Solved Issues charging my N64 Portable + LED screen displaying static

[Dataguru1111]

I've been having issues charging my N64 portable console after a short happened on one of the cells. Before that shortage situation the batteries charged perfectly + the LED screen showed zero static. I believe that the short also caused the LED screen to show static & the batteries to not hold a charge. These are the steps I attempted to solve the issue:

• I measured the voltage of the 2 cells (with a multimeter) [when the system is on & off] and they were both measured at around 3.9v, but the voltage monitor reads that Cell #1 is 3.04v & Cell #2 is 3.74v when the [system is turned on].
• When the [system is off], the voltage monitor shows Cell #1 3.37v but doesn't show Cell #2 voltage. I'm confused on this as well.
• In attempt to charge the console 0.0A were transferred through to the batteries during the charging process.
• I replaced the majority of the wires connected to the batteries banking on maybe the wires became damaged after the short, thus causing the screen to show static & causing an error with the charger
• I replaced the LED screen with a new one, but still no difference, the screen still shows up with static

I'm out of ideas as to what could be the cause for the screen static & the console not being able to hold a charge. Can anyone assist me with what might be the issue?

 

[Stitches]

Photos of wiring and components pls

 

[Dataguru1111]

I will send the photos of wiring and components shortly.
Also I removed the voltage monitor, thinking that I connected it wrong thus is the reason why one of my cells was reading lower because the voltage monitor was always pulling on one cell. And the charger wouldn't charge it because it was busy trying to balance but they never would, because it was running the voltage monitor. But, the screen then became more staticky as a result.
Do you have an idea why the screen shows a lot of static?

 

[Dataguru1111]

Photos of wiring and components pls

LED screen

Pin 1: Connected to Power Button
Pin 2: Connected to P- (Protection Circuit)
Pin 12
Yellow Wire): Soldered to back of LED motherboard

 

[Stitches]

That first photo looks like short city on those JST pins. I'd look at desoldering those JST sockets and running your wires directly to the pads on the board.

 

[Dataguru1111]

Do you mean doing something like this?

 

[CrashBash]

How new is this portable? I'm scared because that looks like a PS1 screen. Hope you aren't following a decade old guide - we've came a ways since then.

 

[Dataguru1111]

The portable is fairly new. I am using a PSOne LED screen. What are the other alternatives?

 

[CrashBash]

There's many cheap panels nowadays that you can get off ebay/aliexpress/other places.

The PSone screen isn't really a great choice now. To get better battery life you'd need to LED mod it, we can find vga screens now, screens of various sizes can be had, and the PSone screen has become more and more rare due to time and them being used in portables of yester-year.

I don't have a list straight up to provide but many threads on the forums here make mention to them, models to look for, and where to get them.

 

[Dataguru1111]

I just having issues with the screen static. The video quality is constantly affected due to the static that shows up on the screen once I power the system. I cleaned up the Pins and still no change.

 

[Dataguru1111]

There's many cheap panels nowadays that you can get off ebay/aliexpress/other places.

The PSone screen isn't really a great choice now. To get better battery life you'd need to LED mod it, we can find vga screens now, screens of various sizes can be had, and the PSone screen has become more and more rare due to time and them being used in portables of yester-year.

I don't have a list straight up to provide but many threads on the forums here make mention to them, models to look for, and where to get them.

Also, Thanks for updating me on the new screens that everyone is using! I will reach out to others to find alternative panels.

 

[Dataguru1111]

I know that it's recommended that I don't charge the console while it's on but, I just noticed that the screen is perfect when it's on & being charged. That must mean something correct?

 

[CrashBash]

I know that it's recommended that I don't charge the console while it's on but, I just noticed that the screen is perfect when it's on & being charged. That must mean something correct?

Could potentially indicate something isn't able to draw enough current off your batteries or something.

And if you can charge while the system is on entirely depends on your battery/charging setup. Something like the 4layertech PMS (should be N64 compatible but double check) allows for charge and play safely.


Also if no one has posted since your last post and your last post was recent please use edit the last post rather than "double-post" it keeps threads cleaner .

 

[Dataguru1111]

*UPDATE

So the screen was back clear! after I charged each of the individual (8) batteries
by themselves to a full charge of 4.22v, swapped out the old power button for a newer replacement & I also replaced all of the wires.

But…..

the clear screen is back gradually being staticky. I attempted to charge the portable (thinking that might solve the issue) and it didn’t, it’s slowly reverting back to a static filled screen.

When I do charge it the cells read (attached) but I noticed that only (1) cell is being drained during usage while the other cell stays at 4.05-4.10v. Can anyone assist as to why the battery current doesn’t flow from both cells?

 

[CrashBash]

Please post pics of your battery/protection/BMS setup. That includes seeing your batteries and how they're wired

 

[Dataguru1111]

Please post pics of your battery/protection/BMS setup. That includes seeing your batteries and how they're wired

IMAGES (in order)​

1. Cell #1: (2) Green wires hooked up to (+)


2. Cell #1 (Black wire) hooked up to (-)


3. Cell #2 (Red wire) hooked up to (+)


4. Cell #2 (Green wire) hooked up to (-)

5. Cell #1 (Green wire) (+) wire connected to Cell #2 (-) side

6-7. Cell #1 (Green wire) (+) wire connected to B1 on Protect Circuit

8-9. Cell #1 (-)(Black wire) wire connected to B- on Protection Circuit

10. Cell #1 (Green wire) (+) connected to (-) on Cell #2

11-12. Cell #2 (Red wire) (+) connected to B+ on Protection Circuit

13-15. [C] (Black wire) on Power Button connected to P+ on Protection Circuit

16-17. NO (green wire) connected to IN+ on regulator

18-19. IN- (black wire) on regulator connected to P- on Protection Circuit (I used a piece of copper to separate each wire that is connected to P-, to avoid potential shorts)

20-21. (Red wire) on Charger port connected to P+ on Protection Circuit

22-23. (Black wire) on Charger port connected to P- on Protection Circuit (I used a piece of copper to separate each wire that is connected to P-, to avoid potential shorts)

24. (Blue wire) on Charger port connected to B1 on Protection Circuit

25-26. OUT+ (yellow wire) connected to Pin 2 (3.3v) on back of motherboard

27-28. Pin 6 (+12V)(Red Wire) back of motherboard connected to NO on Power button

29-30. Pin 4 back of motherboard connected to P- on Protection Circuit (I used a piece of copper to separate each wire that is connected to P-, to avoid potential shorts)

31-32. [Ground] (Blue wire) on Power Button connected to P- on Protection Circuit

 

[Stitches]

The issue isn't the screen. In an attempt to figure that out, I replaced the original PSOne screen for an entirely new PSOne screen and at one point the screen was clear and everything was working fine (only once I charged up each individual battery to 4.22v). I also tested the console on a small television using the original N64 power source and the picture quality was perfect [See attached image].

I believe that issue is stemming from the batteries, not equally, putting out enough current/flow to travel to the screen. I tried replacing each 8 batteries & rewiring them with new wires, I tried replacing the regulator, and replacing the original Protection Circuit, but the (2) replacement Protection Circuit didn't work, only the original did.

Also, are there any other Protection Circuits that I can use that requirement the same exact connections as the Protection Circuit Module [PCB] for 7.2V/7.4V (2S) Li-ion Battery Pack (Working 10A, Cutoff 22A, NTC)?

You can use any 7.4v 2S protection PCB that's rated for 2-3 amps output. The cheap ones on ebay have always been fine for me. The 10A one you're using is a bit overkill for the application, and I don't have any experience with their reliability. Beyond that, I'm really not sure what else you could do. Perhaps try splitting the cells into 4 different 2S1P arrangements and see if maybe using less cells produces a different result? Also why are you using 8 cells for this project?

 

[Dataguru1111]

A PCB like 2S 10A 7.4V BMS Protection PCB Board for 18650 Lithium LiPo Li-ion Battery USA | eBay ?

Good question I have no idea, I guess it felt like the correct number based on the references I viewed. How many cells (batteries) did you use for your portable? Do you think that it's moving too much current through the PCB with 8 batteries?

 

[Stitches]

A PCB like 2S 10A 7.4V BMS Protection PCB Board for 18650 Lithium LiPo Li-ion Battery USA | eBay ?

Good question I have no idea, I guess it felt like the correct number based on the references I viewed. How many cells (batteries) did you use for your portable? Do you think that it's moving too much current through the PCB with 8 batteries?

That board will do fine, yes. Most portables use either 2 or 4 cells, mostly for weight and space constraints. I don't know if having too many would cause the issues you're experiencing, but it's probably worth troubleshooting and narrowing down the pairings to identify any potential problem cells.

I've never built an N64 portable or used the PSOne screen before, so I can't really speculate beyond that.

 

[Dataguru1111]

That board will do fine, yes. Most portables use either 2 or 4 cells, mostly for weight and space constraints. I don't know if having too many would cause the issues you're experiencing, but it's probably worth troubleshooting and narrowing down the pairings to identify any potential problem cells.

I've never built an N64 portable or used the PSOne screen before, so I can't really speculate beyond that.

Gotcha, also on these PCB diagrams is BM/BM1 the same as B1?