C64 problems

[Pyromaniac605]

I've had my commodore 64 literally a few hours and i was loading up "Summer Games II" then the screen froze the background wasn't changing colour so i reset the system and now the power LED doesn't light up and i just get a black screen does anyone know what is wrong and how to fix it. And also i know it worked before because i was playing other games on it before that.

 

-Darren-

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

I've had my commodore 64 literally a few hours and i was loading up "Summer Games II" then the screen froze the background wasn't changing colour so i reset the system and now the power LED doesn't light up and i just get a black screen does anyone know what is wrong and how to fix it. And also i know it worked before because i was playing other games on it before that.

 

-Darren-

 

 

Damn man you have a lot of issues! Hardware and software I mean................good luck.

[Pyromaniac605]

<sarcasm> Thanks alot that is really helpful. </sarcasm>

 

-Darren-

[Rybags]

No power LED... check the fuse on the motherboard. Check the power supply output voltages.

Edited March 29, 2010 by Rybags

[Pyromaniac605]

Well im pretty sure the voltage output is right because i had no trouble with it earlier. I will check the fuse.

 

-Darren-

 

PS: Any idea how to re-attach a key? because the 5 is broken off it seem they must have had cheap plastic because almost all the C64s i see are missing a key.

[Pyromaniac605]

<snip>

Edited March 29, 2010 by Pyromaniac605

[Pyromaniac605]

After a look inside nothing appears to be burnt out or broken at all.

 

-Darren-

Edited March 29, 2010 by Pyromaniac605

[zylon]

This may be yet another case of flaky old power supply cooking another system.

[Rybags]

No power light just doesn't sound right.

 

Then again, a surging PSU could easily blow the LED out.

 

Long shot, but maybe give the actual power switch a test with the aid of multimeter. Something like the 5V input pin to the fuse should suffice... test with the switch in both positions to be sure.

[Pyromaniac605]

There was a problem with the PSU its fixed now though.

-Darren-

Edited March 29, 2010 by Pyromaniac605

[R.Cade]

Well im pretty sure the voltage output is right because i had no trouble with it earlier. I will check the fuse.

 

I love it when people say that it was "just working" as if that matters. Yes, things usually work fine right before they stop.

 

Nothing against you- it's universal.

[Pyromaniac605]

Well im pretty sure the voltage output is right because i had no trouble with it earlier. I will check the fuse.

 

I love it when people say that it was "just working" as if that matters. Yes, things usually work fine right before they stop.

 

Nothing against you- it's universal.

 

It turned out that the wires inside the PSU are not insulated (MAJOR WTF-AGE) and that caused some of the wires to spark and burn out so we gave the wires a clean reflow the solder and it worked fine.

 

-Darren-

[+wood_jl]

It turned out that the wires inside the PSU are not insulated (MAJOR WTF-AGE) and that caused some of the wires to spark and burn out so we gave the wires a clean reflow the solder and it worked fine.

 

If you don't mind my asking, how did you get the PSU open? Did you take a hammer and chisel? A saw? Was it difficult? I thought they were full of epoxy and not serviceable. Perhaps you have one of the earlier PSU units before they did this? Or am I wrong, C64 PSU are NOT full of epoxy? I may be confusing this with Atari-8. I have the C64 PSU that's black and ribbed like a condom.

[Herbarius]

It turned out that the wires inside the PSU are not insulated (MAJOR WTF-AGE) and that caused some of the wires to spark and burn out so we gave the wires a clean reflow the solder and it worked fine.

 

If you don't mind my asking, how did you get the PSU open? Did you take a hammer and chisel? A saw? Was it difficult? I thought they were full of epoxy and not serviceable. Perhaps you have one of the earlier PSU units before they did this? Or am I wrong, C64 PSU are NOT full of epoxy? I may be confusing this with Atari-8. I have the C64 PSU that's black and ribbed like a condom.

 

Normally they are brown or white... From what I've read they're "only" like half-full of epoxy, and you can actually manage to open them, although they're not intended to be opened.

[Mirage]

Best to get a higher-quality serviceable power supply before worse happens. Those non-servicable brick C= power supplies are crap. Both the brown (black) and white ones.

[Herbarius]

Best to get a higher-quality serviceable power supply before worse happens. Those non-servicable brick C= power supplies are crap. Both the brown (black) and white ones.

Any hints on how/where to get those? I've looked online at the same shop I bought my S-Video and XM1541 cable but they don't have any power supplies. I googled and only found one guy who builds them on request only, so that'll be out of my price range.

[SoulBlazer]

Does anyone know what kind of power supply that the C=128D had? That's the Commodore I had and loved as a kid, and we got it right after it came out, Christmas of 1985. I used that system probaly every day for over five years and still used it quite a lot until I went to college in 1994. All this talk of bad power supplies makes me wonder if Commodore had that issue fixed by that point. (Like with the disc drive, the internal one was very good. Heck, the 128D was the best computer they made of the Commodore line, IMHO.)

[Shephda]

The 128D has a built in power supply and is totally serviceable IF you know electronics.

The flat 128 used a "brick" like the 64 but with a square plug.

Pin Description

1 +5VDC 2.5A

2 n/c

3 9VAC 1.0A

4 GND Ground

5 9VAC 1.0A

[Shephda]

For those of you who are tech savvy, here are the answers to most of your questions:

http://www.zimmers.net/anonftp/pub/cbm/schematics/computers/

[Herbarius]

All this talk of bad power supplies makes me wonder if Commodore had that issue fixed by that point.

 

I don't think it's an issue with the power supplies themselves, but it's because they're old now. And also because the Think about it: Most seem to still function now, like 25 years later, so they can't be that bad.

 

Actually, while googling for a replacment, I found that (at least on German C64 boards) there seems to be some controversy around the alleged "bad" power supplies - some say they're really crappy, other say that's all BS and they're actually quite good.

[Mirage]

 

I don't think it's an issue with the power supplies themselves, but it's because they're old now. And also because the Think about it: Most seem to still function now, like 25 years later, so they can't be that bad.

 

Actually, while googling for a replacment, I found that (at least on German C64 boards) there seems to be some controversy around the alleged "bad" power supplies - some say they're really crappy, other say that's all BS and they're actually quite good.

 

I've personally seen them take down C64's when they blow without warning, so no, they are crappy. Whether it's because they're old or not is a moot point since they're all old now! If you want to take the chance, be my guest. It's not like C64's are rare or anything. Still, I hate to see more lost since they don't make them anymore.

[Pyromaniac605]

It turned out that the wires inside the PSU are not insulated (MAJOR WTF-AGE) and that caused some of the wires to spark and burn out so we gave the wires a clean reflow the solder and it worked fine.

 

If you don't mind my asking, how did you get the PSU open? Did you take a hammer and chisel? A saw? Was it difficult? I thought they were full of epoxy and not serviceable. Perhaps you have one of the earlier PSU units before they did this? Or am I wrong, C64 PSU are NOT full of epoxy? I may be confusing this with Atari-8. I have the C64 PSU that's black and ribbed like a condom.

 

No epoxy just a few phillips head screws and my PSU is sort of a trapezoid kind of shape its really strange.

 

-Darren-

[Pyromaniac605]

<snip>

 

-Darren-

Edited March 30, 2010 by Pyromaniac605

[Herbarius]

It turned out that the wires inside the PSU are not insulated (MAJOR WTF-AGE) and that caused some of the wires to spark and burn out so we gave the wires a clean reflow the solder and it worked fine.

 

If you don't mind my asking, how did you get the PSU open? Did you take a hammer and chisel? A saw? Was it difficult? I thought they were full of epoxy and not serviceable. Perhaps you have one of the earlier PSU units before they did this? Or am I wrong, C64 PSU are NOT full of epoxy? I may be confusing this with Atari-8. I have the C64 PSU that's black and ribbed like a condom.

 

No epoxy just a few phillips head screws and my PSU is sort of a trapezoid kind of shape its really strange.

 

-Darren-

To me that sounds like its the older style PSU then and had been opened and serviced before, and then closed again with screws. However, that's speculation, especially without seeing pictures.

Edited March 30, 2010 by Herbarius

[Mirage]

Yeah, that doesn't sound like the typical epoxy filled ribbed PS. Wouldn't mind seeing a photo (with flash!) too. They had different style power supplies in other countries too, so something other than the typical crapola C= PS may be more common elsewhere.