3DO unit overheating?

[UHATEIT]

For the last week or so my 3DO has been having some laser issues, surprise surprise yet another laser issue with a 3DO! Anyways, there are times it would read fine and other times it will not. Sometimes tho it will work but then start to run really slow, skip, struggle on FMV, and often freeze up and restart the game all together. I find with this, if the system is on for a long time straight (like 45+ minutes in a row) that's when the laser reading starts to struggle, as if the laser getting hot is causing the issues. But the fan is working its on it just gets pretty loud after a while. Maybe if I take the top off the system and let it breathe maybe that will help the issue.

 

This reminds me of when my XBOX360 got the RROD back in 2007, as a result of the unit being on too long the fan would start to get super loud. That's kind of what seems to be happening here, the fan gets louder after maybe 15 minutes of play, but then the unit starts to have reading/skipping issues around 45+ minutes. Is it possible the unit could be overheating or is that also a common problem that causes laser faulting?

[SignGuy81]

It sounds more to me like you have a bad cap(s). Sometimes when caps are going bad they can be fine when you turn something on but after warm up they fail, or vice versa. Have the caps ever been replaced?

[UHATEIT]

It sounds more to me like you have a bad cap(s). Sometimes when caps are going bad they can be fine when you turn something on but after warm up they fail, or vice versa. Have the caps ever been replaced?

I don't even know what a cap is actually. I would LOVE if it is something easy to replace since laser's are impossible to find and shops do not like to work on the 3DO lasers and they are prone to going out, so I hope it is just a "cap" vs a laser issue! Like I mentioned, it seems to happen that it skips and struggles only after it heats up after a while.

[Austin]

I had the same issue with my Japanese FZ-1. Issue went away when I replaced the disc drive.

[Taijigamer]

Sounds like maybe the psu is overheating. If it's a FZ-1, does the metal heat sink on the voltage regulators get excessively hot? Overheating components on the psu could lead to erratic voltages which would explain the faulty cd-rom behaviour. Have u had the console recapped? Do any of the caps on the psu look bulged or leaky?

 

The reason behind RROD in xbox360 was a combination of poor design, BGA and lead free solder. As all the IC on the 3DO are surface mount, u won't have to worry about RROD situations :-)

[SignGuy81]

Here is a pic of one of the disc drive boards. This is where I would suspect a bad cap.

 

Edited January 24, 2018 by SignGuy81

[UHATEIT]

What is the cap I should look for? I am not sure what a cap is. But I'll take it apart to ight and check! I'll be happy of this is an easy thing to fix vs a disc drive or a laser!

[SignGuy81]

I sent you PM

[SignGuy81]

could be any of them

[Gamer888]

Usually...Panasonic 3DOs tend to be the more reliable...for the goldstar I hear bad thing. I have a Sayno which I heard the CD tray is not that great (my first Sanyo had a CD tray working one time out of five...so far so good for the second one)

 

Never heard of heating issue...until now

[UHATEIT]

Usually...Panasonic 3DOs tend to be the more reliable...for the goldstar I hear bad thing. I have a Sayno which I heard the CD tray is not that great (my first Sanyo had a CD tray working one time out of five...so far so good for the second one)

 

Never heard of heating issue...until now

I hadn't heard of a heating issue either myself, this is the first I have heard of "caps" But I imaging what I am having is a heating issue since it starts to have reading issues once the system has been on for around 45 minutes and the fan starts to get super loud (which I was saying reminds me of when my XBOX360 got the RROD years ago) it would overheat and the fan would start blasting.

[UHATEIT]

I basically figured this one out with the help from here and my local forum group in Denver. The overheating thing basically is the capacitors that are getting hot. I took the top off the 3DO and then the metal shield off the top of the disc drive and it seems to do well. I think the issue stemmed from the massive power box inside of the case. When you take the cover off, the internal power source gets crazy hot and I think the little baby fan inside just isn't strong enough to pull all of the hot air out of the side.

 

I also bought a second FZ-1 3Do from a local guy and it has a different colored top (glossy and textured vs flat marble colored) and that seems to also have a better set of gills/vents in the top cover that seems to flow more air. I think that might have been a later revision of the FZ-1 with better build quality and issues fixed. That one seems to have no issues with the venting, no capacitor issues, and no issues reading even the CHEAPO Verbatim burned discs. Wheras my other one would have overheating issues and then reading issues with anything other than the fancy Taiyo Yuden discs.

[Taijigamer]

I don't think it's a design flaw on the casing. My PAL 3DO FZ-1 doesn't even have a fan, although there are solder points for one, and it doesn't suffer overheating (unlike the Xbox 360 where the problem was partly to do with the case design). The problem is your psu. It could be the transformer, voltage regulators or caps. As a result, your cd drive isn't getting the correct voltages and is giving read errors. Your laser might also be failing. Do get a true picture, u would need an oscilloscope to check the psu and laser.

[UHATEIT]

yeah with the many number of things it could have been, I opted to just buy another FZ-1 from a local friend for $100 and it works like a champ, no freezing or reading issues, reads the crappy cheapo discs instead of the expensive ones. It has a different vent setup on the top lid with vents on both sides so it likely vents better than the other one I have. So I packed the other up on the shelf and am using the one that I just got.

 

I still want an FZ-10 to have as well but the prices keep shooting up for them so I haven't been able to get one!

[Taijigamer]

Yeah, sometimes it's easier to just replace it. U should be able to find an FZ-10 for a good price if u keep hunting. Sometimes it's easier to import one from Japan. If u are looking to sell your broken FZ-1, let me know. I'm on the look out for FZ-1 with BT9101 encoder for further research :-)

[Austin]

I noticed that my Japanese FZ-1 with a faulty disc drive would get really hot on the top. I replaced the drive and while it still gets warm now, it's not nearly as hot as with the previous drive.