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Philips CDI 490 Troubleshooting Guide

From RetroTechCollection
Philips CDI 470 mainboard tracks side (service manual)
Mono IV main panel of the CDI 470, tracks side, from its service manual. The CDI 490 uses the same small-player board; no 490 drawing has been published.

No service manual for the Philips CDI 490 has been found. Its main board and 20PS304 supply are those of the Philips CDI 470, so the measurements, test procedures and error codes in the CDI 470 service manual apply to the shared parts; they are set out in full on the Philips CDI 470 Troubleshooting Guide.[1][2] Faults that are particular to the 490 come from its 32 KB SmartWatch NVRAM and its built-in Digital Video Cartridge.[3][4]

First checks

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First checks
Symptom Probable cause Action
Dead, no standby light Mains fuse 1101 in the 20PS304 Check the fuse (T 1.0 A L 250 V) with the mains lead out.[2]
Flickering or rolling picture in the player shell and Service Shell; tray opens on its own; spindle runs all the time; "cd" flashing on the display; Low Level Test passes -5 V missing: fuse 3255 open See no -5 V.[5]
Settings, saved games or the clock lost SmartWatch batteries See NVRAM faults.[3]
The 7th Guest crashes at the cake puzzle IMPEG Digital Video Cartridge with version 1 of the game See Digital Video faults.[4]
Disc does not spin CDM 12.1 turntable or mechanism As for the CDI 470; see disc faults on the CDI 470 page.[6]

Service Shell

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The 490's system ROM contains the Service Shell module, sv; retrostuff used it to add the Service Shell to a CDI 660, whose own ROM lacks it.[7] On the CDI 470, which shares the board, the Service Shell starts when pins 2 and 3 of the front input port are linked, or test plug 4822 264 50263 is fitted, at switch-on. It shows a colour bar test image and runs the CD drive test in four modes with an audio CD.[8] The modes, the pass and fail messages and the CD error codes 0 to 8 are tabled on the CDI 470 troubleshooting guide.

Low Level Test

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The Low Level Test in the CDI 470 is run from a terminal on the 68070's serial port (connector 1032, 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity) and checks the ROM, NVRAM, DRAM and the IKAT servo processor, with error codes 05 to 20.[9] No 490 manual has been found to confirm the test items on the 490 ROM. Item 7 of the 470's test calibrates the timekeeper clock, which the 490's SmartWatch does not need.[9][3]

No -5 V

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Retrostuff found these symptoms on a CDI 470 after a probe slipped and shorted +5 V to -5 V on the extension connector, and shows the same flickering shells on a 490: no usable video, a rolling Service Shell picture, the tray opening by itself, the spindle running, "cd" flashing on the display, while the Low Level Test reports no error and the remote control still works.[5]

  1. Measure -5 V on the extension connector, with a crimped lead on pins A1, B1 and C1; a slipping probe can short the two rails.[5]
  2. If -5 V is missing there but present at the supply connector, replace fuse 3255 (MP100, 65 V 1.0 A, Littelfuse 398 series TE5) at grid F1 next to the supply connector.[5]
  3. The 20PS304 itself has no output fuses.[2]

NVRAM faults

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The DS1216C socket holds the batteries that keep the 32 KB SRAM and the clock running; every socket retrostuff has seen had two batteries.[3] When they fail, the stored data and the clock are lost. Before working on it:

  • Do not lift the SRAM out of the socket to test it; its contents are lost at once.[3]
  • Do not fit an 8 KB timekeeper chip in its place.[3]

The replacements (a DS1244Y-70+ or GW-1244-1 for the whole socket, or a FRAM board for the SRAM alone) are listed on the maintenance page.[3] A 490 ROM detects whether 8 KB or 32 KB is fitted.[10]

Digital Video faults

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Cartridges 22ER9956/40 onwards use the IMPEG chipset and crash version 1 of The 7th Guest at the cake puzzle; retrostuff's CDI 490/00 had one. Either use version 2 of the game or fit a VMPEG cartridge (22ER9956/20 to /39), moving the plastic holder out of the way and minding the power and CD cables.[4]

Video output

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The 490 has composite video only as built. Retrostuff's RGB SCART modification enables RGB on the video encoder with resistor 3161 (1 kΩ to +5 V) in grid E3. If the modified player's RGB picture is too bright, check resistors 3162, 3163, 3182, 3183, 3189 and 3190: the service manual gives 820 Ω, but they should be 510 Ω.[11]

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References

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  1. ↑ Retrostuff, "Modifications for Philips CD-i Players" (retrieved 2026-10-20), section "Mono IV (small players)": found in all 470 and 490 consumer players.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Retrostuff, "Philips CD-i Power Supply Units", 2024, updated 2026 (retrieved 2026-10-20), section 20PS304: the supply of the CDI 470 and 490; main fuse 1101 T1.0A L 250V; no other fuses on the supply boards.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Retrostuff, "NVRAM+RTC Solutions for Philips CD-i Players", 2021, updated 2025 (retrieved 2026-10-20), section "32 KB (SmartWatch)": the battery powers the non-volatile memory and the real-time clock; the SmartWatch clock does not need calibration.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Retrostuff, "The 7th Guest CD-i DVC Compatibility / Cake Puzzle Bug", 12 February 2017, updated 2023 (retrieved 2026-10-20).
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Retrostuff, "Philips CD-i Mono III / IV Fuses", 2021, updated 2024 (retrieved 2026-10-20): symptoms with the caption "CDI470 and 490 Player Shell and Service Shell (flickering)"; fuse 3255 MP100, a Littelfuse 398 series TE5, 4822 252 51173, 65 V 1.0 A, at grid F1 on all Mono IV boards; measuring on the extension connector.
  6. ↑ Retrostuff, "Philips CDI470 Diagnosis and Repair", 23 December 2019 (retrieved 2026-10-20).
  7. ↑ Retrostuff, "Philips CDI660 Service Shell", 14 March 2021 (retrieved 2026-10-20): module sv in cdi490a17.rom, 16,144 bytes; missing from the CDI 660/670 ROM.
  8. ↑ Philips Service & Support, Philips Media Systems, Compact disc interactive player CDI 470/00/05/06 service manual, P.S. 0795, 4822 725 24768, section 5.2 The Service Shell (PCS 85 637 and 85 617). Hosted as File:Philips CDI 470 Service Manual.pdf.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Philips, CDI 470 service manual, section 5.1 The Low Level Test, items 0 to 9 and error codes (PCS 85 610), and section 6.3.1.5 (PCS 85 614): terminal on connector 1032, 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity. Hosted as File:Philips CDI 470 Service Manual.pdf.
  10. ↑ Retrostuff, "Philips CDI470 32 KB NVRAM Upgrade", 29 December 2019 (retrieved 2026-10-20): the CDI 490 ROM detects the size of the NVRAM automatically.
  11. ↑ Retrostuff, "Philips CDI490 RGB SCART Modification", 2 October 2020 (retrieved 2026-10-20).


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