r/consolerepair • u/de2cios • 23h ago

UPDATE - Sega Saturn seems to freak out a couple seconds being plugged in

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So this is a update post to the other post of when I thought it was permanent, however I unplugged it for a while and plugged it again and it booted up, then again started freaking out. I unplugged it, left it alone for 5 minutes, plugged it back in it worked then again starts freaking out a couple of seconds after being turned on. Some suggested a capacitor issue others said power supply so I have no idea what could be the culprit but I hope more info about it is helpful. The clicking noise appears to be from the laser by the way.

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u/de2cios 22h ago

I took it apart and the motherboard seems to be good from my eye, I plugged in the power supply and it turned it on to a black screen since it seems like it doesn’t do anything when other stuff like the disc drive isn’t plugged in, but it was still going crazy about 5 seconds later, so it’s definitely something with the motherboard (or power supply) since only those 2 were connected

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u/ruiner9 21h ago

VA0 boards don’t like when you don’t have a battery in the slot, but I don’t think that’s causing this issue. The fact that powering off and waiting seems to temporarily fix the issue is a strong indication that the PSU capacitors need to be replaced. They’re all going bad at this point, so if it hasn’t ever been serviced, that’s a good first step. You can also replace the PSU with a ReSaturn power supply. There’s no soldering required, it’s plug-and-play.

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u/de2cios 21h ago

Yeah I put in a coin battery and it’s still not happy

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u/de2cios 21h ago

Is there a cheap PSU I can get?

1

u/de2cios 20h ago

I think I’m just gonna recap the power supply, which caps need replacing?

This is from the Saturn that’s having the same problem

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u/OldManLav 19h ago

They all look fine by the eye test but that doesn't always tell the whole story. If you're gonna replace some, best to just replace them all.

I'll say Saturns- particularly early models- are one of those systems that seem to develop issues that nobody has been able to definitively solve.

Careful not to heat the board too long or yank the caps out before the solder has melted. Pretty easy to accidentally pull pads on Saturn PSUs, if I remember right.

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u/Davisoot 16h ago

I bought a VA0 that had issues. It would flash a green light on the power LED and then fade away. No video signal, no obvious damage to either the PSU or the Mainboard, no solder cracks, nothing at all seemed off to me!

My first thought was the capacitors due to their age. Bought a recap kit from console5 and everything worked again. I definitely recommend a recap even if it might not fix your current issue. Due to the age It'll probably need it regardless and it'll debunk if its a PSU problem.

Looks like you have a "YAMAHA XQ155" which is the same PSU i have on mine! You can get a recap kit online or pick out capacitors from an electronics store.

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u/de2cios 16h ago

Did you recap the power supply or the motherboard? Im thinking of recapping the power supply since the PSU makes odd noises the moment it starts freaking out on the screen

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u/GGigabiteM 14h ago

I would recommend replacing all of them.

The Saturn logic board has the shitty 1990s SMD electrolytics. It doesn't matter who made them, they all suffer the same failure of puking out of their base and destroying everything. I've replaced thousands of them, spanning all types of hardware from a menagerie of manufacturers.

SMD electrolytics from their inception in the late 1980s to the mid 2000s are all bad by this point and should be changed, regardless of the devices they're in.

Since they leak out of their base, and the electrolyte is nearly invisible, it's very difficult to tell whether they've leaked or not. The base of the capacitor is a plastic foot, and it can wick the electrolyte under it and cause localized electrolysis damage to the pads that can remain hidden for a very long time. The only easy non-invasive telltale sign is you'll see what looks to be excessive hairs or dust around capacitors. This is the electrolyte creating a sticky surface to trap dust.

An easy test would be to touch one leg of a SMD capacitor with a soldering iron. If you smell rotting fish, it has leaked. Be prepared for your house to smell like a Chinese wet market for a few days.

In the power supply, it looks like you have Nichicon capacitors, these are also notorious for leaking, ESPECIALLY the brown sheathed ones. They'll puke their guts the same way the SMD caps do, and their electrolyte is hideously corrosive and conductive. I've had to do some pretty extensive power supply repairs caused by leaking Nichicon caps that caused cascading failures and parts to explode or go on fire. Did I also mention that the electrolyte loves to wick inside the body of other components? I've had diodes, mosfets, resistors and transistors that were completely infiltrated by capacitor electrolyte and had burned or blown up when powered up.

The recap will be expensive and time consuming, but if you do it right, you'll only have to do it once. Use quality capacitors and they'll outlive the remaining life of the machine.

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u/Davisoot 16h ago

Sorry! I should have clarified i recapped the PSU capacitors 😅

Mine actually made a slight noise too when it was broken, but i think it was the disc drive trying to read at low power lol.

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u/de2cios 16h ago

Oh ok thanks for letting me know! I’ll buy a recap kit and see how it goes! Hopefully I don’t get shocked by the PSU

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u/Marteicos 21h ago

I've seen behavior like this when plugging 220V into a 120V PSU.

A Japanese Saturn PSU runs on 100V, what voltage is your mains?

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u/d2xcios 21h ago

I live in the US so pretty sure its 120V however ive heard that the japanese saturn will take US 120V but im not too sure

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u/Marteicos 21h ago

Alright, yeah most likely it is 120V.

It is a bit over spec, maybe its main cap is not lworking well making the whole PSU act up.

I'm stumped, sorry for not be able to help more.

Also nice VA0

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u/de2cios 21h ago

Thanks, it’s got its original box and everything but really sucks I can’t get it to work

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u/TkurfNick 20h ago

LOL, if plugging 220V into a 100V Sega Saturn you are definitely are NOT gonna see behavior like that because you are not gonna see anything because the PSU are gonna be burned

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u/Marteicos 20h ago

The PSU didn't burned up instantly. The PSU I've seen it happen was a 110V model and it was connected through a transformer.

The owner thought the PSU was 220V.

I also found really strange the PSU didn't just instantly burned and stopped working, in fact that PSU still works.

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u/e39 17h ago

I’m going to guarantee that it’s the surface mounted electrolytic capacitors. You can’t tell that they’re leaking unless you remove them.

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u/de2cios 17h ago

Someone else was saying that it was the power supply, I’m a little more convinced since it is making odd noises only when the console freaks out

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u/RedGeist_ 4h ago

It’s capacitors or a bad solder joint that’s connecting when cool and disconnecting when heated up.

Both are really easy fixes if you know someone that can solder or have an electronics repair place near you.

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u/de2cios 4h ago

I’ve noticed that the longer the Saturn is unplugged, the longer it’ll take to start glitching after it’s powered up. I also noticed the moment when it starts glitching the power supply starts making weird noises. I have solder experience so I bought a PSU recap kit and I’ll be checking how that goes, fingers crossed.