Dead AES - how to resurrect?

[smork]

I managed to snag a loose AES for the princely sum of 20 yen. Of course I knew it wouldn't work, but I wanted to see if I could bring it back from the dead. The problem is, I have no idea how to diagnose the problem.

I hooked it up with the cabling from my working AES and tested with Art of Fighting 2. It did power up, but there was no sound and just random green blocks on the video (outputting via composite, BTW). The cart connector looks OK so I tried KOF94 -- it powers up but I don't even get the green blockiness anymore.

I popped the case and don't see any obvious looseness or damage. It looks like it hasn't been opened before.

So, what's the differential diagnosis on my patient? Where to begin the troubleshooting? I have a soldering iron and a multimeter available.

[eugenek]

Boot up the system without a cart, the color of the screen will sometimes tell you what's wrong:

Blue = All tests passed
Red = WorkRAM error (x100000 region).
Green = PaletteRAM error (x400000 region).
Yellow = VideoRAM error
Pink = Bios selfcheck error (xC00000 region).
Cyan = Memory card error

[channelmaniac]

Begin the troubleshooting by making sure you have the right AC adapter for the system. There's a 5v 3A one and a 9v 1.2A one and if you use the wrong one you could damage your system.

Is the monitor flickering? Do you hear a clicking sound on the TV's speakers?

Do you have a logic probe? If not, get one! You'll need it to check a few things.

[Breetai]

20yen? What kind of shop?

[Jimmy Yakapucci]

If you can find another dead one, or decide that this one is not worth fixing, I will be glad to buy it from you. Obviously, for a higher price than 20 yen.

JY

[smork]

20yen? What kind of shop?

Traders, of all places. In the junk bin.

[smork]

OK - I don't quite understand this. I first checked the AC adapter -- it's the 9V/1.2A one, same as my other AES. So I hooked it up, booted sans cart. It went through a few seconds of glitch like before (junky blocky graphics, like an arcade start screen) and then went to blue.

Hmm, didn't do that before.

So I pop in KOF 94. Glitchy graphics for 5 seconds, then the boot screen, then the game. Huh. No sound. I power down, turn it back on, it boots with sound. I hop into a match, a minute or so in the sound starts to distort really heavily, so I turn it back off.

I switch to Samurai Spirits - glitchy, then works. Plays fine with OK sound for a few rounds.

I don't get this as it wasn't working at all before -- now it's working but has intermittent problems. Ideas?

One thing's for sure - now that it works (albeit erratically) it's a good deal for 20 yen!!

Oh - Jimmy, I don't mind selling it at all. I actually have a third loose model (with connections) that I was planning on selling, but seeing as how I mostly play MVS or CD I really don't need either extra AES. I just couldn't resist a 20 yen AES!

[SnowKitty]

OK - I don't quite understand this. I first checked the AC adapter -- it's the 9V/1.2A one, same as my other AES. So I hooked it up, booted sans cart. It went through a few seconds of glitch like before (junky blocky graphics, like an arcade start screen) and then went to blue.

Hmm, didn't do that before.

So I pop in KOF 94. Glitchy graphics for 5 seconds, then the boot screen, then the game. Huh. No sound. I power down, turn it back on, it boots with sound. I hop into a match, a minute or so in the sound starts to distort really heavily, so I turn it back off.

I switch to Samurai Spirits - glitchy, then works. Plays fine with OK sound for a few rounds.

I don't get this as it wasn't working at all before -- now it's working but has intermittent problems. Ideas?

One thing's for sure - now that it works (albeit erratically) it's a good deal for 20 yen!!

Oh - Jimmy, I don't mind selling it at all. I actually have a third loose model (with connections) that I was planning on selling, but seeing as how I mostly play MVS or CD I really don't need either extra AES. I just couldn't resist a 20 yen AES!

have you tried cleaning the slot really well? if that doesnt help im guessing the sound issue could be bad sound capacitors or a problem with one of the sound chips

[channelmaniac]

Take a pic of the board inside and post it. I want to make sure you aren't toasting it with the wrong adapter.

Also, while you have it open, look for liquid spill damage.

It's not uncommon to find surface mount chips that need to be resoldered on those systems. I've done a few.

RJ

[smork]

have you tried cleaning the slot really well? if that doesnt help im guessing the sound issue could be bad sound capacitors or a problem with one of the sound chips

I haven't yet, though I will give that a go as well.

I just took some pictures of the board and the back.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3350/3306176555_e754e81700_b.jpg

The link to the 4000x3000 version is here. (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3350/3306176555_4057f2ea8c_o.jpg) It's shot at 1600iso so very grainy.

For the record, here's the back of the console:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3395/3307007442_c1ef275cc8_b.jpg

RJ, the AC adapter is a Sega model, not an SNK - though I can't see how that's an issue if it's the proper output. The board itself looks fine; I don't see any damage, just some dust.

[channelmaniac]

OK,

The board has a 5v regulator on it. It's that 5 pin device with the tab that is between the power switch and the reset switch. It'll take 9v and 1.2A. A little more voltage is fine.

Look above the SP1 chip. There's some gunk on the PC board. There may be more. Look around the slot and in the slot carefully. Use a light and a magnifying glass. You are looking for gunk that can cause corrosion on the traces and slot contacts.

Beyond that I don't see anything obvious in the picture. You can try to push down on the surface mount custom chips one by one to see if the board suddenly changes it's operation - for better or worse. That will point to the chip needing resoldering.

RJ

[Breetai]

Have you gotten this thing working, or did you get rid of it?

[Breetai]

Nothing?