So I have been looking around for a way to fix my HFL unit for my 05 TL. The best answer I have seen so far seems to say to bake it at 385 for 10 min in the oven.
So what I'm confused about is 1: When I take the Unit out of my car there are 2 circut boards connected together. Do I bake both of them or just one? If so which one?
2: Are there any things I have to wrap the unit in or anything considering there are plastic connectors on both boards and idk if those would melt when I bake them.

 

There is another thread floating around here by an electrical engineer which debunks the "bake the HFL" fix; might just as well buy your HFL a joint and get it truly baked.

If/when my HFL goes Tango Uniform, I'll just buy a new one; probably the best long-term fix.

 

like horseshoez mentioned, baking the HFL unit wont fix it.

 

Confirmed personally. Only buying new module fixed my HFL permanently.

 

Several people have claimed different solutions... and there may be several different causes. In my case, it was a bad solder joint on the large BGA chip, which I fixed by resoldering with flux and hot air. This is similar to the problems that the XBOX 360 and PS3 commonly had. Others have said replacing some of the caps fixed theirs, and others said resoldering the connector, or even just unplugging and replugging the board and connectors fixed theirs. I have a 2008, so it's the single board HFL, not the two board stack like you have.

I personally wouldn't bake the board, but if you're gonna throw it away anyway, I guess it doesn't hurt. You could check your local Craigslist for someone who advertises XBOX/PS3 repairs and ask how much they'd charge to hot air your chip. It should be cheaper than an XBOX, since it's a lot smaller of a chip (easier/quicker to do), and doesn't require disassembling the system. I'm sure they wouldn't guarantee the repair, but if they'll do it for $20, maybe it's worth a shot.

Pat

 

Pat, question for you sir!
[utag]DogP[/utag[

Is 'hot air' different from a heat gun? Or just another name for the same thing?

 

Well... generally "hot air" refers to a hot air rework station, which has closed loop temperature control (i.e. set it to 700 degrees F and it blows 700 degree air), nozzles designed for soldering/desoldering chips, and ergonomic to hold for delicate work. Heat guns are usually just a really high temperature hair dryer (big nozzle, two settings... hot and really hot, gun shaped, etc). Unless you're really careful, you'll likely destroy the PCB trying to solder using a heat gun (like one used for stripping paint).

Here's a video of someone removing and reinstalling a BGA chip with hot air: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8EWqWj2srg .

Since the chip itself isn't bad, and it's a lot of extra work to remove and "re-ball" the BGA chip, simply squirting some flux underneath the chip and reheating until the solder melts and forms a new clean solder joint is a quick and easy (with the right tools) solution.

Pat

 

OP, like everyone has said, theres no way to repair the HFL effectively. You could bake it and it will work for a couple weeks but will crap out again.

 

Go ahead and bake it and loosen up all the solder joints, like I did, and have other components fall off !