Modded jap saturn has stopped rendering 3D graphics

[natchos]

Hi,

My modded japanese Saturn has stopped rendering 3D graphics.
It happened in the middle of a SR game, I pressed pause/restart, and the 3D was gone.
The boot screen animation and sound are showing up, but super super glitched.

I opened the console to check, and except some dust, everything was looking fine.
Looks like a chip stopped working or something...

Is this something common on the saturn?

I would appreciate any help.

Thanks

[dsheinem]

don't worry about it, there aren't any good 3D Saturn games anyway.

[ApolloBoy]

there aren't any good 3D Saturn games anyway.

Nights? The Panzer Dragoon games? Daytona USA? Virtua Cop? Burning Rangers? House of the Dead?

[Yorkie]

there aren't any good 3D Saturn games anyway.

Nights? The Panzer Dragoon games? Daytona USA? Virtua Cop? Burning Rangers? House of the Dead?

+1

[Mad_Hatter]

Sorry about the OP. Hopefully someone here can help you out.

Even if there are not even good 3D games, it's always best to have a flawless console as far as rendering.

don't worry about it, there aren't any good 3D Saturn games anyway.

Ah.. that's not nice!

[pierrot]

don't worry about it, there aren't any good 3D Saturn games anyway.

Ah.. that's not nice!

It was clearly a joke. Don't get your chonies in a twist.

[natchos]

Quick update: After using some dry air to clean the chips a little, I was able to see 3D again for an hour.
I think it's clear that the 3D chip is dying, probably because of the heat.
But the chip is still working at this point, I'm wondering if there is something possible to do to solve this problem...

[pierrot]

I'm going to assume that you're talking about the mod chip that allows for booting from standard CD-R discs: You mentioned some dust in the console in the OP, and I would start by cleaning all of that out with a can of air, or lightly with some dust cleaners. You'd be surprised what being unencumbered by dust can do for an old console.

If that's not solving your issue, it's likely either the laser mechanism or the connection from the ribbon cable to the mod chip/mod chip to the ribbon cable input. I'd recommend cleaning all the contacts with some contact cleaner, or high percentage isopropyl alcohol. Make sure that the contacts are set cleanly and as far as they can go, into the mod chip's input and mother board.

If none of that helps, you could try cleaning the drive lens (very carefully) with a cotton swab and some alcohol or glass cleaner. Make sure to let everything dry before powering it back on. Otherwise, I don't know. Has the console been subjected to any form of shock?

[natchos]

I was talking about the VDP1. From what I read, it's the chip that manage the 3D stuff.
I can't be 100% sure of that, but everything is working fine except the 3D.
There is no visual glitchs on 2D background / sprites or menus, and the sound is perfect too.

I cleaned up everything with dry air, and I don't see any problems around the modchip.

When I power up the console after a long time of inactivity, the 3D randomly works for a short amount of time.

The console was exposed to really high temperatures a few weeks ago, so this can be the cause of all of that...

I think I can't do much at this point, except getting a new console.

[Mad_Hatter]

Sounds like a heating issue. Is there some sort of heatsink, thermal compound, or fan for that chip?