TimTheKoala Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) Hi all, I've come to this forum because i have had no luck elsewhere regarding my problem. I acquired the console from my granddads place, it was in a cupboard hidden away in the garage. and it needed a bit of work to get it going again such as a new Internal RF cable (because its the PAL version). its now working............well kinda. When i start it up without a cart it displays the logo and text perfectly. The problem with my Colecovision is when i insert a cartridge to play some classic video game goodness the console freaks out! some carts screw the console up as soon as i turn the thing on, and the others come up with the player select screen but they screw up after that! The game Smurf turns my tv into a Rainbow machine while turbo just keeps resetting the console. some other games come up with the player select screen but won't respond to any button. i tried spraying WD40 into the power switch and it has made the switch click again but it seems to have done nothing! I also tested the power supply with the console on and off with a multimeter and it displays the proper -5v, +5v, +12v and ground even at the switch pins! I really wanna get this thing working again as it was my uncles and i wanna fix it up for him for xmas. Edited November 28, 2014 by TimTheKoala Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheKoala Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) Hi all, I've come to this forum because i have had no luck elsewhere regarding my problem. I acquired the console from my granddads place, it was in a cupboard hidden away in the garage. and it needed a bit of work to get it going again such as a new Internal RF cable (because its the PAL version). its now working............well kinda. When i start it up without a cart it displays the logo and text perfectly. The problem with my Colecovision is when i insert a cartridge to play some classic video game goodness the console freaks out! some carts screw the console up as soon as i turn the thing on, and the others come up with the player select screen but they screw up after that! The game Smurf turns my tv into a Rainbow machine while turbo just keeps resetting the console. some other games come up with the player select screen but won't respond to any button. i tried spraying WD40 into the power switch and it has made the switch click again but it seems to have done nothing! I also tested the power supply with the console on and off with a millimetre and it displays the proper -5v, +5v, +12v and ground even at the switch pins! I really wanna get this thing working again as it was my uncles and i wanna fix it up for him for xmas. I need some help with this ASAP i only have a month to get it going!!! Edited November 28, 2014 by TimTheKoala Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manoau2002 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Have you cleaned all of the carts with q-tips and alcohol? It could also be a vram issues if it displays garbled up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheKoala Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) Have you cleaned all of the carts with q-tips and alcohol? It could also be a vram issues if it displays garbled up. It was supposed to work back in the day before it was put away, and the display only goes full retard when a cart is inserted. do i really need to use alcohol? could i use mentholated spirits? i rubbed the carts down with a cloth and used a tooth brush to clean the cart port on the console. Edited November 28, 2014 by TimTheKoala Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manoau2002 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I would recommend 90 percent or better electronic rubbing alcohol on the carts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebulon Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Unfortunately, there are a lot of things on the system board that can cause all kinds of issues. Here's a couple of resources that should help you to isolate the problem/components: http://www.colecovis...tries/tech.html http://drushel.cwru.edu/schematics/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheKoala Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 Unfortunately, there are a lot of things on the system board that can cause all kinds of issues. Here's a couple of resources that should help you to isolate the problem/components: http://www.colecovis...tries/tech.html http://drushel.cwru.edu/schematics/ Thank you a lot for the website with the pdf's! i think i need a new chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheKoala Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 I would recommend 90 percent or better electronic rubbing alcohol on the carts. I just tried it and it didn't work, thanks though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheKoala Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 I think i just found the problem, my uncle probs tried to mod it! i can see some extra capacitors and resistors poorly soldered onto one of the chips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightywiz Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 it's also could be the power supply, they do go bad over time even though you may have the proper voltages at the end of the cord. you need to plug in the colecovision, and turn it on and test the voltages from the inside the unit while it's on and see what the voltages read if any of them are lower then what your original reading was before plugging it in then I would suspect a bad power supply. especially if the voltages have dropped a 1/2 volt or more. if that's the case then it's going to need the electrolytic capacitors in the power supply replaced. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheKoala Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 (edited) . Edited November 29, 2014 by TimTheKoala Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheKoala Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 I think its the tms4764nl rom chip. I tried probing that chip and i managed to progress through some game screens and the solder points of that chip look burnt to a crisp. Does anybody know where i may be able to get the tms4764nl chip? Or does anybody have one spare? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digress Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Try a cart that is only 16kb size in rom. Try q-bert if you have it which is only 8kb or smurf which is 16kb The reason is I had a similar problem with one system and it could only play smaller sized roms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTheKoala Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 Try a cart that is only 16kb size in rom. Try q-bert if you have it which is only 8kb or smurf which is 16kb The reason is I had a similar problem with one system and it could only play smaller sized roms I dont have a smaller game like that unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NIAD Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 I dont have a smaller game like that unfortunately. There are a lot of games that are 16K or smaller for the CV. You can check Ikrananka's RomDump Project that is pinned in this forum to see what all the proper rom sizes are in the ZIP archive he provides and then see if you have the appropriate cartridge that can be tested on your CV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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