All,
I am by no means a electronic repair man nor am I a Electronic Genius....

I have repaired numerous TVs, computers, home large appliances, and even some tools. My latest was a 27inch Toshiba TV that I had to de-solder and replace a Inverter Transformer (TMS94481CT). I have a few tools most are basic...Latest tool is a Old (Air Force Surplus) de-soldering station.​

Anyways my latest challenge is a 10 port USB charger. It was purchased from Ebay - China...but landed DOA at my home...I have been refunded the money and told to keep the DOA unit...So I decided this may be a fun repair project to look into.

The board has a large label on it - WLX-838 Pcb:2017-03-22F Rev 2.0.

When I put in a USB Charge meter on it (all output ports), it shows some life and appears to be turning on and then off and then on again (not yet got an exact output)...(reminds me of a capacitor charge and discharge.)

The back of the board (solder points) look grungy....

Would most just start at the 120V side and start tracing or is there any specific spot based on experience/symptoms I should look at first?

Thanks,
Chris

 

The input power side Is the logical place to start, as it appears to have a SMPS, these components could be checked first, power semi's etc.
Max.

 

I was going to suggest taking a hard look at, or simply replacing, the electrolytic caps – until I looked at the back of the board. What a mess. I'd go over it with a bright light and a magnifying glass and look for unintended solder bridges. It looks like they tried to cut between the solder blobs but they may have missed some.

 

I'd check the fuse that looks to be between the mains switch and inlet, and then as wayneh suggests, give the board a good visual inspection. I had a power supply from china, that was faulty, and it was down to a couple of badly soldered joints, that had not actually "wetted" the pins of a component.

 

All,
Thanks for the advice!

I will try to get back to it in the next few days...and let you know what I find.

Thanks
Chris