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Jaguar: Red screen of death on all games...


TheCoolDave

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Hi,

 

I know the Red screen is a bad thing but, it's been packed away for 20 years, and now every game is getting a Red Screen. I even opened a brand new game (yea, it was a football game that was not high value) to try with the same result.

 

I checked the pins with a magnifying glass and some lights, I assure you there are no bent pins or anything of the sort. I even took one of the NES cleaning kits and used parts of it to clean the pins on it to make sure they were getting a solid connection.

 

I opened it and checked the shape of caps and other things on the motherboard, no signs of FAT caps or ones that leaked.

 

What else can I try to fix this and if I am screwed, does anyone troubleshoot these for a "reasonable" price ?

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Clean the cartridge slot and cart edge connector.

I know you said it looks fine but after 20 years of disuse, oxides can build up. Not always visible.

 

Have you checked the PSU? Make sure it's strong and steady.

 

Have you tried it with and without controllers attached?

 

Give the board a good brush and a blast with an air duster or compressor, just to make sure there are no little pieces of shit shorting something out.

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Clean the cartridge slot and cart edge connector.

I know you said it looks fine but after 20 years of disuse, oxides can build up. Not always visible.

 

Have you checked the PSU? Make sure it's strong and steady.

 

Have you tried it with and without controllers attached?

 

Give the board a good brush and a blast with an air duster or compressor, just to make sure there are no little pieces of shit shorting something out.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I had a NES cleaning kit... the one that cart slot cleaner, I cut it into pieces so I can use it on the Jag. I used 91% Isopropyl Alcohol (it's what I have), I used a Q-tips to apply it to the NES cleaner. I would clean the slot, see there was dirt on it, I would clean the connector then reapply with the Q-tip, I kept doing it, like 5-7 times till no signs of dirt. Should I be doing anything else to clean this correctly ? I've been using Brasso to clean my older carts (NES mainly or anything with brass connectors). I'd be tempted to use that but, it would make a big mess.

 

The carts I tried both were cleaned on the edge and polished..

 

As for the power supply, I cant find the original JAG one but, I am using (suggested) Sega 1602-1 power cord. It's been confirmed that would work. I know it works perfectly on the Sega Genesis (was playing Sonic 2 with it the other day). I plan on buying a OEM style at some point.

 

I tried with out a controller attached, same exact result.

 

The other day troubleshooting it, I completely pulled it apart, blew everything out (it really does look new now, no more dust). I even polished the connectors to confirm there is no video connection issues.

 

These are things I have tried already before posting.

 

Any other thoughts to try ? I really want to get this back up and running.

Edited by TheCoolDave
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Are you sure the cartridges are going in straight and level? Admittedly there is not a lot of room to insert them at a slight angle once they pass the little resistive bump but it may be enough the some pins do not make good contact.

 

If you have a soldering iron and a multi-meter short out pin B34 & B35 (front row counting from the left looking at the bottom side of the PCB) of the cartridge port to simulate an inserted cartridge, then measure the voltage from between pins B53/54 (GND, front row right end) and pins B36, B37 and A38 (VCC) to check the cartridge should be getting power (+5V).

 

Finally if you are using a RGB or composite AV cable try it on RF with the AV cable removed, just in case there is a short in it that is causing a problem. If none of those point to a solution then unless you have access to another Jag to check your carts are working (although it would seem unlikely that they all have issues) it sounds like it it would be a highly difficult problem to solve.

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Okay I get the red screen on several games. There is no pattern to it- totally random.

 

What I do is fold up a small piece of card and push this down the back or front of the cart when it is in place.

 

Solves the problem every time.

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Are you sure the cartridges are going in straight and level? Admittedly there is not a lot of room to insert them at a slight angle once they pass the little resistive bump but it may be enough the some pins do not make good contact.

 

If you have a soldering iron and a multi-meter short out pin B34 & B35 (front row counting from the left looking at the bottom side of the PCB) of the cartridge port to simulate an inserted cartridge, then measure the voltage from between pins B53/54 (GND, front row right end) and pins B36, B37 and A38 (VCC) to check the cartridge should be getting power (+5V).

 

Finally if you are using a RGB or composite AV cable try it on RF with the AV cable removed, just in case there is a short in it that is causing a problem. If none of those point to a solution then unless you have access to another Jag to check your carts are working (although it would seem unlikely that they all have issues) it sounds like it it would be a highly difficult problem to solve.

 

I pretty sure they that they are straight and level. As I said, I checked the pins and slot with a magnifying glass with great detail. If I had small tools I would polish each pin one by one. There is nothing sitting at the bottom of them.

 

I'll pull it apart again and take a look over those pins to see if there is any issues.

 

I am using a S-Video cable. It was a $35 cable because I wanted to get the right cable.

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Okay I get the red screen on several games. There is no pattern to it- totally random.

 

What I do is fold up a small piece of card and push this down the back or front of the cart when it is in place.

 

Solves the problem every time.

 

Tried that about 10 different ways, cardboard in front, back, pushing back, pushing forward, 1/2 way out and pushing...every way I could think of, no change. :(

 

I guess I'll add it to my list of consoles to open up tonight while watching the World Series (Go Sox !)

Edited by TheCoolDave
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OK, I have tried everything. I have gone cap by cap, with a high grade maginfiying glass, Checked every one for signs of damage or leaks... Nothing. I tried cleaning the cart slot again. Still nothing. Tried to put slight pressure towards the front and back, no change. Tried 4 different carts all cleaned, no change.

 

Does anyone know who fixes these ? As long as it's not too expensive, I'd be willing to ship it out to someone fix.

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It is. Expensive. Replacing the cart connector is difficult and very invasive - no guarantee that you yill not make things worse. I have a Jag waiting for me to build up courage...

 

But there is another trick. When you push in the cart, pull it out ever so slightly. A 1/4 of a mm or so. Then power it on and pray. Rinse and repeat.

 

 

Works on my twitchy one too.

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It is. Expensive. Replacing the cart connector is difficult and very invasive - no guarantee that you yill not make things worse. I have a Jag waiting for me to build up courage...

 

But there is another trick. When you push in the cart, pull it out ever so slightly. A 1/4 of a mm or so. Then power it on and pray. Rinse and repeat.

 

 

Works on my twitchy one too.

 

I don't think it's the cart slot.. It looks fairly clean and there is no bent pins. I think it's something else. I tried this trick, many different ways, no matter what I do, every game shows the red screen.

 

I'm staring to wonder if i should just attempt to find another one....

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Okay I get the red screen on several games. There is no pattern to it- totally random.

What I do is fold up a small piece of card and push this down the back or front of the cart when it is in place.

Solves the problem every time.

Thanks for the cardboard idea! definitely will try that next time.

 

Is there som e other known workaround other than putting credit card or cardboard behind cart for this issue? I don't have any issues with skunk, but the game carts are very sensitive to this to the point I just give up on holding the cart in precise angle and just don't use it for gaming as it's too much stress...

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I've given up on this console. I've put in over 5 hours into trying to get this working and still is the same result

 

It's going to be in my console parts, or be sold on eBay for a repair option for someone. I'm on the hunt for another one. Sigh... it's going to have to wait a bit as it's not in the budget and they are expensive now (I could buy a Xbox one S AND a PS4 for the cost of one complete Jaguar).

 

Sigh...

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That's a bummer.... :(

 

 

Well, all is NOT lost.... I just found out, this was NOT my primary Jaguar from 20 years ago. It was an extra one that someone gave me about 20ish years ago. They had a problem so they didn't want to deal with it and just gave it to me. I bubble wrapped it (as I did with all my non used consoles), and it sat on a shelf in the basement...

 

My mother sent me a text this morning, she found my old consoles and in that stack, there is a Jag... this one worked flawlessly as I owned it from brand new...

 

I should be getting it this weekend... :)

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So a update to this thread. The Jag in question here, will be sold as a parts unit. I was able to grab my OLD consoles from my mothers house...

 

Things I got.... SNES (yellowed BAD but works), A NES with Mike Tyson's punch out in the system (I ended up buying this game on ebay 3 weeks ago because I wanted to play again), A SNES Super wild card (a backup system for SNES), A Sega Saturn, a Panasonic 3DO, An Atari Jaguar w/10 carts, and my NeoGeo AES...

 

When I pulled the Jag out of the box, it still had the Tempest 2000 cart in the drive with about 20 years of dust on the console. So dusted away, blew out the cart slot and turn her on....

 

She works perfect... So I now have a working Jaguar !

 

Funny thing, I actually have 3 Jag CD games, brand new sealed, I was planning on getting it at one point but never did... Now that they are $500+, unless I find one in a yard sale or snip an auction...I'll never have one. I'm not willing to pay that much for it...

 

Don't ask, they are not for sale. I'll keep them sealed as a collectable. :)

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