Is someone available to do board repair?

deeb

n00b
Joined
Feb 28, 2020
Posts
5
Hi,
I have a 4 slot MVS that has the click of death. No carts load and no cross hatch. The boards are very clean, but was wondering if someone who is good with soldering could update to unibios, add the coin battery, replace the capacitors, and find the problem so that it will be brought back to life? I've bricked another device trying to solder it and am just not comfortable with working on this.
Thank you!
Dave
 

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MidnightMonkey

Loyal Neo-Disciple
Joined
Jun 1, 2014
Posts
825
I'm not sure what the "click of death" is. I can't tell if there are bad caps or not with the resolution.

If you don't get help, I would start with cap replacement. Not really too many ways to fuck it up by doing that. Shouldn't be more than a few dollars too.
If that doesn't solve the issue, bust out a magnifying glass and examine the traces for breaks. Board traces are a tedious bitch.

I'd tell you to mail it to me if I had the time. Good luck, bud.
 

MidnightMonkey

Loyal Neo-Disciple
Joined
Jun 1, 2014
Posts
825
Thank you for the post! The rate of clicking seems a bit random and garbage appears on the screen and it doesn't boot up. https://wiki.neogeodev.org/index.php?title=Click_of_death

Ah, ok. So after doing some digging it definitely seems like a trace issue typically caused by corrosion due to a leaky battery or capacitor. From what I gather it's going to take some trace patchwork but should be reversible. Are you handy with a multimeter at all? Performing continuity tests on the traces will be easier than trying to eyeball it.
 

Heinz

Parteizeit
15 Year Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2005
Posts
22,333
Traces can be broken despite looking ok, those big multi slot boards have a tendency to flex which can cause a hairline break in a trace. I would test for continuity to and from the 68K and I do not envy the experience you will have in doing that.
 

deeb

n00b
Joined
Feb 28, 2020
Posts
5
You're likely right, but I'm not handy with a multi-meter and those traces are super small for continuity testing. I'm still holding out for an experienced PCB savior. Right now running a pandora's box on a Big Red so that I have something. That last statement should upset many - it's the catalyst.
 

Neo Alec

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
20 Year Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2000
Posts
11,924
Replacing caps is not the place to start, especially for someone with less than stellar soldering skills. Look at the other click of death posts from this board using Google search. Test the traces running from the 68k, like lachlan suggested. You can find schematics and pinouts on the Neo Dev Wiki and Jamma X Nation. Put your multimeter in continuity mode - when you see the minus sign on the side of the display, that means there is a connection.

I think we've all been sold the idea that cap replacement is just like spring cleaning that you can pay someone to do. It isn't.
 
Last edited:

shadowkn55

Genbu's Turtle Keeper
15 Year Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2006
Posts
2,386
Does it exhibit the same behavior with and without the top board?
 
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