SNES/SFC black screen troubleshooting

Hey guys

Got a SFC a while back, and recently managed to get a suitable PSU (mega drive 1)

I turn it on with FF6, and all I get is a black screen, no sound. Tried Chrono Trigger, still the same thing. I know its not the AV cable because it works perfectly fine on my gamecube and other SNES.

Anybody got any ideas where to start looking?

 

Are the games and cartridge port clean?

 

The games are clean. Ill probably give the cartridge slot a good cleaning.

 

If all else fails, try leaving it running for a couple of hours (with the TV off), and then press the Reset button a couple of times.

This seemed to do the trick for an old SNES I purchased second-hand, and hadn't been used in a good few years. Probably a capacitor problem I'd guess, or a bad Reset button :shrug:

 

In the UK, a Mega Drive 1 uses, IIRC, 9V DC at around 1.2A, whereas a SNES uses 9V AC. Whilst the SNES should have a rectifier, I'd personally use the right PSU in the first place.

I take it the light actually comes on? If not, check the fuse.

 

I would have used the snes PSU, but unfortunately its a super famicom, not a SNES.

The power light turns on. Is there a way to test the caps?

 

Only the PAL uses AC adaptor the SFC is DC 10v 2000ma or a 9v DC 1000ma will work. AC adaptor will kill a SFC snes

 

Normally you'd have to pull each one out and test it on an ESR (capacitor) meter, but those things cost a fair bit.
Your best option would be to blanket replace all of them. Shouldn't cost any more than $10, but worth a try as a last resort.

Also double-check that the Multi-Out connector is not corroded. The surface of the connector should be nice and shiny. If you get a momentary 'flash' or picture disturbance on the screen when you power up, I'd assume it's ok.
Try manually selecting the A/V input incase it is some sort of auto-switching problem.

 

When you say kill, would a black screen be one of the symptoms?

 

Ah yeah, then that's true - you shouldn't use a SNES one. I was confused by the title.

I'd check the +5V reading on a chip (say a logic chip). An LED will be more forgiving than chips if you're getting too much voltage.

 

Perhaps. Might blow some kind of fuse or voltage regulator? I don't know. Still SFC and PAL SNES by all means do not use the same power adapter. They aren't the same connector jack either, if you look real close. Slight different size most people wouldn't tell apart from a quick glance.

Blank screen could also mean your TV doesn't support NTSC though.

 

Do SFC's lack the rectifier that is in the Euro/US consoles?

 

Ok fixed one snes today by lifting pin 4 on the cic chip and puting the lifted pin on gnd and most games play.

 

SNES has a fuse on upper left on its motherboard. Sometime when this fuse fry and after replace it, SNES won't works. Red LED is lighting up but no image, no sound and black screen with an scart RGB cable.

I saw this behave on many SNES from difrents zones and never found a clue. I have a bunch of this kind of SNES mobo. And the oddity it's these dead SNES work partialy with a Tototek's flash card. SNES display the multi ROMs menu but don't run games on flash card. black screen or glitchs with no sound. If someone has and idea for returning these SNES to life, I listen it ! ;-)

 

Fuse blown = no red led. No power.

Things that might cause it to not boot in the order of likeliness:

1- Faulty cartridge slot connector. Also it's possible that there's metallic debris on the connector, such as steel wool (lmao there's people who attempt such a material to clean their systems.. Of course it's not gong to work after the said attempt)

2- Faulty motherboard (traces could be cut due to corrosion)

3- Faulty chips. (The console will not boot cartridges if the sound module isn't working)

I recommend you to obtain an SNES/Super Famicom test cartridge (don't need to be an original one of course) and use it to test the console.

It will boot as long the RAM, CPU and main graphic chips are working.

http://cheats.ign.com/objects/496/496298.html

I've had an botleg one since 1995. It saved me thousands of hours of head scratching while repairing SNES back when it was the mainstream console. :thumbsup:

 

Nintendo Problems

If you are having problems with your Nintendo consoles, you should always try to repair them on your own, because this can save you a lot of time and money.

Nintendo Repair Shop
www.nintendorepairshop.com
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