Super Nintendo not working properly

Death to NiCad battery technology! Brasso is indeed an abrasive, more specifically, it is a mild solvent and an extremely fine abrasive.
Little did I know that it can also polish out scratches in CDs!

I've only really had experience with Silvo back in the day when I got to polish some silver. When did all my cutlery turn to plastic? :congratulatory:

 

So I tested each of the pins like suggested, no broken connections

 

Lemon juice gets most of the leakage from batteries to come off. Juice + toothbrush

 

Then you're beyond the point where anyone can suggest what the problem is, and at the point where you need to start fault finding yourself.

If you don't have it already, I'd suggest a good background of electronics knowledge, in particular learn the basics of how a computer circuit operates. Then you'll be better equipped (well, mentally - you still need the gear! :wink-new to start probing.

In general, always make sure the PSU is working correctly UNDER LOAD. Then you can start checking there's a clock, that sending a reset starts the CPU and gives some activity on the data lines etc.

Whilst from a normal point of view, it could well be an uneconomical repair, it's a good machine to keep hold of and learn with!

 

I used vinegar. But I spoke with people using lemon juice. One even used ketchup!!
Does lemon juice have some extra cleaning properties?

 

Ohhh ketchup has vinegar in it. That's why I love it! Beats tomato sauce hands down! :congratulatory:
Vinegar is good to have around for fish and chips too.

Edit: Then again, lemon is good with fish and chips.
Reckon tartare sauce would remove corrosion?
The theme seems to be anything that tastes good on fish and chips should clean away corrosion right?

 

Can't really help you expand the list mate. In my region of the world Fish&Chip is usually not in the menu. We have Poutine here though.
But I expect Cola would work too.

 

dammit want a fish butty and peas now

 

Sorry if reviving this old thing is against the rules but I remembered I still have this console and had a little bit of time last night so opened it up again and took some photos.
serge85 has a similar problem with his Snes Jr. which unfortunately he wasn't able to fix yet
My Snes is SNSP-CPU-1CHIP-01 as TriMesh identified

Only thing I've really done was try some more games, the ones that actually show video output when turned on
Flintstones Treasure of Sierra Madrock
Bubsy
Tetris and Dr. Mario
Jungle Book
Aladdin
Kirby's Ghost Trap

Every single one freezes soon after I turn the console on, and before any sound is being played. I tried with both Multi-out to RGB input on TV and the RCA to RF cable

I decided to post this one photo- if you look at the area around the Multi-out (12 pin) it almost looks like the board has started to melt from the heat or could that be normal. I wish I had brought the SNES with me but will check it out tomorrow. I wonder if I should attempt to de-solder it and have a look? Maybe I could try to source the part
Again thank you all for your help



I wish I took some better photos of the top side of the mainboard, the only one of the suspected area is this one


Just another photo of the Audio chip that doesn't seem to want to play

 

Isn't that just flux around the AV socket pins?

 

It could be, I really don't know. Should I be embarrassed? Thank you

 

It's just flux, and very little even
The capacitors look great. They're probably fine.
I can't see any problem with the board from your pics.

Does the console output any sound? Do you have a flash cart to run the SNES test rom?

 

Thanks, I really have no idea
I don't have a flash cart but I'll keep in mind if I get one will definitely try it on the console

 

I'd start by checking to make sure everything is getting the appropriate amount of voltage.

 

I'm quite happy to try but I would need guidance.
I have been watching youtube videos and found this comment, which is what you suggested as well:
GadgetUK164
Black screen of death is going to be one of the following (assuming the board is OK, and cart slot good - bad slot connections can give you a black screen):-
1) Voltage issue - is the 7805 and fuse OK?
2) Dead CPU or PPU.
3) Dead Work RAM.

7805 is the voltage regulator? how would I measure the voltage? I have no experience but willing to learn

I can see on the mainboard under the three terminals from left to right letters I G O, so that's Input Ground and Output

Underneath the SNES the rating is AC 9V 1.3A, would that possibly mean I should be getting 9V on input terminal? (still don't know where to put the multimeter test leads)

 

If the fuse were dead, the SNES would be dead until you replace the fuse. If your system were completely dead, you could simply use the continuity setting on your multimeter to test the fuse.

The 7805 is the voltage regulator. You can put your common (black) probe on the ground pin and red probe to the output if you want to test the output voltage. You may wish to find another place to probe for ground in order to help prevent you from accidentally crossing your probes and/or bridging the pins while measuring.

The short story on the 7805 is that it takes the 9 volts DC from your AC/DC power block and converts it to a steady 5 volts for your Super Nintendo. Thus - 9 for the Input and 5 for the output is what you would get at your voltage regulator.

You can also test to make sure you are getting the proper voltage at the VCC input pins of the chips on your board as well as in the cart slot, but it sounds like you may want to learn a bit more about the general use of a multimeter and circuits before going too far.

 

Thank you for the detailed explanation CkRtech. That's exactly what I need

I have one query related to the voltage measurement- you say the 7805 takes 9v DC and converts to 5v. That makes sense but does that mean I need to set the dial on the multimeter to Volts DC? It's just that on the genuine PAL SNES Power Adapter output is 9v AC. Best to ask and be safe

 

Hey Pikmin,

No problem. For the US power supply, the AC/DC block converts to DC power before feeding into the SNES. If a PAL power adapter for the SNES is supposed to feed in the AC voltage, that is fine - however the chips in the system will run on DC.

Looking at an image of a PAL SNES board, it looks like you have a bridge rectifier in there to help handle your AC/DC conversion.

As a simple starting point, how about setting your multimeter to DC and check the output voltage of the 7805? We're skipping some of the conversion diagnostic, but your system powers up and the 7805 is where things start to "get real."

 

Yes, you need to set it to volts DC. Most things when it comes to electronic circuits relating to a form of computer, which the SNES is, require DC power. The 7805 is a 5v DC regulator. It is there to ensure a smooth steady (within reason) DC current that the rest of the components will utilize. The Power Adaptor having a 9v AC adaptor means that the brick contains the step down transformer from (In your case) 220v AC down to 9v AC, but the bridge rectifier that converts AC to DC, and any other filtering and smoothing before the regulator stage, is contained in the system rather than the power brick. Since bridge rectifiers can pass DC current, you can actually get away with a 9v DC adaptor. Since DC doesn't cycle polarity, the 9v DC will simply go through the path where the diodes allow the current to flow through in that direction and then it will be subject to the same filtering and regulation that it normally would with the AC brick.

The other way around DOES NOT WORK btw. So don't go hooking AC supplies to something that was expecting DC and does not contain a rectifier circuit as the components will not like the AC current they are fed.

EDIT: Addition to ensure clarity and the safety of people and their devices:
The part about feeding DC in lieu of AC only applies in a device that has no actual components that are expecting an AC current with the exception of the rectifier as that converts AC to DC. If something actually does run on AC, it is a very bad idea to feed it DC and can lead to broken devices, fire, or possibly worse.

 

Hey thank you CkRtech and MachineCode
Interesting read for me, will try to measure the output when I get home from work

@ ShaneMcRetro I watched some of your videos on youtube too to learn more about the hardware