Troubleshooting Flowchart for SEGA Megadrive?

Hi

I was wondering if anybody has some kind of flowchart or a set of steps to go through when troubleshooting Megadrive problems?

I have the official SEGA schematics and manuals that were released online but they are a bit vague for somebody who deosnt have much electrical knowledge. I have multimeter and soldering station and am ready to learn if somebody can provide me with the info.

Thanks a lot.

What do you guys find is the best way to troubleshoot / diagnose a fault with the Megadrive? With starting from the charger, then check Voltage regulators etc.

 

Step 1: Clean everything. Cart slot and all ports.
Step 2: Make sure you use the right power supply and video cables. Sega used a ton of different ones.
Step 3: Have a working console and working game (a clean one) to confirm all connections work.
Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3
Step 4a: If none of the above work check the board for cold solder joints on on the power and video jacks.

There really isn't much to a Megadrive/Genesis to make it work. In my experience these old consoles sometimes get the most from a good cleaning unless someone went in and messed it up, someone used the wrong power supply or extreme moisture was introduced to the system.

 

If you're willing to learn, learn electronics. A sound knowledge is going to teach you far more than just doing one job. Try something like Electronics for Dummies as a starting point... or see if there's a night course at a local college.

 

@irvgotti452 Thanks for the steps. yes ive cleaned the board and cart slot several times and re-soldered the pins on the cart slot too. I was just looking for a more advanced methodology to troubleshoot the problem further really.

@retro yes, i would be willing to learn as it will help me with other things too. Do you have any other material that would explain the basics in a nice easy way? the "Electronics for Dummies" should be a good start.