Dead router repair - no power solution Cisco Linksys Belkin WRT

Top information, fixed my router WRT3200ACM. The diode surface mount just pops off with a very thin screwdriver blade. I did heat the diode directly with a soldering iron to soften the solder so as not to damage the surface.

Thanks

Wait! You put it back together without that diode? Mine isn't working. Took the cover off and it's hot under that silver shield. Doubt I can fix a bad chip. The lights come on but after a reset it still won't broadcast the SSID. It appears connected to the modem via Ethernet, even see Internet, but it won't broadcast anything so I cannot connect. I don't have an Ethernet option to connect with the laptop :(

Very unintelligent! Stupid audio! Terrible video!

This crap router , never had any updates , mine is tosted - goone try fix it after this vid - thx

Not sure what it is, but probably a regular silicon diode, nothing fancy I think. I would venture a guess that it's a transient protection diode that suffered a power surge and shorted out, which is very common. One would think they'd lose connectivity all together, but they short out 9 of 10 times and causes that blinking-behavior as seen on the power adapter's LED.

This is also why it's important to use the designated power adapter and never plug in a regular transformer as it could fry the whole thing and itself.
Switching power supplies have a current sense, so in the event that a resistance drop (A.K.A short-circuit) occurs, the fault-level inside is triggered and prevents it from sending all the juice, and keeps probing the output which causes that blinking behavior.

Any diode in a critical spot like this should be replaced and not simply removed, not for the above mentioning alone, but also in the event there's a lightning strike nearby that would cause voltages and subsequently the current to increase above 12V and Amps way beyond specs.
A clamping diode (which is it's current function in this case) will act as a surge protector.
By omitting it, you're risking further damage in the event it occurs and might end up frying the whole thing. If you're lucky it'll stop with the VRMs (Voltage Regulator Module) and it might be repairable, but chances are that it might gone pass those and damaged a whole bunch of other components.

Thanks for the video. With your help I was able to fix everything :)

Bro where do you get the diodes? Awesome repair

What were those beads of metal? Was it rose metal or woods metal? Also what diode should it be replaced with? The part number for mine is LS 48 BG, but I can't find any reference materials on it or figure out what would be a suitable replacement. Is it an opto-isolator or regular diode?

Recovered my WRT1900 after lightning took out my power supply. Pulled diode and all is well for this trusty old $250 router I thought was destined for the ewaste heap. Taught my kids about it as well. Hope kids learn to perform this kind of repair rather than tossing at first sign of trouble.

What name of Diode D21? no need to replace it?

THANK YOU. And, is it safe to plug in USB after this?

This fix works 100%. The first time I noticed something was wrong with my router was when I plugged in a usb, and my router started going CRAZY. Every light flashing randomly, turn off for a split second, turn back on, every light going crazy again, etc, even when I unplugged the usb. Had to turn it off and back on. That's why I ask about the usb. I kept using the router for probably six months after that happened, but things went south really quick near the end.

Thank you for this video,

I bought this router online and with this router I got the adapter 12V 500mA adapter with Input 120V

In my country the voltage is 240V so the moment I connected to the power smoke came from the router and the adapter also smoked.

Is there any way I could fix it or the main board is fried ?

This does work, but unfortunately there must have actually been something wrong on the board with mine, because about 6 hours after I plugged it in, flashed openwrt and put it in service, it died. I get a flash from the lights when I plug it in and flip the power switch now, but no attempt to boot. Hopefully I can find the problem, but it was a gamble on a 'for parts' ebay router, so I didn't pay much for it. **edit** Not sure how it worked for 6 hours, but I took it apart again to inspect the board and discovered I had left a tiny piece of solder in where the diode was. After removing that I'm up and running without issue!

Thank you!!! I finally got mine to work! The only this is that if I move the power cord where it connects to the router, it restarts the router. Do you know what would cause that?

It's sad we have to do this with an "end game" product like this. I'm half tempted to just plug my Wrt54g back in instead of fixing this POS lol.

What temp is your soldering iron at? I cannot get this sucker off. I'm afraid I'm going to damage the caps above it.
I might try to just gently break the circuit through the top of the diode, since it's starting to chip already. At least then I'll know if I already scorched the rest of the board or what.
I didn't even think the issue was the diode at first, I'm glad I found your video.

Thanks very much for this fix, wrt3200acm is working again, not very good at changing diodes, what happens if i don't replace it at all :)

2021 and this video is still providing assistance. 👍

thx but i have drop every 5 minuts and lost internet conection but the router still on i try reset but problem persist please help

Great tutorial. This has fixed my problem with my WRT1900ACS!

Pag nag over power din po ba yan din ung aalisin, halimbawa po 12v biglang nag 19v , yan din po ba ang aalisin,?

I have one issue with ea9500 not going to on and back lights ethernets lights half on only

weldone sir

Successfully revived another seemingly dead WRT1900ACS. All leds were just only blinking madly. Thank you so much!

My wrt32x does light up when i turn it on but only for 1 sec , Would this fix it. The person was trying to flash it so i think they did plug the 5v pin into the jtag. would this kill it are would this fix it?

WOW! it worked. No soldering iron needed as diode just popped off with slight pressure from smal flat screwdriver. THANKS

Cómo reparar un Wrt54g que el led de power parpadea, no queda fijo al conectarlo?

Hi, I have same router but lights doesn't turn on, tried through the app but still same, would you recommend any solution? Thanks

Saved my wrt32x thank you

anyone get the part number for the diode??

Can anyone tell me the part number of this diode?
I plugged in an AC plug pack and the router started to smoke....bad sign!
Now dead as a door nail. Opened it up to find the diode was charred and I can’t read the part number.
Thanks
Bruce

OMG you are the man!! Thank You!! took diode out and it works great, ordered new diode. thank You!

Thank you for this. I successfully un-bricked a WRT 3200 ACM that I accidentally hooked up to a 19V power supply. Are you aware of any downsides to removing this component? I think it was there to protect against reverse polarity, but I am not completely sure.

I did not have this problem but needed the case cracking info. Thanks!

Did you leave the diode out? Mine turns on but no power light, esata light is solid on as is the Wi-Fi light but I can't connect to it.

Thanks for this instructable. I used it on a WRT 3200 that I accidentally connected to a laptop power supply. Eventually I'll replace that diode.

Thanks for this video, now I know how to take this thing apart, mine is WRT1900AC V2 and it has the well documented problem of dim LEDs (power, internet wifi), only solution is to replace them