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Help identify (and fix?) strange Super Nintendo hardware error
Edd
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey folks,
I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what's causing this video output problem from my SNES. This below is what it looks like:
Without a cartridge in, those bars are stable. With a cart, there's some distortion and oscillation, but no proper image or sound suggesting a game underneath it all. Fortunately, we can rule out the external connections as the source of the problem. I have a second, verified-working SNES on which I was able to test the cartridge, composite cables, and power supply. All three worked flawlessly on the same input of the same TV. I can also say that the cartridge slot is free of any obstructions.
This is the first time in a long time that I've attempted to boot up this SNES. It's been at least a year since I've used it, and since then it's been moved, so it's possible there was some kind of physical trauma I don't know about.
So, what do we think? Any theories?
I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what's causing this video output problem from my SNES. This below is what it looks like:
Without a cartridge in, those bars are stable. With a cart, there's some distortion and oscillation, but no proper image or sound suggesting a game underneath it all. Fortunately, we can rule out the external connections as the source of the problem. I have a second, verified-working SNES on which I was able to test the cartridge, composite cables, and power supply. All three worked flawlessly on the same input of the same TV. I can also say that the cartridge slot is free of any obstructions.
This is the first time in a long time that I've attempted to boot up this SNES. It's been at least a year since I've used it, and since then it's been moved, so it's possible there was some kind of physical trauma I don't know about.
So, what do we think? Any theories?
0
Posts
That's essentially just "get a new SNES", which isn't the easiest (or cheapest) thing to do.
It's at least worth opening it up and eyeballing the inside, even if the OP isn't that electronically inclined.
Busted caps tend to be obvious as they can be leaking. There's plenty of resources online about how/what to replace them with. If it's nothing obvious, at all, and they don't know/want to bust out a multimeter and such, then yeah, it's basically time for a new SNES and sell that one as scrap (with or without swapping the shells if the new one has one and it is in better shape).