A4000D Chip RAM and Battery Issues

[tom16mm]

I recently picked up an A4000D 040 with a Video Toaster 4000 card for $30 from a local electronic parts store, and it's in nice shape overall, but it has some issues.

It had a leaky battery, which I removed, and upon examining the board in that area, I found no significant damage, and the visible traces test well. When I tried powering it up though, I get nothing but the flashing green screen, which would mean a chip RAM issue. I completely cleaned the board and re-seated and cleaned every socketed IC and connector, which has always fixed this problem in the past. I tried swapping RAM modules in the chip RAM socket, with no change. All components and capacitors look good, with no leakage.

So my questions are, can the machine be ran without a battery (my 3 A2500's, A2000HD, and A3000D are running fine without them), and if they can, what else might be causing the problem? There is some minor battery residue below the last (outermost) SIMM socket, could that be the issue?

Also, what kind of keyboard does the A4000D use? Might it be PS/2 compatible?

Thanks.

[stefcep2]

I recently picked up an A4000D 040 with a Video Toaster 4000 card for $30 from a local electronic parts store, and it's in nice shape overall, but it has some issues.

It had a leaky battery, which I removed, and upon examining the board in that area, I found no significant damage, and the visible traces test well. When I tried powering it up though, I get nothing but the flashing green screen, which would mean a chip RAM issue. I completely cleaned the board and re-seated and cleaned every socketed IC and connector, which has always fixed this problem in the past. I tried swapping RAM modules in the chip RAM socket, with no change. All components and capacitors look good, with no leakage.

So my questions are, can the machine be ran without a battery (my 3 A2500's, A2000HD, and A3000D are running fine without them), and if they can, what else might be causing the problem? There is some minor battery residue below the last (outermost) SIMM socket, could that be the issue?

Also, what kind of keyboard does the A4000D use? Might it be PS/2 compatible?

Thanks.

The A4000 does not need the battery to function.

The keyboard is not ps/2, but there is an adaptor to use ps/2 keyboards.

The A4000 Mb is multi-layered, and yes any battery damage in the SIMM area may have resulted in damage and be responsible for your problems. I had Anthony Hoffman in New Zealand repair two SIMM sockets that had battery damage which was barely visible, but resulted in the same symptoms.  It was not a cheap repair, but you need specialised equipment and skills to do it.  It now works and I'm in the process of re-installing my software it up again. ahoffman@clear.net.nz

[tom16mm]

Thanks for the info.

I think I'll try repairing the traces myself. I had to repair 12+ traces in my A2000HD after its battery leaked all over, and that came out fine. The multi-layer board will make it harder, but I'll start with the top layer and see if that fixes it.

I found the schematic for the A4000D in IFF (ILBM) format, but does anyone have that in JPEG (or similar) format? I don't have any networked Amiga's, so I'd just like to view them on my Mac. If not, an ILBM reader/converter for the Mac or PC would be nice.

[stefcep2]

Thanks for the info.

I think I'll try repairing the traces myself. I had to repair 12+ traces in my A2000HD after its battery leaked all over, and that came out fine. The multi-layer board will make it harder, but I'll start with the top layer and see if that fixes it.

I found the schematic for the A4000D in IFF (ILBM) format, but does anyone have that in JPEG (or similar) format? I don't have any networked Amiga's, so I'd just like to view them on my Mac. If not, an ILBM reader/converter for the Mac or PC would be nice.

photoshop USED to have an IFF import filter that was not automatucally installed but was in one of its folders.

BTW I had to have the SIMM sockets an capacitors replaced, and traces repaired.

[zipper]

 If not, an ILBM reader/converter for the Mac or PC would be nice.

Irfanview is free.