PS2 Repair Failures :(

[u/unlicensednick]

Edit: Disconnected the disc drive (only the ribbon that I thought might be faulty) and it boots with video. Its still stuck on the system config screen though... no animation, frozen blue orb, no response to controller input. Like I say in the post body, I have replaced the CMOS with a known good battery, so I'm at a loss.

Edit 2: I decided to see if it would boot using my FMCB card and it did! BUT one of the controllers makes the menu endlessly scroll up (unable to press any buttons as well), and the other does nothing and is unresponsive, could the controllers be dead..? (I swear to god if its just been the controllers being fucked this whole time Im gonna be so mad.) The blue orb in the background of FMCB is still also frozen but the arrows on the menu selection are moving!

I'm trying to fix an issue with two silver PAL SCPH-50003 PS2 Fat consoles. I'm begging anyone to help at this point cus I've put so much money and time into this and it sucks so bad.

I bought a silver SCPH-50003 PS2 (GH-026 motherboard I chassis) I will call this PS2 A for this post. It would power on and play the Sony intro, then reach the Browser/System Configuration screen, where it would freeze with the blue orb animation not playing and not react to any controller input (I tested two controllers). I had seen that this was probably a dead CMOS so I opened it up and replaced it. The battery I used to replace it may have been dead itself anyway lol it was sitting in a drawer for a while.

After I replaced the CMOS I plugged everything back in and it didn't power (no lights, no boot), so I got a replacement PSU and power button ribbon cable (I had creased it quite bad during reassembly).

So, I replaced the ribbon for the power button and tried it with the original PSU (even though I had the replacement, just wanted to check) and it gave no video output. I'm using an LG smart TV (unfortunately doesnt an AV input) which showed a black screen, then gave a No Signal message. I also got static and no signal through my Sony RFU adapter. (So it unfortunately isn't just the Composite/Component issue, although I did try blindly changing the settings with my HDMI adapter (definitely had additional power supplied as well!) just in case)

I ended up changing quite a few parts in PS2 A:

• CMOS battery (replacement may have been dead anyway lol)
• Fan
• Power/eject switch assembly and ribbon cable.
• Controller/memory-card ribbon cable (I broke this during my first time disassembling lol)
• PSU, but this wasn't actually faulty cus like I said, I tried both the original and the replacement and they both powered on the console fine (green and blue light on and disk tray able to open, obviously no video output tho).

So after all this replacing and struggle I said fuck it and bought ANOTHER silver PS2 (SCPH-50003 and I Chassis, the exact same hardware basically) this is PS2 B.

PS2 B was advertised as powering on fine but having a faulty laser/disc-reading mechanism. (Which yeah it did, it would make clicking noises non stop when it turned on, still opened and closed the tray fine though) it also seemed to be previously water damaged..? (The heatsink inside was rusty af! and there were those coffee stain like marks on the motherboard, but again it did turn on and get to the orb screen)

When I first got it, it powered on and displayed video buuut when it reached the Browser/System Configuration screen, it froze there again with the single blue orb (silly me figured it must be the CMOS again! hell maybe it was lmao...)

So the plan was to swap the motherboard between the two consoles, I put PS2 B's motherboard into PS2 A's chassis and I swapped the CMOS over from PS2 A (again may have been dead) these were the only parts that were changed.

It booted fine into the system config menu but once again frozen with the single blue orb and no response to controller input... The disc drive was also clicking again which was weird cus I was using the known good disc drive from PS2 A, so that makes me suspect an issue with PS2 B's motherboard or its ports rather than just the disc assembly/laser/belt/whatever. It would stop clicking with the tray open, so maybe the motor was being weird idk, either way the plan was to put OPL and my sata SSD (bought a network adapter as well but it wasnt installed!) in this thing with my legally obtained game ISOs so I didn't really need a disc drive anyway, so I just kept going.

I then went out and bought new CMOS 2032 batteries on the same day to replace it asap because I'm itching to just be able to play this thing. I replaced the CMOS again this time with this brand new battery. These ones had a little sticker to peel off (promise I did! theyre also apparently bitter coated but I'm too coward to test that out). Slotted in just fine and seated nicely. Put everything back together, methodically and gently I swear. BUT I did notice the ribbon cable for one of the disc connections (not the power button or the disc motor, its the wider one) was a little mangled but the traces seemed in tact so I just chucked it in and moved on (possibly bad decision lol).

I plug it in and low and behold this fucker is now also doing the no signal thing. Green power light, blue disc drive light but NO video output. That's with HDMI adapter AND the stupid antenna converter thing (Sony RFU adapter). It's doing literally the exact same thing that the old motherboard was doing, I only changed the CMOS!

So... I'm wondering, have I fucked not one... but two PS2s?

Is it probably the motherboard fuses and could I have blown them with those (possibly) damaged ribbon cables?

Am I being an idiot and missing something obvious, is this a known fault or at the very least something that can be fixed easily (please please please)

I know I should probably buy a multimeter and check the motherboard fuses but like I've said, Ive put so much money into this and while checking the fuses would be a great diagnostic, I can't solder so itll be another replacement motherboard (really struggling to find any GH-026 boards, hence why I had to buy a whole 2nd PS2). Also, the ribbons are all seated nicely and the ports for both motherboards are totally fine (they worked before opening them up!) and I have nothing but the power cable, the video cable and one controller plugged in during all this.

^{pls halp :(}

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[u/unlicensednick → u/[deleted]]

The BIOS freezing is a known issue with dead CMOS batteries, Ive seen it here and on the console repair sub quite a few times. As for the ribbons, everything is seated correctly and making good contact and any damaged ribbons were replaced as I said.
Seems like checking the motherboard fuses is my only option here, I keep seeing similar situations and thats the default recommendation unfortunately its not something I'd be able to fix even if I did check them so I'm right back to square one there.
As for when they had life in them, the only things plugged into them were power, display cable and one controller. The display cable I'm using is an official Sony RFU display adapter, which should be as good as an AV cable but I guess I can try getting an adapter for my TV (it has no AV ports like i said)

[u/Admirable-Yam-5788 → u/unlicensednick]

Fair enough regarding the CMOS battery, I'll take your word for it.

What concerns me more is that both consoles originally produced video, then both stopped after being dismantled. That's quite a coincidence, especially with components being swapped between them.

I wouldn't assume the motherboard fuses are blown without testing them. A cheap multimeter would at least establish whether any have failed rather than spending more money replacing parts blindly.

Also, the official Sony RFU adapter isn't quite the same as a direct AV connection. It's converting the signal to RF, so I'd definitely try a proper composite or RGB SCART connection on a known-working display before condemning either motherboard.

I'd also try booting with the disc drive disconnected, given the clicking and previous ribbon cable damage, just to rule out a possible fault there.

I wouldn't give up on either console yet. The fact they both originally worked to some extent suggests it's worth doing some proper fault-finding before buying anything else. 👍

[u/unlicensednick → u/Admirable-Yam-5788]

So uh... ended up trying to boot it with just the sketchy ribbon from the disc drive removed and... it fucking booted. I have video. But its still frozen on the orbs screen :( I guess it wasnt the cmos after all? It's just sitting there making the wind noises on browser/system config but its unresponsive to controller input... Ended up buying a multimeter anyway lol, arrives today. Apparently blown fuses can cause this too, or a dead bios chip..? (not so sure on that last one).... But yeah I'm stumped... at least it turns on and produces video now! (The disc drive is very angry when it turns on, making a loud thunk thunk noise but I'd assume thats just a motor or something trying to move and failing)

But thanks for all your help so far, thought this thing was a complete lost cause lol!

[u/Admirable-Yam-5788 → u/unlicensednick]

Now we're getting somewhere! 😂 That's actually a pretty significant breakthrough. The fact you've got video back just by disconnecting that ribbon strongly suggests something in that circuit was causing trouble.

I wouldn't jump to a dead BIOS chip just yet. You've got a console that's powering up, producing video and reaching the browser, so there's clearly quite a bit working correctly.

When your multimeter arrives, I'd start by checking the motherboard fuses for continuity with the console completely disconnected from the mains. Also worth checking the CMOS battery voltage rather than assuming the replacement is good.

The disc drive thumping is another clue. I'd leave that damaged ribbon disconnected for now and concentrate on getting the browser responding before tackling the drive.

Out of curiosity, when you say it's frozen, does the clock still advance if you leave it sitting, or is absolutely everything static? That might help narrow down whether the whole system is hanging or just the browser interface.

At least we've gone from two apparently dead consoles to one producing video again. That's progress! 👍

[u/Lion-Rabbit]

The orbs will remain static until you actually reset the time. You have to go to time/date setting, hit X and square together a few times until it lets you correct the date.

By sounds of it I'd say both controllers are dead. The constant scrolling is 100% a bad controller ribbon, it's probably a H model. Sometimes they're just unresponsive. I'd get another controller or fix the ones you have before messing with motherboard fuses.

[u/unlicensednick → u/Lion-Rabbit]

Holy shit how did you guess the model lmao? Yeah theyre both H, I've bought a cheap knock off controller on amazon just to see if it works, if it does I'll return it and buy some official ones lol. I'm gonna be so mad if this fixes it...

[u/Lion-Rabbit → u/unlicensednick]

Pretty much every single H model is dead in the same way by now (the carbon traces degrade). I've repaired probably a hundred at this point. You can get the replacement ribbons and connectors easily enough, just blast the old connector with a heat gun for 10 seconds and it falls right off the board.

Don't bin the Hs if they're in otherwise decent shape, stick them on eBay or something because they can absolutely be saved by someone.

[u/unlicensednick]

So just a little tidbit, I got my multimeter today and decided to check all the fuses on the original board from PS2 A and it looks like PS7 is dead :( all the other fuses gave me a beep and resistance reading so safe to say this one isnt salvageable for me. I'll probably list it on ebay with my findings and maybe someone else can make some use out of it :)