Hi all, Although the power light comes on, my SNES won't work straight away (no signal comes out at all according to my TV), but after being powered on for a while (5-10 minutes), it does. Am I correct to suspect the big through-hole capacitor on the power circuit needs replacing?
Could be Capacitor issues on the Snes, on the power supply or could just be cold solder, have you tried using another power supply to test out`?
Thanks for the reply Padoca85 I tried replacing the cap I suspected this afternoon, but the problem remains. Not sure about dry solder joints, as it always comes good with no physical convincing, just some time left powered up. Have done a visual inspection also & can see no bad joints (although that's never for certain). Tested the PSU with another SNES & this problem does not present itself with the alternate machine. I'm still thinking caps issues, but not sure which ones to replace next? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated
Cold solder joints are not usually very visible, sometimes a dull looking solder give it away, but thats not a norm. You can look for caps and solder points around the 7805 voltage regulator area. Could be even an issue with the voltage regulator itself needing to be replaced.
I think you are onto something there! This mod was applied a long time ago, so maybe it has had a detrimental effect on the 7805: http://www.gamesx.com/importmod/snes5060.htm Will pick up a new 7805 tomorrow & try replacing it Thanks again
Well, replaced the regulator today & no improvement. Guess it's time to replace the SMD caps? At least I have 3x spare 7805s now...had to buy 4 of them to meet the $5 minimum purchase...LOL
Try gently tapping around the PCB (say, with the plastic handle of a screwdriver), whilst monitoring the TV picture and sound for any disturbances. This is a good way to check for dry joints. Also have a go at cleaning the Power and Reset buttons, either with a contact/ switch cleaner spray (Servisol or equivalent). Maybe try rapidly pushing the Reset button, and then sliding the Power switch on/off around 30 times (turn the power off first though!). To be honest, it's probably a good idea to blanket replace all the electrolytic capacitors. The SMD types are known for going bad (in other devices), and seeing as the SNES is getting on a bit now, it would make sense to do so. Sometimes (gently) heating up the suspect caps with a hair-dryer will narrow things down a bit, but be extra careful not to overheat the board.
Thanks guys, I've already gone over the power & reset buttons, but alas it didn't help. That's a good point about them going bad in stuff like Amigas & there aren't that many caps in there, so I may as well just replace them while I've got the iron out to re-flow stuff.
