New Pin - Mars god of war Troubleshooting

I picked this game up last night. Im sooo lucky I brought a tarp with me because about half way there it started pouring.

The GI on the game comes up and some speech plays. Here is a terrible video of what it does: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdoz2/9301391366/

It just says the same thing over and over. None of the insert lights or displays are working either. I plan on reseating the chips and connectors later tonight and check fuses later tonight, but does anyone else have a suggestion?

I've never had a gotlieb so this should be a nice learning experience. The game did come with the schematics and the This Old pinball system 80 dvds.

IMG_0423.jpg IMG_0424.jpg IMG_0425.jpg

#2 10 years ago

LTG

Pinside member

Hopkins, MN

12y 191K 56,984 24 7

Find a guy by the name of Steve Charland. Make friends with him real fast. He is the best at system 80 crap.

LTG : )

#3 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

Will do. Im hoping those dvds help a lot too. And thanks for the fast reply on your ask Lloyd section.

When I bought this, I figured I would have to spend the 400 for the all in one board. It doesnt seem like I need to, but I figured this would take quite a bit to get going.

#4 10 years ago

LTG

Pinside member

Hopkins, MN

12y 191K 56,984 24 7

I would dig into it more before throwing money at it. So if you need to buy anything it goes to the right place.

LTG : )

#5 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

Yeah, Ill do that for sure. If i drop money on a board, the connectors would still be crap so it would be in vain possibly. Plus Im super cheap and I would rather throw my time at it than money.

Im thinking check fuses and voltages, then connectors and see how it does.

Thanks for your all you help!

#6 10 years ago

TSS

Tsskinne

Tommy's Pins

11y 138K 6,878 14

Still jealous

#7 10 years ago

TOX

ChrisHibler

http://flippers.com/gottlieb_ground_cures.html

Your MPU isn't booting, for whatever reason.

Check the MPU for alkaline damage.
Check the power supply for correct voltages. The correct voltages are most times silkscreened onto the power supply PCB.

Check www.pinwiki.com for more info.

BTW...Steve may still be out fishin'...
--
Chris Hibler

#8 10 years ago

DJP

Chitownpinball

Pinside member

Aurora, IL

11y 102K 7,313 5

Thats all it says in attract mode FYI.

Looks like yours doesnt have too much wrong with it. Right now mine wont even go into attract mode.

Check these out.

http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Gottlieb_System_80#Introduction

Good luck! Sending mine our for pro restore soon. Its not mine, i've just been "storing" it and now its storage limit has run up since it doesnt work. LOL.

#9 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

Thanks for all the advice. I have to get my FT finished up in the next week or so and then Ill be able to dive into this one. Im sure Ill have the urge to fiddle with it before then though.

#10 10 years ago

SPC

blownfuse

In Memoriam

LOL, are you sure you want that guy to help? Chris Hibler is closer.

Quoted from LTG:
Find a guy by the name of Steve Charland. Make friends with him real fast. He is the best at system 80 crap.
LTG : )

#11 10 years ago

GOV

Gov

OP
Quoted from jdoz2:
Thanks for all the advice. I have to get my FT finished up in the next week or so and then Ill be able to dive into this one. Im sure Ill have the urge to fiddle with it before then though.

No kidding, get that FT done boy! I am jealous of the Mars though, looks like it will be a fun game.

#12 10 years ago

SPC

blownfuse

In Memoriam

I'm betting on solder cracks around the connector pins on the power supply as a possible cause. No fishing this weekend Chris, too many other things to get done.

Quoted from ChrisHibler:
Your MPU isn't booting, for whatever reason.
Check the MPU for alkaline damage.
Check the power supply for correct voltages. The correct voltages are most times silkscreened onto the power supply PCB.
Check http://www.pinwiki.com for more info.
BTW...Steve may still be out fishin'...
--
Chris Hibler

#13 10 years ago

HAN

HHaase

Siegecraft

14y 89,550 3,100 5 12

One thing to watch out for is the inner backglass. Those games have a reputation of the mounts failing, and dropping it out. They are not available anywhere, so be very very paranoid and protective with it any time you open the backbox.

-Hans

#14 10 years ago

MAC

chilimac

Inactive member

Alexandria, VA

11y 4,650 26 2

This may be obvious, but the sys80 ground mods are always a must. There is a
lot of info on the web on how to do it, but youve probably heard about it already.
Good luck, it's a fantastic machine if you can get it together.

#15 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

Thanks for all the help. Im a little more confident about this now. Ill be sure to keep you all posted.

#16 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

I took a closer look at the back box and it looks like I've got a mess on my hands. A lot of spliced wires joined by tape. It does look like the ground mods were added. The batteries were removed but not before some damage was done. A trace was lifted also.

Hopefully these photos don't break the Internet because I'm uploading them from my phone.

image.jpg image.jpg

#17 10 years ago

SPC

blownfuse

In Memoriam

I see a lot of socketed IC's in those pics, during shipping or moving, the IC's can vibrate loose sometimes. I'd reseat all of them first before any troubleshooting. Looks like the alkaline damage had been repaired at one time. If the damage wasn't thoroughly cleaned, it can return. I wouldn't worry about this yet, however, I would check the repair work for solder bridges after reseating the IC's.

The alkaline repair looks like it's fairly new so for giggles, I'd assume it's good and try the CPU board in another System 80 game to see if it boots to attract. This might save you a lot of time looking where the problem might not be. If the board doesn't work, all trace work will have to be checked.

If it boots in a different known working game, then check the power source in your game. It probably has the solder cracks around the connector pins that I mentioned earlier. I haven't seen one System 80 power supply board that came my way without this issue (unless the damage was already repaired).

#18 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

Thanks! Ill check those pins and give them a reflow either way.

That red jumper goes to absolutely nothing, so Im really curious to see what that was going to. Ill have to bust out the schematics.

It does look like there isnt any power getting to the MPU, so I have a feeling you are right. When I powered up without the mpu connected, there wasnt any sound. Im assuming some sort of power is going through the mpu to the sound board? Im probably showing how little I know with that last statement haha.

#19 10 years ago

SPC

blownfuse

In Memoriam

The red wire is for a remote battery (memory) that looks like it's been removed. The other black wire looks like it's been cut off at the trace.

OP
Quoted from jdoz2:
That red jumper goes to absolutely nothing, so Im really curious to see what that was going to. Ill have to bust out the schematics.
It does look like there isnt any power getting to the MPU, so I have a feeling you are right. When I powered up without the mpu connected, there wasnt any sound. Im assuming some sort of power is going through the mpu to the sound board? Im probably showing how little I know with that last statement haha.

#20 10 years ago

GOV

Gov

OP
Quoted from jdoz2:
Thanks! Ill check those pins and give them a reflow either way.
That red jumper goes to absolutely nothing, so Im really curious to see what that was going to. Ill have to bust out the schematics.
It does look like there isnt any power getting to the MPU, so I have a feeling you are right. When I powered up without the mpu connected, there wasnt any sound. Im assuming some sort of power is going through the mpu to the sound board? Im probably showing how little I know with that last statement haha.

Put the board in your Fish Tales and see what happens

#21 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

Quoted from Gov:
Put the board in your Fish Tales and see what happens

Already did. I created an adapter out of paperclips and tinfoil.

#22 10 years ago

GOV

Gov

OP
Quoted from jdoz2:
Already did. I created an adapter out of paperclips and tinfoil.

You are learnin'!

#23 10 years ago

GEP

Gerry

Inactive member

Syracuse, NY

11y 66,900 3,808 26

OP
Quoted from jdoz2:
Already did. I created an adapter out of paperclips and tinfoil.

LOL

#24 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

I finally broke out the multimeter and checked those test points. All of them are good except for the 60v. I get absolutly nothing from that test point.

#25 10 years ago

TOX

ChrisHibler

OP
Quoted from jdoz2:
I finally broke out the multimeter and checked those test points. All of them are good except for the 60v. I get absolutly nothing from that test point.

If you get nothing from the 60, you should get nothing from the 42 also. They are derived from the same source.
--
Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
http://www.Team-EM.com
http://webpages.charter.net/chibler/Pinball/index.htm
http://www.PinWiki.com - The new place for pinball repair info

#26 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

I double checked and I'm still getting nothing from 60 and 46 from the 42 test point. Am I doing something wrong or could something else be wrong?

#27 10 years ago

TOX

ChrisHibler

OP
Quoted from jdoz2:
I double checked and I'm still getting nothing from 60 and 46 from the 42 test point. Am I doing something wrong or could something else be wrong?

Something else could be wrong, sure.
But, the 42V is derived from the 60V via an 18V Zener at CR6.
Measure DC voltage between COM and the banded side of CR6.

Then, with power off, buzz the connection between the banded side of CR6 and the 60V TP.
--
Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
http://www.Team-EM.com
http://webpages.charter.net/chibler/Pinball/index.htm
http://www.PinWiki.com - The new place for pinball repair info

#28 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

Got all voltages this time. Idk what I did differently. Thanks

The board is getting 5v so I guess the ps is fine.

#29 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

Reseated connectors again to see if I could get the displays to light up. The player 4 display had a solid 8 in the first position. Thats it. I couldnt get that to happen again though. I also noticed while swinging the backboard open, that the top header pin cuts the 5v when jostled. Im assuming the solder joint is cracked.

My first reaction to all this is to jump ship, but Im really trying hard to see this game through.

#30 10 years ago

GOV

Gov

OP
Quoted from jdoz2:
My first reaction to all this is to jump ship, but Im really trying hard to see this game through.

If you flake out after only having it two weeks I am going to kick you in the nuts!

#31 10 years ago

TOX

ChrisHibler

In the words of Douglas Adams, Don't Panic!

Again, your MPU isn't booting. The single digit on a display, burning brighter than normal, is characteristic of this. It's a side affect of how the board electronics come up.

--
Chris Hibler

#32 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

I watched the CPU section of the this old game DVD so were ok now. The panic is gone for now I'm sure the clock and reset section are toast, but im going to follow their steps to see if I can trace back from pin 40 and see how it goes from there.

#33 10 years ago

GOV

Gov

I don't know if a logic probe will help in your diagnostics but I have one if you need it.

#34 10 years ago

JWD

jdoz2

I think it will. The vid says to use one, but if one is not available, look for 4.5v at pin 40 on the cpu to see if the reset circuit is working. I think that comes in handy when checking out the chips to the left of the cpu

#35 10 years ago

GOV

Gov