Dead N64 PSUs

Includes but not limited to: SNES, Genesis, Sega CD, PlayStation 1, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, Game Gear and I guess the Virtual Boy.

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qwertymodo
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Dead N64 PSUs

Post by qwertymodo » Fri Jul 12, 2013 1:50 am

I just bought an N64 off Ebay, and in the process of testing it, I've managed to fry 2 power supplies. Does anybody have any experience in debugging/repairing them? Or maybe, does anybody know of a common point of failure? I see a fuse, but it seems to be intact. I haven't managed to get it completely apart, because it's held together with double-sided foam tape, and I've been a bit nervous to touch anything, considering the size of those electrolytic caps >_<

Anyway, if it helps, here's what I did, in order:

I started with 2 working N64's, 2 working power cables, and 1 unknown N64

I plugged a working power cable into the unknown N64, no power light, no video output
I plugged the same cable into one of the working N64's, no power light, no video output, cable #1 is dead
Second working cable + second working console powers on fine
Second working cable + first working console powers on fine, first working console didn't get fried
Second working cable + unknown console, no power light, no video output
Second (previously) working cable + 1st working console, no power light, no video output
Second (previously) working cable + 2nd working console, no power light, no video output, cable #2 is dead


I have electronics experience, and I have pretty good tools, I'm just nervous with the high-voltage regions of the board and the big caps, so if anybody has any advice for where to start, that would be really helpful.

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marshallh
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Re: Dead N64 PSUs

Post by marshallh » Sat Jul 13, 2013 6:01 pm

The PSUs will soft reset themselves in short order usually.

I.e. I plugged in a proto cart with a dead short across 3v3/GND. The n64 LED came on for a fraction of a second. Repeated attempts failed.
I unplugged the adapter and removed the cart causing the short.
Waited 5mins and plugged the brick back in. Worked fine.

I have reset using this method at least 10 times so far.
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qwertymodo
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Re: Dead N64 PSUs

Post by qwertymodo » Sun Jul 14, 2013 2:27 pm

Awesome, one of them came back to life. The other one still won't power on, but I had it plugged in this whole time, so I'll unplug it for awhile and check it again. Huge relief, thanks :)

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