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Odd Saturn problem.
FunkyPoopMonkey - Sep 29, 2005
  FunkyPoopMonkey Sep 29, 2005
Just plugged my saturn in today. I used it about a month ago. Doesn't seem to work now.

Here is what happens. I power it on, the Sega metalic bios screen shows, and then it goes to a black screen forever. It does not reach the CD player screen. The red CD access light blinks forever.

I open the system up. Power on. Same thing happens. I test the disc lid senser switch. Upon pressing it, the laser lens moves south and then nothing happens. It does not spin a disc. It does not shine a red laser. It does not pump up closer to a disc to attempt to read one (to see if there is one).

When I insert the action replay 4-in-1, it lets the system make it past the sega bios screen, and it reaches the action replay screen. However since the system still isn't responding to discs, it does not let me load the disc from here either. It just says loading forever.

I really hope someone has some ideas. My systems are dropping like flies lately.

 Berty Sep 29, 2005
All you can try and do is make sure that the Laser lens is cleaned, and make sure that the rail where the lens moves along is free from "crud".

 FunkyPoopMonkey Sep 29, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by Berty@Thu, 2005-09-29 @ 05:22 PM



All you can try and do is make sure that the Laser lens is cleaned, and make sure that the rail where the lens moves along is free from "crud".




[post=140065]Quoted post[/post]


Nope. Thats not the problem. What else? There has to be something else.

 Quakester2000 Sep 30, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by FunkyPoopMonkey@Fri, 2005-09-30 @ 05:00 AM



Nope. Thats not the problem. What else? There has to be something else.




[post=140082]Quoted post[/post]


Dodgy power supplies in the machines are known to cause problems

 FunkyPoopMonkey Sep 30, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by Quakester2000@Fri, 2005-09-30 @ 12:37 PM



Dodgy power supplies in the machines are known to cause problems




[post=140106]Quoted post[/post]


No one thinks the cd drive is the problem?

How many parts in a model 1 saturn are compatible with a model 2? Maybe I should nab a model 2 finally.

 Action Replay Oct 1, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by FunkyPoopMonkey@Fri, 2005-09-30 @ 10:03 PM



No one thinks the cd drive is the problem?



How many parts in a model 1 saturn are compatible with a model 2? Maybe I should nab a model 2 finally.




[post=140118]Quoted post[/post]


>I´d say it´s the cd drive

since the lens actually is moving but the disc doesn´t spin it could mean it´s the motor that have died,this usually happens when you have been doing the swap trick for a very long period of time(stopping the spinning disc eventually wears out the motor that spinns the disc)

Have you been disc swapping a lot?

 FunkyPoopMonkey Oct 2, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by Action Replay@Sun, 2005-10-02 @ 06:12 AM



>I´d say it´s the cd drive



since the lens actually is moving but the disc doesn´t spin it could mean it´s the motor that have died,this usually happens when you have been doing the swap trick for a very long period of time(stopping the spinning disc eventually wears out the motor that spinns the disc)



Have you been disc swapping a lot[question_mark] 




[post=140150]Quoted post[/post]


Yeah I knew swapping would eventually wear down the drive, but I didn't know it could just kill it instantly. The damn system worked flawlessly til now. Never even had a hiccup. And it's crazy it would break after I was playing legit games, the previous time it was hooked up. I was playing NiGHTS.

But still there should be a very easy fix for this. If some little thing burnt out on the motor, can't I replace it with a new part? Is it just a fuse or something?

 Action Replay Oct 2, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by FunkyPoopMonkey@Sun, 2005-10-02 @ 05:12 PM



Yeah I knew swapping would eventually wear down the drive, but I didn't know it could just kill it instantly. The damn system worked flawlessly til now. Never even had a hiccup. And it's crazy it would break after I was playing legit games, the previous time it was hooked up. I was playing NiGHTS.



But still there should be a very easy fix for this. If some little thing burnt out on the motor, can't I replace it with a new part? Is it just a fuse or something?




[post=140161]Quoted post[/post]


I´m not sure if that´s an easy fix...

I opened up my model 2 saturn to study how the parts are connected to each other and how much work there would be needed to release the motor in order to replace/and/or repair it

I´m not sure if the model 1 saturn looks exactly the same since I have never had a model 1 myself,but this is where it´s located on my saturn:[attachmentid=1504]

It´requires a lot of work in order to acess the motor and even if you do manage we still don´t know if it´s something that can be repaired(or even if it´s the malfunctioning part)

If you have access to another saturn I´d say it´s much easier to replace the entire cd board[attachmentid=1505]

As you can see in my picture you just have to lift it up,un-attach the wire and put in another cd board

and since the problem your saturn has is located somewhere on the cd board this will most likely bring your saturn back to life again

I myself have been doing the disc swapping for a while now and last week I noticed that during the boot up process the motor sounded a bit different from what it have done before,so I took that as a sign that I am beginning to wear it out so I have now stopped doing the swapping as I don´t want to break my precious Saturn

I am going to either modd my saturn or buy a pre-modded one so I won´t end up with a dead saturn

 FunkyPoopMonkey Oct 2, 2005
Yes but a replacement saturn costs $30 and chances are, the parts inside WON'T be compatible with mine. Even if I get another model 1, there are different revisions and I know nothing about that.

Should I just aim for a model 2 and then mod it? And is it 100% sure that a model 2 can be modded? I heard some still can't. And where can I see detailed instructions on modding a model 2, without having to read 30 pages of a forum thread, and then just GUESS which posts are truthful?

 tp221 Oct 2, 2005
The thread titled 'How to mod a 21 pin Saturn' is kind of lengthy, but the people posting in it give pretty good directions, and the model two that is most successful is apparently the most popular one available. I am also pretty sure that most of the posters there give model no. descriptions to make it clearer which ones are good and the ones that aren't. Be sure to read through it, if you need more info, and good luck.

 FunkyPoopMonkey Oct 2, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by tp221@Sun, 2005-10-02 @ 03:48 PM



The thread titled 'How to mod a 21 pin Saturn' is kind of lengthy, but the people posting in it give pretty good directions, and the model two that is most successful is apparently the most popular one available. I am also pretty sure that most of the posters there give model no. descriptions to make it clearer which ones are good and the ones that aren't. Be sure to read through it, if you need more info, and good luck.




[post=140178]Quoted post[/post]


If I do get a model 2 off ebay, I'll follow racketboy's instructions. I should be fine. No more freaking swap trick. I really don't play saturn much, but I cant let it go either. And I DID buy Panzer Dragoon Saga in store for $60 at EB when it launched. So I don't feel guilty for playing a backup of it.

Edit: Ok won one, but paid quite a bit. It looks flawless in the picture though, adult owned. Ordered a mod chip from racketboy. Sounds incredibly easy to install. Compared to the PS1 chip with 7 wires, this thing will be very easy, especially if that A+B method works, though I still dont understand how.

 Virgil Oct 2, 2005
E: repaced the post with something more relavent.

The A-B method works on all NTSC model 2 saturns up till the sayano board. Then it gets a little iffy. The A-B sometimed works, but you may half to hunt for a signal. some jp saturns don't work with the A-B mwthod, As for the others, I'm not as well informed.

 FunkyPoopMonkey Oct 2, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by Virgil@Sun, 2005-10-02 @ 06:42 PM



E: repaced the post with something more relavent.



The A-B method works on all NTSC model 2 saturns up till the sayano board. Then it gets a little iffy. The A-B sometimed works, but you may half to hunt for a signal. some jp saturns don't work with the A-B mwthod, As for the others, I'm not as well informed.




[post=140188]Quoted post[/post]


Well the AB method is safe to try. It's better to try it before I gatta do the risky 32pin thing.

I sure hope the model 2 I just got won't have a Sanyo board then.

 orta Oct 2, 2005
I've encountered the same thing on my dreamcast, when i tried to play it, it load only up to the logo then totally blacked out I've solve the problem though but it is not easy.

what i did was I traced the video signal up to the video signal processor, because sometimes the micro fuse in the mother board blows up which connects to the video output of the sega saturn where we connect our audio video wire this fuse is so small you'd mistake it as a resistor

try doing a continuity test on the small fuses near the A/V out where you connect your A/V cord goodluck

 FunkyPoopMonkey Oct 18, 2005
Just wanted to say that I got that Saturn model 2 off ebay, installed the mod chip with the A-B method, and so far all is well. That chip resisted about 40 pounds of pressure, trying to slide into the ribbon cable slot though. That's not right at all.

 Quick Man Oct 18, 2005
Surely pressure is pounds per square inch? (Most people use newtons per kilogram anyway, heh.)

It's probably worth your while to get a model 2 Saturn - you can always fit a CD access light if you miss it. You just need an LED connecting between the 5V supply and pin 4 on connector CN14, and put a 330-ohm resistor between pin 4 on connector CN8 and the collector pin of transistor TR1. The process is detailed on this page... and a schematic is available here....

Note: some Saturns have a space set aside for the LED and resistor as if they intended to add one. Mine does not; your mileage may vary.

 Virgil Oct 18, 2005
Take a file, and shave a bit off the side off of the connector. The conlacts should be almost at the side of the connnector. I had the same problem seating my mod chip <_<

But it works, in a 64-pin, no less :lol:

The saturns with the place for the LED are almost all 64-pin, so I could do that mod as well

 FunkyPoopMonkey Oct 18, 2005

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by Quick Man@Tue, 2005-10-18 @ 04:09 PM



Surely pressure is pounds per square inch? (Most people use newtons per kilogram anyway, heh.)



It's probably worth your while to get a model 2 Saturn - you can always fit a CD access light if you miss it. You just need an LED connecting between the 5V supply and pin 4 on connector CN14, and put a 330-ohm resistor between pin 4 on connector CN8 and the collector pin of transistor TR1. The process is detailed on this page... and a schematic is available here....



Note: some Saturns have a space set aside for the LED and resistor as if they intended to add one. Mine does not; your mileage may vary.




[post=140837]Quoted post[/post]


I don't see the point in this when I have a mod chip installed. I won't be doing the swap trick.

 Virgil Oct 18, 2005
The access light makes it SO MUCH COOLER :lol: