(Topic ID: 331494)

Fish Tales Weird DMD Issue

By JohnSteed

1 year ago


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    #6 1 year ago

    JohnSteed
    You had me very confused for a bit, but I think I've figured it out.
    C11 is ALWAYS a .01uf ceramic cap.
    Ceramic caps come in the familiar brown blob form but also in a form that resembles a resistor. But it's not a resistor.
    --
    Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
    http://www.ChrisHiblerPinball.com/Contact
    https://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisHiblerPinball
    http://www.PinWiki.com - The Place to go for Pinball Repair Info

    #10 1 year ago
    Quoted from JohnSteed:

    Yes. Good point...that was the first thing I did! The voltages were way off spec, although I don't recall what they were offhand. I remember one of them was supposed to be 62 volts and it was well over 100 volts.

    If you are going to keep the HV display in the game, we need to repair your DMD controller.

    Generally, a full rebuild is good to do. Sometimes, you can bring the voltages back into spec by replacing only the 4X 47Kohm resistors.

    I’ve repaired so many of those boards that a pattern begins to form. The 47K resistors seem to always be the first to fail.

    Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
    Http://chrishiblerpinball.com/contact
    Thank you for checking out the PinWiki - http://www.PinWiki.com/

    #12 1 year ago

    You have some fractured solder joints, and the measurements indicate some of the resistors have failed.
    The PinWiki indicates the parts to be replaced.
    Or you can send it to me and I'll take care of it.
    --
    Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
    http://www.ChrisHiblerPinball.com/Contact
    https://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisHiblerPinball
    http://www.PinWiki.com - The Place to go for Pinball Repair Info

    1 week later
    #19 1 year ago

    Those voltages are just fine.
    They vary from board to board. No biggie.

    Run display test all the way until it ends.
    At the end, it should say "RAM TEST OK".
    If it does not, there is a good bet that the RAM on the board has failed. There are other possibilities but generally it is the RAM.

    If you run display test to the end and it does say "RAM TEST OK", then the issue is probably one of the three ribbons that connect MPU, Sound, Dot Controller and Display itself. With power off, you can reseat them a few times to "knock the corrosion" off the pins.

    Let us know.
    --
    Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
    http://www.ChrisHiblerPinball.com/Contact
    https://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisHiblerPinball
    http://www.PinWiki.com - The Place to go for Pinball Repair Info

    #23 1 year ago

    Yep. It still could be other chips in the board but the RAM is almost always the cause.

    There isn’t much solder on the RAM chip legs. Add some to the solder side before attempting to desolder. That will make the job much easier.


    Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
    Http://chrishiblerpinball.com/contact
    Thank you for checking out the PinWiki - http://www.PinWiki.com/

    3 months later
    #27 10 months ago
    Quoted from tourney9000:

    Going backwards here
    After changing the display and ribbons.
    Now the flippers don't work, no sound, pop bumpers and lights work.

    It is almost a certainty that one or more ribbons are not installed correctly. Review your work.

    Regarding your original assumption, a ColorDMD will work with a DMD controller with a HV power failure but it will not work with a DMD controller that has a logic problem.

    It is my guess that your DMD controller has a failed RAM. If you’d like to send it to me, I can test that theory and repair the board for you. If the problem with the board is deeper, it’s really not worth the time to track it down and a replacement DMD controller is the way to go.


    Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
    Http://chrishiblerpinball.com/contact
    Thank you for checking out the PinWiki - http://www.PinWiki.com/

    #30 10 months ago

    Run display test all the way to the end.
    It should say “RAM TEST OK”.
    If it says anything else, odds are that you have a RAM failure.

    Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
    Http://chrishiblerpinball.com/contact
    Thank you for checking out the PinWiki - http://www.PinWiki.com/

    #32 10 months ago

    There is a giant percentage chance that the 6264 RAM on the board has failed.

    If you would like me to fix the board, see this link. Http://chrishiblerpinball.com/contact


    Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
    Http://chrishiblerpinball.com/contact
    Thank you for checking out the PinWiki - http://www.PinWiki.com/

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