PS1 randomly resets during play... power supply issue?

[SpaceKappa]

Hey folks, my trusty old PlayStation 1 has decided to randomly reset itself during play sometimes. It's completely random... playing Resident Evil 2 it'd happen like every 15-20 minutes, but I played HOURS of Symphony of the Night with no issue, until just now when I sat down to play and it reset AS IT WAS LOADING MY SAVE. Luckily, my memory card wasn't corrupted, but now I'm too scared to play it.

It seems that it's caused by a loose power socket. I'd just buy a replacement power supply but I can't seem to find one that matches my model (SCPH-5501). Does anyone know how to repair this particular problem? I'm not GREAT at soldering but I've worked on a couple of arcade sticks so I can do some basic stuff.

Before anyone says I should just replace the entire PS1, I'm rather attached to this one since it was a gift from my mother. Also playing PS1 games on a PS2 isn't always the best experience. Symphony of the Night in particular features really annoying music skips.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[Hobie-wan]

If it really is just broken solder joints on the power socket that's easy. You just need to melt the points to they'll cool solid again and they should be big spots instead of little fiddly ones.

[SpaceKappa]

Sounds easy enough. Do you know what I'm looking for once I crack it open? I took it apart last night to see if anything was visibly wrong but I wasn't really sure either way.

[s8n]

[SpaceKappa]

Awesome, thank you!

[SpaceKappa]

So what does "reflow" mean, exactly? I can't find where any solder might have melted or worn away so I'm not sure which part specifically needs fixing. Here's what I'm working with... sorry for asking so many questions, I just don't want to make things worse.

[CRTGAMER]

Hey folks, my trusty old PlayStation 1 has decided to randomly reset itself during play sometimes. It's completely random... playing Resident Evil 2 it'd happen like every 15-20 minutes, but I played HOURS of Symphony of the Night with no issue, until just now when I sat down to play and it reset AS IT WAS LOADING MY SAVE.

Based on the pictures and your description doubtful it is a solder connection. I noticed you wrote that you DO NOT LOSE POWER, but that the PS1 would reset. This sounds like the Laser eye having problems reading the disc; the console resetting due to the read error.

Could be the discs needing cleaning or if you are using CDRs the Laser working harder. Which brings up another point, if a modchip inside maybe one of the solder connections on it shorting onto something?

[SpaceKappa]

No, I don't have any modchips or anything, and my games are all clean. I don't think it's a laser issue since the game doesn't hang at all, it's just an out-of-nowhere reset with no warning.

The reason I think it's the power is because the power light will still flick on and off quickly, leading me to believe that it just lost power for a second.

[s8n]

So what does "reflow" mean, exactly? I can't find where any solder might have melted or worn away so I'm not sure which part specifically needs fixing. Here's what I'm working with... sorry for asking so many questions, I just don't want to make things worse.

hi Kappa , to reflow means you heat up the solder pad with a soldering iron and a bit of solder.

if the original joint has cracked a reflow will sort of rebuild the connection to the traces

Based on the pictures and your description doubtful it is a solder connection. I noticed you wrote that you DO NOT LOSE POWER, but that the PS1 would reset. This sounds like the Laser eye having problems reading the disc; the console resetting due to the read error.

Could be the discs needing cleaning or if you are using CDRs the Laser working harder. Which brings up another point, if a modchip inside maybe one of the solder connections on it shorting onto something?

+1 good point CRT..........

[s8n]

i was thinking it could also be a faulty door switch causing the reset , but if the Power LED is flicking OFF then ON again the door switch isnt the case.


have you tried a different Power Cord ?


also i did a google search and in one thread a person thought it could be the Transformer.


i recommend if you go down the path of buying another PS1 get one that is the same model as your current , that way you can keep the one you have now for parts.