Need help: Quadra 840av refurb in progress . . .

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

. . . because I've been neglecting this Mac for which I've never felt any particular love or attraction and want to get it into the hands of another member if possible:

Quadra 840av looking for loving home . . . and some TLC. :-/

I'll be posting pictures of the process and links to relevant threads as I go. That seems like a good HowTo in the making that'll be applicable across models and generations of Macs.

 

[uniserver]

My offer is 50 bucks + shipping, in its current state.

i'd rater re-cap er. probably just do it with aluminum can caps, follow mcdermd's lead.

I keep forgetting you wanted a g3 aio, I will give you one for free, just pay for the shipping to you. it will be like 55 dollars.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Offers in PM, I'm working on it, we'll see what happens that's a bit of a lowball, even in its current state.

I decided against killing a working MolarMac for a hack.

 

[uniserver]

alright, well if mcdermd wants to chime in…

he just re-capped his,

Maybe make a new

Caps! -- Quadra 840av

Post

 

[Unknown_K]

I recapped my 2nd 840av a while ago, something else is fubar on it (turns on, no chime). My original 840av had capacitor issues that were fixed with a recap (it would start up on its own and just bong and reboot bong, rinse repeat real freaky when it happens in the middle of the night).

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Interesting, sounds similar, I hope there's nothing seriously wrong with either.

There was a short power outage early this morning, so the Duo/DuoDock scared the shiznit outta me. I unplugged the thing in case something was wrong when I got up, but the coffee maker and microwave clocks were flashing. So when the power came back on . . . so did the Docked Duo.

 

[Unknown_K]

I figure either a chip is bad or the goo ate a trace I havn't been able to find. Sooner or later I will get back to it, or just find a new MB to install.

 

[mcdermd]

Before recapping, my Q840av had no video but power was fine to all the peripherals and I got a "bong". After recapping, it had no audio. It turned out the amplifier chip for the external speaker was shot. It was near the worst caps on the board. I lifted the part from a broken Q610 board I had around which fixed it good.

 

[CC_333]

Hi,

I'd love to get ahold of a Quadra 840av, but they never seem to be available.

I'm glad to see this one, though. If I had caught it sooner, I probably would've thrown in an offer.

I hope someone gets it and enjoys the daylights out of it!

c

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

Until I announce a sale, offers are always good things in PM. I have no clue about the value of this IRL or in the surreal wrold of eBay. I'm not looking to get crazy money for this from anyone here. I need just enough to buy a cartridge loader for the 950 and a bunch of small stuff for haacks and maybe something that is hackable . . . but as much of that as I can reasonably get! OINK! ;D

I'll be doing a more methodical listing of the symptoms in this thread than the description in the link above/quoted below. As I go along with the refurb, I'll post good pics of it.

I just tried to fire it up again and she didn't make it all the way, so it's very likely in need of a recap in the hands of someone with the experience to do so. It bangs away at the HDD, but no startup chimes or video output. I plan to open her up and see if it's anything simple like a PRAM battery or some such and to check for any leakage/damage from that or capacitors. I'm hoping I pulled the battery, but it's doubtful, I wasn't in very good shape back then and likely thought I'd be using it. The 8500 has been under the table just as long and had no battery damage, so I'm thinking caps.

@mcd: did you try getting line level sound out of the speaker jack as part of your testing while debugging the amp fix?

There's no bong on mine, but the powered speakers give a very definite sound spike at power on and a THUMP on power off, if that's indicative of anything electrical. The IIfx does this a bit as well, but it's not as pronounced on power off, but that may only be a difference between the machines

 

[uniserver]

i think mcdermd got his for 20 bucks from a recycle center.

 

[mcdermd]

Line level on mine was fine which helped steer me towards the circuit for the speaker.

If you haven't recapped yours yet, I wouldn't bother entertaining any more troubleshooting until you do. Let me know if you want help with that. I have an 840av to test in too. Mine was $40 from a friend.

 

[uniserver]

ah but doesn't your friend run a recycle center?

 

[mcdermd]

He does work at one (and has for a very long time), yeah. He helped start it up with another Mac enthusiast after they found themselves running into each other scouting for Macs at the Goodwill all the time.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

AHA!!!!! I knew you had an edge on this stuff, mcd! :lol:

Yep, methinks a package will be heading your way very soon. Figure out the 2300c pieces to you puzzle in the meantime.

I'll try not to spill any blood on the MoBo in the process.

 

[mcdermd]

To tell the truth, I've gotten more accessories from my buddy than anything else.

 

[Unknown_K]

I bet there are very few 68k machines at recycling centers anymore, that endless supply ended up recycled into plastic benches and ipads.

 

[Trash80toHP_Mini]

I opened it up and ran it through the dishwasher to no avail. Same symptoms present as before.

This looks to have been stored very badly sometime before I got it. There's some rust on the bottom plate and a lot of corrosion. The worst parts are fairly close to caps on the component side, but there's a lot of it all across the solder side. Most of the thruholes are solid green and almost all the connections on the underside are corroded to some extent, so cap leakage can't be wholly responsible.

Will my 8500 board fit in there well enough to test the speaker, CD, FDD and HDDs? 7100 board?

The PCBs of the HDDs also show corrosion. :-/

Worst case scenario is an empty case to support the MacCoffeeTable™ and a 40MHz 68040 for the 605+ or maybe a Rocket44 . . . }

 

[mcdermd]

The 8500 board should fit. The power switches are on the opposite end but it should fit in the chassis (or beside the chassis).

I used an 8500 to test my 840av components.