LaserActive:PAC-S10 - Various Issues and Solutions

This page details several faults discovered while servicing various PAC-S10/S1 modules and their solutions.

Post-Recap Short Circuit Check
After performing any capacitor replacement work, it is imperative to check the three voltage rails (+5, +8, -8) for short circuits. If there is a short circuit on any of these rails, it will damage the CLD-A100 player. Both the MAIN and SUB boards have fuses that are labeled with the voltages they protect on the back side of each board. Check that these are not shorted to Ground on BOTH boards. Also note that the SUB board has two grounds - one for digital and one for audio. The fused 5V rail is referenced to the digital ground and can be checked by measuring continuity to the ground on C506.

Blank Screen on Power Up - Cartridges and BIOS do not load
Assuming no short circuits were measured across any voltage rail on the PAC, one root cause for this issue is the "D15" signal (IC1, Pin 32) being severed. This trace runs directly under C302, which has likely corroded the trace after years of being exposed to electrolytic fluid.

Restore the signal by reconnecting Pin 32 to the plated via next to the "40" text, adjacent to the BIOS EEPROM.