Mega Drive stock encoder removal

[Xaranar]

Somewhat unrelated to my other post, so I performed the RGB bypass mod on my Mega Drive some time ago, works great etc. It got me thinking, since I'm no longer using the stock encoder - in my case, it's a model 2 so it's the Fujitsu MB3514 - I could technically remove that component without impacting the device, so, that's what I did. And it worked; sort of. By that I mean, it became very temperamental, a lot of the time it would freeze upon boot up, just showing a white screen, other times it would boot up and operate just fine, it seemed like a complete lottery. Also, it completely refused to work at all with the 32X attached. Once I replaced the encoder, it was absolutely fine again. Any ideas why this happens? Looking at the datasheet for the chip indicates just a bunch of video inputs and outputs, along with one audio one, so I really don't understand why it seems to be crucial to the system's stability.

[Syntax]

I removed mine from a model 2 and it worked fine, but I did remove some caps and resistors that were no longer needed.

[rama]

Iirc, the encoder outputs a reference voltage that is used for some system control stuff.
The reference went into one of the audio opamps (and is there used for said system control, not audio).

[Xaranar]

Iirc, the encoder outputs a reference voltage that is used for some system control stuff.
The reference went into one of the audio opamps (and is there used for said system control, not audio).

That would make sense. Although, how does that explain the guy above successfully removing his, and retaining stability?

[rama]

I removed mine from a model 2 and it worked fine, but I did remove some caps and resistors that were no longer needed.

[Xaranar]

So I've just had a go at removing the encoder again, along with the passives that aren't needed anymore, and lo and behold, it seems to work perfectly fine - except with the 32X. My guess is the 32X needs some sort of signal from there in order to function.

[Syntax]

I never had a 32x to test sorry. May of been the case.