This might sound weird or disturbing lol, but could someone please give me some advice on replacing an unmarked IC, the circuit seems quite simple and straight forward, i just don't know much about these kind of things, recently started learning due to curiosity.. Its a rechargeable 3.7v sex toy, it has 2 buttons, a (+) and a (-), there is 2 small vibrating motors connected to the pcb, it charges fine, but when you press any of the buttons, nothing happens with the vibrating motors, motors still work, buttons work, so im suspecting the small 8 pin IC might be the culprit, my understanding is that it should have different modes/speeds/intensities of vibration when you press the buttons... Im attaching a pic of the pcb hoping anyone could possibly figure it out for me. Thank you in advance.

 

Why do you think the IC is bad? Maybe the switches got wet and corroded?

It could well be a microcontroller. If that's the case, replacing it won't help. It could also be a lot of other things, but it does not appear to be physically damaged.

Just wait until this Covid-19 thing is over and go back to that toy store to get another. Is there any urgency to get it fixed before then?

 

Why do you think the IC is bad? Maybe the switches got wet and corroded?

It could well be a microcontroller. If that's the case, replacing it won't help. It could also be a lot of other things, but it does not appear to be physically damaged.

Just wait until this Covid-19 thing is over and go back to that toy store to get another. Is there any urgency to get it fixed before then?

No urgency really, just interested and hoping to learn and improve, lets call it practice... Its not like i really have anything more important to do at the moment.. I tested both swithes, momentary push buttons, checked continuity when pressing them vs not pressing, switches are ok. Applied 1.5V to each motor after i desoldered the wires from pcb, both motors are ok, not really sure what exactly the 8 pin component is, or how and where to test for what across each pin and what value or reading i more or less should get, since i can't look up a datasheet without any visible markings on it to identity it... What would you do in a situation like this? Or what steps would you suggest? Just for arguments sake, let's say its something urgent that can't really wait? Or is it ultimately and realistically a situation where you just scrap it and salvage any reusable parts for future projects?

 

Unmarked IC's are often custom chips made in large quantities for a specific customer. There are no publically available datasheets for these parts, no information of any kind outside the company that had the part made, and no way to buy a commercial substitute. If you cannot get one from the folks who commissioned the building of the chip in the first place you are pretty much out of luck. This kind of thing is useless for learning much of anything except how to remove a chip without damaging the board. There is very little to learn here. Don't even waste your time.

 

Unmarked IC's are often custom chips made in large quantities for a specific customer. There are no publically available datasheets for these parts, no information of any kind outside the company that had the part made, and no way to buy a commercial substitute. If you cannot get one from the folks who commissioned the building of the chip in the first place you are pretty much out of luck. This kind of thing is useless for learning much of anything except how to remove a chip without damaging the board. There is very little to learn here. Don't even waste your time.

I would not have thought about it this way, but i hear what you are saying and understand, it does make sense how you explain it. See... I am learning something after all... Thank you very much for your input, its much appreciated!! I welcome any and all info and advice i can learn something from, wealth lies in knowledge! Perhaps if you can recommend any specific material like books, PDF's, apps or something for a beginner to get a starting point? If i just google it, there are so so so many different options and i get more confused because i can't make up my mind and choose one specific option to start and educate myself, and end up all over the place and tend to skip things that seem basic and get stuck with things that's probably too advanced for the little bit of knowledge that i have... So some suggestions of anything specific you know wil help me would be very helpful already! At the end of the day, id like to think of myself as a diy hobbyist, and would prefer to do as much as possible with salvaged parts and components, re-purposing as much as i can, dont like wasting anything that can serve a purpose somewhere else...