N64 broke my TV, please help.

Hello all,

I purchased an old N64 at a goodwill a few days ago with a desire to restore it. It was filthy, it looked like someone had poured soda over it and left in in a basement for ten years.
I brought it home and scrubbed it inside and out. I used soap and water on everything, including the board and let dry for two days. I then plugged it in to test and nothing, the light didn't come on at all. I then tried it with an N64 power adapter I knew worked, still nothing. Then I plugged in my other N64 that did work into that working power supply and now that didn't work either.
After extensive back and forth I realized it probably surged the power strip I have everything plugged into.
I have 8 systems and my tv(36" Sony Trinitron) plugged into a power strip, which is then plugged into a single outlet surge protector.

But here is my problem. Now my TV looks like this:
http://i.imgur.com/2ODj7e4.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/YPYUo2H.jpg

I checked all my systems and they still seem to work.

Any help on what exactly I did and what I can do to fix it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
- John

 

Unplug the TV for at least 10 minutes, then when you turn it on again it should degauss.

 

You don't wash electronics with soap and water. Take the plastics off and give them a scrub - fine. Not the PCB, though. You would probably have been better off plugging the console in and seeing if it worked first.

A single outlet surge protector may not be rated for multiple devices. Get a surge protected multi-socket extension.

Anyway, plug your television in on its own to start off - unplug all other devices. And make sure there's no magnetic source nearby. Does it still look the same? It looks like either you've put a magnetic source (unshielded speaker etc.) near the television, or it needs degaussing.

 

could happen if one of the video lines was shorted to a voltage line.

 

Hey guys, thanks for all the help.

I unplugged everything and plugged just the TV into the wall. I waited a couple hours and turned it on, same result. I didn't have anything magnetic next to it either. So I think my next step is to get a degaussing coil.
I just wish I knew what could have caused it in the first place.

 

Did you actually scrub the PCB with soap and water?

 

Yes

 

Water damages capacitors, even if it's dry it still damages components.

 

Soap is the last thing you want around electronics, or anything else metallic, really. It basically eats everything it touches.

If you clean a PCB with a soap-water solution, you will still leave a light residue of the soap behind in various pockets. The only thing you could do to get the soap off is rinse it off thoroughly with water. Of course, water isn't exactly an electronics best friend either (or maybe their relationship is like a love-suicide pact that's been unrequited for 20 years, great for them.. perhaps.. but always bad for you).

As HEX1GON mentioned, you run a great risk of damaging integral caps doing that. There may have been a chance that they were completely discharged when you got the N64 depending on how long the console was unplugged, but now that you've cleaned everything -and- turned it back on, it's pretty much a lost cause.

Sorry man. Best thing to do is learn from stuff like this and do your best to prevent it from happening to anyone else.

 

I've washed several PCB's with soap and water and never had a problem; but just because I haven't had a problem(yet) doesn't mean it was ok.

Agreed, learn from my mistakes and move on.

Thanks for everyone's help.

- John

 

Theoratically you could use demineralized water.

I useally clean PCB's with compressed air, vacuum cleaner, a soft (small) paintbrush and if needed some contact spray.

http://www.kontaktchemie.com/KOC/

but I believe you can also use WD40 for cleaning contacts.

 

You think putting oil on your PCBs is a Good Ideaâ„¢? Are you dense? Ever heard of alcohol? You use that to clean PCBs. Specialized PCB cleaners like the ones linked to are mostly useful for cleaning off solder flux and various other chemicals associated with the soldering process.

Of course, using running water and soap was probably the worst idea you could have had. Akin to installing a water-proofing app on your phone and then proceeding to drop it down the toilet.

Chances are you damages some capacitors, possibly shorted some chips and might have ruined your TV by applying high voltage through the video input terminals.

 

Nothing wrong whatsoever with washing circuit boards.

Ok, "normal" soap isn't ideal, but it still shouldn't be an issue.

We regularly wash PCBs and rinse them under the tap at work.

You'll want to make sure its completely dry before powering it up, but water will have no negative effects on electronics whatsoever, unless the device is powered up when wet.

I kinda wish people would stop giving wrong/bad advise.

 

While I agree that it may not be universally bad to wash PCBs with tap water, it may be worth considering what is on the PCB before washing it. A unpopulated PCB? Sure, tap water may not harm it per say. Isopropyl alcohol still seems like a better choice. A populated board? You risk damaging the components on it more so than the board itself.

I personally think the combination of a unpurified cleaning fluid and hard scrubbing is probably a double threat. Tap water is not pure and could contain contaminants that act as a fine abrasive. At that point, you'd actually be finely sanding the board.

 

yeah, that isn't going to happen... lol

populated pcb, its fine, unless there are things like switches, that could get filled with soap and not rinsed properly

 

Are you dense? Pardon?

Alcohol, yes please.. occasionally during weekdays, definitely in the weekends.

Learn to read.. "if needed some contact spray." "you can also use WD40 for cleaning contacts" I'm talking about contacts, it's called Kontakt.. which you could have read on the website if you would have followed the link "In 1960, the first contact cleaner available on the German market was launched: KONTAKT CHEMIE "KONTAKT 60"."

And yes oil is fine.. depending on the oil http://youtu.be/dFyBC33U47M?t=7m

 

I've been washing electronics with soap and water for 20+ years and I never had anything break. What kind of advice is that ?

You just need to know *what* you should not wash. Particularly stuff which has parts with paper or other soluble components should not have water reach them. Also dry stuff up in a "oven" (just make it go through 60-80 Celsius to dry) or dry with a hair drier.

About the degauss problem, the OP probably has that N64 shorted out (it had liquid spill in very likely while it was running) and it is shorted out. The current surge on the working PSU made it generate a magnetic pulse which magnetized the TV tube.

Protip: Avoid testing stuff near your TV.

 

I probably just did it improperly(in a couple different ways). I'm sure there are ways to wash a pcb with soap and water and oils and alcohol. But whatever I did broke my TV. I'm trying to degauss my tv now in an effort to fix it.
Thankfully I tested all my systems(all 8) and they all work fine.
So this has turned into an acceptable loss.
Thanks again everyone.

This is exactly the answer I was looking for. It looked like someone spilled soda or something on it 10 years ago and left it. It probably shorted out back then.

 

I had a TV do this back in the 90's no degauss function so I used a magnet out of a speaker.

Swept it over the screen starting from the centre out to the edges and it work perfect!

O ...

and washing PCB boards is perfectly fine. Even dish washer them on a low heat setting they come up brand new. The only issue is drying them.

Drip drying is no good at all water will remain under anything and everything.

Once washed blow over with air for 2 minutes under and over everything. Leave in the sun / warm place for a day or two.

Then...

Go over with hair dryer or heat gun on low setting. get the board just hot enough so it's uncomfortable to hold for more than 5 seconds and keep it at that temp for 5 - 10 mins. Longer if its a thick or large board.

I've been doing this for years and years, I've never once had an issue!

MVS board, Arcade PCB, PC motherboards, Laptop motherboards, Monitor chassis, arcade wiring looms Joypads and almost all consoles.

It's amazing how many none working Arcade PCB's work after a go in the dishwasher.