X'Eye Bios won't appear

[EvilGenius31]

Hey guys - I'm new here

I recently got an X'Eye from a local video game store - Unfortunately, they didn't have a power-supply for it, and they couldn't test it. I purchased the unit for $5 - then "tested" it with a Genesis 2 power adapter (Only the cartridge side for ~10 seconds, I was afraid testing the cd drive would damage the unit with that adapter)

After seeing that the unit still booted genesis games, I decided to order a custom-made regulated X'Eye adapter ( 9.5v ~1.6amps).

I attempted to test the CD side of the X'Eye - but the bios doesn't show up at all - Upon disassembly, I didn't see any damaged, or bulging caps.
The CD side of the unit is receiving power - it turns the disc slightly when i hit the power button.

I'm out of ideas - what do you guys think? am I over-looking something?

[goodtofufriday]

First make sure the power supply you bought is definitely outputting the correct amperage.
then make sure the tab that tells the machine if the lid is closed didn't slip off the switch.
if that dosent work try reseating the ribbon cables
last resort is to spend a fair amount of time adjusting pots

If none of that works then I got nothing

[APE992]

Bad caps, damaged traces are the two culprits I can think of. I'm used to seeing this behavior on SegaCD consoles rather routinely and I've fixed it a few times. X'EYEs are very easily damaged as I've found out and can usually be fixed by someone who has expertise in them.

Most people don't. I do. They are NOT the same beast the SegaCD is and people make the mistake that they are.

[EvilGenius31]

Bad caps, damaged traces are the two culprits I can think of. I'm used to seeing this behavior on SegaCD consoles rather routinely and I've fixed it a few times. X'EYEs are very easily damaged as I've found out and can usually be fixed by someone who has expertise in them.

Most people don't. I do. They are NOT the same beast the SegaCD is and people make the mistake that they are.

Yeah - I have SegaCD experience, and the ones I worked on weren't nearly this finicky. I took some pics of the X'Eye though - would you mind checking them out, to see if everything is kosher?

http://imgur.com/a/7bZhy

is that sketchy wiring on the bottom normal? (I thought it was custom for a sec - till I saw the pads elevating the wires)

[goodtofufriday]

Have to say i dont see anything to suspect with it. Id check some caps on the board that connects to the dvd laser. They look fine but still may be out. And also try the things I've said before.

[APE992]

I see nothing obviously wrong either but that doesn't mean there isn't damage to a trace or cold solder joint somewhere. I'd start by replacing the capacitors one by one with something of higher quality than what Console5 offers.

No guarantee this will fix the problem and quite honestly I don't think it will but it will extend the life of the rest of the console enough to make it worth your while. Only other thing to do would be to grab a logic analyzer and oscilloscope and start probing around to see if the CD side of things even has any life.

As soon as it boots up without a cart the BIOS is supposed to be loaded in a similar fashion to a cartridge and if the BIOS was freezing I'd have other suspicions but given it doesn't even load it is likely to be a failed part or a broken trace.

[FABombjoy]

I'd start by replacing the capacitors one by one with something of higher quality than what Console5 offers.

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