A500 internal floppy issues..

Hi all, just joined the board today as I purchased an A500 a few months ago and am having some difficulties with the floppy drive.
The A500 has a Rev5 motherboard with 1.3 Kickstart (1.2 when purchased) and 512k trapdoor RAM. Unfortunately it didn't come with Workbench disks but I bought a pack of second hand floppies with 1.3.3 Workbench (according to the printed label) along with some other game disks.

I have a brand new 34 pin ribbon cable for the drive and the 500 boots up to the 1.3 startup logo but this is where the problems begin. Upon inserting any disk the drive starts to spin, the screen goes blank but a few seconds later returns to the startup logo. I have tried a variety of disks, amd have tried it without the trapdoor memory but the same thing happens.
Upon reversing the cable plug on the motherboard end the green drive light stays on continuously, while plugging it in the other way, it lights on startup then goes blank until a disk is inserted. It then stays on while the drive is spinning until the startup screen once again appears.
Should the light stay on, should it flash or should the drive spin continuously?
Could it be that the drivehead is not moving or does it sound like a chip problem on the motherboard itself?
Lastly, do the drive's dipswitch pins need to be in a certain configuration? At the moment the plastic covers are aligned vertically at either end.

Sorry for the long post and all the questions but I'm at a bit of a loss as to how this can be fixed. Any help appreciated.

Cheers,
Killseeker

[cosmicfrog]

sounds like you had the cable the right way round first, if it wrong way floppy light stays on

I would try a disk head cleaner or another diskdrive, least your one seems to detect when a disk is inserted

edit oh and welcome

[Mick]

Have you verified the disks definitely contain something? and did you get a proper Amiga floppy cable without any twist in the middle?

[orange]

misaligned heads are common issue.

[Geon106]

Originally Posted by orange

misaligned heads are common issue.

can this be corrected and if so how?

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Geon106

can this be corrected and if so how?

If this is the problem, it can be corrected by loosening the screw which secures the drive motor (this is accessible from the back of the drive), and rotating the motor in small increments in either direction and tightening the crew again before trying a disk in the drive once more.

It is advisable to mark the initial alignment of the drive with a fine-tipped permanent marker pen before you start, so that you can return the motor to its original position if there is no improvement.

For this test, it is essential to use a disk that you know is okay and it is highly recommended that it should be a workbench disk or somesuch that you can boot from and run a few programs.

[cpiac64]

use a new floppy and format, copy and verify any file, if is ok the floppy is misaligned, if you have many error you change a floppy drive

[ceaser]

check to see if the little plastic things that depress when you insert a disk are in order. they are near the opening. i once had a bent pin which was causing what you're saying. the best solution if it is bent is to get a new internal floppy. and you can get them on ebay.