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View Full Version : Trying to revive a Sega CD (TecToy)


Twinbee
05-31-2011, 06:34 PM
Last sunday I went to help my friend clean his old house and do a garage sale.
Lying around I found many Famiclone carts, pirate Genesis carts, an original Mario/DuckHunt and to my surprise a Sega CD model 2, in really bad conditon (his house has been abandoned since at least a year, lots of humidity issues and general dirt everywhere).

He let me keep it, saying it never worked since he got it on a trade, I told him that if I made it work I wouldn't return it, hehe.

The problem is that it REALLY is in bad condition, some pictures here:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/kakuunohitobito/P5100073.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/kakuunohitobito/P5100070.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/kakuunohitobito/P5100071.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/kakuunohitobito/P5100072.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/kakuunohitobito/P5100075.jpg

As you can see in the last pic (sorry about the blur), it's a TecToy sega CD.

I have 3 Genesis, but I'm not sure if any of them are original. None of them have the initial "sega enterprise.." etc message when you turn on, but 2 of them look official enough... so, are there official Genesis systems that do not have that message?
I have a model 1 Genesis (it doesn't have the "high-definition graphics" legend, though), a Genesis model 2, and another Genesis model 2, pretty sure this one is not original because it looks exactly like a MegaDrive 2 (Japanese), with the crimson slot and the blue reset button, etc.. .except it says "Genesis" and not MegaDrive2.
As far as I know, the Sega CD won't work without an original Genesis, so maybe this will be my first quest, find an original Genesis, but first I want to make sure none of these are original.
Then, I need to know about the AC Adapters. I have a lot of AC for Genesis, all of them are 220v (I'm from Argentina, btw), since the Sega CD I have is from Brazil, I guess it works with 220v aswell, however I've heard Genesis and Sega CD don't share the same AC, something about a yellow and silver connectors or something? Either way I don't have any yellow connector on my AC adapters, and my Genesis work just fine with the ones I have.

So, I hook up the Genesis model 2 with the Sega CD, plug the AC adapters for both, and turn on the Genesis, with no game on the genesis and no disc on the Sega CD (the lens is pretty much dead anyway, I'm afraid), the screen is black, the Sega CD seems dead, no light on the "access" led and no sound at all, only the Genesis seems to be working.
This same thing happens with all 3 Genesis, I was hoping that maybe if the Sega CD still works, the bios would turn up, but nope, nothing.

The problem is that I never actually used a Sega CD, so I don't really know how it works.
When you connect the Sega Genesis and Sega CD and turn the Genesis on, what does the Sega CD do? Load up the bios, the light turns on? Even if the lens is dead, what happens?
And what if the Genesis is not original, does the Sega CD still works, at least to give a "Error" message?
Again, have in mind this is a Tectoy Sega CD, if it makes any difference with the other models.

Most probably, there's an electric problem.
The silver plate inside it, as you can see on the pictures is all corroded, but from what I can see, the hardware beneath it seems to be alright, no major damage except some dust and dirt that can be cleaned.

Basically, I need advice for a beginner as I never really fixed any console, but I want to revive this one. I know it'd be easier to just buy a working Sega CD, but I'd like to take this as a challenge. Except without help I don't know where to start.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help! :)
Oldskool
05-31-2011, 10:02 PM
Might be a bown fuse which is very common, but aside from that I would strip the PCB and put it in the dishwasher. Any part that could be cleaned I would scrub. The laser I would grease the gears and clean the lense. Then see what happens, if not of that works just chuck it.

The metal plate you might be able to sand the rust off.
drmay
06-01-2011, 02:35 AM
It looks like the board is too rust damaged to be salvageable.
Twinbee
06-01-2011, 09:54 AM
Thanks Oldskool, I'll start by cleaning and washing the plastic parts then.

Here I took a picture of the PCB:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/kakuunohitobito/P5110077.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a240/kakuunohitobito/P5110076.jpg

to my understanding it's not in bad condition, the rust only affected the plastic and the metal plate, but the actual hardware seems to be okay.
raylydiard
06-01-2011, 05:31 PM
you can get metal cleaner and try rust remover.
APE992
06-01-2011, 07:35 PM
NO NO NO FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING GOD NO!

Don't stick it in the dishwasher! It'll just make any existing rust worse and invite new rust patches to form. Rubbing alcohol is a much better solution but you need to take your time with this. There is no guarantee that the thing can be salvaged but between the fuse and some TLC with a soldering iron it might be. I'd be worried that the laser was destroyed but then again these old consoles are workhorses.

If you were curious, that odd board floating inside is a multi-region BIOS mod. I've only seen them in a handful of SegaCDs but the plans and code are floating around online.
Twinbee
06-01-2011, 08:29 PM
So far, I've dismantled the whole thing, put the PCB and lens aside, and washed the plastic parts with just water, to take off the dirt.
There's some rust in the metal plates and the plastic too, I'll see if I use some special product against rust like raylydiard said.
Maybe trying to clean the PCB too? if it isn't too difficult/risky.

APE992, thanks for the insight on the multi-region bios mod, I had no idea.

So, after I clean it off, the next step would be fixing the fuse, any tips?
Like, where can I find the correct fuse, and also which one is it the one I need to fix?
And what does TLC means?

Thanks a lot everybody!
FABombjoy
06-01-2011, 09:58 PM
FWIW, that's not a multiregion mod. It's some kind of factory fix, no clue for what, but the factory BIOS is still present (it's right under the genesis connector).

The fuse is right next to the power jack. Going on that second PCB pic, find the jack, look for the coil right below it, the fuse is the green part standing up to the right.
Twinbee
06-01-2011, 11:14 PM
Yeah, I think I found the fuse. thanks to this site:
http://www.mrvfone.com.au/sega/fuse.htm

anyone know what kind of fuse do I need to get to replace it?
Or how can I test it really doesn't work anymore? (although seeing as how that's a major problem with segaCDs and how mine doesn't even work when connected to the genesis, I'd assume it's dead)
APE992
06-01-2011, 11:42 PM
FWIW, that's not a multiregion mod. It's some kind of factory fix, no clue for what, but the factory BIOS is still present (it's right under the genesis connector).

The fuse is right next to the power jack. Going on that second PCB pic, find the jack, look for the coil right below it, the fuse is the green part standing up to the right.

Now I'm not sure what it is anymore, every time I've seen them was in conjunction with region mods.

Doesn't seem like they're wired into any chip in particular and I can't find a datasheet for the chip though I've seen them on Saturn modchips before.
Bratwurst
06-01-2011, 11:54 PM
Short of determining that the fuse was the issue, this is not worth working on, scrap it.
Twinbee
06-02-2011, 12:12 AM
I've seen several youtube videos with people fixing their SegaCDs by changing the fuses, seems it's a normal SegaCD issue, why would I scrap it?
Bratwurst
06-03-2011, 01:41 AM
That's what I inferred. If you replace the fuse and it works, great. If not.. don't waste your time. Easy enough to find out, get a multimeter and do a continuity test on the fuse.
Vectorman0
06-03-2011, 08:57 AM
I've seen several youtube videos with people fixing their SegaCDs by changing the fuses, seems it's a normal SegaCD issue, why would I scrap it?

I'm with Brat on this. It's not worth hours of time to possibly fix it when you can buy a nice looking and working one very inexpensively.
Squeept
06-03-2011, 01:47 PM
Could be a fuse, could be a million other things. I sell the fuses on eBay for around $2 shipped.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Main-Fuse-Sega-CD-Model-2-Repair-Part-NEW-/120727021753
APE992
06-03-2011, 02:11 PM
I'm with Brat on this. It's not worth hours of time to possibly fix it when you can buy a nice looking and working one very inexpensively.

Usually they're $15 on ebay that just need the fuse replaced.

People like me are the ones who burn 50 hours scrubbing stuff like this for kicks. Plus it helps to garner knowledge in categories that prove useful in the future.
Oldskool
06-03-2011, 10:44 PM
I have washed several PCB's and none of them developed rust, or started rusting more. He stated that the PCB looked decent and that the metal shielding is what was rusting, so it probably would have been ok. I've run quite a few NES PCBs and even some arcade PCB's through the dishwasher and they always come out spic and span. And oftentimes will clean up the mess from leaking caps and so forth.

No reason to overreact. If you strip the board as much as possible of any metal or electronics (like the laser) that could be damaged by water, it's usually pretty safe. I never let the dishwasher do it's heating cycle either, that could melt plastic.

Just my two cents.

btw what's the status on this?

I feel the same way as you do APE - I have satisfaction in scrubbing old stuff and restoring things to a good working condition again. Even if that means a lot of elbow grease.
Stringfellow
06-10-2011, 09:37 AM
I'm totally with you Oldskool and APE. I recently scrubbed up a couple old 2600s that I got on the cheap. I get a feeling of satifiaction from the finished product. Scrapping it is only more of an option when it is something still being made and even then it still feels like a bit of a waste.