If you can paste the full log here, maybe someone else can find out what's wrong.
Got confused between the S9j/i and S9K, you are right, the K version has 60 chips, since that is the case, it means there is a good chance the miner would run fine with that 3rd hashboard unplugged, he just needs to trace it, if the ribbon cables have not been changed before then it's likely to be the one to the most right, but should be easy to follow since hashboards are numbered on the control board.
It's worth mentioning that the S9ks are the second most terrible mining gears Bitmain has ever made, so I wouldn't count on this miner to work after all these years.