PS2 Slim HDConnect issue

So I bought a few of the HDConnect kits from maxdiypower, and installed them all fine, but one of them seems to have a very strange issue that I can't quite figure out.

If I screw the PCB to the back of the PS2, it doesn't detect the hard drive.
If I leave it unscrewed and hanging, then it will detect the hard drive 90% of the time.

I think I have narrowed it down to a dodgy ZIF socket on the PCB. I tried reflowing the solder on the tiny pins of the ZIF sockets, but the result is still the same.

Anyone have any idea what might be going on?

 

Try not screwing the pcb down, then wriggling the assembly, see if that also causes issues. If so, check your soldering. I'm guessing the extra stress on the flex-pcb when the HDD pcb is screwed on is enough to break a connection somewhere.
Also, try a HDD PCB from one of the other kits just to be sure.

 

Are you using a sata or ide harddrive? I noticed with mine if i use a sata with the 5v connector it works but if i try a ide hd it doesnt detect the harddrive with the 5v connected. I have to use a seperate power source to power the ide harddrive and disconnect the onboard 5v connection.

 

Good point. Can we assume you're trying with the same HDD on all installations? And just to be sure - it does spin up properly (including "not suspiciously slow") even on the faulty one?

 

Ok I should have been more clear. I have tried 2 different PCB's and they both work fine. I am using a 2.5" SATA drive which also works fine with the other 2 PCB's.

It spins up fine every time. When it works, I hear the drive heads moving.

Ive pretty much ruled everything out except the 2 ZIF connectors. I'm fairly certain one of the pins on it must be making an intermittent connection to the ribbon cable

 

If you're correct: I don't recall if the fpcs in this kit are the one- or two-sided type, but if it's the former - at work we ghetto-fix those by shoving a piece of thin paper in with the cable, or putting a piece of tape on the back. (Better not to let customers see that though )

 

yeah I tried that too lol, didnt work

 

well im totally stumped. I tested each pin on both ZIF connectors, between the PCB and the PS2 motherboard, and they all have continuity. So I literally have no idea whats going on.

 

Its probably just a faulty hd connect. Ask them for a replacement one.

 

yeah I actually messaged the guy on Monday this week, but i've heard nothing back from him yet

 

What modchip are you using to support this hdd ?

 

no modchip, im using free mcboot with the latest OPL

 

ok no need for special bios to support hdd ?

 

No. Like I said, I have 2 other HDConnect PCB's that work perfectly fine. This one just seems to work when it feels like it

 

ok thank you. I will order the kit for FAT ps2 and one for slim and try it!

 

The SATA PCB for the phat PS2 is great, it works perfectly. The slim kit requires pretty advanced soldering skills. So if you're not experienced with soldering small components, then I wouldn't bother with it

 

No problem to solder this! I installed modchip in many consoles.

 

so I did some more testing. I got it to work briefly and discovered that its not a mechanical fault (ie, dry joint etc) it must be a faulty component as I wiggled the board around multiple times and it had no effect. It still seemed to work fine. After 5 minutes, the game froze and it was no longer working again.

Any ideas what components can cause this kind of fault? I assume the SATA chip is fine as I would imagine if it was faulty, then it wouldn't work at all, ever. Can a faulty capacitor/resistor cause this kind of fault?

 

Have you tried this sata board on the other ps-2 hdconnects you did that work? Does it have the same issue? I know you tried other sata board on this one and they work. Also try touching up your solder on the installed flex cables.

 

It was originally meant for a different PS2 but I decided to try it on mine because of the issue. I'm pretty sure the soldering is fine as I've been using my HDConnect for months without any issue