Suggestions/Help really have to wait until you aren't going to work and can provide some idea as to what's going on.

Probably a locked on coil/transistor. Might not even have anything to do with your T-rex (maybe the laser kick or the eject hole).

Your plea for help is understandable but given the info you've given us at this point, all I can say is it could be literally anything in your game showing symptoms.

If you are continually getting the open coin door message that usually means a few things. Could be dead batteries, could be no batteries, could be leaking batteries or bad battery holder
http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Data_East/Sega#Standard_128_x_32_DMD_Display

Smoke usually means something is burning or on fire which is not a good thing. Check around TRex and see what the issue is. Could be a coil that is locked on.

If it's "in the backbox," you'll know it. Things don't just smoke like that and leave no trace.

How do you know it's not the Rex or anything on the playfield? Did you look?

Smoke rises. If you have a cooked coil, that smoke can end up in the backbox. And if you have a cooked coil, you ALSO have a cooked transistor which means plenty of smoke to go around.

Transistors and Diodes love to cook.

Open the backbox and use your nose.

Sniff around the circuit boards, you won't be able to miss the smell of burnt electronics.

Then post a pic of the smoked part.

same thing has happened to me. Investigate your boards. Some of them may have cooking a coil too

Dam Data Beast......I am just getting my JP going after a event like that.....lots of hurt components with many hours on the bench and my T-Rex is still not working. Hopefully its not hurt to bad.

If it's the board behind the DMD, the issue would not be apparent upon opening the backbox. Also, smoke just goes out the nearest hole, regardless if it is up or down.

With all of my so called skills, I probably use my nose on 20% of service calls.

If someone says "It was smoking!", I put my head in the backbox, and I raise the playfield and sniff around the wiring.

Sometimes it is a small resistor that you don't see right off the bat, but your nose knows.....

I've had trouble with previously repaired high voltage sections on DE power supply boards. Seems like if they've failed once, they will fail again soon after the repair so I don't even repair them anymore, I buy new replacements.

But, as Vid says, follow your nose...

edit: And by "trouble" I mean smokey discharge.

Maybe it was the Chattanooga "Choo-Choo" that was smoking (you know the song...) Anyway are there any pinsiders in your area that would help out the greatest Moderator of all time!!!???

Also don't rule out a FLASH bulb locked on and burning or melting something. I had a Data East Flash bulb get locked on because I accidently had it short to something else when I was doing some work around it and it nearly started a fire and melted half way through the insert...

I would expect a shorted TIP36C transistor on the PPB board (bottom left board in the backbox).

This happened to my JP one time due to a bad transistor and locked on coil at start up. Check out the coils for signs of burns first - my guess is the smoke was just rising from the locked on coil through the head. Also check for broken resistors on the bad coil if you have a bad coil and it involves a resistor.

John

Whenever I've had backbox smoke before I believe it was a capacitor or two that I smoked.

I fried two boards on my DE SW from hooking up my launcher coil backwards. Similar outcome, coil locked on and smoked then the boards melted, it all smelled wonderful. I just got a new Rottendog CPU, PPU and coil (properly wired) and it plays fine now. Expensive lesson to learn.

You and your family need to move to the DC/Baltimore area I have been invited to lots of peoples home through pinside and been able to meet several of them and spend time in their gamerooms. It is one of the things I like most about this hobby...

Hmmm...sounds to me like your HUB wants that blue DMD real baaaaaaaad!! The lengths us men will go to to get the newest, shiniest, coolest toy out there.....I tell ya

Diode on a board in the back box appears to be our culprit.

image.jpg

That capacitor looks bulged too, maybe leaking?

Rob

That Cap looks like it's starting to get a bit puffy as well (while you're at it with the board repair anyways.....)

I think the capacitor was the popping sound she heard. Just took the board off and the back looks worse. We'll likely just replace it if possible. It's the power supply board.