Macintosh SE works but has no sound

ACGuy

New Tinkerer
Aug 6, 2025
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0
1
Spain
Hello, this is my first post here after years of lurking around. I ended up registering because I’d need some help with my Macintosh SE. Sorry if this post doesn't belong here.

After not using it since January, I started playing around with it the other day, and suddenly, when using it, it made an ugly noise (that came from the speaker), and since then, there’s no audio coming out of it. Neither from the speaker nor the headphone jack on the back. Also, the computer now shows a checkerboard pattern for some 10 seconds (check image) before booting up normally. The computer is usable, but there is no sound whatsoever.

I looked around the web for some schematics and run into the Bomarc ones. I used this one to check the audio path, from the BBU to the sound chip, and to the speaker. The traces seem okay, there’s continuity where there should be.

Seeing the schematics, I see the sound chip is also responsible with the RESET signal to the CPU, and there are capacitors around (C37, C32, C36 and C34). I thought, maybe any of these could have gone bad and it’s causing some issue, so I replaced them all (and I took good care of using a 1uF cap for C36). No luck. I kept the old caps, just in case, though.

I don’t have (easy) access to an oscilloscope, so I started measuring with the multimeter, and this is what I found:
1) All voltages seem pretty spot on, so I don’t think there’s any power supply issue.
2) The RESET output (pin 5), takes like 10 seconds to go from 0 to 5 V. This may be the cause of the checkerboard pattern, I think?
3) The Audio input (pin 16, which is coming from the BBU chip) starts off at 5 V, and then goes to around 1.8 V
4) The Audio output (pin 10, which goes through what I presume is a filter – C34, R6, C2) starts at around 12 V (although I’ve measured 14 V sometimes, then goes down), and stays there. The “presumed filter” works, and 0 V get to the speaker. No short seems to exist between +12 V and this pin, neither between pin 11, 12 or 13 and this pin (pin 10).


Now, I don’t have any other working (or non-working haha) Mac SE logic board around to check what should be normal or not. I think both points 3 and 4 are a bit suspect, but I’d need someone to tell me what their SE reads at those points.

Specially, number 2 and number 4 makes me think the chip has gone bad, so should I try to find a replacement? Can I replace it with something else? I know it's a reset line monitor (I'll call it that way), and it also filters PWM audio (I think? Please, correct me if I'm wrong).

Thanks in advance.

I'll leave some images for reference:
Checkerboard.jpeg

This is what the computer shows now before starting up normally

1754515984789.png

Sound chip, BBU and replaced caps

1754516007241.png

Bomarc schematics
 
Last edited:

Kai Robinson

TinkerDifferent Board President 2023
Staff member
Founder
Sep 2, 2021
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Checkerboard like that indicates that the CPU is running, it's not being held in RESET and the ROM is working - you're experiencing a RAM issue. Check all the RAM SIMM's are installed correctly, and the jumper is left OPEN unless you're using 256k SIMM's
 

ACGuy

New Tinkerer
Aug 6, 2025
3
0
1
Spain
Hi Kai, I have 4 MB installed, and my logic board is the one with the jumpers.
I haven't touched them, but I can try reseating the RAM sticks, but I'm a bit scared the slots may break (they are the full plastic ones). Still, I'm confused as I can see the reset line being held low for the 10 seconds the checkerboard is shown, and then the compute is normal, except there's no sound. Is that due to RAM issues as well?
Thanks
 
Last edited:

ACGuy

New Tinkerer
Aug 6, 2025
3
0
1
Spain
Checkerboard like that indicates that the CPU is running, it's not being held in RESET and the ROM is working - you're experiencing a RAM issue. Check all the RAM SIMM's are installed correctly, and the jumper is left OPEN unless you're using 256k SIMM's
Hi Kai, I gathered the necessary courage to remove the sticks 😅
Still, no luck, each pair seems fine on its own, the Mac reporting 2 MB when testing each pair on their own, and 4 MB when testing the complete set.
So RAM seems fine.

A RAM issue seemed weird to me as, I stated, the computer boots up normally, only thing is that there's no sound (either the chime, nor anything else) coming out the speaker or the headphone jack, and that it stays for around 10 seconds on the checkerboard screen before booting up normally.

These two issues are what make me think that there could be something going on with the Sony sound chip, as it manages both the sound (duh) and the RESET line. I'm "concerned" for this line as it looks to stay low for those 10 seconds that the computer shows the checkerboard pattern.

On the other hand, as for the audio, I've been trying to test pin 16 (audio input to the sound chip coming from the BBU) while the computer is supposedly making sounds, and it stays at around 1.8 V always (although, as I'm using a multimeter, I think this reading might actually be the DC offset... I need to get an oscilloscope of my own).

So I'm a bit lost here. I don't think the BBU is bad, as it'd be weird that only the sound part of it has gone wrong, while the rest is okay. The computer once booted, works normally and doesn't lock up.

MacSE.jpg


Could anyone tell me what their SEs read on pins 10 and 16 of the sound chip? Just to compare with mine.