Please help! Dead Saturn!

[EvilKAPOO]

I asked for help on this subject a long while ago and though many people were helpful in solutions, none of it seemed to work. So I'm hoping theres some more electronicallyabibbabble type knowledgable people here to help. I have since gotten a working Saturn and I'm enjoying days gone past in my heaven of Saturn gaming!

So this problem is for my old Model 1 Saturn that no longer works that my nephew wants ever since he played my working Saturn.

Basically it doesn't work except the power led. No cd spinup, no laser tracking, no picture, no sound, and worst of all NO MORE TWINKIES FROM THE CARTRIDGE BASED TWINKIE DISPENCER!!!

ME NEED TWINKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only things on it that seem to work are the previously mentioned power led and this slight hum <_< that eminates from the power supply. There was a US/Jap switch installed at one point that has since been removed due to someone's suggestion as it being the culprit! but to no avail, it duth not workuth!

So if anyone can help me fix this GREAT piece of gaming equipment so I may pass it on to another generation, it would be most appreciated.

EvilKAPOO out!

 

[Curtis]

Do you have a multimeter?

 

[EvilKAPOO]

WOW! Didn't expect a response this quick! but yep I surely do have a multimeter. I just have to find it!

What shall I do with it?

 

[Curtis]

Well, if you know how to use it then use it to test the 5 (or maybe 4) power rails on the power supply. These are the pins that stick out through the translucent white molex connector attached to the power board. Let me know what they read.

 

[EvilKAPOO]

Okay here goes, I'm assuming I'm reading these correctly:

White Red Orange Black G Black G

10.8v 5.6v 3.5v

Thats with the power still going into the mainboard.

White Red Orange Black G Black G

11.3v 6.4v 3.8v

And thats with the power unplugged from the mainboard. All of the voltages fluctuate by +0.1

 

[Curtis]

Hmmm...that sounds right-ish. That 10.8V should really be closer to 9v. This could be causing some problems...or perhaps have prematurely damaged something. The voltages should be pretty solid too - not fluctuating.

This may be the cause of your troubles. If it is, then I'm afraid it'll be very hard to fix as the cause would be difficult to pinpoint, or the damage already done.

I assume you've tried all the usuals - loose cables (particularly the CD drive), bad connections, etc?

Saturns are generally easy/cheap to come by...

 

[EvilKAPOO]

Yessir-e-bob! All the cables seem stabley (word?) situated, all cables firmly in they're respected places.

It's a real bummer how it suddenly stopped working one day. I guess I'll have to buy another for my nephew then if theres no hope for this one.

I really wish I could get this one fixed though cause I've had it since '95 and it's my baby! (hugging Saturn <_< ) I'm struggling whether or not to send it to segaparts to have it repaired for (gulp!

) $55!! Or I just might get two or three used ones off ebay for that amount.

Welp, I thank you for your help and if you have any other suggestions or daring doings that I may enact on the poor deceased, do tell!

 

[AntiPasta]

Cheap. He he. Easy.

NOT!

Here in Holland it is VERY difficult, unless you'd want to pay 115$ for one without games and one pad!

They turn up on Ebay.nl sometimes but the demand is so high that the prices rise through the roof. Heck, I even went to Belgium to buy one, a boxed Model 1 with Sega Rally for +-70$

 

[EvilKAPOO]

70 Ouch! The current working Saturn that I have I got off ebay for $15 about six months ago, system, one controller and necessary hookups, so I was just assuming that if I was lucky enough to get a pretty nice condition Saturn for that price then I might be able to get three more

for the price of getting my old one fixed, if I'm real lucky! But seriously the odds of that happening might be as slim as a jim! <_< I'll still try though! I've seen a few Pal Saturns pop up on ebay.com every now and then pretty cheap! You should try and get one of those if they'd ship to Holland, which is a very nice country by the way! Visited there a few times.

EvilKAPOO out!

 

[THL]

Well, now we see where the hotspots are

Europeans are more into nostalgia

The stock of Saturns on Ebay.de is much higher, but they too go mostly for $50 and higher

 

[Taelon]

Here's what I would do... pick up a cheap Saturn on eBay. Not a complete system w/ cables, controller and whatnot, but just the bare console - sometimes you can find those for real cheap. It doesn't even have to look great, let alone fully work. You should then be able to salvage that new Saturn for its power supply, and put that into your old 1995 Saturn.

As we've pretty much already established the power supply to be faulty, replacing it may bring your Saturn back to life. If not, well, then it's time to let go of it ( sorry

) and use the newly-bought Saturn instead...

 

[AntiPasta]

now wait a minute... doesn't the Saturn just take 12v, 5v and 3.3v DC power? Now that's exactly what a standard ATX power supply outputs through it's mainboard power connector! Of course your Saturn would look ugly as hell (prolly have to drill holes) with some external power supply but hey, fat chance it would work perfectly then...

 

[Taelon]

From what I remember from another thread about power supplies, I'm 95% sure it should be 9V, not 12V ... The 5V is correct, I don't know about the third voltage...

 

[mal]

9v, 5v and some have 3.3v as well.

 

[Curtis]

I don't think we've established that the power supply is at fault. I would think the fault is further "into" the Saturn. The way you describe the problem makes me think that one or more of the power rails isn't working correctly - only part of the system powers up. Since all the rails have some power, the problem may be on he motherboard.

I really do think that your Saturn is dead beyond any hope of resurrection. Any problem you identify is likely to be beyond the ability of anyone to repair.

 

[Taelon]

Originally posted by EvilKAPOO@Mar 31, 2003 @ 08:22 AM

White Red Orange Black G Black G

10.8v 5.6v 3.5v

Thats with the power still going into the mainboard.

White Red Orange Black G Black G

11.3v 6.4v 3.8v

And thats with the power unplugged from the mainboard.

I don't know, Curtis ... Sure does sound an awful lot like the power supply to me, there. The voltages are just too far off.

 

[Curtis]

The only voltage that is really off is the 10.8V - 5.6 and 3.5 sound within reason to me. I've discounted the second set of voltages becuase they were read when there was no load on the power supply (he took it out of the Saturn). You are bound to get some funny readings when you do this.

 

[Taelon]

See, that's where I disagree. The voltages that the power supply creates are supposed to be STABLE, whether under (reasonable) load or no load. A 0.5V difference on the 9V pin (which is already 1.8V too much even under load) is simply too much. Remember that all this juice powers integrated electronics (the processors etc.) and they rely on tightly regulated voltage. Think of today's PCs and their gigahertz CPUs ... if, say, an Athlon XP is rated to run at 1.65V, it will become unstable at maybe 1.7V or 1.75V. Suppose the voltage is 1.9V? Then the thing wont' run at all.

I suppose the older Saturn technology has a *little* more playroom than that, but still, you get my point...

 

[mal]

Nah, I reckon you'd still get some voltage variation between a reading taken with a load and one without a load.

 

[Taelon]

*clouds form around mal, Taelon and Curtis fighting while EvilKALOO stands by, still wondering what to do about his problem*