Hi All. I've returned to trying to fix my Australian PAL phat (fat) Playstation 2 console.
The current symptoms:
- PS1 CD games play fine
- PS2 DVD games usually won't load (95% of the time), but if they do, disc loading and running is perfect
When I first tried to diagnose the issue, I followed many internet guides where the usual suspect is the laser unit that is wearing or needs to be aligned with the cog wheel.
I spent some time adjusting and re-testing, and found that the DVD actually got worse, and CD started failing too. So the alignment was best where it started.
The other common fault is the laser itself starting to wear, and needs to draw more current. So tweaking the pot to reduce the resistance is a common fix.
In my case I opted to replacing the laser unit and the results were identical.
I got wind that the Power Supply unit could be the cause. The PCB is a 1468-565-21, and I found an image of the same unit here:

There are two 12V pins and two ground pins that connect the PSU to the motherboard. I measured the voltage and it came to 11.90V. That did seem very slightly under. On an oscilloscope the 11.90V is pretty steady but flucuates between 11.89V and 11.92V.
But of course that might indicate the available current might be a touch undercooked.
I ended up making a jig with thick wires so that I could measure the current draw on the 12V output. The results were:
- Standby mode: 6mA
- Screen output with no disc spinning: 2.0 Amps
- Disk spinning: 2.2 Amps
- Disk seeking and loading: 2.4 - 2.9 Amps
I found it hard to get the expected current draw specs of this Playstation 2, but the service manual indicated a draw of 50W. The maths for this at 12V indicates 4.16 Amps. Am I right here?
I am now suspecting that the current needed to kick off the loading of a DVD game needs to rise initially, and the PSU usually can't deliver it.
I have done an ESR check over all the big caps on the board and they appear to be nicely low. I plan to desolder them out and test them more thoroughly.
But I am now turning my attention to the MOSFET, and after such a lengthy backstory here comes my question:
The MOSFET is a K2700 and a datasheet is here:
http://www.datasheetcafe.com/k2700-datasheet-mosfet-toshiba/The current drain is 3A with a pulse of 9A.
On my multimeter I only ever saw as high as 2.9 A. Is it possible for a MOSFET to weaken or lose it's full drain current over time? Or could some other component cause a lack of total available current though the MOSFET?
Any hints would be appreciated. I'm trying to catch my own fish with this.
