Dreamcast not detecting controller/vmu

[One]

Just recently I bought a Sega Sports Dreamcast off of ebay. The guy selling it said "sold as-is powers up but doesn't read the discs." Since that is easily fixable I decided to bid on it and I won it. When it arrived it couldn't read the discs as said but I found another problem: It doesn't detect the controller/vmu! The controller/vmu works perfectly on my other DC but not this one. The only clue that I can see is that when I opened the case to look at it the controller port thing said "1999 Sega, made in Japan" while the rest of the console says "2000 Sega, made in China". Does anyone know a fix for this?

[DC_Tman]

PM me dude. I think I can get you some help.

[grimgravy014]

Sounds like you have a Dreamcast with a blown resistor.

I had this happen to my Dreamcast a few years ago, it's a fairly simple fix.

[K_I_R_E_E_K]

yes, you have 2 solutions, find a similar resistor and replace it or put a paper clip.

remember that a paper clip is like a 0 ohm resistor, so if you use a damaged controler it will zap the power from the dc and basicly the fan, the gd reader....fails, on the other hand it won't blow.
Finding a similar resistor also works, but a damaged controller will blow it up.

since you don't have a damaged controller, just use 1 of the 2 options above, both work perfectly.

[HUmar_Dean]

wiggle it

[One]

How do I fix it with a paperclip?

[Kannibal]

I thought I had this problem, but sometime you have to straighten the cable or just move it around a bit until it starts working FOR YOU........

[K_I_R_E_E_K]

How do I fix it with a paperclip?

The resistance value is very low, it acts like a fuse, so to much power (4 controlers) may blow it.

If you are having a hard time finding the same resistance value, just use a paper clip, it won't blow.

For example, you use a controler with a short circuit (2 wires touch themselves due to wasted protection)
- if you use a resistance, it will blow and you can't use more controlers, therefore you will need to power off the dreamcast to change to another resistance.
- with a paperclip the dramcast fan, lights.... will slowly fail and you will end up with a no screen image on your tv, therefore change controler (no resistance burned)

why does the resistance blow?, as you know short circuit is like a 0 ohm resistance, when you devide something by 0, it will tend to infinite in teory, it never happens to reach infinite because either your console fails or the resistance burns.

here's what i did as a temporary solution and it worked with no limitations. (it was temporary but it can be used permanently)