Help with Series 1 Elite Controller

[killerfrost]

Hi there, I’m still a beginner at this, so please bear with me. I bought a broken series 1 elite controller from someone online who said “it just stopped working one day.” When I got it, it was clear he had been inside of it and snipped off the rumble motors. I’ve looked through some of the other threads on here, but they didn’t completely match my situation.

The controller doesn’t power on with batteries or via USB to an XB1 or a PC. I’ve messed around a bit with the multimeter trying to measure different capacitors and diodes, but I have no idea what the values of the capacitors are supposed to be. I also read that reading values of capacitors that are still on the board won’t be accurate and should be removed. I don’t want to go around desoldering every component on the board and am hoping there’s an easier method.

Is there a reference sheet somewhere online that has values for these capacitors or is there a way I can figure them out for myself? Does anyone have an idea where I should start looking?

I’m adding photos of the smaller board because I suspect that’s where the problem is. I’ve inspected it with magnification and didn’t see anything obvious, but I don’t have expert eyes. Thanks in advance!

[RDC]

Capacitor values are the least of that board's issues. There are 3 things I see right off that need addressed long before the caps need checked, and as long as none of them measure shorted they are most likely good.

Q8 looks fried.
L1 possibly has an issue.
Worst of the bunch though is the J6 connector that is supposed to be on the bottom board is still connected to J2 there.

[killerfrost]

Okay, wow, I really stumbled into a project with this one. I really appreciate you taking the time to check out the photos and help me out. Now I know why when I was looking at just buying a replacement board, none of them looked right. I had no idea that connector was off of the other board. Makes sense now. So for my noob questions, Q and L components - what are they? Resistors? I have a board from a similar non-elite controller that I could take the components from if that works?

Sorry for all the questions. I’m not very familiar with SMD components yet. I’ve been lucky so far because all of my other XB1 controller repairs have been broken bumpers and sticky buttons. This particular one I’m fixing so I can give it to my teen son. He wanted to just buy a new board and I almost did out of frustration, but I told him we’re never going to learn anything if we take the easy route.

[RDC]

Best way to learn is to try, because even failing can be instructive, and sometimes more so than getting it right.

Q and L are the board designations that are printed on the PCB (Printed Circuit Board), that's the silkscreen layer, all that white printed mess on there.

Qx = Transistor, Lx = Inductor, Rx = Resistor, Dx = Diode, J = Connector, Ux = IC (Integrated Circuit) and on and on that goes. x = the number of that type of component in case there are more than just one of them, although even if there is only one it would still be labeled Q1, C1 etc, etc.

All of the Button/Power boards up to the latest 1797 are pretty much the same as far as the power circuit section goes, so you can use Q8 and L1 from it, if L1 is bad. In one pic it looks iffy, another it looks alright, should measure 0ohm with a meter. You'll find more info on the controller boards in this section of the forums and can go by the schematic of the 1697 for most of it - https://www.acidmods.com/forum/index.php/board,537.0.html

Make sure none of the pads on the MCU (bottom) board are damaged from the J6 connector coming off. I've seen them sheer off before and not damage the pads, and if they are all intact you can just solder it back on there. Make sure it gets installed the correct way, as it's keyed and will not mate up to J2 if it's installed the wrong way. If it's torn some pads up then it's still repairable, but it just became a lot more fun to do so.

[wickated]

Worst of the bunch though is the J6 connector that is supposed to be on the bottom board is still connected to J2 there.

spilled my cofe of this

[killerfrost]

I can’t even begin to tell you how helpful this information is! I’m eternally grateful to you for directing me down the right path. You’re right about failing being instructive. I’ve learned a lot through my own trial and error with odd problems that I couldn’t find solutions for online. I’ve been taking some online courses in electronics, watching tons of videos for different perspectives, and doing a lot of reading on forums (really glad I found this one).

Thank you again!

[RDC]

You're welcome.

Added the schematic of the top board for the 1698, but it's pretty much the same as the 1697. The only difference is the Switch on the 1697, J1 pin 7, which they oddly have labeled as U4, but it should be S or SW technically for a switch (who knows what they were planning on really doing there, but something was missed before it went to the fab house) but I digress. It's the same board as previous versions, so any of the earlier top board schematics will do, just a switch is in place of the IR LED control is all.

[killerfrost]

Just came back to thank you again. Luckily it turned out to be the connector that had come loose and was stuck inside the other one that was preventing the whole thing from working. I had to pry them apart and then I soldered the rogue connector back where it belongs. I partially put the controller back together and plugged it into my PC and the power immediately came on. I ran it through the Game Controller Tester program and all the buttons are working. I’ve printed out all the info you gave me in case I need it for future use. I had no idea that those connectors could just come off like that. I learned something new for sure. Take care!