Recap guide

Recap the Sega Saturn

The community names EMI filters, the battery and the laser as the usual Saturn failures, with a recap as a sensible refresh. Boards run VA0 to VA6.

Open the interactive checklist Tick off each capacitor as you replace it. It saves in your browser.

Check first. A recap is not always the answer here, so look at the guides before you order parts.

Which board do I have?

Boards changed during production. These notes come from the linked sources, and many are only partly documented, so check the board in front of you.

Model 1 VA0 (1994-1995) (Medium confidence). How to tell: T-shaped power connector, power supply in the top case and separate daughterboards; HST-3200 Japan, MK-80000 US, MK-80200-50 PAL. Capacitors: ConsoleMods does not give its caps; RetroSix says a cap list exists for VA0 but the page was not opened. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
Model 1 VA0.5 and VA0.8 (1995) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Nearly identical to VA0 with resistors moved underneath; boards 171-6874E (Japan) and 171-6962C (US). Capacitors: No cap information found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
Model 1 VA1 (1995; 171-7006C NTSC, 171-7069B PAL) (Medium confidence). How to tell: Power supply plugged straight into the motherboard by a 5-pin header and a 20-pin optical drive connector. Capacitors: ConsoleMods says VA1 is the last revision with SMD electrolytic capacitors. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: yes. Source
Model 1 VA SG, called VA2 (1995-1996; 171-7128B, Japan) (Medium confidence). How to tell: SGRAM memory and a 21-pin optical drive connector, NTSC only. Capacitors: ConsoleMods says it is the first revision to use through-hole electrolytics throughout. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: yes. Source
Model 1 VA SD, called VA3 (1995-1996; 171-7130B NTSC, 171-7131A PAL) (Low confidence). How to tell: SDRAM instead of SGRAM; not found in US consoles. Capacitors: No cap information beyond the through-hole change before it. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
Model 2 early boards (VA SG VA2/VA4, VA SD VA3/VA5, 1996) (Low confidence). How to tell: Circular power and reset buttons and no activity LED. Capacitors: No cap information found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
Model 2 VA6, VA7, VA8, VA9 (1996; 171-7207A, -7208C, -7209C, -7291B/C) (Low confidence). How to tell: VA6 has the controller port board on the mainboard and a 4-pin power header; VA9 shares one layout for NTSC and PAL. Capacitors: No cap information found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
Model 2 VA10, VA11, VA13 (1996-1997; 171-7287C, -7288B, -7288D, -7455D) (Low confidence). How to tell: VA10 merges the 68000 and SCSP into the 315-5965; VA13 is the last revision for consoles outside Japan. Capacitors: No cap information found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source
Model 2 VA15 (1997-1998; 171-7462B) (Low confidence). How to tell: Final Saturn board with both SH-2s merged into a single 315-6018 chip. Capacitors: No cap information found. Capacitor list differs from other revisions: not known. Source

Where to start

Clues from write-ups and forum threads, not a diagnosis. Low confidence means one thread or one repair; high means several write-ups agree.

Color smearing (Medium confidence). ConsoleMods says the EMI filters are known to go bad, causing color smearing. The page has no cap list. Source
Where the lists are (Low confidence). The ConsoleMods hub links a replacing-capacitors page, a Console5 kit and disc drive repair notes. Source
RGB output caps (Low confidence). A video notes page mentions 220uF caps on the RGB output. It is not a recap guide. Source

Tips, tales and maybes

Found in write-ups and forum threads. These are other people's reports, not tested by us. Check part references and values against your own board.

Tip: Which replacement type (Low confidence). On a VA0 no-video recap thread (seen on the lr.ggtyler.dev Reddit mirror) a reply said a full SMD kit is unlikely because Saturn caps are fairly large, and recommended aluminum polymer parts as the best match for the footprint and behaviour. It said ceramic and tantalum do not suit every position. Source
Story: Model 2 blank screen, caps looked fine (Low confidence). A Model 2 Saturn with a blank screen, no language menu and a CD drive that spun for 5 to 10 seconds had caps that looked fine. The PSU swap and cable tests ruled those out, leaving the BIOS, the video output or the board, and no resolution is shown. Source
Tip: No picture or sound after adding RCA (Low confidence). For a $9 Saturn with no picture or sound, one iFixit answer said to check solder joints, the 5V, 9V and 3V rails, leaking caps and burnt parts, and added that the Saturn has issues with varistors and fuses. The owner's rails read slightly high, so a new supply was suggested. Source
Story: Black screen or chirping after recapping (Low confidence). Three iFixit questions (seen in a ts.ifixit.com feed, no answers shown) report recapping that did not cure the fault: a power board that chirped with all rails near 0.45V after all radial caps were replaced, a Model 2 VA15 with a black screen after a recap, and a black screen after changing the 16V 10uF caps. Recapping is not a guaranteed cure for no-video or no-power Saturns. Source

Before you start

Boards changed during production. Check your board number against the guides before you order parts.

Guides we used

This page and the interactive bench are built from these. They have the photos and the full detail, so please read them and support their authors.

Saturn Mods Wiki (hub) (Write-up) by ConsoleMods Wiki, CC BY. Hub linking Replacing Capacitors, a Console5 kit, disc drive repair, video notes and troubleshooting
Saturn: General Troubleshooting (Write-up) by ConsoleMods Wiki, CC BY. Only EMI filter smear covered, no cap list
Saturn: Video Output Notes (Write-up) by ConsoleMods Wiki, CC BY. Notes on RGB output 220uF caps, sync and encoder; not a recap
Sega Saturn (RetroSix Wiki) (List) by AngelSix (RetroSix Wiki). Hub that links capacitors by board revision plus schematics; the cap page itself would not open in the fetch tool, so values unconfirmed
Console5 wiki: Saturn (Wiki) by Console5. A community wiki page for this machine, often with board photos and capacitor lists.

The capacitor list

We have not checked a capacitor list for this machine yet, so none is shown. Follow the guide above for your board, then add the capacitors in the interactive checklist and it builds a shopping list for you.

Skip the sourcing

Ready-made kit: Amazon · eBay
Already recapped: Amazon · eBay

While you are in there

Need the machine itself?: Amazon · eBay
A box of spare capacitors: Amazon · eBay

Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. These links only search by name. Disclosure

Steps, tools and safety

The steps, the tools in top, middle and budget picks, and the safety list are the same for every machine, so they live on one page: How to recap, step by step.

Values are shown as published in the guides above, and boards changed during production. Check the board in front of you. A recap involves hot tools and, on some machines, dangerous voltages. You do it at your own risk.