I just discovered something that will save me a lot of headaches in the future and hopefully for anyone else working on these.
Maybe this has been posted before, but I didn't see anything.
This applies to when you have just replaced the buffer boards (perhaps along with the SC) and then you still have an error code or it has changed to a 7 blink code.
A 7 blink error code is not necessarily a bad board; it can just be poorly seated buffer board cables. Usually if you have a poorly seated ribbon cable on one of these boards, you just get a black line in the picture, but this one caused the 7 blink error code. See below:
This one came in with 10 blinks and surprisingly didn't have the common short to ground on the power plug for the SC or the SS, but there were some suspiciously reading fets and dual diodes on the SC and SS, so I replaced the SC and SS and just to be safe, I replaced the SU and SD (upper and lower buffer). Then I got 7 blinks. Puzzled, I did some research and the S/M states that this is a SU or SD problem or an interconnect or cable problem with those boards. Dubious, but hopeful, I reseated each of the buffer board cables and amazingly, the set works fine now. Usually if you have a poorly seated ribbon cable on one of these boards, you just get a black line in the picture, but this one caused the 7 blink error code.
I was just about to start checking the buffers for shorts and pull them out again and possibly put the originals back in (if they checked okay) as I had just shot-gunned them. Glad I didn't have to!
Maybe this has been posted before, but I didn't see anything.
This applies to when you have just replaced the buffer boards (perhaps along with the SC) and then you still have an error code or it has changed to a 7 blink code.
A 7 blink error code is not necessarily a bad board; it can just be poorly seated buffer board cables. Usually if you have a poorly seated ribbon cable on one of these boards, you just get a black line in the picture, but this one caused the 7 blink error code. See below:
This one came in with 10 blinks and surprisingly didn't have the common short to ground on the power plug for the SC or the SS, but there were some suspiciously reading fets and dual diodes on the SC and SS, so I replaced the SC and SS and just to be safe, I replaced the SU and SD (upper and lower buffer). Then I got 7 blinks. Puzzled, I did some research and the S/M states that this is a SU or SD problem or an interconnect or cable problem with those boards. Dubious, but hopeful, I reseated each of the buffer board cables and amazingly, the set works fine now. Usually if you have a poorly seated ribbon cable on one of these boards, you just get a black line in the picture, but this one caused the 7 blink error code.
I was just about to start checking the buffers for shorts and pull them out again and possibly put the originals back in (if they checked okay) as I had just shot-gunned them. Glad I didn't have to!