Question PMS-2 not outputting 3.3v after adding VGA wiring to Wii MoBo

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Aug 7, 2023
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Background info:
I am in the process of building my ashida for the first time. I have been able to play games on it, and have everything (but VGA) hooked up at this point. My PMS-2 stopped outputting 3.3v after I tried upgrading from component to VGA. I had a pretty ugly solder bridge along the bottom left 8 pins of my AVE-RVL that I was able to clean up as best I could (foreshadowing) before soldering the V and H sync lines. After soldering everything up the display wouldn't power on. A little troubleshooting later I found the PMS-2 wasn't outputting 3.3v at all. Looking at the AVE-RVL I notice a little solder between the 5&6th and 6&7th pins. (See pictures.) All other outputs from the PMS-2 measure the correct voltage.

My question:
1. Did these little solder shorts fry my PMS-2 or Wii MoBo?
2. What is the best way to troubleshoot the PMS-2? Desolder everything and test it again with just the 21700 attatched?
3. This is my second post about this Ashida, should I be putting this in a worklog, or are individual posts okay? I'm new to using forms and am still a little clumsy.
4. Is there a way to remove the solder from the AVE-RVL? I tried using a solder sucker and quite a bit of flux. But, cannot get that last bit out.

Any input is appreciated.
 

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I had a very similar issue, probably the same. My 3.3v and ground were shorted together after I did VGA. The pins were connected with a little bit of solder, but I was able to fix it by putting a TON of flux and using braid over everything. Then I cleaned it with alcohol, and it was good! Here's the page where I was trying to figure it out: Worklog - The WiiCube (my first portable) | Page 4 | BitBuilt - Giving Life to Old Consoles

Also, I used a more blunt soldering iron tip, that probably helped. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure Vsync and Hsync shouldn't be twisted with each other.
 
As counterproductive as it may seem, adding more solder can help with blobs like this. Getting all the tin into one mass and then using a desoldering braid to slowly suck up the blob usually works best. If you use a sucker pump the rapid air movement can cool the back of the blob as the front gets pulled in and leave bits behind, like what you're experiencing now
 
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I disconnected the 3.3v, 1.8v, 1.15v, and 1v lines from the Wii MoBo in case the 3.3v (or something else) was shorted to ground like @icy_system mentioned. After testing the voltages with a multimeter the 3.3v (and other voltages of the PMS-2) are working again! Meaning the issue must be related to the board. I did connect a 3.3v line to via number 8 of the image below to change the "mode" to VGA as explained here. I think that might be part of the issue as well. (Assuming I messed up.)

index.php


I will try working with some soldering braid, I haven't had great luck with it in the past. @Stitches is right, I did try to use a solder sucker. So, that's reason enough for me to try something else. When desoldering I have experienced that using leaded solder is a bit easier to desolder due to the lower melting point. The challenge is that my leaded solder is super thick compared to my unleaded stuff. However, if making a glob is the goal, then hopefully it won't matter. I think using the thicker solder tip will help too.

UPDATE:
It's working like a champ. I did a lot of solder-desoldering on the bottom side of the chip. I found that sliding the soldering iron parallel to the chip's pins really helped. After a lot of work, a continuity test showed that the 3.3v and ground were still shorted. I did more soldering iron swiping and desoldering till the short was gone. Everything is looking good now. Thanks for your help!
 
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