A few months back, the sound on my Gorgar started cutting out. It would usually be fine on startup, but halfway through a game, it would cut out; no hum from the speaker at all. I reflowed and replaced all the sound board connectors; the problem persisted. I sent my sound board to Clive at Coin-Op Cauldron; he gave it the full overhaul, but the problem still persists. Tonight, I reflowed all the connectors on my power board, but the problem is still occurring. I haven't yet replaced the connectors on my power board, simply because I need to order more connectors. However, it seems to me that if the problem was a power board connector, wiggling the connector would cause the sound to come back on, however briefly, but that isn't the case. No matter how I wiggle them around, the sound stays off. Does anyone have any suggestions for what to check next? Also, is it possible for a dying speaker to cause symptoms like this?

They have; the sound board caps were professionally replaced last week, and the power board caps were replaced probably within the last five years.

It looked solid, but I might check it again and reflow the solder.

I'm confident the problem isn't with the sound board, because as I mentioned, Clive at Coin-Op Cauldron did a complete overhaul of the board and I got it back last week. It looks like I have the factory speaker, so that may be the issue. I've noticed the heartbeat effect sounds a little scratchy, too.

Update: It ain't the speaker -- or at least I'm pretty sure it isn't. I reflowed the solder on the speaker wires tonight, but I still don't have sound. As of last night, I don't even get sound at startup; now there's just no sound at all. Through process of elimination, I'm guessing it has to be an issue with the power board. Can anyone tell me which power board connector(s) supplies juice to the sound board?

Thanks, I'll do that; it's the original speaker, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's given out after 40 years. I'd much rather it be a speaker than a board issue!

I'll keep you posted. I haven't had much time to fiddle with it lately, but I'm hoping it's a bad speaker.

KingHebes
Just resolved it (or at least it appears that way). Turns out my speaker had gone bad. I popped a new one in and the sound seems to be working fine!

Like you said, I definitely got lucky.