Turbo Grafx 16 Problem/Question

[xredmenacex]

Ok, I recently picked up a Turbo Grafx 16, more or less on a whim for 20 bucks. It was hooked up to a television at the time, so I could see that it at least appeared to work properly.

Then a short time later I picked up a Ninja Spirit card off of Ebay.

Here's my problem: When I put in the game it starts off perfectly but after it is on for some time, (Say 3rd or 4th level of the game, somewhere around 15 minutes) any of the moving characters in the game turn into a flickery mess. The backgrounds and menus look fine but all the little ninjas disappear and reappear or have lines of pixels missing etc..
If the system is turned off and then back on the problem remains unless it is off for some period of time. (please note that I have cleaned both the card and the console to the best of my ability.)

So is it the game or the console? Is this a common problem? I've never seen anything like it on other systems.
I'm guessing it's the console and maybe something is overheating after a period of time but that's an uneducated guess. I could use some advice here! Thanks!!

[staxx]

First thing that comes to my mind is are you using the right power supply ? It is very possible that if you are giving the console too much current (Amps) then in time it will overheat and cause problems.

[FABombjoy]

First thing that comes to my mind is are you using the right power supply ? It is very possible that if you are giving the console too much current (Amps) then in time it will overheat and cause problems.

You can't give a console too much current. You don't "give" current to anything - circuits "draw" current.

Think of it like water - when thirsty, you only drink what you need. If someone gave you a 20 gallon jug, you woulnd't drink yourself to death.

These symptoms could be caused by a bad voltage regulator, RAM, (maybe) VDP.

[xredmenacex]

I am using a Turbo Grafx 16 power supply so that's definitely not the problem.

[Vigilante]

It sounds like an overheating problem. Try and leave the console on without playing the game, and try to time it before the failure. If it shuts down after 10-15 mins like you said, I would put a small fan next to it and prop it up on 2 boxes spaced apart, so air can flow over the top and under the bottom of the unit, then time it again.

I know it may sound crazy, but heat issues are hard to determine. If you can cool it down and get more time out of it, all the better.

Somthing can be screwed up inside so the unit "draws" more current then it needs too. If you have to, open it up and check for a heatsink, and if it is heating up nicely the way it is supposed too.

Dust inside the thing could cause overheating as well. A little TLC goes a long way.

[xredmenacex]

Well, I propped it up and ran a fan on it and it messed up just the same. I haven't attempted to open it up yet.

How certain can I be that it's not the hucard? I only have the one game so I have nothing to compare to.

[InsaneDavid]

How certain can I be that it's not the hucard? I only have the one game so I have nothing to compare to.

You can't.. until you try another HuCARD. It is possible the game is bad.

[xredmenacex]

Well, with the purchase of a cheap copy of Keith Courage I have determined that it is not the game but the console. It seemed to take longer this time but the same problem happened again. I'm not the most handy person with electronics so this will probably be for sale in the future to someone that would like to tinker with it.

[InsaneDavid]

Well, with the purchase of a cheap copy of Keith Courage I have determined that it is not the game but the console. It seemed to take longer this time but the same problem happened again. I'm not the most handy person with electronics so this will probably be for sale in the future to someone that would like to tinker with it.

Well, at least you confirmed that it's a problem with the system and nothing else.