M4 ATX Turn On Problem

Fox_Mulder · 04-24-2008, 04:58 AM

So I have an M4 ATX I got from the mp3car.com store.
I was trying to test it to see if I had the same problem ArcaneDreams had so I hooked it all up according to the online manual (pins 6 & 7 to the motherboard power pins) and connected it to the car battery. I applied 12v from the car battery to the ignition connection on the m4 and the computer does not power up. I am using the 5sec/1min mode (dip switch 1 is on, others are off).

What happens is when the ignition is applied, the led blinks rapidly for about 3 seconds then starts blinking every second - but the motherboard does not power up.

I can manually start the motherboard by bridging the power on header briefly.
The system has been tested on a 200w power supply so power draw shouldn't be an issue.

Does this sound like a faulty unit? Or is there something I havent done right. The M4 doesn't mention anything about their being polarity on the motherboard power pins, but I tried it either way and got nothing.

edit: The 24 pin ATX connector and 4 pin P4 12v connector are all plugged in.

Bugbyte · 04-24-2008, 07:23 AM

Can you use a multimeter to see if you are getting a pulse on your startup line?

ArcaneDreams · 04-24-2008, 09:09 AM

I had that happen a couple of times.

After the LED blinks rapidly, it is supposed to send the pulse. For some reason it acted like it couldn't send the pulse..or something idk.

Does this happen every time? Try disconnecting the power, waiting 10 min, then trying again.

PacketSniffer · 04-24-2008, 09:11 AM

Ha. See my post in this forum from yesterday. Same issue.

Ack..... When will it all end???

Fox_Mulder · 04-24-2008, 10:58 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by ArcaneDreams

I had that happen a couple of times.

After the LED blinks rapidly, it is supposed to send the pulse. For some reason it acted like it couldn't send the pulse..or something idk.

Does this happen every time? Try disconnecting the power, waiting 10 min, then trying again.

Happens everytime, tried playing with the dip switches, in all modes it does this.

Fox_Mulder · 04-24-2008, 11:18 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by PacketSniffer

Ha. See my post in this forum from yesterday. Same issue.

Ack..... When will it all end???

Seems to be a similar issue, although with mine, no fans or anything powers up, it stays dead untill I manually bridge the power connectors then it comes to life. Sounds like I've got a dud unit as well. Damn got to return this

Regarding the multimeter, I put it into resistance mode, and it stays on infinite resistance during which time the motherboard should be pulsed, I tried it on voltage mode and got 0v throughout.

What would be the process on getting a replacement unit from the mp3car.com store?

Bugbyte · 04-24-2008, 12:45 PM

You need an RMA from them. Either call or email.

Fox_Mulder · 04-24-2008, 09:15 PM

I've sent an email to mini-box to see if there is anything I can do to fix this problem, but if all else fails it'll have to be sent back.

Fox_Mulder · 04-24-2008, 09:42 PM

I tested it just now, same problem, then I shorted the motherboard pins whilst the m4 was connected it booted up as expected. Then I shut down the computer and removed the ingition wire. I then reconnected the ignition wire and the computer came on!
I then disconnected the ignition wire and the computer took 1 minute before it turned off.

So then I applied the ignition wire again and the computer came on, removed the ignition wire and the computer turned off within 5 seconds which is what is expected as I have it on the 5 sec/1 min mode. Tried ir again and got the same results.

It seems to be working fine now, so I removed the 12v connection all together from the M4 (vin and gnd and ignition). I then reapplied vin gnd and ignition and I had to go through the same procedure above to get it to work.

So it seems the M4 needs a bit of "setting up" to do. Once it is "set up" as long as it isn't disconencted from Vin or Gnd it should be ok.

Edit:
Actually even if it is always conencted to Vin the problem is still there. The probem has been narrowed down to this -
In between the 5 seconds and the 1 minute before the M4 has entered the HARDOFF state, the pulse is sent to the motherboard when Ignition has been applied. Once it has entered the HARDOFF state, no matter what happens to ignition, the pulse is not sent.

Fox_Mulder · 04-28-2008, 05:20 AM

A workaround is to set the bios to always turn on afer power fail thus avoiding the need for a button press to turn on the computer. But I've since discovered it always takes 1 minute for the m4 to send the off pulse to the motherboard, regardless of mode - Same problem ArcaneDreams was having.

Dramey · 04-28-2008, 04:59 PM

Just got my M4 today to replace my M2, a waste as it turns out, my M2 wasn't fried after all, it was a fuse...

The M4 seems to work OK, but about 5 seconds after it turns on the MB, it turns it off again. I know the problem is on the M4's end because it will stay on if I hook up a manual switch.

I wonder if the problems we are having is due to the programmable nature of these things and the fact that default programing is random.

Fox_Mulder · 04-28-2008, 10:21 PM

Is the ignition port on the m4 (the middle one) connected to a constant 12v source?
Which dip switch mode are you in?

Dramey · 04-29-2008, 05:51 AM

Yes and any. I get the same even with all the switches off.

PS. anyone know what the 4th switch is for?

HiJackZX1 · 04-29-2008, 05:56 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Fox_Mulder

So I have an M4 ATX I got from the mp3car.com store.
I was trying to test it to see if I had the same problem ArcaneDreams had so I hooked it all up according to the online manual (pins 6 & 7 to the motherboard power pins) and connected it to the car battery. I applied 12v from the car battery to the ignition connection on the m4 and the computer does not power up. I am using the 5sec/1min mode (dip switch 1 is on, others are off).

What happens is when the ignition is applied, the led blinks rapidly for about 3 seconds then starts blinking every second - but the motherboard does not power up.

I can manually start the motherboard by bridging the power on header briefly.
The system has been tested on a 200w power supply so power draw shouldn't be an issue.

Does this sound like a faulty unit? Or is there something I havent done right. The M4 doesn't mention anything about their being polarity on the motherboard power pins, but I tried it either way and got nothing.

edit: The 24 pin ATX connector and 4 pin P4 12v connector are all plugged in.

Not sure if this helps, but when I tested my OPUS 320 in the house it would not turn off or on with ignition. Turns out I had the jumper set to 12V, but since I am connecting the OPUS to another PSU I had to tell the OPUS to run at 10V startup and 7V shut down. Now it works perfect in the house. Maybe you have to do the opposite, make sure its not stuck on a lower wattage and make sure its on 12V.

PS: Read the M4 manual carefully. I notice that CarPC based PSUs have very strict requirements. My OPUS 320 requires ACPI 2 or above, has to be set to S3 mode, has to have power button set to Off/On and power state after power loss set to off. If even one of these setting is not correct, the same issue will happen, the OPUS will not respond.

Fox_Mulder · 04-29-2008, 06:55 AM

Running the M4 from a lead acid battery, and monitoring the voltage with a multimeter shows it never goes under 12.4v . The M4 manual is lacking detail an doesn't mention anything other than connecting pins 6 & 7 to the motherboard power header pins. I have S3 set in the Bios, and now I have it running on "Poer on after Power Fail" to get around the problem I was having, but I've now discovered I'm suffering from the same problem ArcanDreams was having - regardless of whatever mode I'm in it always takes 1 minute to issue the pulse to shut the computer down.