Philips VG-5000 Troubleshooting Guide
Faults on the Philips VG-5000 fall into three groups: the external VU-0022 power supply, the cassette connections, and the socketed chips on the main board. Service sa's service manual gives a short check procedure for the main board and cassette interface; the VG 5000 Bazar repair notes describe the faults their author found in several machines and supplies.[1][2][3] Opening the case is covered on Philips VG-5000 General Maintenance.
Symptoms
[edit | edit source]| Symptom | Likely cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Power LED does not light, or blinks, or the supply buzzes | VU-0022 supply | Switch off at once and check the supply (below) |
| Power LED starts dim and slowly brightens | Ageing capacitor in the supply | Check the supply before it fails completely |
| LED lit but no picture | Video cable, then the EF9345P or a 4168 RAM | Try another SCART lead; feel the EF9345P; swap socketed chips with a working machine |
| CLOAD does nothing, the screen border stays green, and the recorder volume makes no difference | Cracked solder joints on the cassette socket of the cassette board | Resolder the socket pins |
| Recorder motor not controlled; loads only with the REM plug pulled out | One cracked joint on the cassette socket | Find it with a continuity test and resolder |
| Tapes load unreliably or not at all, tape runs slowly | Worn belt in the VY-0030 recorder | Replace the belt (Philips VG-5000 General Maintenance) |
The VG 5000 Bazar author advises keeping a working VG5000 when diagnosing: it lets you test the cassette lead, the video lead and the supply separately, and test chips by swapping them, since the main chips are in sockets.[2]
Philips's check procedure
[edit | edit source]| Board | Check | Expected |
|---|---|---|
| Main board | Solder joints and seating | No shorts; connectors and socketed chips fully home |
| Main board | Supply | Run from the VU-0022; 5 V on every IC and on the pull-up resistors; 0 V on every IC |
| Main board | Current at 5 V | No more than 900 mA |
| Main board | EF9345 clock, pin 12 of IC 7801 | 12 MHz |
| Main board | Z80A clock, pin 6 of IC 7800 | 4 MHz |
| Main board | Power LED | Lit |
| Main board | Expansion connector, contact 25 | +12 V |
| Main board | Expansion connector, contact 24 | -12 V |
| Main board | Expansion connector, contacts 2 and 3 | +5 V |
| Cassette interface | Solder joints; cable to the recorder | No bad joints or shorts; cable fully plugged in |
| Cassette interface | Supply | 5 V on the ICs and pull-up resistors; 0 V on the ICs and on the emitter of transistor 7132 |
Video faults
[edit | edit source]In one dead machine with the power LED lit and no picture, the EF9345P was burning hot where the same chip in a working machine was only warm. Swapping chips with a working machine found two faults: the EF9345P and a D4168C-20 memory chip. In another machine the EF9345 had failed without running hot, and other owners have reported the same fault.[2] The machine has three 4168 RAMs: 7803 for video and 7804 and 7805 for the system.[5][6]
When refitting chips, check that every pin has gone into the socket and that the chip faces the same way as the others on the board.[2]
VU-0022 power supply
[edit | edit source]The supply works from the mains, with about 310 V DC on its primary reservoir capacitors; do not touch the board while it is plugged in.[7][3]
- With the supply unplugged, check the fuse and the on/off switch for continuity. The fuse is VL213, 630 mA slow-blow.[3][7]
- Look for overheated or loose parts. On two failed supplies one leg of the large blue capacitor next to the output cable could be pulled out without desoldering; resoldering did not cure those two, but a third supply with the same loose leg worked again after resoldering alone.[3]
- Measure the outputs against ground. A working supply gives about +5.2 V, +11 V and -11.4 V. The failed supplies gave a random reading on +5 V, under 7 V on +12 V and a normal -12 V.[3]
- Unplug it and feel the large blue capacitor next to the output cable (C203, 4700 µF 10 V). In all three failed supplies it was warm, short-circuited, and replacing it was the repair. See Philips VG-5000 Capacitor Replacement Guide.[3][8]
- If the outputs are still wrong after that, other parts are at fault. Philips's only adjustment is R168, which sets 5 V across C201.[3][9]
The VG 5000 Bazar author also notes that some VU-0022s cause a wavy picture on monitors, which replacing C203 does not cure.[3]
Power connector pinout
[edit | edit source]The two service manuals number the power connector differently, and this has not been resolved:
| Pin | VG5000 main board (Service sa, page 6) | VU-0022 output (Philips circuit diagram) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not connected | Ground |
| 2 | -12 V | +5 V |
| 3 | +5 V | +12 V |
| 4 | +12 V | -12 V |
| 5 | Ground | Not labelled |
The VG 5000 Bazar author refers to the pinout in appendix 9 of the VG 5000 user's manual.[3] Before connecting any substitute supply, measure the VU-0022's plug and match each voltage to the VG5000's socket by function, not by pin number.
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Philips VG-5000
- Philips VG-5000 General Maintenance
- Philips VG-5000 Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Philips VG-5000 Documentation
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, p. 10: Contrôle de la platine principale and Contrôle de l'interface cassette. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 VG 5000 Bazar, "Dépanner son VG5000", version 1.0 of 7 December 2015, revised 24 July 2018. http://vg5000bazar.free.fr/html/depannage/vg5000.htm
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 VG 5000 Bazar, "Dépanner une alimentation VU-0022", version 1.0 of 17 March 2018, revised 3 February 2025. http://vg5000bazar.free.fr/html/depannage/vu0022.htm
- ↑ VG 5000 Bazar, "Dépanner son lecteur VY-0030", revised 2 December 2018. http://vg5000bazar.free.fr/html/depannage/vy0030.htm
- ↑ Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, service manual EV 84-12, 4811 740 17312, 1984, p. 2: parts lists. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
- ↑ Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, pp. 7 to 9: central unit and video circuit diagrams. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Philips, Service Manual, External power supply VU-0022, p. 3: circuit diagram. Hosted as File:Philips VU-0022 Power Supply Service Manual 4822 727 15121.pdf.
- ↑ Philips, Service Manual, External power supply VU-0022, p. 4: parts list (C203 4700 µF 10 V, 4822 124 21408). Hosted as File:Philips VU-0022 Power Supply Service Manual 4822 727 15121.pdf.
- ↑ Philips, Service Manual, External power supply VU-0022, 4822 727 15121, p. 2: notes and adjustment. Hosted as File:Philips VU-0022 Power Supply Service Manual 4822 727 15121.pdf.
- ↑ Service sa, Micro-ordinateur VG5000/18/19/39, p. 6: component-side layout and connector pinouts. Hosted as File:Philips VG5000 Service Manual 4811 740 17312.pdf.