Horrified

[Richard]

My Macintosh SE suddenly reset itself multiple times in a row while I was just typing in Note Pad.

 

[Osgeld]

heat?

 

[trag]

Could be that teh power supply is getting marginal. If it drops too far below 5V you'll see behaviour like that. The fix could be as simple as turning the voltage adjustment screw a bit, but it is likely that the power supply could use some aging components replaced.

 

[Richard]

I don't think it was heat. It is in a cool environment, the fan in it works fine, and the case never gets hot.

I always hear this pippling noise whenever I start the SE up or shut it down. Is that normal?

 

[JDW]

I would love to hear that noise, but for the life of me I cannot figure out how to download that AIFF file!

 

[Mac128]

I always hear this pippling noise whenever I start the SE up or shut it down. Is that normal?

Is that in addition to the standard beep, or instead of? It sounds a bit like the floppy disk drive. There's also some static, likely coming out of the speaker. If it's happening at the same time as what sounds like the floppy drive noise, then it is definitely electrical, a short, or a loose wire, if not a low voltage problem as trag suggested.

 

[Richard]

It was the pt-puhtt noise I was asking about. Is that the static noise? In the background the fans were spinning down, which I knew. The pt-puhtt noise happens when the power is switched on or off. The startup beep is still there.

 

[Richard]

I just remembered that a while ago, the SE would not turn on at all every once in a while.

 

[JDW]

After several tries, I finally (accidentally?) got that silly ad-laden download site to deliver that AIFF file to my hard drive! All I can say is that the sound file you made is too short to be conclusive. I personally would appreciate it if a new recording could be made, starting the recording BEFORE you flip the power switch ON, the let us here 10 or 15 seconds or so of what comes next. That would be much more meaningful.

 

[tomlee59]

Don't go tweaking the voltage pot just yet -- you could cause a complete meltdown.

The problem you're seeing is not uncommon, and is most often caused by tarnished power connections. Details on the mechanism, and the fix, are given in http://68kmla.org/files/classicmac2.pdf

Tweaking the voltage adjust pot is the last step.

 

[Richard]

I plugged the power cord into the SE the whole way, completely fine. It would not turn on. I wiggled it. It made electrical sparky noises, and I flipped the power switch on again. It turned on then turned off then turned off then turned on. I wiggled it some more, and it stayed on. Confused as to why it would only turn on if the power cord was at a certain angle, I wiggled it some more to see if I could determine the angle. It seemed to be random. I wiggled it even more, and it tripped the breaker.

What happened?

 

[Osgeld]

I wouldnt jerk it around too much

I dont know if those jacks are attached to a board, but if they are you could cause some damage

 

[tomlee59]

I plugged the power cord into the SE the whole way, completely fine. It would not turn on. I wiggled it. It made electrical sparky noises, and I flipped the power switch on again. It turned on then turned off then turned off then turned on. I wiggled it some more, and it stayed on. Confused as to why it would only turn on if the power cord was at a certain angle, I wiggled it some more to see if I could determine the angle. It seemed to be random. I wiggled it even more, and it tripped the breaker.
What happened?

Either the cord has an intermittent, or the socket on the analog board does. Inspect the socket to see if the pins are tarnished. If they look fine, try a different cord in order to isolate the problem. If you still get intermittent behavior, open up the SE. It's likely then that you'll see that one of the terminals has worked loose from the board. Fix that, and the sparkiness will likely go away.

 

[equill]

I wouldnt jerk it around too much ... I dont know if those jacks are attached to a board, but if they are you could cause some damage

What Richard needs to absorb while he is yet new to privation (groan ...) in this Army, and well before he can be eligible for PFC status, is the difference in use and outcome between winklage and wigglage as investigative or restorative methods. Winkling cables away from snags and out of tight places is wise. Wiggling pins and connectors is, conversely, as both tomlee59 and Osgeld have more than hinted, a case of if it isn't broken before you start, it has a good chance of being so when you finish.

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