Products > Thermal Imaging
flir MK1 I3 not charging
pimpinge46:
My Flir is not charging . I tested the factory charger and it has its 5v out . I believe it is something wrong with the internal charger. Just wondering if anyone has had made this repairs before and what to look for ? Also when i was trying to pull it apart , i was unable to remove the PC board from the metal housing. It seems to be hung up on something.
Thanks
dave
Fraser:
Dave,
The most common failure is the protection device that protects against reverse polarity. It will sit in series with the power input socket and likely have a diode connected from it to the 0V rail. It serves to protect against reverse polarity
I have yet to open my i5 so do not know the topology of the cameras PCB.
The Main PCB is directly connected to the microbolometer via a multi pin connector. You need to gently pull the PCB away from the metal chassis plate that contains the microbolometer module.
I attach pictures of the disassembled camera taken from a reverse engineering report.
Fraser
Fraer
pimpinge46:
That helps a lot thanks !!! Now i have to try to figure out what component is damaged . You wouldn't of happen to have a higher res picture of the board ?
Fraser:
Sadly no. I grabbed the imaged out of a PDF document that detailed the reverse costing analysis of the i7 camera. I was using the pictures to try to identify the locations of the case fixing screws.
I am not aware of the circumstances of your cameras failure. Did it fail in normal service in your ownership and using only the official FLIR power supply unit ? Will the camera run off of the power supply if the Lithium Battery is removed ? (It should).
If it is only the battery charging function that has failed that is likely just bad luck and the charger circuit has a fault. If the camera will not run off of the power supply with no battery connected, it is likely the protection fuse or polyfuse that has failed at the power input.
If you bought the camera as faulty and do not know the history of the fault, you are faced with two common user errors that lead to power input failure
1. Wrong power supply used - incorrect polarity.
2. Wrong power supply used - too high a voltage
In scenario 1, it is common for an input protection component to sacrifice itself. Some are auto-resetting, others fail and require repair.
In scenario 2 there is the potential for much significant damage to the camera. Input polarity protection does not help as teh polarity is correct, the excess voltage is passed to the charging circuit and the cameras power control MOSFET. If te camera has any rails directly connected to the power connector, the circuits connected to such will often be damaged. If the camera is switched on with excess voltage connected, all manner f mayhem can ensue as regulator blocks become over-volted and damaged. It is worth remembering in such scenarios that the equipment is never'OFF' it is always in a stand-by or deep sleep mode. Therefore power is always connected to circuits that control power distribution within the camera. these may be as simple as some transistors and a MOSFET, or as complex as a microcontroller driving a Mosfet.
I almost bought a faulty Extech thermal camera the other day on ebay.com. That one had a charge fault as well. As long as the camera functions perfectly in all respects except battery charging, it is not normally a difficult task to repair the charging or power control circuits. The small size of the components can make such a challenge however.
If you can post some pictures of your cameras PCB and some detailed pictures around the DC power input, I may be able to help further. Once I have my i5 dismantled I can likely provide more help, if needed.
Fraser
Fraser
pimpinge46:
I purchased second hand . I believe it does not even plugged in. If i charge the battery externally and place it back in it works fine . I will have to pull it all part this weekend and take some detailed pics and post them. Thanks !
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