Philips CDI 605 Troubleshooting Guide

Front and rear panels of the CDI 605T with Philips' reference numbers (service manual section 2.2)

Fault-finding on the Philips CDI 605 can draw on three kinds of source: the checklist in Philips' user manual, the measurements and parts lists in the CDI 605T service manual, and the repair notes of the 605T owner at retrostuff.org. The service manual for the 605/00, which holds Philips' troubleshooting chapters for the power supply, the MMC panel, the CD and audio sections and the video section, is not among the manuals ICDIA hosts; the 605T supplement lists those chapters as belonging to it. Philips' training manual for the CDI 910, another Mini MMC player, describes the same kinds of test in detail and is summarised on the Philips CDI 910 Troubleshooting Guide.

Before you start

• Unplug the player and leave the power switch on for a while so that the supply's filter capacitors discharge. Set the 110/220 V selector on the rear to match the mains.
• The CD mechanism uses a class 1 laser.
• Philips' service tools for the player were Testdisc 5 and 5A (SBC444 and SBC444B, 4822 397 30245) for playability and CDM adjustment, the 1 kHz test disc SBC442 (4822 397 30155) for intermittent faults, the audio signal disc SBC429 (4822 397 30184), a 10-pole extension cable for measuring the encoder panel (4822 321 22267), a 6-pole extension cable for the APU panel (4822 321 22268) and Torx screwdrivers (4822 395 50145). The measuring equipment listed is a digital multimeter, a VT220 or VT100 terminal, digital and analogue oscilloscopes and a timer/counter.

Philips' checklist

Before Requesting Service (user manual p. 18)

Symptom	Probable cause	Action
Power indicator does not light	Button not fully pressed; plug not making contact; no supply at the socket	Press the button again; check the mains lead and the socket
Very long wait before the start-up menu	Additional memory set to 0 in the 605 menu	Set the additional memory in the 605 Tools menu
Inserted disc does not start	CD drive selector on the rear set to external	Set the CD drive selector to internal
Caddy will not load	A disc is already loaded, or the caddy is upside down	Unload the disc; turn the caddy over
Start-up screen does not change after loading	Disc upside down in the caddy, dirty or defective	Turn the disc over, clean it, or try another disc
No picture	Display not switched on, wrong video source, faulty connection or display	Check the display and the cable; try another video source on the display
Picture but no sound	Mute on; amplifier off or set to the wrong source; faulty connection	Check the amplifier and the audio leads
Distorted sound from a hi-fi	Audio leads plugged into the phono input	Move them to a line input
Picture rolls or is black and white	525/625 line selector set wrongly	Set the selector and press the Return to zero key
Cursor does not follow the mouse	Cable	Check the cable and press the Return to zero key
No response after taking out a disc	–	Press the Return to zero key

Settings lost, light blue screen or "memory full"

The time, date and settings are kept in an 8 KB Timekeeper chip with its own cell. When the cell is flat the settings are lost at every power-off. The player can also stop at a light blue screen, or at a "memory full" error with garbage at the bottom of the screen, or show nothing at all. The 605T at retrostuff.org showed the year 2010 and lost every change at power-off when it arrived. Later the same player went into a reboot loop, printing "Exception Error, vector offset $0008" and "Fatal System Error; rebooting system" on the terminal, and then stopped at the "memory full" screen. Its owner had seen that screen on consumer players with dead Timekeepers, where a new Timekeeper usually cleared it; this player started again after being left switched off for a while, and the settings held after he fitted a socket and a new clock chip. Replacement chips and the removal method are on the Philips CDI 605 General Maintenance page.

Low-level test and terminal

The low-level test runs from the boot ROM and reports to a terminal. On the 605T at retrostuff.org, a terminal on port 2 (through a null-modem cable) with the space bar held while the player was switched on brought up the "CD-I MINI MMC low level test REL. 1.2" with this menu:

CDI 605T low-level test menu

Key	Test
0	Exit low-level test
1	Writing to a default RAM address
2	ROM parity check
3	NVRAM test
4	DRAM test
5	CDIC test
6	Slave processor test
7	Clock calibration

Philips' training manual for the CDI 910 gives the terminal settings for that player's test as 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity and no handshake, and lists its error codes Er01 to Er22. The OS-9 shell is a separate function of the 605: it needs a terminal on port 3 and at least 0.5 MB of RAM allocated in the Tools menu, after which a SYSTEM button appears in the settings screen.

Supply rails

The power supply feeds the CD panel through connector C1. The CD panel circuit diagram shows +33 V, +8 V, −8 V, +5 V, +12 V and −12 V arriving there, and the panel derives its own supplies through low-value resistors that Philips marks as safety components:

CD panel supply branches (CD part 2 circuit diagram)

Branch	Fed from	Series part	Decoupling
−8VA	−8 V	3144, 1 Ω	2142, 56 nF
−5 V	−8 V	3104, 470 Ω, with 4.7 V Zener 6103	2105, 56 nF; 2107, 33 µF 16 V
+5VB	+5 V	3103, 4.7 Ω	2103, 56 nF
+5VC	+5 V	3620, 1.5 Ω	2620, 100 nF; 2623, 47 µF 25 V
+12VA	+12 V	3621, 2.2 Ω	2621, 47 µF 25 V
−12VA	−12 V	3622, 2.2 Ω	2622, 47 µF 25 V

If a branch is dead while the rail at C1 is present, check its series resistor. The extension panel FMV makes its own −5 V from −12 V with an MC7905 regulator (7002) between two 100 µF capacitors, 2002 and 2003, and passes +5 V to the floppy drive. A dead power supply was exchanged as a complete assembly, Philips part 4822 214 51993; its circuit is in the 605/00 manual.

Disc not read

• Check that the CD drive selector on the rear is set to internal. The DO cinch socket connects an external CD-i emulator; it carries no S/PDIF signal.
• Philips' measurements on the CD panel (section 7.2.2) use Testdisc 5, track 1.

CD panel checks (service manual section 7.2.2)

Measurement	Point	Expected
Laser current	Between measuring points 1 and 2	0.7 V DC ±10 %
Focus	Point 3 to ground	+400 mV DC ±10 %
Starting signal	Point 4 to ground, after pressing play	A rising ramp, triggered by the Si/RD signal at IC7101 pin 6
Motor control	IC7181 pin 1 to ground	A burst at start, then −1.7 V DC ±10 % while track 1 plays
Point 6	To ground	3.2 V DC ±10 %
Point 7	To ground	Pulse waveform; Philips shows it at standby, at the start of play and in normal play

The laser current is set at the factory, and a replacement CDM 9 needs no adjustment. The CDM 9 unit is Philips part 4822 691 30275, or 4822 691 30277 with its sub-chassis.

Tray faults (605T)

A tray that will not move, sticks or squeals usually has a slack belt or dried grease in the tray loader 915. The belt is Philips part 4822 358 31168; the procedure is on the Philips CDI 605 General Maintenance page.

Picture faults

• A rolling or black-and-white picture means the 525/625 line selector is set for the wrong standard. Set it and press Return to zero.
• The professional Mini MMC players have region switches built in. Do not try the PAL/NTSC solder-bridge change used on consumer Mini MMC boards.
• The RGB output is on a 9-pin D-sub at 0.7 V p-p into 75 Ω.
• The encoder panel was exchanged as an assembly (4822 214 51992). Philips' 10-pole extension cable 4822 321 22267 lets it be measured in place.

Sound faults

• The KILL circuit on the CD panel (transistors 6620 to 6623 with capacitors 2630, 2631 and 2632) is driven by the RESETCD signal. Philips' training manual for the CDI 910 describes the same signal as muting the audio outputs during reset, so that the electrolytic capacitors in the audio circuit discharge without a pop. If the player plays but stays silent, check that circuit and its supply.
• The headphone amplifier 7651 (NJM4556) is fed from ±12 V through 3655 and 3656 (22 Ω each), with 2681 (2200 µF 25 V) across its supply pins.
• The APU panel was exchanged as an assembly (4822 214 51849). Bipolar capacitors 2501 and 2502 (22 µF 10 V, 4822 124 41738) sit in its audio path on the CD panel.

Extension board, SCSI and Digital Video

• Make every connection to the SCSI, printer and Ethernet ports with the power off.
• The 605T at retrostuff.org worked with an external PD (phase-change) drive on SCSI. A CompactFlash card behind a chain of SCSI-to-IDE adapters did not work, and the player refused to start for a time afterwards.
• The 22ER9424 Digital Video board in the 605T has a ROM for the 605 authoring players and does not start in consumer players. The one at retrostuff.org was missing two SMD capacitors, 2307 and 2433.

Related pages

• Philips CDI 605
• Philips CDI 605 General Maintenance
• Philips CDI 605 Capacitor Replacement Guide
• Philips CDI 605 Documentation
• Philips CDI 910 Troubleshooting Guide
• Capacitor Failure Symptoms