SNES Suddenly Has No Video

[Tempest]

I was testing out my SCART switch today and everything seemed to work ok, but when I went back through to do one final test I noticed my SNES wasn't outputting video or sound even thought it had earlier.  I tried a different cart and still the same issue.  I even tried it on S-Video instead of RGB but nothing.  All I get is the power light going on and a flash of light like it's going to switch to video but nothing.  My TV seems to indicate that it has no signal.  I tried a different cable as well but same issue. 

 

All I can guess is that my SNES has fried something or maybe the video port went bad?  Either way, is there anything else I can check before buying a new SNES?  If not, does anyone have a cheap NTSC SNES?  I have a nice case already I can use, so it doesn't have to be in good shape, just working.

[Bratwurst]

It is possibly the video amp chip, which could be replaced but would require surface mount soldering. Super Nintendo systems have a reputation for just suddenly dying though, imo it's the earlier versions with the independent sound module. Failed PPUs and CPUs.

 

If you get a replacement board you'll have to make sure it's the same revision as the old one because nearly all of them had different mounting in their respective housing.

[Tempest]

8 minutes ago, Bratwurst said:

If you get a replacement board you'll have to make sure it's the same revision as the old one because nearly all of them had different mounting in their respective housing.

Huh.  Interesting.

 

Is there a way to tell what's dead through a physical inspection?

[Tempest]

Looks like I have a sns-cpu-apu-01.  So I have to get the exact same model for it to fit in my case?

[Bratwurst]

47 minutes ago, Tempest said:

Is there a way to tell what's dead through a physical inspection?

Not really, unless there's an obviously blown chip with a hole in it, you pretty much have to probe the various output pins of the chips with a multimeter and oscilloscope.

 

Looks like you got a later version (1995) of the SNES that still utilized separate CPU and PPU chips, right before Nintendo consolidated everything into the 1-chip units. I'm not knowledgeable enough to tell you that yes, you absolutely must get another APU-01 system to get the replacement PCB to fit your old housing, but I know you can't get a SHVC-CPU-01 (1990) board to swap with a SNS-CPU-GPM-02 (1993), as an example.

[Tempest]

Turns out my wife, who is decidedly NOT a gamer picked up a SNES when they were clearing them out when she was in college.  She's had this SNES sitting in our closet with some boxed games since I've known her and she never mentioned it.  I'm going to dig it out tonight and see what happens.  Hopefully it's a one chip!

[AtariBrian]

8 minutes ago, Tempest said:

  She's had this SNES sitting in our closet with some boxed games since I've known her and she never mentioned it.  

That is crazy lol.

[HoshiChiri]

On 3/16/2020 at 12:26 PM, Tempest said:

Turns out my wife, who is decidedly NOT a gamer picked up a SNES when they were clearing them out when she was in college.  She's had this SNES sitting in our closet with some boxed games since I've known her and she never mentioned it.  I'm going to dig it out tonight and see what happens.  Hopefully it's a one chip!

Of all the things not to bring up!

 

Anyway- I'd open up your system & just start taking bits off & cleaning them. My SNES did a similar thing awhile ago- I even bought a replacement deck to try and fix it, but neither output video (it wasn't the cable, I checked it on my N64). I just started messing with pieces- why not, if it's not working? It randomly sprung back to life after about an hour & it's been fine since. I wasn't paying too much attention, so I don't know if I managed to swap the right components or just cleaned the right connection- but it certainly couldn't hurt anything to just poke its guts awhile.

Edited March 18, 2020 by HoshiChiri

[Tempest]

1 hour ago, HoshiChiri said:

Of all the things not to bring up!

 

Anyway- I'd open up your system & just start taking bits off & cleaning them. My SNES did a similar thing awhile ago- I even bought a replacement deck to try and fix it, but neither output video (it wasn't the cable, I checked it on my N64). I just started messing with pieces- why not, if it's not working? It randomly sprung back to life after about an hour & it's been fine since. I wasn't paying too much attention, so I don't know if I managed to swap the right components or just cleaned the right connection- but it certainly couldn't hurt anything to just poke its guts awhile.

Huh, I'll have to try that and see.

[Atariboy]

If it was bought new on clearance, chances are it's a SNES Mini. A 1-chip design, but not a transplant candidate for a system with the original style of casing.

[Tempest]

1 hour ago, Atariboy said:

If it was bought new on clearance, chances are it's a SNES Mini. A 1-chip design, but not a transplant candidate for a system with the original style of casing.

I don't think it's a mini.

[0078265317]

I remember seeing jrs  on sale at toysrus in 1996 for 40 bucks new.

[Atariboy]

It didn't even come out until the fall of 1997.

[Tempest]

I still haven't been able to get to it yet (lots of other stuff going on right now), but she's sure its a regular SNES not a JR.

[Tempest]

Turns out it's an SNES SNS-CPU-RGB-02 not a one chip,  but it works and is in mint condition so that's all that counts.

[dafa_123]

I had a SNES with a black screen and no sound. D1 was dead. Replaced it and the image and sounds came back. If you have a meter, you can check if you have power past D1.

[Tempest]

6 hours ago, dafa_123 said:

I had a SNES with a black screen and no sound. D1 was dead. Replaced it and the image and sounds came back. If you have a meter, you can check if you have power past D1.

Where is D1 on the circuit board?  Is it labeled?

[dafa_123]

7 hours ago, Tempest said:

Where is D1 on the circuit board?  Is it labeled?

It depends on the board version that you have. On mine, it's under the metal shield next to VA1 and between the voltage regulator and a very large capacitor.

Edited April 7, 2020 by dafa_123

[Tempest]

Ok that's a start.  I'll take a look.