Super Nintendo Motherboard Replacement

Written By: Melina
  • Comments: 12
Super Nintendo Motherboard Replacement

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

13

Time Required

15 - 30 minutes

Introduction

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    • Remove the six screws located on the underside of the system using the Gamebit 4.5mm screwdriver.

    In order to prevent damage to the fuse, make sure that you always cycle the power before doing so with the power supply disconnected.

    Raucedine -

    There is a step missing from these instructions. There are two philips head screws where the AV/Power ports are on the back of the motherboard that need to be removed before you can remove the motherboard itself.

    phoenixknight8082 -

    I replaced my controller port, thinking that it was the culprit, but my SNES is still having issues. Nothing works for controller port 1 and only a few buttons work for controller port 2. I tried switching out the controllers and the issue seems to be isolated to the SNES itself. Does anyone have any other suggestions for fixing my issue?

    Thanks in advance.

    Mike Watts -

    For those facing a black screen on startup (after having cleaned pins on cartridges and cartridge slot) WITH power light coming on, turn off console, remove power, and try shorting out the capacitor leads. My SNES stopped working suddenly after a single power cycle, and shorting out the leads (while UNPOWERED) revived it.

    Austin Barnett -

    Could you further explain how to short the capacitor leads?

    Will Pulman -

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    • Carefully flip the unit back over.

    • Locate the seam. Lift and separate the upper half of the case from the lower half of the case.

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    • Remove the two 11.7 mm Phillips #2 screws connecting the power switch to the motherboard.

    There are two models of SNES- the one pictured here, and the other with a large sound board chip behind the game cartridge reader.

    Gena FM -

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    • The power switch is connected to the motherboard near the top left of the console.

    • Carefully pull the connector from its socket on the motherboard. You may need to wiggle it out as you pull.

    • Do not detach the connector by pulling on the wires. This could damage the wires or the socket.

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    • Lift the right side of the eject lever out of the housing.

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    • Pull the metal bar out through the right side of the eject lever.

    • Make sure to keep track of the spring located on the left side of the lever as it may shoot off when removing the metal bar.

    • When reassembling, the procedure becomes more difficult due to the spring (marked red). We recommend that one person hold the spring in place (picture 3) while another person slides the metal bar back into the left housing, and slide the eject lever onto the metal bar.

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    • Lift the controller ports out of the housing, this should be done without much force. Take note of the location of the ribbon cable connection.

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    • Carefully remove the ribbon cable from its port.

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    • Remove the two Phillips two 11.6mm screws that connect the front shield to the motherboard.

    Older versions of the SNES have the shield attached to the 62 pin connector and you will need to remove more screws and take the shield off with the pin connector in one step.

    Paul Arnold -

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    • Lift the front shield straight up to remove it from the motherboard.

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    • Remove the two silver 15.6 mm Phillips #2 screws on either side of the 62 pin connector.

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    • Remove the 11.8 mm Phillips #2 screw near the rear of the SNES.

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    • Lift the motherboard straight up to remove it.

    Be careful, when removing the motherboard on my SNS-001 model, the two silver phillips screws on each side of the RF Modulator HAVE to be removed (towards the rear next to the dc power in and the av multi in).

    K4PDaddy -

Conclusion

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

Author

Melina

Member since: 13/10/10

950 Reputation

4 comments

There are several versions of the Super Nintendo. Steps for my version are a bit different.

joshenders -

This seems to be a newer super nintendo. If you have one of the older ones, there will be a bit more screws but still basically the same steps.

Anonymous Idea -

There are two versions of the Super Nintendo- the one pictured here, and one with a sound chip board behind the game cartridge reader. These two models have different shells that are not interchangeable (important to know if you're looking to buy a replacement housing for your SNES)

Gena FM -

It’s possible they may be referring to the European/Japanese version of the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom. Either that, or it’s one of the weird, misshapen “reskins”.

Rupin Soland -