Controller Port A Not Working (Not a Fuse Issue)

[bahamutfan]

Hi Everyone,

I have a spare DC board where Controller Port A doesn't work - the VMU initially beeps but nothing is displayed on it, while controller inputs do nothing. Ports B, C, and D work perfectly.

To rule out the most common issue, I've used a known, working controller board (with a new fuse) + ribbon cable. The controller connector itself is clean with no corrosion, and continuity checks out.

I've swapped the EMI filters between the controller traces to rule those out.

On the underside of the board, the R601 and R602 resistors measure 36 Ohm, while RA602 measures 4.7 kOhm.

The only thing that's really left are pins 5 and 120 of IC201, which I've tried to reflow (albeit with a hot air station since I don't ever work with BGA components) with no success.

Is there anything that can be done to save this board? Thanks!

[DCTurbo]

I was going to suggest reflowig pins before I read this topic, but have you tried cleaning the controller port head and controller connector with a cotton tip dipped in isopropyl alcohol

[bjankins1]

Actually I'm having an issue with controller port B, when I plug a controller in to port B, it won't work, I cleaned it and it worked but loses its connection throughout motion of the cable moving, so I can't tell if the port is bad or if the wire in the controller has a bad connection

[DCTurbo]

Actually I'm having an issue with controller port B, when I plug a controller in to port B, it won't work, I cleaned it and it worked but loses its connection throughout motion of the cable moving, so I can't tell if the port is bad or if the wire in the controller has a bad connection

If you get connection issues with cable movement something might be frayed. You can get new DC controller cables on AliExpress for a few bucks. Easy fix, just unscrew the controller shell and swap out the cable.

[bjankins1]

No soldering?

[DCTurbo]

No soldering?

The controller is connected by a detachable cable header that pops out, no soldering needed.