Macintosh SE CRT issues

[ExplorerZ]

One of my macintosh se's crts are constantly glitching out when in use (Lines through screen, screen moving left and right.) And my other SE's video is uncentered. Any ideas on how to fix?

 

[smrieck511]

My understanding is that this can be a symptom of old solder joints on the analog board going bad. I have a similar issue so Im going to resolder the joints on my analog board tonight and see what happens.

 

[smrieck511]

after verifying with the capacitors looked OK, I did reflow all of the solder joints on the analog board and as far as I can tell, it seems to fixed the problem. Good luck.

 

[rollmastr]

The solder joints on the analog board should be checked. Also, a dirty brightness potentiometer can cause similar issues.

 

[68kPlus]

after verifying with the capacitors looked OK, I did reflow all of the solder joints on the analog board and as far as I can tell, it seems to fixed the problem. Good luck.

That's really helpful to know. My SE does the same, without the lines. I thought it was capacitors, so that should save a buck.
Does anyone know which solder joints specifically?

 

[Phipli]

@ExplorerZ - Just a quick safety note here.

The analogue board has high voltages and big capacitors. If you're learning it is recommended that you work in the same room as someone else. More generally, make sure they know that if you get an electric shock, they isolate the power at a switch, and not to touch you, or they could also be shocked. This said, DO NOT work on the board while it is plugged in or recently plugged in, avoid running it with the case off.

Leave the computer unplugged for several hours, a day if possible, after you last powered it on to discharge, before poking your iron in it.

 

[cheesestraws]

Does anyone know which solder joints specifically?

For me it's most often been the mini-fit connectors, but that's anecdotal. Nearly all the connections in there are under quite a lot of thermal stress, though, so it's pretty easy for hairline cracks to develop.

 

[smrieck511]

you can use a magnifying glass or an iPhone camera and it's usually pretty easy to see which joints are broken. The solder will look cracked.

 

[smrieck511]

Here's an example.

 

[smrieck511]

but again, just my theory that this is the cause or one of the causes. Old out of spec capacitors might cause similar issues.