The non-working Turbografx-16 i've just bought

BatsBenny · 03/20/2012, 08:02 PM

Hi pcenginefx!

I'm new to the world of Turbografx/PC Engine and new to this forum so I think i'll introduce myself first.

First of all i'm a french-canadian so if my english is not perfect, it's totally normal. I'll do my best. I've started a little consoles/games collection last summer so far i've got a NES, SNES, Genesis, N64 and i've always wanted to own a TG16. Before last week i never saw one of my own eye. So when i saw that a turbo shows up in a local game store i've decided to buy it.

It was a little dusty and came with a loose Davis Tennis Hucard, the original AC adapter and a controler (and the back cover that goes over the expension bus) The clerk tell me that any NES ou SNES RF switch would work. I also bought 2 CIB games at another game store; Keith Courage and Ninja Sword.

My first TG-16! I was excited to try it..

And of course.... it didn't work.

I've posted a youtube video of what the symptoms are:

All i see on my TV is a grey (white) screen, sometimes it is green, blue ou purple and on Davis Tennis sometime a hear a sound (2nd video)

What a I've done:
Check the AC adapter on my NES it works.
Check the NES RF switch (3 of them) they work.
Switch from channel 3 to 4 and same thing
Clean the Hu cards with rubbing alcohol (99%) and a cotton swab, not better.
Clean slot and Hu cards with contact cleaner (in and out about a hundred times) again same thing.
I have also tried the eraser trick on the Hu cards

What should i do more? I've read somes posts in here and nothing seems to help me.

Next step was to try with sandpaper on a creditcard.

I can't open it yet because i don't have the screwdriver for it.

My first experience with a turbografx is not very good so please help me fix my problem.

Thanks a lot.

-Ben

Bernie · 03/20/2012, 08:11 PM

hmm. It appears the system is powering up, so that is good. Have you tried another game? It is possible, altho not likely, that the HuCARDS you have just arent operational. Your RF output could be wacky as well. One thing is for sure tho, someone here can get it going for you. I would be leery of using the sandpaper trick.... Dont give up just yet. You came to the right place.

BatsBenny · 03/20/2012, 08:17 PM

I've tried the 3 games i own. The slot cleaning was done with the tennis game (looks beated up). The 2 other games looks brand new.

thesteve · 03/20/2012, 09:26 PM

do the games say turbo grafx on them?
if not its a region issue.
your power and rf unit are working

esteban · 03/20/2012, 10:22 PM

Welcome, BatsBenny.

Hopefully, your problem will be solved with minimal frustration.

NecroPhile · 03/21/2012, 09:36 AM

Aww, sorry to hear of your Turbob teathing troubles. I hope you get it fixed soon.

nat · 03/23/2012, 08:48 PM

Dirty cart slot or cart. Random solid colors indicate the system is powering up, but can't read the game for whatever reason.

The fact that it's happening with all your games indicates to me the issue is probably the cart slot and not the carts themselves.

andrew23 · 03/23/2012, 11:22 PM

If you are in or near Montreal, I might be able to help you figure out what's up. I do have a working power supply and an external av setup we could try to see if it works. From what I hear and have experienced the RF jack can be very finicky. Just PM me if we do decide to see what's up with the system. I bet it probably still works

thesteve · 03/23/2012, 11:34 PM

power and RF are confirmed working
make sure the expansion port pins are not bent shorting together
clean slot
games are US version.
if still nothing you have a connection problem likely on the board at the slot

Arkhan Asylum · 03/26/2012, 04:00 PM

For some reason, I seem to recall NES RF switches never working on my Turbo Grafx, but Sega Genesis ones did.

Makes no sense though.

Try Sega Genesis power brick and RF unit, if you've got em.

thesteve · 03/26/2012, 05:07 PM

use the geni1 not 2 rf and power

BatsBenny · 04/10/2012, 05:19 PM

Hi! Thanks to all of you for the answers. I did not had time last weeks to test it more. But today i bought an official turbografx-16 RF switch and its still not working.

Quote from: nat on 03/23/2012, 08:48 PMDirty cart slot or cart. Random solid colors indicate the system is powering up, but can't read the game for whatever reason.

The fact that it's happening with all your games indicates to me the issue is probably the cart slot and not the carts themselves.

I hope it's only the slot.

Quote from: andrew23 on 03/23/2012, 11:22 PMIf you are in or near Montreal, I might be able to help you figure out what's up. I do have a working power supply and an external av setup we could try to see if it works. From what I hear and have experienced the RF jack can be very finicky. Just PM me if we do decide to see what's up with the system. I bet it probably still works

Thanks, I live in Trois-Rivières it's not that far from Montreal but i don't go there very often.

Quote from: thesteve on 03/23/2012, 11:34 PMpower and RF are confirmed working
make sure the expansion port pins are not bent shorting together
clean slot
games are US version.
if still nothing you have a connection problem likely on the board at the slot

My games looks like this one so i bet it's US http://www.rarityguide.com/museum/images/video_game_consoles/turbo_grafx_16__1989_/turbo_grafx_16_alpha_zones_front.JPG
I cleaned the slot the best i could, any tricks to suggest?
Expension port pins looks OK to me.

thesteve · 04/10/2012, 09:43 PM

to clean the slot i use a piece of printer paper cut the width of the HU card.
wrap the paper around the card pins.
get it slightly damp (preferably water, slightly soapy OK)
work it in and out of the slot.
now use a dry paper over the pins and do the same

BatsBenny · 07/12/2013, 02:52 AM

UPDATE ON THIS TG16:

It's been a long time since my last update but here I am now.

Bought a official TG16 RF adapter to test it out.

I made a quick solderless AV mod kinda like this one here :

To test out if the RF output was the problem. Still not working.

I opened this thing up to see if I can detect anything wrong but was quickly stop by that stupid shielding.. which is soldered from everywhere.

That's where i'm at right now with this one. But it's not over yet.

BatsBenny · 07/12/2013, 02:59 AM

AND ANOTHER UPDATE:

So, last week i bought of eBay another turbografx-16 (console only, no wire, nothing) Says "Working console". Got it for a reasonable price.

Drum roll.... test it out with my AV mod / RCA thingy and games and power suply i already own. It fucking works! I was so happy. And by the way i LOVE the system so far.

Now i can tell for sure that the problem was the console ..

turboswimbz · 07/12/2013, 08:29 AM

Congrats! keep enjoying. And if your getting rid of the non-working turbo I might be interested. (Although shipping is a pain anymore)

FiftyQuid · 07/12/2013, 09:58 AM

Quote from: BatsBenny on 07/12/2013, 02:59 AMAND ANOTHER UPDATE:

So, last week i bought of eBay another turbografx-16 (console only, no wire, nothing) Says "Working console". Got it for a reasonable price.

Drum roll.... test it out with my AV mod / RCA thingy and games and power suply i already own. It fucking works! I was so happy. And by the way i LOVE the system so far.

Now i can tell for sure that the problem was the console ..

It sounds like you've tested everything possible with your bad TG-16. The symptoms you are describing are very similar to the ones I experienced with my busted TG-16. In my scenario, I suspect it has something to do with a bad connection with the expansion pins directly connected to the main PCB. I never could get it to work.

Very happy to hear you did get another one and that your NEC experience wasn't soiled by one faulty piece of Hardware. Oh, and I agree that all that shielding is a complete pain in the ass. The TG-16 costs would have been drastically reduced launch day if they hadn't had to include all that damn metal.

RoyVegas · 07/12/2013, 02:25 PM

As stupid as this may sound, it doesn't hurt to mention it.

I still have a Turbo that does the same thing your video shows. What I do is push the Hucard all the way in, turn the power switch on, back out the Hu card until it hits the little arm (that comes out when you turn the power on). Then just turn the system off and back on again.

Works for me every time when mine does it. Couldn't hurt to try.

Duo_R · 07/13/2013, 01:57 AM

Try a hucard slot cleaner. I have one I bought in the late 90s still works. i once had a Duo that would not play until I cleared the hell out of it. It's not as common as a NES but it is possible.

Now where you can get one of these is trickier but ebay might be the way to go. It is actually a generic universal kit and one of the cleaning carts fits TG16

roflmao · 07/13/2013, 09:33 AM

I've heard of people wrapping a HuCARD with a coffee filter (probably cutting it to the width of the card first), wetting the contact end with rubbing alcohol, and using that to clean the contacts. I don't think I've tried it, but probably would if needed.

thesteve · 07/14/2013, 04:25 PM

i have done that with good results

BatsBenny · 07/19/2013, 12:59 PM

Quote from: RoyVegas on 07/12/2013, 02:25 PMAs stupid as this may sound [...] Couldn't hurt to try.

I don't think it sound stupid at all..

That problem happen all the time with the NES so why not here? I try every possible way, pushed all the way in, a litthe out, with paper under the Hucard to raise it against the pins..

Like you guys<, i still think my problem is a dirty HuCard slot.. even if I cleaned it the best i could.

I actually tried the coffre filter trick (don't rebember where i got that), tried paper, electronic contact cleaner, iso alcool

BatsBenny · 07/22/2013, 11:41 AM

Hi guys, i got some "solder suck wire" like this

to remove the shielding. Why so much solder... anyway..

The board has some leak stain on it. It was some kind of yellow-brownish goo... cleaned some of it.

What's that? Leaky capacitors? or someone poor coca-cola in that turbo..

turboswimbz · 07/22/2013, 11:42 AM

I'm sure they will chime in.

( see below )

thesteve · 07/22/2013, 12:02 PM

mostly flux on those
they sprayed the board with flux before soldering, but didnt clean after

BatsBenny · 07/22/2013, 03:34 PM

Other than that the solders looks OK..

But even with the shielding off i can't clean the pins of the card slot.. they are hard to reach

OldMan · 07/22/2013, 05:15 PM

Since you have already done the 'standard' cleaning procedures, it's not likely to be crud on the pins.

Use a stong flashlight, and check where the pins sit in the connector: Are any of them out of alignment?
Are any of them bent? Patience and a small needle or stick pin can move them back into place - but be careful not to pop them out of the front.

Then, use a continuity checker (or multi-meter) and a stickpin to make sure there are no breaks in the connector. If you use an alligator clip to hold the stickpin on one end of a probe, you can make contact with the pins from the front of the connector, via the small holes at the front. Check to the appropriate pin on the back, and to the board itself. Could just be a poor/loose solder joint at the board.

If all that checks out, its not the connector.