

1963SS

It happens all the time.....to me also. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Between your engineering experience and my troubleshooting knowledge we should be able to fix this for the OP. Compared to what's required to make a robot work autonomously this should be a walk in the park. If we got together with all the parts, on a test bench with a 12 pack I'm sure it would be no problem. LOL

Uwilllosetomy93lt1

Damn, that suks that you cannot return it, but electronic parts have a "really" small window of return that just about everyone adopts! Hopefully these guys will get u fix'd up in a jiffy...

95mysticta

iTrader: (4)

This is a great topic! For awhile i was debating about getting a delteq or ltcc but with the lack of customer support with both of them going out of business and there brain boxes going bad i stayed away. Couple really good deals came up but never got to pull the trigger on one. Im sure there will be alot of happy people that if this is the common issue with these boxes and theres a cheap solution they might see a come back and more people using them again.

quik95lt1

iTrader: (7)

haha for sure

lt1slowz28

you electrical people... sigh, thinking I was all snazzy and stuff posting from a phone. Oh well.

vettef6

Thanks guys for trying to help me out and others maybe also. There sure is a lot of money to be made repairing these opti boxes!!!

I already have a Delteq system installed but have misses at WOT, it's a very common failure. This was the reason for me to get a working opti box so I could replace mine. Well, since no one is selling one, I had to buy a complete system. Now I have everything double, inclusive the defect opti box I bought.

The difference to mine is, the engine just wont start with it. When I install my box, the engine starts immediately.

Scroll down the manual to page 15-18 this might help a little. http://www.delteq.com/Manual_r3.pdf

What I did notice was:
LED flashes once when key on
LED flashes properly during key on and cranking
but none of the coils fires
LED won't turn and stay on while cranking like mine does

It can't be the opti spark in case anybody comes to that conclusion. I'm using an almost brand new Dynaspark opti, and with my box the engine runs.

See if I can get more pictures of the back side tomorrow. A friend of mine is looking/testing the hardware at the moment.

vettef6

Here are a few answers to your questions.

U2#'s: HCF 4050 // ST 91A317
D2 is the LED
Socket J10 is used for programing
Underneath the label: PIC 18F242-E/50 // 035249G

There are no signs of anything unusual. The picture below shows the rear side.

Big Al

iTrader: (1)

Am I understanding this, does this replace the ICM? If it does where is the coil driver?

Al 95 Z28

DAVE00

iTrader: (10)

The ICM and/or Coil driver is the buick/northstar based coil pack system. Seen here:

Jr.Samples

Interesting.

I would reflow U3 regulator and fill all through hole points especially the big one by U3. These go through many hot /cold cycles and the eyelets will crack going through the board.

Some larger solder joints will become cold (U3). Doesn't take much time to do this and you will be surprised what might happen.

Good Luck

vettef6

Sorry for the delay but because of the holidays and other things I wasn't able to get back to you any sooner. Here is an update on what happened so far.
I opened up my other opti box (fully operative) and found nothing visually being different. My friend compared both boards (actually there are two in each box as seen in the pictures) and found no difference either. He also verified that electronically there is no difference between the larger and smaller boards.
I installed the smaller board into my functioning opti box and the engine started right off. This means, only the bigger board has a defect of some kind and not the smaller board. I think it could be the software but have nobody that can read out the two EEProm's and compare.

It's time that 1963SS and guik95lt1, like you promised, or anyone else go to work and see if they can get this thing working.

Thanks
Arnold

Steve40th

Have you had any micro miniature repair guys look at the bigger board and see if something is bad, under operating voltage and temperature?
Board looks good, but it doesnt take much to cause a fault.
Also, the chip itself has to be able to be read somehow, you would think.

vettef6

I have a friend which is an electronic engineer, he compared both boards and found nothing. Since I have no one that can read the EEprom, I think this is the problem, I will never find a solution.

Too bad the fellows that said it wouldn't be a problem to repair never came back to offer their help. I guess they bit off more than they can chew....

Steve40th

I think Pete Visser, one f the owners of the company, went to work for ATI in DC. It would have been nice if they sold the company to someone who can keep it going.

v7guy

iTrader: (1)

I've got a delteq unit that has worked great for the last few years. I've always been fearful of it's demise.
Been looking at a megasquirt just to force myself to learn the workings and know how to fix a problem.