(Topic ID: 226014)

Stellar Wars - Troubleshooting Difficulties

By Ahiggins

5 years ago



Topic Stats

  • 7 posts
  • 4 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 5 years ago by frunch
  • Topic is favorited by 2 Pinsiders

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#1 5 years ago

Just picked up a Stellar Wars in non-working condition, the cabinet and play field were beautiful though. I am pretty new to repair and have been trying to read as many guides as possible but I think I may need an assist here.

This is what I have done so far:
- Referred to the schematics and made sure all of the connections were correct.
- Cleaned each of the connections using contact cleaner.
- Checked all of the fuses, one fuse was blown it was the fuse for the solenoids
- Noticed that the cable used to ground the speaker was disconnected, and reconnected.

I tried both auto-up, and manual down mode. The machine lights up, but is unresponsive and none of the displays illuminate.
When the machine is turned off the speaker does output a noise, like something the game would do during play. I opened the head of the machine and noticed that both the lights on the cpu board were illuminated, according to the manual that indicates a board failure. I tried to self-test the board using the diagnostic button on the board. I also tried entering master commands, nothing appears to be working though.

A few things have confused me so far:
- Why do the schematics refer to a system 6 board but a system 4 is installed?
- Why do I only have 3 chips when the diagram refers to at least four?
- Why is the master display not displaying anything?

Lastly, what do you think I should try next? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply to this thread!

P.S. I'm still very new to this and I apologize for asking any stupid questions, I just really want to learn how to fix this.

#2 5 years ago
Quoted from Ahiggins:

- Cleaned each of the connections using contact cleaner.

Probably not a good idea

Quoted from Ahiggins:

- Why do the schematics refer to a system 6 board but a system 4 is installed?

They're compatible. If you don't have the original board, check out the schematics for phoenix on ipdb

Quoted from Ahiggins:

- Why do I only have 3 chips when the diagram refers to at least four?

Another comparability thing. The third chip on the far right (ic14) is a combination of the left 1-3.

Quoted from Ahiggins:

- Why is the master display not displaying anything?

Because the MPU isn't booting.

Next step would be to check voltages at 1J2. If you're getting those then you've got a board issue. Can send it out for repairs, replace it, or try to fix it yourself, but that can be very involved for a beginner

#3 5 years ago
Quoted from zacaj:

Probably not a good idea

Out of curiosity, why is contact cleaner a bad idea?

Quoted from zacaj:

Next step would be to check voltages at 1J2. If you're getting those then you've got a board issue. Can send it out for repairs, replace it, or try to fix it yourself, but that can be very involved for a beginner

I will check the voltages and report back after work tomorrow, could you link any guides for repairing boards. I don't mind if it's a pretty involved process, I plan on fixing many more in the future... but I need to take my time and learn first.

#4 5 years ago
Quoted from Ahiggins:

Out of curiosity, why is contact cleaner a bad idea?

It doesn't really 'clean' that much, and can sometimes mess up pinball machines. The contacts don't really get 'dirty'. Either they lose their springiness or they corrode. In either case, they should be replaced.

Quoted from Ahiggins:

could you link any guides for repairing boards.

This is the best place I've found http://www.flippers.info/system6repairpart4.asp

#5 5 years ago

If you're still not booting after you've verified correct power is getting to the MPU board, you can also try these test ROM images: http://pincoder.reversion.ca

They will help you diagnose internal problems with your MPU and driver boards. You will need a 2716 or 2816 eeprom chip and access to a chip programmer, which I know, takes time to aquire - I'm working on a solution for that.

Anyway they may also come in handy for any other Williams 3,4, or 6 games that you come across in the future.

#6 5 years ago

Thanks for the help so far guys, I've been pretty busy so I apologize for the delay with testing and uploading photos. I will make sure I get to it tonight though.

#7 5 years ago

You may also want to post some pics of the boards in the backbox. There's a number of important repairs/modifications that should be made on all Williams games of this vintage. If some of the boards have already been serviced or replaced, that may help us get in the right direction. You're in good hands here, I'm sure you'll get it sorted out! Be ready to replace lots of connectors!

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