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Welcome to my
troubleshoot & repair guide for Dreamcast game consoles. I have
assembled much needed information about how to fix some common
Dreamcast problems. This guide was created
many years
ago...
the information is somewhat obsolete so I am giving it away for
free!
If you find this
information helpful and would like to reciprocate - please click on
the links of our sponsors shown in the side columns of this website.
Cleaning the Dreamcast laser Lens
1) Press the eject button so that the lens is
exposed.
2) Give CD tray a good blow to clear the
dust away from the lens. (compressed air will also work
great!)
3) Get out your rubbing alcohol and a
Q-tip. Open the lid on the rubbing alcohol and dip the
Q-tip in it. Now with your clean fingers, just squeeze the
excess rubbing alcohol off of it. You'll still have enough
alcohol on the Q-tip.
4) Gently rub the lens in a circular motion
for about 1 min or so to give the rubbing alcohol time to
evaporate off of the lens.
Controller Port Troubleshooting
Are you having problems getting a controller
to play when you plug it into your Dreamcast? You can troubleshoot your controller port to
see if it is working, or to at least eliminate the port
itself from being the suspect defective component. We'll start off with some simple
troubleshooting.
1) Will your controller play on any of
the 4 port connectors? Plug it into the 2nd plug, and 3rd
and so on. Does it work?
YES My controller works on port
connector 2, 3 and 4.
Looks like port connector #1 has gone gimpy and your
controller is good. Try cleaning the port connector, where
it does not work, with some compressed air. If no luck, then
try a hard, clean, dry toothbrush to try to get any dirt or
dust out of it. If still no luck, then its a safe assumption
that someone tripped over the controller while it was
plugged in and the port is no longer connected to the
controller board properly. The easiest fix is to get a new
controller port board.
NO My controller wont work in any
of the port connectors!
Looks like it’s either a dead port, or a dead controller.
Try plugging in another controller. Borrow a friend's
controller if you need to. If you plug the other controller
in and it works, then YOUR controller (the one you
originally tried) is broken. However, if your friend's
controller won’t work either, the port controller board is
fried. Refer to the section in this guide on
how to repair the controller port board.
Here is a pinout for the actual connector.
Take measurements at the points shown below.
|
1 |
red |
serial data |
|
2 |
blue |
+5V |
|
3 |
black |
GND |
|
4 |
green |
sense (ground return,
connects to ground inside controller) |
|
5 |
white |
serial data |
|
Pin 2, 3 and 4 look for voltages and compare
with the chart. For pins 1 and 5 test for continuity only,
through the connector port and through the controller
itself. You can always verify that the voltages are getting
to the connector pieces by measuring at the solder joints
where the connector pieces are soldered! If you are not
getting your 5V from pin #2, and ground from pin #3 then
that right there will tell you the piece that you plug your
controller into is damaged or broken. You see voltage
entering the connector piece, but not leaving it (out to the
controller) then you've just solved your riddle. If the
voltages are ok, then there may be a problem with the serial
data lines (pin#1 and pin#4) Aside from setting up an
O'scope and manually injecting 5V and ground into the
controller, you probably wont be able to troubleshoot this
much further. It comes down to broken port connectors or a
broken controller. You decide.
Dreamcast
Controller Port Repair
Controllers not working? Well, were about to walk you
through fixing that problem. All you need is a 10-Ohm
resistor (available at any Radio Shack store), small needle
nose pliers, small detail Phillips screwdriver (small and
long enough to fit down the screw shafts and fit the small
screws of the Dreamcast), soldering iron and solder. And of
course, your Dreamcast.
1) Start by removing any games, controllers, power
cords, memory cards, etc.. from the Dreamcast.
2) remove the modem. The modem is that block that
plugs into the side, it has a phone jack in it. Just push the tab
and pull it out firmly.
3) Flip the dream cast over and remove the 4
tiny screws. You'll need a long slender Phillips
screwdriver. Be sure to get a small enough screwdriver to
get a good grip on those small screws, you don’t want to
strip them out.
4) Flip the Dreamcast over so that is upright again,
and remove the top cover.
5) At the bottom, where the controllers go,
you'll see the controller port. (Duh!) You'll need to move
those 4 gold screws.
6) Gently, yet firmly, remove the flex cable
that connects the controller port to the motherboard. The
flex cable is that flat wide connector that is slotted into
the controller port. Just firmly wiggle it away from its
connector and it will come free.
7) Remove the fan connector. It has tabs on
it, so it'll be tricky. You'll see what I mean.
8) Ok, now we are ready to remove the old
resistor.
Please don’t try this if you have never used a
soldering iron before, ask someone with experience to help
if you need to.
Take your HOT solder gun and apply the tip of the
gun directly to the solder joint (not to the resistor leg, and NOT
to the controller port board, but in between the two where the
solder mound is.)
The easiest way is to have pliers in one
hand, and your soldering iron in the other. Slightly tug on
the resistor with your pliers while you heat the solder
joints from the backside. The solder will turn molten and
your resistor will slide out ward.
9) Take your new 10-Ohm resistor and do the
same thing, in reverse order. Heat the solder with the
soldering iron, and one leg at a time, insert the resistor
leg into the hole you are heating. Let the solder cool,
it'll only take 4 seconds for it to harden. Clip the excess
wire that sticks up from the solder joint. Use pliers and
bend back and forth, back and forth. The excess wire will
snap off.
You now
know where all the screws and connections go. Just walk
yourself though this, backwards, reinstalling the 2
connectors, 4 controller port screws, the case, then the
final 4 case screws. Voila! Your controllers should
all work perfectly again!
To avoid
this from happening again, never use any controller or
memory card that is not licensed AND MADE by Sega. Excessive
current draw makes for toasty resistors, and you don’t want
to be doing this every week!
On
to the next section.....
Dreamcast, Sega Dreamcast and their
accessories are registered trademarks of Sega. This
informational list is copyrighted Aug 15, 2002 by William
Schott and may not be replicated, altered, sold or
distributed without written permission from the author.
Please note that attempting to open
your Dreamcast game console will void the warranty. Use
this guide to work on a Dreamcast at your own risk. The
author is not responsible for damage you may have occurred
by following this manual. Nor do we guarantee that by
following this manual that your Dreamcast be fixed.
This information is for educational and
informational purposes ONLY. It is not our intention to
assist you in committing fraud or performing any illegal
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