Original XBOX will not power on

[Tidus79001]

There doesn't seem to be a section for the original XBOX here on the AtariAge forumsso I hope the Modern Gaming section is the best place to post this topic..  My original XBOX will not power on.  It worked just fine the last time it was played, but I havent played it in over a year.    Here are the symptoms:

 

- when I press the power button there is no response at all

- pressing the eject button will cause the LED around the eject button to light green for a moment and the fans are heard for a second, but then the system powers back down

 

Not sure what could have have happened, as all was in working order last time it was used.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Most likely if you haven't had anything done to it and it is an earlier model XBOX, then the clock cap has likely leaked and corroded the traces. The main indicator of this issue is the power button not working properly anymore. Depending on the amount of damage it may or may not be costly to repair. Shipping an xbox out is the main cost due to how darn heavy they are.

 

I've not dealt with it myself as I have a 1.6 version and those don't have leaking clock caps but yeah, that is my first guess. Another forum member @eightbit just went through something similar not long ago.

 

 

[Tidus79001]

3 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Most likely if you haven't had anything done to it and it is an earlier model XBOX, then the clock cap has likely leaked and corroded the traces. The main indicator of this issue is the power button not working properly anymore. Depending on the amount of damage it may or may not be costly to repair. Shipping an xbox out is the main cost due to how darn heavy they are.

 

I've not dealt with it myself as I have a 1.6 version and those don't have leaking clock caps but yeah, that is my first guess. Another forum member @eightbit just went through something similar not long ago.

 

 

Would this be a repair job that you would take on if I sent it to you.  Also how to I determine the console version?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

29 minutes ago, Tidus79001 said:

how to I determine the console version?

I can't say this is total truth as I've only physically seen the inside of the 1.6 I have. But this vid seems to offer a few ways to be able to get an idea on which version you may have.

 

 

 

 

[Tidus79001]

10 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

I can't say this is total truth as I've only physically seen the inside of the 1.6 I have. But this vid seems to offer a few ways to be able to get an idea on which version you may have.

 

 

 

 

Based on the manufaucturing date on my console it looks like is is most likely a version 1.1 console.  I just want to ship the console off to someone who can fix it.  Can you do the repair or recommend anyone if you don't work consoles such as the original XBOX?

Edited January 26, 2021 by Tidus79001

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I will answer your email to me on this later when I'm able. It is likely something I can look at yes, but I can't make any promises as again I don't normally work on these.

[Tidus79001]

2 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

I will answer your email to me on this later when I'm able. It is likely something I can look at yes, but I can't make any promises as again I don't normally work on these.

Thanks, I will wait on you reply.  I don't blame you if you don't work on newer consoles since they are aren't so friendly as the older generation that ended with the 16 bit era.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

4 minutes ago, Tidus79001 said:

Thanks, I will wait on you reply.  I don't blame you if you don't work on newer consoles since they are aren't so friendly as the older generation that ended with the 16 bit era.

Well, it depends. I've installed the DCDigital and quite a few other minor mods into my DC and my Xbox 1.6 has a new fan, Xenium mod chip, fully recapped minus the PSU and original LEDs in the power ring changed out so while repair work on the SMD stuff is pretty much out of my wheelhouse, there are things I'm still able to do on them. So again, I'm happy to look at it and see.

 

[Tidus79001]

Just now, -^CrossBow^- said:

Well, it depends. I've installed the DCDigital and quite a few other minor mods into my DC and my Xbox 1.6 has a new fan, Xenium mod chip, fully recapped minus the PSU and original LEDs in the power ring changed out so while repair work on the SMD stuff is pretty much out of my wheelhouse, there are things I'm still able to do on them. So again, I'm happy to look at it and see.

 

I actually have 2 version 1.1 original XBOX consoles.  Now I fear the other one is about to blow up soon as well, but that other one hasn't been turned on in years

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Clock caps on the older models pretty much have all started to leak and cause issues by now. Most people suggest that if you plan to keep using and playing your OG xbox, that the clock cap needs to be removed ASAP to prevent further issues. Only the 1.6 models require the clock cap to be present.

 

[Tidus79001]

1 minute ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Clock caps on the older models pretty much have all started to leak and cause issues by now. Most people suggest that if you plan to keep using and playing your OG xbox, that the clock cap needs to be removed ASAP to prevent further issues. Only the 1.6 models require the clock cap to be present.

 

I should probably get both done. So wonder that crappy capacitors are blowing up hardware for the era.

[eightbit]

In my case it was small deterioration of the power traces. The battery capacitor did not look like it was leaking at all, but something happened there. There are four traces running along the end of the PCB for the power. Two of mine had very very tiny breaks in them in which you needed a magnifying glass to see. Once I realized which were damaged I simply followed the traces to a good soldier point and then repaired (wire patched) the traces to bypass the damage.

 

Before I did this my symptom was that the power button did not work but the eject button would turn it on. And then, randomly (sometimes a minute, sometimes 10 minutes) the machine would turn off. After patching the two corroded/damaged traces it is rock solid. And, the battery cap was removed just to be sure it will not cause any further damage....if even that is what caused this damage to begin with.

Edited January 26, 2021 by eightbit

[Tidus79001]

52 minutes ago, eightbit said:

In my case it was small deterioration of the power traces. The battery capacitor did not look like it was leaking at all, but something happened there. There are four traces running along the end of the PCB for the power. Two of mine had very very tiny breaks in them in which you needed a magnifying glass to see. Once I realized which were damaged I simply followed the traces to a good soldier point and then repaired (wire patched) the traces to bypass the damage.

 

Before I did this my symptom was that the power button did not work but the eject button would turn it on. And then, randomly (sometimes a minute, sometimes 10 minutes) the machine would turn off. After patching the two corroded/damaged traces it is rock solid. And, the battery cap was removed just to be sure it will not cause any further damage....if even that is what caused this damage to begin with.

My eject button gives power for 1 second then all is dead again

[eightbit]

55 minutes ago, Tidus79001 said:

My eject button gives power for 1 second then all is dead again

 

I would say that it is very very likely that the power traces are corroded.

[xenomorpher]

First thing I would do is completely disassemble your Xbox and get rid of the clock capacitor and clean up the mess it's caused.

 

Watch a few videos on YouTube, I recommend The SegaHolic, to see how to disassemble it. There's a video by The SegaHolic where he actually repairs a system with a similar issue. You can use conductive ink/paint to repair the traces if you're not comfortable soldering. Use something like a needle and safety pin to apply after you clean the broken traces and expose them by gently scraping the protective coat until you see that it's shiny. Make sure the ink is WELL MIXED, and let it cure 24 hours to be safe. Make sure the lines are separate from each other so you don't cause a short. I'd also cover it up with something like kapton tape since it's exposed and anything conductive that touches it will cause a short. Solder mask would be the more "pro" thing to do though.

 

Also check to see if any capacitors are bulging. There are three larger ones towards the right hand side of the board close to one of the processors, I think it's the CPU, that can cause shutdown issues. Also check capacitors on the power supply. The thick white stuff is just glue, so don't be alarmed.

 

If you're unsure of something post a pic or two and we'll try to help out.

 

Edit:

You'll need torx 10, 15, and 20 to disassemble it. Here's a guide on ifixit too if you don't want to watch a video:

https://ifixit.com/Guide/Xbox+Disassembly/1308

 

You don't need to remove stuff like the fan, DVD from carrier, etc to just get the motherboard out. If the motherboard isn't coming out, make sure all screws are out, and I read grabbing the heatsink and lifting the front first helps. Again, watching a video helps too.

Edited January 30, 2021 by xenomorpher

[Tidus79001]

Finally got around to getting my original XBOX repaired.  Actually I had 2 original XBOX that I got serviced however only one of the console was having issues but knew the other one due to age would be having capacitor issues as well and only a matter of time before it failed.  I found a really knowledgeable repair person on eBay and sent them to him for repair.  Fortunately the repair cost was very reasonable per console and I was able to ship both consoles for just under $12 each.  Received both of my original XBOX consoles back yesterday and both are working like new as well as nice and clean as if they were new & just taken out the box!

 

 

These are what was found to be issues with the consoles:

• Removed the clock capacitor on both consoles
• The system that wouldn't power on needed several traces repaired due to clock capacitor leakage and needed 5 capacitors replaced.
• The second system did not have much clock capacitor leakage but needed 6 capacitors replaced.

 

The repair job was very thorough and everything in both systems was looked over and extensively tested to ensure both consoles we in proper working order.

 

Very happy to have both of these system running again.  My next project is going to to be swapping out the hard drives in both consoles so that I have backup of them before they fail due to age and make the systems into doorstops.

 

 

[DJ Clae]

It's best to assume your system has the clock cap. Only the very last systems don't have it.

 

Fortunately it's fairly easy to remove it, so best to do it before there's damage.

[Tidus79001]

@DJ Clae

Thanks for the reply.  I got both my consoles serviced recently and the clock caps removed.  All is working great!