kjps86
01-15-2014, 01:36 AM
Greetings! This is my first post on this forum so I apologize if I fail to observe some unspoken rules, and please excuse the lengthy post. I will try to describe the entire situation to the best of my ability.
I recently picked up a SNES at a local thrift store-console only, no games or cords or anything else. Over the course of about a week I acquired a controller (original SNES), power adapter (original SNES), game (Yoshi's Island), and AV cords (third party). When I had all the parts I hooked it up, turned on the power, and nothing but some momentary interference and then a black screen while the red power LED glowed just like normal. It seems the SNES is outputting this black screen since my TV recognizes an incoming video signal and the input listing disappears.
Since then I have cleaned the contacts of the game and the 62 pin connector in the system with rubbing alcohol and a Q tip/card+cloth. Nothing. I opened the system up and cleaned out the dust. Nothing. I dismantled the circuit board area to look for any obvious signs of damage to the board (blown fuse, capacitors, or broken traces/solder). Still nothing. Everything looks fine and dandy yet the system will not work. I was lucky enough to be able to take it to a local retro games shop and verify there that the system is the problem as the other components work fine.
As a last resort I disassembled the unit one last time and cleaned the 62 pin connector with an emory board (i.e. a nail file). It seemed to get some more gunk out but guess what: still more nothing.
Should I go ahead and write this one off as a loss and start to investigate replacing the board (the case is in really good shape--no yellowing at all), or is it possible I've missed something? Looking through the forums I found other people with the same problem and the generic recommendation was to do a better job of cleaning the contacts. I have done that with no improvement, and I was wondering if anyone has actually managed to resolve the black screen issue in the past.
If you are wondering why I don't just spend the money and replace it, well that is because I am pretty darned broke right now. I only bought the system because it was fifteen bucks and in decent physical shape. I must confess I somewhat regret the decision now considering how much trouble it has given me, but I'd still like to try to fix it. I'm not really able to replace it at the moment; if you want to tell me I just need to buy a replacement, well thanks for reading and I guess I might eventually. Aside from that all suggestions are greatly appreciated.
System Info: It is a second generation SNES--non-removable sound module, no cartridge lock, two large chips in sound chip section (rather than one big and one small)
I recently picked up a SNES at a local thrift store-console only, no games or cords or anything else. Over the course of about a week I acquired a controller (original SNES), power adapter (original SNES), game (Yoshi's Island), and AV cords (third party). When I had all the parts I hooked it up, turned on the power, and nothing but some momentary interference and then a black screen while the red power LED glowed just like normal. It seems the SNES is outputting this black screen since my TV recognizes an incoming video signal and the input listing disappears.
Since then I have cleaned the contacts of the game and the 62 pin connector in the system with rubbing alcohol and a Q tip/card+cloth. Nothing. I opened the system up and cleaned out the dust. Nothing. I dismantled the circuit board area to look for any obvious signs of damage to the board (blown fuse, capacitors, or broken traces/solder). Still nothing. Everything looks fine and dandy yet the system will not work. I was lucky enough to be able to take it to a local retro games shop and verify there that the system is the problem as the other components work fine.
As a last resort I disassembled the unit one last time and cleaned the 62 pin connector with an emory board (i.e. a nail file). It seemed to get some more gunk out but guess what: still more nothing.
Should I go ahead and write this one off as a loss and start to investigate replacing the board (the case is in really good shape--no yellowing at all), or is it possible I've missed something? Looking through the forums I found other people with the same problem and the generic recommendation was to do a better job of cleaning the contacts. I have done that with no improvement, and I was wondering if anyone has actually managed to resolve the black screen issue in the past.
If you are wondering why I don't just spend the money and replace it, well that is because I am pretty darned broke right now. I only bought the system because it was fifteen bucks and in decent physical shape. I must confess I somewhat regret the decision now considering how much trouble it has given me, but I'd still like to try to fix it. I'm not really able to replace it at the moment; if you want to tell me I just need to buy a replacement, well thanks for reading and I guess I might eventually. Aside from that all suggestions are greatly appreciated.
System Info: It is a second generation SNES--non-removable sound module, no cartridge lock, two large chips in sound chip section (rather than one big and one small)