SE/30 "simasimac" problem

[nahuelmarisi]

Hi,

I have an SE/30 which suddently stop working, and when powered on I see the classic simasimac pattern (as described here http://www.biwa.ne.jp/~shamada/fullmac/repairEng.html#SimasiMac), that is black and white horizontal stripes.

I did what the guide said and removed all the ram and rom dimms, cleaned the slots and only put 4 ram dimms back (total 1 mb). The pattern is still there, but after a few seconds it goes a way and boots.

One can't really be said that the problem is solved. Oh and I still don't get a startup bong.

I was wondering if this means that the ram is faulty or that I definately have to replace the capacitors mentioned in the guide?

 

[tomlee59]

I'm fairly certain that you are looking at a capacitor-related problem. Inspect your motherboard carefully, and I'll bet you'll see signs of leakage around one or more caps. Also look near the pram battery (another source of corrosive chemicals).

 

[MacMan]

If you do find leakage it can be cleaned off, either by using some kind of cleaning alcohol like isopropanol or brake cleaner along with cotton buds; or the more drastic approach of washing the main board, (with SIMMs and battery removed), in a bowl of soapy water or a dishwasher. If using the latter methods, give the board a couple of days to dry out before powering on!

My first SE/30 had this issue but cleaning off the residue with alcohol and replacing the PRAM battery did the trick, it has worked fine since (although with low speaker volume).

 

[JDW]

Here we go again. I repeat my call for this topic to be a Sticky.

 

[nahuelmarisi]

I had a quick look and nothing seems to be leaking, I'll inspect the thing closer today.

If I do need to replace them, does anybody know where I can get those capacitors in the UK? I doubt Maplin will have them

 

[ealex79]

If you do find leakage it can be cleaned off, either by using some kind of cleaning alcohol like isopropanol or brake cleaner along with cotton buds; or the more drastic approach of washing the main board, (with SIMMs and battery removed), in a bowl of soapy water or a dishwasher. If using the latter methods, give the board a couple of days to dry out before powering on!
My first SE/30 had this issue but cleaning off the residue with alcohol and replacing the PRAM battery did the trick, it has worked fine since (although with low speaker volume).

People... I really have doubts on it. If one puts a board in a dish washer, even with heating off, how will that *ever* completly dry out again? I guess the water will be really everywhere, even on places where there is no chance of drying by air, under IC's and Chips f.e.

Did anybody ever did that?

 

[trag]

I had a quick look and nothing seems to be leaking, I'll inspect the thing closer today. If I do need to replace them, does anybody know where I can get those capacitors in the UK? I doubt Maplin will have them

Shameless self promotion...

I have the caps for the SE/30 available and I am happy to ship internationally. For details, see this three in the Trading Post forum:

http://68kmla.org/forums/viewtopic.php?p=57542#57542

 

[nahuelmarisi]

I've replaced the ram with 'new' 4x1mb dims and the SE/30 has been working perfectly (no pattern anymore, which occurred with the original 8x256k dims). However I still don't get a start up bong, I closely inspected the capacitors mentioned in the guide and they don't seem to be leaking. Could the lack of sound be caused by something else?

Oh, and where can I buy decent ram chips for my SE/30? I want it to have at least 32mb of ram (depending on the price).

P.S. Sorry JDW if my last question has already been asked (I searched se/30 ram dims with no significant results)

 

[JDW]

I closely inspected the capacitors mentioned in the guide and they don't seem to be leaking. Could the lack of sound be caused by something else?

Yes, but in my experience it's highly unlikely. Also note my post here, where I address scooter by name, first paragraph. Whether you see the fluid or not, I almost can guarantee you that some has leaked. Before you try anything else, replace those caps! (Yes, I personally have used a pull-up resistor on the UB11 audio chip on 2 boards, but that never solved the problem in my case -- cap jobs did though.)

As to your question about where to buy RAM for your SE/30, I bought mine on EBAY. I bought 32MB worth and 128MB, on two separate occasions. Here is a thread on SE/30 RAM and here is LEM's info.

 

[tomlee59]

Re: No sound. The most common causes (aside from a control panel setting error) are bad capacitors (as JDW said, whether or not you can see leakage, they may have failed; just replace them -- it costs little time or money to do so), and a faulty audio output jack, in that order. To preclude the latter possibility, simply plug in a headphone and see if that works. If you get sound in the headphone, but not out of the speakers, the jack is almost certainly the problem. Cleaning the contacts or replacing the jack will fix it.

 

[kelmac]

I have 2 SE/30 macs. Both run fine except for no sound. I can heard faint sound when plugging into the auxially jack with my iPod ear phones. I think the C6 cap needs to be replaced on each logic board. Do you know of any skilled technicians that I could send my logic boards to get recapped? I appreciate all the expert advise, but my skills are limited to replacing boards. I live in Peoria IL and am will to pay for getting these logic boards recapped. I am a Mac nut from 1985. I just bought some SE/30 on eBay. They really scream compared to my 4 meg Mac Plus. Please advise. Keith

 

[kelmac]

If you have an SE/30 with the "no" sound problem. I can recommend an excellent person that can clean, recap and test your logic board for a very reasonable cost. His PM name is Phreakout and he is an expert working on SE/30 logic boards. He just restored 3 SE/30 logic boards for me within a 2 week time frame. Phreakout you are an awesome member of this liberation army of mac nuts. Thanks for the great job!!!