No, I didn't fix Rob's old PS2 "Fat" (using that nickname is a little uncomfortable), and my anger may (did) have made the situation worse. And now Rob's old PS2 maybe a pile or two of parts...
... but they are good looking parts. The top cover looks flawless.
That got me thinking about finding a way to redeem myself. I decided to check eBay for a PS2 that needed parts.
I found two auctions that looked promising.
#1:
Item description from seller: "Kid got a hold of the drill and started drilling holes into it. They are only on the surface; nothing inside was damaged. Console works like a charm!"
I figured I could replace the top shell with mine. That would be an easy fix. I was a bit leery about the honesty of a seller who allowed a small child access to power tools.
#2:
Item description from seller: "LAST TIME THIS THING WAS TURNED ON IT WORKED FINE SAT IN A BOX ECER SINCE I DONT HAVE CORDS OR ELSE I WOULD TEST BUT ID SAY IT WORKS"
I have cords and a disc tray cover, so that would be an easy fix, too. I was a bit leery of it sitting in a box for a long time and of the seller really having no way to test it (and the all-caps didn't help).
I put in a low bid on auction #1, but I lost during the night. That was a good thing. The seller of auction #2 sent me a offer of 50% off his $30 price. The total was $32.10 with shipping. Not a bad price to pay for retro game redemption.
The seller's name on eBay is porkemon.
I like how the mailer box was decorated. Somebody was having fun.
The first thing I did when I opened the box was to attach my disc tray cover to the new PS2. Whew. That looks better.
What didn't look better was the TV when I tested this PS2. The console technically worked. I could turn it on. The problem was that the left side of the startup screen was blue when it was supposed to be black. The colors were also way off when playing games. DVDs, however, looked great. Huh?
Miss?
I took a deep breath and checked Google for someone with a solution. No dice. My next inclination was to grab my tool box, but then I stopped myself. Just because I could open it up doesn't mean that I should. Sometimes I have a tendency to "over fix" a problem. I forget to check the simple things first.
I checked the AV port that is on the lower right of the back.
It looked dirty. Maybe that was my problem? (Notice that the Warranty Seal is still intact.)
I dipped a Q-tip in isopropyl alcohol and ran that back and forth across the contacts. The Q-tip came out covered with grime. That was encouraging. I went through six more Q-tips, but there was no change in the screen's discoloration. I then sprayed the port with DeoxIT D5 and let it sit overnight.
One thing that I learned while working on pinball machines is that sometimes a machine can fix itself. It just needs to be used. Some people call this "playing through the problem."
The next day I popped in Sled Storm (PS1 1999) and played for a few minutes. The screen looked yellow, but after losing a few races I noticed that the correct colors would blink on for a moment or two. I exchanged the game disc for a CD, and let the Pixies' Dolittle play. The startup screen was entirely black after a few hours of playing music. Is it a coincidence that the lead singer for the Pixies is Black Francis?
The PS2 had fixed itself with a little cleaning. I didn't even have to cut the Warranty Seal.
Hit!
Now to explain that sound bar...
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