Atari 800XL power issue - Atari NEWBIE

[JoeG]

SOLVED!

The problem was that Pin 2 (shield) was making contact with Pin 4 (+5v) in the Power Cube. I happened to find it by checking for continuity on pins where there shouldn't be any. Given the confined space within the cube, having things touch when they shouldn't after surrounding components in a small protective case is easy to do. The fix was to cut Pin 2. The 800XL booted up to a yellow screen. Then I powered off, pressed down on the chips (all of them are in sockets), and powered the system back on. It booted straight to a "READY" prompt. Time to clean the chips and sockets!

I communicated and worked with the Power Cube provider during the entire process, and he was very helpful. He's sending me a new unit at no cost even though I said he didn't have to do that since it's working now. Great customer service!

Thank you Tony for the recommendations, even though I was dreading going down that route. I'm glad I avoided it by finding the problem outside of the Atari 800XL.

Joe