Can I ask about debugging/fixing a broken product?
I've taken a part a broken roomba down to the PCB. I can connect the PCB directly to the battery and connect the charging cable & charger to the PCB.
I'm wondering if I could post about asking for suggestions on debugging the issue. I know consumer electronics are most likely off topic, but I'd ask about the PCB specifically and why the input voltage is wrong.
Someone suggested I try debugging the charging mosfets, but I'm a beginner hobbyist and don't know how, or where to ask about how.
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Thanks for asking.
Repair questions are off-topic, in general.
We may consider a repair question, if you explain your specific troubleshooting steps, and you understand the design of the device. In practice, the second condition means that you should have a schematic.
Repair questions can be on topic if it's about the underlying electronic principles. Just "How do I fix this?" is off topic.
There is little wiggle room for trying to repair a consumer device that you don't even have the schematic for. That doesn't mean you can't, but that such questions are hard not to be just "How do I fix this?". You might explain what the overall symptom is, what you have done, possibly with some photos, show measurements you've taken with a meter, and ask what the next steps to diagnose the problem might be.
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A little check list of some basic things to ask yourself before asking such a question:
- Is this some manner of high/mains voltage device? Repairing such electronics is very dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. In particular, unplugging the power cord doesn't mean that the device is now safe.
- Do you have the necessary tools for trouble-shooting? In this case the minimum is a multi-meter, a soldering iron, some tweezers and/or flat nose pliers depending on component size. Preferably also an oscilloscope.
- Do you know how to use the above tools with some confidence? In particular, if you are repairing a surface-mount board (which is the most likely case), do you have experience soldering such boards?
- Do you have basic ESD awareness? Consumer electronics PCBs are often easy to break with ESD.
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