Picked this up a few weeks ago and finally getting around to it (Fish Tales). So It will not boot up. D19 (LED) and D21 (LED) stay lit and and D20 is off (LED) on the CPU Board. You can also hear it the familiar WMS cycling but just repeats. I checked all the plugs and fuses prior to turning it on and they all check fine. I unplugged everything but J210 and still the same result. I then reset/re-seated U9, U6 and U4, with no change. So before I do the shotgun approach and replace U1, U2 (74LS244), U3 (74LS245), U5 (74LS14) I was just curious what else I should check or what else it could be.

Thanks in advance!
Rob

D20 does not blink.(D19 and D21 stay on)
I have 4.84VDC at the test point and at the header of the board.
I reseated all socketed chips, including the ASIC (I have the tool).

Yep, only the J210 is plugged in.

Im tempted to install the NVRAM I have to see if that makes a difference. I have seen some reports that the U8 chip can cause this as well.

I switched this chip out as well with another game, same results

Well I took the plunge and replaced the RAM, powered right up. Sometimes I get lucky. Hopefully anything else that may be wrong with this game is just normal stuff. Thanks again all for help!

Old game Pinball expo 1992

IMG_0769 (resized).JPG

Yep, Im sure that will need to be done. I did think it was a little low but not low enough since I happen to have another board to test with and it booted right up.

I will once the DMD craps out, I have many games that I can put them in but now I cant swing it, especially at the current price for each...and I have a few originals (NOS) laying around here somewhere, eventually.

BUT, now Im getting the check fuse F114 and F115 error. (fuses check good) I just replaced the BR1 & BR2 and the Caps next to them C11 and C5. I got 4.85V and 11.88V, hardly any change. The game took a long time to boot up as well and still got the check fuse message. I can clear the message but that switch matrix is out (cant start game, left side playfield switchs are inop, etc).

Sigh.....

There is minor battery corrosion in this area, I did clean it up and check the traces in the area as well and it seems good.

Im probably not doing this correctly, but I have my meter set to 2000 ohms and with the power off, I check across pin 9 and 10 (the last two opposite pins on the other end of the notch in the IC) and I get a reading of 1650.

When I turned on the game today, still a very long boot up (30 seconds easy) but I didnt get the error message but the problem still exists. So Im thinking the U20 chip as well. Error message came back after power cycling while checking stuff

I still have power issues (I think). I have one of those WPC reset fix boards with the led's on them. So for the hell of it I plugged this in (J210) just to see what it did. The LED's are all on, here is what the led's indicate: Blue, Red, + Green Flashing = 5V went both high and low PLUS 12V went below 9V.

Here are my readings:

TP1 = 14.60
TP2 = 4.87
TP3 = 11.88
TP4 = 0.3?
TP5 = Ground
TP6 = 70.2
TP7 = 21.4
TP8 = 15.8

All Led's on the board are on and led 3 is blinking/flashing.

BR1 was replaced but not C6 and C7, I only have one cap left at the moment.....C6 or C7?? I will order more and replace the other when I get them.

Voltage reads 17.1 with J210 unplugged.

Here are the pics: Amazing what my iphone will pic up on the corrosion compared to my old eyes

FTcpu--1 (resized).jpg

FTcpu--2 (resized).jpg

FTcpu--3 (resized).jpg

The traces that I can check right now all check good. I will probably take a shot at replacing the effected parts before I get a new board. I get more satisfaction getting things to work

I found another Cap and just replaced them both and followed the same steps as before but this time it seems to have worse results. TP8 bounces a little up to 15.7V but steady at 14.6V and with J210 unplugged its around 16.5V

I do, I have a few Addams Family CPU boards, the resistor rows look a little different in some spots so I didnt swap out all chips as a replacement. I just used one of them to see if it boots with just J210 plugged in and it did.

Swapped out the ROM on my TAF extra board with the FT ROM and the game is working the way it should. So now I will order the LM339’s and the ULN2803 chips and sockets and go from there.

Too Late

I really like this kind of work, its a learning process for me...I actually spend more time tinkering with these pins than playing them. But I do love playing them

I do feel lucky. I have nothing to loose but a little time and a few bucks. If things dont work out then oh well. If they do then its just another benefit of a all ready rewarding hobby.

Now to go over this pin and get a list together to shop it out and slide it into the line