SNES power connector repair

The Disclaimer

READ THIS FIRST

http://atomsworkshop.com/disclaimer/

AND THIS SECOND

Working on yours or other people’s systems is dangerous, you can injure the console and yourself if you do not have the technical experience to undertake the project. The author (Johnny Atom, I.E. Me) accepts no responsibility or liability if you injure yourself or cause your system (or other’s) to not function.

That being said, this method worked for me.

The two SNES systems

This Article will address a common issue with old type 1 and type 2 Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and how to repair it using a part off of another broken unit. I picked up two “broken” SNES systems for $10 off of craigslist, a quick drive to the seller’s house let me see what I had to work with. The first system looked to be in fairly good condition, with minimal wear and minimal yellowing. The second system however was in much worse shape. The case had a 3″ hole broken into both the top and bottom casing and the power connector was broken off. I picked up both and was on my way to the workshop to tear them apart and really get an idea of the damage to both systems.

The System Fix

After disassembling each system I discovered the first system (good case) had a run in with a soft drink at some point in it’s past. That concerned me as the motherboard could easily be fried. The second system seemed to fairly sound technically except for the power connector issue, and after a quick cleaning of the cartridge connection pins it fired up perfectly (with  some fancy temporary wiring for the power connection). A quick switch of the working MoBo into the good case and I was off and running towards a perfect system, with only a broken power connection port to repair.

The Power Connection Broken?

Power Connector, power port, power plug, plug thingy that you plug the cord into, whatever you call it it’s broken and you need to repair it.

  

The Port on the left is in working condition as it still has its plastic sleeve to connect a power adapter. While the port on the right is missing the sleeve and in your case the pins as well. So what do we need to repair our working SNES?

The Tools

These are all mostly self explanatory, the only notable exceptions being the Multitool, the solder, and the security bit.

Let’s start with the bit. This is a 4.5mm security bit that was used on most of your older consoles. The companies put the security keyed screw in to avoid tampering by punks like you. You can however get the bit which fits standard socket screwdrivers online. I personally bought this and the 3.5mm bit (used for game cartridges) from http://www.videogamemuseum.com/2010/10/09/on-sale-3-8mm-4-5mm-video-game-security-bits/

a groovy little site that has a lot of great information and products to help you out.

Back to the bit. Here’s a closeup of the end so you get an idea of the tool

 

Next up is the Multitool, this is pretty straight forward. Multitools are invaluable for all sorts of projects, a small toolbox of most everything you need. I reccommend if you’re going to follow any of my projects you should invest in a good solid steel one.

Finely is the solder, it’s nice to have on hand but not completely necessary. I ended up having plenty of solder remaining from the removed connector that I didn’t need to add any, but if you use a solder remover you may need to add some.

 Removing Both Cases

First rule of working on a project like this? KEEP YOUR WORK SPACE CLEAN you will be working with very small, easily lost screws and parts. a clean work space means you’ll be less likely to lose those little pieces.

I start by having a space (or container) out of the way that I can put all my screws. This will keep them from being brushed away or stolen by wandering cats. I move the tools I won’t be using to the side so I don’t have to work around them. Next layout your first system, if this is your first time disassembling a SNES I would reccommend starting with your donor system, that way you’ll have a good lay of the land before you work on the working system. Using the 4.5mm security bit in your socket screwdriver remove the indicated screws and set them in your allocated space.

These screws can sometimes stick in the holes a bit, if they do flip the system over and give it a gentle shake they should fall out so be ready. If they’re really stubborn make sure they are as unscrewed as much as possible then gently lift the upper part of the case away from the lower, the rest of the screws should drop out.

This is what you should be looking at

Now your system may look a bit different from mine depending if you have a type 1 or type 2 console. The type 2′s have a sound driver in the top left of the console right where you see that red dot on the metal board cover. If your system does have that you’ll have two more screws for you to take out before you remove the motherboard.

At this point I give the whole thing a once over with canned air to get all the dust out and clean it up a bit. Then you’ll want to start by removing the “eject” button, this is a simple maneuver completed by pulling the metal lever connecting the grey plastic button. Make sure you keep an eye on the indicated spring, you lose that and you’ll be very, very sad.

Put those parts aside and let’s look at what screws we need to remove. The first pair hold the power switch, remove these 2 screws and set them aside.

Then you can disconnect it’s power cable from the mother board if you want (gentile pressure up, with a slight side to side wiggling will do) or you can leave it on. Removing this will allow access to a hidden screw.

you should now be looking at

You’ll want to remove the indicated screws and set them in your allocated space.

Next gently life the controller ports out of their slot, be careful with these, you can break the entire system if you tug too hard.

Now you should be able to gently lift the motherboard out of the case, try to avoid touching the actual circuits by handling the board from the sides.  Move your case out of the way and lets look at our prize.

We’re almost to the difficult part. You’ll want to plug in your soldering gun so it can start warming up because it’s time to:

Removing Donor Power Connector

Flip your SNES motherboard over and I’ll point out the screws we need to remove.

Please make note that the bottom center screw is different from the rest. Make sure you remember which ones go where so when you reassemble you don’t end up with extra parts.

Remove these screws and this sidescrew

Now comes the very very difficult part that you want to be extra careful with. We need to start heating the solder of the power connection (it’s all part of the gray plastic back plate, don’t worry the plastic is only attached to the  power connection, the other ports just slide out).

I heat the underside of the solder points with the solder gun, alternating between both to keep them slowly both pulling out.

you want to be so gentle with removing this, it’s so easy to break your motherboard with too much pressure. If you have a solder remover you can just heat and remove the solder until it’s loose and can be removed. Also you may want to remove the metal upper casing on the top of the motherboard so everything isn’t so tight. that will ensure you will not break the board or the connector. But for the sake of time I was able to remove it without the hassle.

Congratulations! You are ready to get your good SNES into working order.

Do, Do, Redo

Now that you have your part you need to disassemble the good SNES all the way down to the loose mother board(make sure you create a new pile for the screws), removing the existing broken power connection in the same way as the previous system.  Putting the new connector on is exactly the same as taking it off, go slow, get it into position and then alternate melting both solders to get it good and tight.

WARNING: when melting the solder between the two make sure you don’t create a trail from one to the other. this will short circuit your system and very likely fry your motherboard. You’ve been warned. Again this is why it would be nice to have a solder remover, Keep it clean! Also soldering causes fumes, make sure you do your soldering in a well ventilated area!

When you get it fitted make sure it is tight with the board and your screw holes line up, you skip this step and you’ll be frustrated. Now that the hard part is over it’s time to:

Reassemble Your SNES

To start off you will want to replace all of the screws on the bottom of your motherboard and the one on the side of that metal case on the top. Once you have those screws replace( do not tighten them to tight as you can damage the board this way). Set the motherboard back into the case and replace the screws here.

After you have those done replace the power switch as shown.

Make sure the switch is in the shown position, otherwise your system will be locked “on”.  Next we need to replace the “Eject” button. Remember that spring I told you not to lose?  Fit it back on the metal lever as shown.

Now comes a tricky part, we need to slip the loose end into a tiny little hole in the casing while simultaneously pushing the metal lever into the case slot while also  insuring the spring doesn’t slip out of the eject paddle. This is one of those times when it’s best to have a clean work area, just in case that spring goes AWOL on you.

Slip it in and then ensure that the eject button’s spring has good response by pushing it down, if you did everything correctly it should spring up as soon as you remove your finger.

Ensure your controller ports are properly slotted into the case then lower the  upper case in at an angle, front down first then back. It should slip down easily, don’t force anything. The next step is replacing those security screws (six of them). The best bet to get a proper thread is to turn the screws to the left first to help get the threads lined up then go ahead and tighten it down, you’ll know fairly quick if the screw missed a thread. If it is just back it out and try again, keep in mind the plastic you are working on is very brittle so if you push it to hard you will break it.

The next step is hooking up your system. Test it out, if it works Congratulations!

If, however, the system doesn’t turn on , you may have shorted it with the solder flowing between the power connectors, or you forgot to plug the power switch back into the motherboard.

This is the method that worked for me and I had no issues, but as always I claim no responsibility if you broke your system.

Leave your comments on how your repair went and if you had any issues. Also if you see something that I was mistaken on or a better technique I would love to hear about it!

And last of all I know a lot of you may need a new power port but don’t have a donor system, if this is the case please follow me on Twitter or Facebook and I’ll announce when I do the new power port replacement project.