Do you have proper voltage from the outlet?This a common problem on WPC games.

More info here http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Game_resets

Bridge rectifiers could be bad, mine were and my FT did what you describe

This seems to be the most common explanation for spontaneous restarts. Same happened to my TAF. The voltage is certainly another possibility, but much less common than the BR.

I don't really have the skills to repair this myself so I looked into repairing the board. After the quotes I got (and the lack of warm and fuzzy I got from the guy I spoke to) I decided to replace he entire board with a new (modern) one from Rottendog. Probably would have spent the same on repairs.

Yes,You have to be very CAREFUL when removing/replacing the BR"s it's very easy to ruin the traces.

Replacing a bridge is simple and costs like 3 dollars. If I figured it out so can anyone else.

Did you talk to Clive at the coin-op cauldron? He is really good.

The thing is, the problem isn't always on the driver board. Put in a new driver board with bad connectors, you're still gonna have reset problems.

Replacing parts blindly because it fixed the same problem for someone else is foolish. Troubleshoot the problem, and fix it right.

On TZ, for example, the Z connector between the driver board and the CPU is often a prime location for voltage drop. A new driver board won't fix this problem - repinning the connector will! And a bridge rectifier is 4 diodes - it's more often a cap problem than a bridge problem - but a lot of techs replace C5 and not C4. C4 is 25 cents, and can be a prime cause of voltage drop.

Change BR2

Check your voltage first this was my exact problem on my FT and it would restart constantly. Granted this was when I had too many machines on at once and came to find out I had 8 machines all on one circuit and that just won't work for those older games. But always easiest to start with the easiest potential problem before replacing parts.

Nope. But I will look him up in future
I went to a local gameroom shop and Stern distributor (who shall remain nameless). Their repair department said they would need to spend some time "diagnosing" the board at some ridiculous hourly rate in order to determine what was wrong, even though I was pretty certain where the issue was.
I still have the old board and a friend of mine employs a really good tech that has done repairs for me in the past. I just hate to ask for too many favours. One day I'll take it up there and have him do it for me... or I'll get up the courage to attempt it myself.

This turned out to be the culprit on my TZ.

I got off easy: it was one of the first things I checked by simply re-seating the two connectors (which created a temporary fix, until it returned--thus, confirming the problem).

Permanently eliminated the Z...and the problem.

Rob does good work on board too.

http://lockwhenlit.com/default.aspx

It can also be the filtering Cap before the rectifier, replace it too.

Everything you need to know about WPC reset issues:

http://techniek.flipperwinkel.nl/wpc/index2.htm#reset

Note: I just fixed the reset problem on my TZ and it was NOT BR2 or C5. It had a bad voltage regulator (Q1 I think). The repair guide recommends replacing C4 with a larger cap, so I did that too (I used a 470uF aluminum electrolytic).

I have had great results from Clive at coinopcouldron.com with board repairs.

Clive's good. Rob is good. The guy at your distributor may be good, and the friend mentioned earlier might be good.

Shop rates may seem extreme, but what did you pay the mechanic who fixed your car last week, or the doctor that treated you last? In all cases, a person has to have some level of education and experience. They do have liability, if they screw something up.

Having fixed my fair share of games for fellow collectors and operators, there are some people who shouldn't solder on expensive boards. Not that this is something that most people couldn't learn, but I've cleaned up after other people before. And I'm sure there are techs who have cleaned up after my earliest work, too.

You solder with high heat. High heat is destructive. It lifts traces and destroys plated through holes. If your problem is a connector on another part of the board, you've replaced parts that didn't need replaced, weakened traces that may make future repairs more difficult or more expensive, and you may have more problems than you did before when you turn the game back on.

People have even burned themselves with soldering irons, and I'm sure they have burned houses down with them before.

If you are going to do the repair yourself, be careful. Know your limits. Troubleshoot the problem first, and be certain what you are going to replace or rework has a very good chance of fixing the problem. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Shotgunning parts, in nearly all situations, is dangerous and wasteful. The rare exception occurs, like DMD High Voltage power supplies.

I totally agree, but I also have to trust the person I'm paying, and the guys I referenced (like some mechanics) don't necessarily have the best reputation for price/service. I didn't want to come out and start slandering anyone so I left it at that.
For me, TAF was my first pin, my knowledge was zero and the cost and promise of a new and improved board on my prized TAF was an easy decision. Knowing I would always have the original as back-up made it an even easier one.
Maybe one day I'll have enough confidence, knowledge and skill to accurately troubleshoot and attempt to fix some of these more technical issues. But as you implied, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.
Luckily, the quick fix worked for me that time... your mileage may vary.

$75 or more to replace a $3 part.... no thanks! I work on my own cars too. I'd probably do my own surgery too, if it wasn't free.

Btw, anyone who wants to junk a board for a reset problem can kindly send it to me. I'll pay postage!

I wrench on my own cars, too. I drive older cars that don't have payments and have colorful nicknames for the last 10 years or do, my daily driver has been a 1995 Ford Thunderbird SC. I spent about 12 hours earlier this month replacing a water pump, power steering pump and thermostat. The shop wanted $500+ in labor. They said it would take 8 hours. They must work faster than I do I had to buy a $35 power steering pump pulley removal tool - but I lucked out and had a $10 off coupon

what is the Z connector?

This is:

http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=File:WPCZConnector.jpg

thank you very much pinster68 that is as clear as a bell. I am such a noob sometimes guess I have been fortunate enough not to run into to many problems with my pins, but that has prevented learning opportunity's

No worries. If you don't ask you'll never know.

All the best,

Brian

So I am having the same issue with my Getaway. I have a brand new Rotten Dog driver board and the game reset not during gameplay but in attract mode. Being that it is a brand new board would the problem more than likely also be the Z Connector? Anything else I should check? I did check voltage from the outlet and that seems to be normal.

I had same thing on a TAF. I put a pinled driver board in the game and it reset almost immediately... much quicker than with the original board. Put the original back in. Resets are more common when casual players play the machine, especially when first turning the machine on, as they tend to keep hitting both flippers at the same time for no particular reason. Sounds like Willy and I have similar issue.

Sounds like a common issue from what I hear for all Williams around that time period. I thought a new driver board would help and it has. Before, the game would power off like the power plug was pulled and not even reboot. Plus, GI and backbox lights were not working, and sound would go off as well. So, a new board helped as there were multiple issues with the other board. Just wondering now what to check so hopefully someone chimes in on the game rebooting. I was not even playing the game at the time, it was just in attract mode. It reboot and then reboot again about 1 minute later.

As everyone says, its most likely in your 5 volt circuit. Its always mentally satisfying to know the exact cause of the problem, but sometimes the shotgun approach works well too. Replace: voltage regulator, BR,both Caps ( the big one and the little one), Then do the wiring mods on the back of the board in case you have a bad trace.

The cost of the parts are cheap. Doing them all at once is not that much more time.

I am going through this with my TZ using the diagnostics http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Game_resets

However, can someone confirm the BR2 voltage? The site says " clip the lead onto the top left lead (positive) of BR2...It should be at 9V DC." I think that might be incorrect.

My reading was 11.6 V. Is the correct voltage for BR2 12 Volts?

My 5V test point was only 4.8.

pretty sure 4.8 might be too low