Mod chip no longer works help!

Post by **nova1313** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 11:02 pm

I modded my saturn about a month ago. Popped in a regular disc and it worked, then a copied backup and it too worked. I turned it off and went away for a bit. Came back and today tried to power it up with a new backup. It sees it as an audio cd. I put in a real game... it's an audio cd.. I then put in the 1st backup i ever tried and I get disc not suitable for this system. When I switch the system to jap mode (I have a switch on the front) I also get disc not suitable for this system (it's definately a working jap disc)..

Help! anyone experience this problem? It's a model 1. I have another chip sitting here if need be but I dont' want to spend the time to mod it only to have it stop working a bit later.

Post by **Caboose** » Wed Jan 02, 2008 11:58 pm

While I've never modded a Saturn before, I know of a few things you could try. Make sure that all the wires are connected properly still. Isn't there a ribbon cable or something you need to plug into the Saturn as well? See if that has come loose somehow. If none of that works, try removing the chip completely so that the console is back to the way it was and see if it will read retail discs. If it doesn't, probably need to adjust the pot for the laser.

Good luck.

Post by **nova1313** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:41 am

I've checked the traces and they seem okay still on the mod chip. I remove the chip it doesn't work. I tried to adjust the pot on the back of the laser it also doesn't work. only reads them as CD's. I'm starting to wonder if I damaged the connector to the motherboard. IT seems where I had to solder on the pad on the chip that slot is a bit dislodged now on the motherboard.

Post by **racketboy** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 12:43 pm

Could also be the lens, I suppose.
Have you experimented with originals? (But I'm guessing it will be the same)

Post by **Shiro** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 2:26 pm

I'm having the same problem too

Post by **lordofduct** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 3:47 pm

It's a modified model 2 chip to fit a model 1 right?

Well, those things don't fit in to nicely once modified. Open the thing up and make sure the chip is still seated firmly and not slid out of place (the pins have to line up for the 20 pin cable going into that 21 pin slot... it's got space to move around remember).

Also make sure that any of the wires you soldered to the chip aren't grounding out on the shielding, I had a chip doing this before and I just wrapped my chip in electrical tape to avoid any shorts.

I don't think it's your lens... a lens doesn't just fry out like that randomly. You'd have to be messing with it or something...

[edit]

wait, did you just say it doesn't work when you remove the chip and hook it up like a unmodified Saturn? If this is happening, then yeah you could have hurt something in the CD-Rom itself (while the chip was in a bad signal could have popped something). Tell me if this is the case (that it doesn't work with out the chip as well). Oh and don't mess with the laser, it's just a bad idea unless you mark WHERE the pentometer was before turning it, that way you could always reset it to default.

Post by **Shiro** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 4:18 pm

I've just removed the chip and the saturn works perfectly.
So it should be the chip that doesn't work anymore.
It seems to me strange that a chip dies this way: it has worked until two weeks ago; and now, after a break, it doesn't work anymore...

Any idea?
However, better the chip than the console

thanks!

Post by **nova1313** » Thu Jan 03, 2008 10:52 pm

mine doesn't work when I remove the chip. It reads and plays cd's. I think it's something with the signal pin. I'm going to check that. It seems the connector to the board is a little bent. So I'm going to see if I can bend it back or rebuild the contact on the board. The chip isn't grounding anywhere. Even with the lid off the saturn it still doesn't work. I did mark where the potentiometer was before I moved it.