Amiga CD32 will not boot. Green screen power light blinks, later a black screen

retrofriends · 20 July 2020, 01:12

Hello there. Looking for some help with a CD32. What I have discovered and what I have done:
It came to me with a green screen that would show itself for 10 blinks of the power LED, then the unit resets and repeats the green screen / power blink.
It supposedly came from a person who replaced the processor. After thorough examination, I found the processor was not the part changed, it was AKIKO. I decided to test chip ram with my oscilloscope, and found that the first RAM chip (U16) had no CAS signal, yet the others were fine (U17-U19). So I traced it to a broken trace under the AKIKO chip. I installed a bodge wire to repair this. (Hopefully this portion of the repair will be helpful if someone else gets a green screen / light blink on their CD32).

Now the unit boots to a black screen. I am assuming that it is booting past the chipmem check. The power LED is dim for a second then goes bright, which I assume to be correct operation. I have examined the large capacitors. They are the correct orientation, and seem to be taller than the factory ones, so I am assuming someone did a recap already (likely done before trying the AKIKO replacement).

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have tested continuity on AKIKO's pins to the pads and all is good. I will try continuity from AKIKO to other points/chips in case there are more broken traces to AKIKO.

I have a DiagROM for CD32 on the way. Anyone had experience with this application? I usually use the serial output, but the CD32 doesn't have a port. I know it has serial in the keyboard/aux port, and another in the expansion connector, but they are TTL. Has anyone tried a TTL-to-USB converter to connect it to a PC? Which port does the DiagROM output to, the keyboard/aux or the rear expansion?

retrofriends · 23 July 2020, 21:35

Problem solved. I found a second bad trace on a data line from AKIKO. Another Amiga brought back from the grave!

Video of my repair here:
[ Show youtube player ]

Akiko · 24 July 2020, 18:40

A great job reviving it so far, looking forward to part two.

20 July 2020, 01:12	#1
retrofriends Registered User Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: California / USA Posts: 25	Amiga CD32 will not boot. Green screen power light blinks, later a black screen Hello there. Looking for some help with a CD32. What I have discovered and what I have done: It came to me with a green screen that would show itself for 10 blinks of the power LED, then the unit resets and repeats the green screen / power blink. It supposedly came from a person who replaced the processor. After thorough examination, I found the processor was not the part changed, it was AKIKO. I decided to test chip ram with my oscilloscope, and found that the first RAM chip (U16) had no CAS signal, yet the others were fine (U17-U19). So I traced it to a broken trace under the AKIKO chip. I installed a bodge wire to repair this. (Hopefully this portion of the repair will be helpful if someone else gets a green screen / light blink on their CD32). Now the unit boots to a black screen. I am assuming that it is booting past the chipmem check. The power LED is dim for a second then goes bright, which I assume to be correct operation. I have examined the large capacitors. They are the correct orientation, and seem to be taller than the factory ones, so I am assuming someone did a recap already (likely done before trying the AKIKO replacement). Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have tested continuity on AKIKO's pins to the pads and all is good. I will try continuity from AKIKO to other points/chips in case there are more broken traces to AKIKO. I have a DiagROM for CD32 on the way. Anyone had experience with this application? I usually use the serial output, but the CD32 doesn't have a port. I know it has serial in the keyboard/aux port, and another in the expansion connector, but they are TTL. Has anyone tried a TTL-to-USB converter to connect it to a PC? Which port does the DiagROM output to, the keyboard/aux or the rear expansion?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
A500 green screen or light green issue	dssence	support.Hardware	5	14 October 2019 10:34
Amiga 500+ (Rev 8A) - long black screen display duration before kickstart boot screen	solarmon	support.Hardware	14	01 September 2019 22:07
Amiga 1200 doesnt power on, but power light blinks when given power	Changis	support.Hardware	8	20 March 2019 00:16
A1200 - black screen & power LED blinks	Targ	support.Hardware	15	29 January 2019 11:21
Bought Amiga 500+ and will not boot power light flashing green	kernoman	support.Hardware	47	30 August 2009 21:03

23 July 2020, 21:35	#2
retrofriends Registered User Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: California / USA Posts: 25	Problem solved. I found a second bad trace on a data line from AKIKO. Another Amiga brought back from the grave! Video of my repair here: [ Show youtube player ]

24 July 2020, 18:40	#3
Akiko Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: UK Posts: 257	A great job reviving it so far, looking forward to part two.

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)