Super Famicom Burn-in Test Results

Hello.

I bought a Super Famicom from eBay. Complete in box with two controllers and all paperwork, no yellowing or scratches so I assumed this would be perfectly functioning. On trying it I have noticed a fair few games have garbled graphics and the controller buttons keep swapping. For instance B button will become start and then stop working. This is quite random though.

Checked the burn in test 1.03 and the results show some failures.

What does this mean? Help will be greatly appreciated.

Is it an easy fix or should I look at getting my money back and returning the unit?



Many thanks
Jo

 

1: Reflow vram
2: Replace vram
3: replace cpu
Most likely the cpu but the vram is easier to swap
Check the ribbon cable for the controller ports, oxidation can mess with the inputs.

 

Loving the early 89' SMW sprites

 

So it's really bad news you are saying? I am not capable of doing any of those things.

That's a shame. Not sure what to do about it.

Many thanks

 

if you want replacement parts, i could offer my australian Super Nintendo for parts.

 

Thanks, appreciate it but I should be able to find a cheap one if it comes to that. Still deciding if I should return it. I have started the eBay process, as well as asked around about repairs. It wasn't exactly cheap so it's stressing me out.

 

It is not too uncommon for SNES consoles to have one of the custom chips (SCPU or PPU) fail in some way. My SNES that was bought new in 1994 developed a fault in one of the PPUs that caused vertical garbage lines in sprite cells. Just for no apparent reason it happened. When I looked around for help that's when I found out about the SNES having these issues.

The newer "one chip" consoles might hold up better. But generally speaking it's best to just replace the system with one that is working. While you could potentially fix it with parts from another system you risk damaging the donor parts by removing and installing them. It sucks but there really isn't anything else you can do.

 

I remedied with a new board from a knackered old yellow thing the seller sent me. This thing passed the burn-in test no problem even though the case looked like it had been through hell. Yet the mint condition one had a problem board. Looks can definitely be deceiving when it comes to consoles. Cheers

 

For sure. That's why I've bought a lot of 20 of the ugliest super famicoms. They were shipped by boat and took 6.5 months to arrive. But out of those 20, the burn-in test passed on 19 units. I paid $10 a piece for them including shipping. They've served as donor parts for ~15 EU/USA consoles by now and been more than worth their while