Saturn Model 2 drive problem, 'checking disc format'

[tmppro]

I've recently picked up a Saturn that seems to have a problem communicating with the cd drive.
Upon boot it skips the intro animation and shows the CD player with 'checking disc format' for about 15-20 seconds before the message disappears completely. It doesn't show anything else after that point, no reaction to the lid switch.
This also happens if I boot with the drive open in the first place, also shows 'checking disc format'.

The drive on the other hand spins up, makes the expected noises (reading TOC, idling after that) and reacts to the lid switch.
I haven't tested the power supply and drive in a different Saturn yet, but based on the problem I'm pretty certain they are fine.

The obvious thing is of course to replace all electrolytic capacitors, but it's a pretty big job and I thought I'd ask if somebody has fixed a problem like this before.

[zyrobs]

Have you tried reseating the ribbon?
Can you post images of the insides?

[tmppro]

Yep, that was my first thought too. Cleaned the contacts of the ribbon with isopropyl alcohol and also checked all 21 pins with a multimeter.
I will post pictures of the board tomorrow, but it's not particularly dirty or anything.

Without the drive connected I get the typical odd sounding menus and the 2 red cubes, so at least that's normal.

[tmppro]

So I've swapped PSU and drive with another Saturn console, but no surprises there, they both work.

Then as I was taking pictures of the board I noticed the very obvious issue:



That's a broken trace that leads to Pin 54 (ACS2) of IC5, the SCU that controls the A-bus to the drive.


And yeah, it's working perfect again. Glad it was an easy fix this time
I think it is extremely helpful to find common problems and ideas how to fix them on the internet, so maybe this thread can point someone in the right direction sometime.

[zyrobs]

The trace to pin 53 also looks broken there.

And I'm surprised that motherboard works at all, with so much dust on it.

[tmppro]

The trace of pin 53 still checks out ok. I've properly cleaned it so it should last for a while.
The amount of dust isn't really that much, just the usual layer of dirt around the cartridge port. I've seen way worse.

[fitzenberg]

I seem to be having a similar problem but can't find any corrosion on my boards, should I go through and replace all the electrolytics?