FLIR One Gen2 failure investigation + FULL RESET method by Fraser

[Fraser]

I have just knowingly bought a faulty F1G2 Android that has the 'lights on, nobody home' failure symptom. I bought it in order to investigate what causes this apparently quite common failure.

When the camera arrives, hopefully this week, I will dismantle it and carry out some basic checks. Sadly I am not in a position to meddle with the ARM processor configuration, so if that is corrupted it will be 'game over'. If the problem is a discrete component or physical failure I may be able to shed some light on the matter.

At worst I will learn more about the F1G2 Android and I will have a spares donor with a nice LEPTON 3 on it.

The daft thing is that I could likely sell the tested LEPTON 3 on ebay for more than I paid or the whole faulty camera ! I wonder how much FLIR are asking for a Lepton 3 these days ?

I will also be able to experiment with the LEPTON 3 lens system without risking either of my my working F1G2 units Lepton's as well. The position of the FFC shutter is a bit inconvenient but that can be overcome. Bill W may be doing some experimentation with the optics as well. I have some very nice mini Germanium optical blocks to play with

I will update this thread as and when I have any news. No promises  though as the F1G2 does not strike me as the most repairable of thermal cameras.

Fraser

[bitseeker]

Cool. Looking forward to the repair, etc., Fraser.

[Bill W]

From my experiments, the most likely cause is the Lepton becoming unseated.  Had that a lot.

Another could be using an extension lead.  This is why I have not posted lately  as most USB extension leads are not useful.  Most are set up for OTG while the F1G2 needs either all 5 wires or not OTG pin grounded.  I ended up buying the bits and making my own after 3 dud purchases and slicing the 3rd one apart to investigate.

Bill

[Fraser]

Hi Bill,

Thanks for that useful information 

I will be receiving the faulty camera tomorrow. I will check the LEPTON for good seating in its holder.

I suspect these cameras get dropped, which could cause parts to pop out of holders etc.

Fraser

[bitseeker]

I had considered an extension lead, but hadn't looked into it yet. Thanks for that heads up, Bill.

[Fraser]

The faulty F1G2 arrived today.

It looks like new and came with both the Micro USB adapters that FLIR released to provide connector reversal or exetension 

The investigation begins 

Fraser

[Fraser]

Oh well, that was pretty boring !

The F1G2 is now working fine 

The fault ? It had crashed.

I plugged the F1G2 into the charger and it did not illuminate the green charge LED. The power button was illuminated constant orange and the camera would not boot. No amount of plugging/unplugging or attempts to reset the camera worked.

Disconnection of the Lithium battery and re-connection initiated a cold boot of the camera and it immediately started to function normally. First the power button lit red plus orange, then it flashed, then extinguished. The FFC shutter could be heard to activate.

There was an interesting finding though. The battery connector is a POS. ANY movement of the battery cable moves the contact surfaces and the camera reboots from cold. Such a situation can cause system crashes as the varying supply due to poor contact can generate all sorts of cr*p on the power input rail. Any power watchdog circuit gets multiple sequential restart situations and keeps resetting the processor. Eventually the camera crashes and a full power off reset is needed.This requires removal of the battery connector. I proved this during testing by deliberately moving the battery cable a few times until the camera locked up. It was easily reset by disconnection of the battery.

FLIR have used a particularly poor connector for the battery. An attempt was made to stabilise it using a piece of adhesive foam but that will not prevent movement of the contacts if the camera is given a bump. 

I tested the camera without the battery fitted and it does boot. It then flashes a battery fault code using the green charge LED. It was not doing that when received as the processor was not a happy bunny.

All is working correctly now and the camera will go through some testing to check for any other issues.

Fraser

[tomas123]

Works the camera fine without the battery (after successful booting)?
I thing about removing the battery from case for non-stop operations (24/7).

[Fraser]

It booted fine but I did not try running it on the phone without a battery. I cannot say how it will behave without a battery for long periods of time. The power circuits could generate quite a bit of heat which may cause internal thermal issues.

I may have another play with the camera at the weekend but I have a few other tasks to complete first.

Fraser

[tomas123]

Thank you

[bitseeker]

This is the first I've heard of it locking up like that. Very interesting. Glad you were able to narrow down the cause. I'll keep that in mind should mine ever get stuck.

Being able to run it without the internal battery would be nice, especially for desktop use.

[Fraser]

I do not think that lots of F1G2 cameras lock up but you do see cameras being sold as faulty on eBay. The symptoms are usually "will not switch on". I suspect some suffer from a less than perfect life and get bumped a lot or it may just be that some have less than perfect battery connections ? I checked for dry joints on the battery connector.... none found. I will secure the battery connector wick a suitable non permanent adhesive such as UHU or Bostick No.1

I have had the camera running in a cycle of discharge then charge, discharge then charge all evening and it is working perfectly.

I advised the seller that I had repaired the camera. He was thrilled and said he wanted to take a look inside but could not find a way in ! I feel sorry for the chap and have offered to sell the camera back to him with a small additional fee for my work.

Fraser

[RGB255_0_0]

I guess that felt/sponge atop the connector is supposed to help stop them from coming out. Maybe they should have gone with a slide-in style low-profile connector if common JST is too bulky. I'll take care when I sling mine into the draw from now on.

[bitseeker]

I feel sorry for the chap and have offered to sell the camera back to him with a small additional fee for my work.

 

[nowlan]

Was there no warranty on the device? Feel like flir could have sussed it out.

[Uho]

What is the actual battery life time? My Flir only works 30 minutes.

[tomas123]

see my rundown test: 57min
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/thermal-imaging/flir-one-thermal-imaging-camera-teardown-and-hacks/msg848878/#msg848878

[Fraser]

I did a run time test on the repaired F1G2 to cycle the battery. Run time was 1 hour of continuous operation.

I have seen F1G2 cameras for sale with a stated fault of low battery capacity. There may be a battery quality issue at work here.

If your camera is under warranty, I recommend you contact FLIR and get it looked at.

If not, the battery is nothing special and another foilpack Lithium unit so fitting one of the same dimensions and capacity is feasible. The battery connector and leads will need to be transplanted onto the new battery as the connector is tiny and I do not know its maker or ID.

Fraser

[Chanc3]

I did a run time test on the repaired F1G2 to cycle the battery. Run time was 1 hour of continuous operation.

I have seen F1G2 cameras for sale with a stated fault of low battery capacity. There may be a battery quality issue at work here.

If your camera is under warranty, I recommend you contact FLIR and get it looked at.

If not, the battery is nothing special and another foilpack Lithium unit so fitting one of the same dimensions and capacity is feasible. The battery connector and leads will need to be transplanted onto the new battery as the connector is tiny and I do not know its maker or ID.

Fraser

This sounds spot on. We bought one to take to meets etc, but wouldn't charge after the first day of use! Back to Amazon it goes for full refund. I've been told the Gen3 models are a vast improvement.

[Woodside]

I bought a new unopened Flir One 2nd Gen from ebay in February.  For the first week, it worked fine, although my phone (OnePlus One) got extremently hot whislt the phone was connected.

After around a week, when I plugged it into the phone, the phone shut off.  The only solution was to remove the camera and the phone would then restart.

Flir, would not accept the device under warranty as I had not purchased from an Authorised Reseller.

Investigation revealed that the Vbus pin on the micro USB connector on the F1G2 was shorted to earth.  So after the F1G2 had been identified as an OTG device and the phone took Vbus high, it was being shorted to earth.  Presumably the battery protection on the phone cut off the supply.

The problem was a solder bridge on the back of the 4 pin connector on the USB connector board.

With the solder bridge removed, the camera now works again regarding the led indicators, charging etc.and the phone no longer shuts down.

Unfortunately, when I plug it into the phone, most of the time the Flir App doesnt regognise the camera and when it does, it show an image for about a second before it freezes and then goes black.  I have also tried it on another OnePlus one and a Samsung Galaxy SII (flashed to Android 4.4.4), both of which behave the same

[Fraser]

There is another dead FLIR ONE G2 on its way to me. Charges OK, Orange led lights, but no one at home

Maybe this one will be more interesting than a simple iffy power connector ?

Fraser

[newex]

Do not be flattered about the ease of such repairs.
Fraser is just lucky
I bought two dead F1G2.
The first for iOs, the second for android. The first one had a faulty charge controller.
For the second, the reball processor was required. When I removed the processor, a large number of pads were gray.
Therefore, if you do not have experience with the bga, you can spend money for nothing.

[Woodside]

The first for iOs, the second for android. The first one had a faulty charge controller.
For the second, the reball processor was required. When I removed the processor, a large number of pads were gray.

What were the symptoms exhibited by the two dead F1G2s you had?

I have not purchased a dead F1G2, mine has gone faulty.  With careful timing of switching it on and plugging into the phone (android) I can get a display for a few seconds and then the display freezes.

Malcolm

[Fraser]

OK, my next F1G2 patient has arrived.

As suspected, the camera is as new in the box with all accessories including the USB port reversal adapter  The camera appears unused and has no marks on it at all. I strongly suspect that this is a customer return that was DOA rather than failing in service.

Symptoms of the units failure:

1. Will not turn on using the power button.
2. When USB charger plugged in, Power button lights Orange and pulses every 18 seconds.
3. With charger connected, there is no green charge LED lit.
4. With charger connected camera remains unresponsive to the power button.
5. There are no signs of life from the camera beyond the Orange power button LED.

My kitten, Billy, has carried out a 'Cat scan' on the unit and declared it "of no interest" so he will leave it to me to repair 

The first step in the repair process will be to open the case and disconnect the battery connector, clean and inspect it, and then reconnect it.
I will not be that surprised if the camera then comes back from the dead 

More news when I get time to open the camera.

Fraser

[Fraser]

First progress report on the cameras state.

1. The battery removal and refitting trick did not work for this patient.
2. The 3.7V LiPo cell p.d read 3.0V but was not locked out by the protection PCB.
3. I could cause changes in the behaviour of the camera by connecting and disconnecting the battery/USB charger cable. The Amber LED would go from solid to flashing and remain flashing for a short time after charger disconnection. I believe this to be due to the discharged LiPo cell.
4. My LiPo charger refused to see the cell which indicates that its p.d was below acceptable levels for the charger.
5. The LiPo cell was briefly charged on a Lab PSU at 3.7V Current limited to 350mA. After a few minutes the current dropped below the 350mA limit. The cell was transferred to the LiPo charger and this time the charger was happy to begin a normal charge cycle.

More later when the LiPo is charged and tested.

Fraser