Well, if anyone is still following this, I replaced the NVRAM, and nothing happened. Is there some sort of ROM that drives this Rottendog board? Based on the weirdness I see, I suspect somehow the code is faulty.

I am wondering if the behavior I am seeing is the result of some kind of grounding or short. Is there a vid1900 guide to finding shorts or testing resistance properly?

Yes there is: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-firepower-club/page/50#post-4648925

Well that stinks. Save the other one for another game down the road.

What did RD support suggest?

Does it boot when you have it on the bench connected to a computer power supply?

Does it boot when installed into Scorpion?

I haven’t been able to get it over to my scorpion yet. It isn’t super easy to get it over to the bar.

I can boot it into other games and it will fire solenoids and boot the displays. I assume the board is at least kind of working as a result of that.

I will get it over to scorpion ASAP, I just need time. I figured I would exhaust everything possible at home first. I started wondering if it is a short.

Very oddly, I have a friend with a gorgar Gorgar that just started doing the exact same thing. His has the original board, and boots with all lights on, and the indication that the displays are getting power, but nothing displayed. You can’t start the game or get to the settings.

I find his even more strange as I know he wasn’t doing anything to it. He just turned it on. Obviously there is a System 6 Flu going around Phoenix. :/

I should say that when I saw my friends gorgar doing this, knowing he doesn’t work on his own games, I thought that perhaps there is something I am missing that could cause this.

Oh, sorry :/. Is Rottendog the only place I could get it from?

More cabinet progress today. (this cabinet is 38 years old)

Yellow was much easier than red.

If you do rattle cans with these stencils always remember that less paint is better.
All kinds of bad things happen when you put on the colors or clear too thick.
Also really clean the surface before you paint, I just use a ZEP Cleaner & Degreaser before applying the stencil.

Y Pimp2 (resized).JPG

Yellow Done (resized).JPG

Zep (resized).JPG

Dont know if this is still a problem?
WARNING to Rottendog 327 owners - Check it now! | Tech: Early solid state | Pinside.com
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/warning-to-rottendog-327-owners-check-it-now

Easy test remove 2J12 plug off the board and see if it boots

Put down a deposit on mine yesterday, picking it up this weekend- can’t wait!

Yes, from what I can tell, this is a problem still. That said, whoever original installed the board actually put that tab on top of the PCB, not behind. It actually works perfectly like that and helps to hold the board in place.

Thank you for calling it out!

What will this test? I will gladly do it, just trying to figure out what I'll gain.

The 2J12 plug is for the popbumper & Flippers.
You shorted the popbumper then it all whent bad?
You still have not tested the popbumper?

You posted The board set boots for games with 3 popbumper setup.
Is the board not booting as it detecting a bad coil?

I am just getting at the coil and the switch you shorted need to be taken out of question befor starting replacing stuff on the board !
If it was me I be looking where the problem started and working my way back to the board..
Its strange the board will boot on alther games settings !
I believe Most of these games dont use 4 Popbumpers.
I was thinking if you Pull 2J12 plug and start on Firepower setting.it be an EASY way to check.
Powering up the pinball with the 2J12 removed is ok.
If it works then theres a problem with the Coil/Popbumper line.
if it still dont work then yes it's 95% sure its a board problem.

Awesome! I am going to test this tonight. I didn't know the board would even boot without this connection.

I am having zero luck with this machine! It ran great for days, now I’ve destroyed it .

I went to test what Madal recommended and noticed that the solenoid fuse had blown. Further, I noticed that it was a 10A 32V fuse. The power supply calls for a 2.5A 28V fuse, so I don’t know how big of a deal that is (seems to me like I had a huge pipe for very similar pressure?).

I replaced the fuse, and now none of the games work. Doesn’t matter is 2J12 is unplugged or not, everything follows the same pattern, small light in otherwise dark displays, all GI on, no sounds or solenoids.

I’m about to give up and call the local pinball guy .

At a loss there !
Never had a problem with the 2J12 plug been removed then powering up the game !

And for it to take out a fuse !
Is F3 the the only fuse that had blow out?
20181107_224550 (resized).jpg

I don’t see any “F” numbers on the board, but it is this one...

96149514-623D-47C5-A94C-E085C9791BBB (resized).jpeg

Something tells me there have been a bunch of "f's" just not on the board.

LOL!

I have a new MPU327 on the way from Rottendog. Probably a waste of money, but I don't know what else to do other than piss dollars into the wind and hope I can fix it.

As for the fuses, can anyone tell me where you buy a 2.5A 32Vdc Slow Blow fuse???

IMG_0434 (resized).jpeg

I’m pretty sure a 2.5 slo blo 32 V or higher voltage will work.

Don't worry about the 32 volt, the important thing is the amperage, and whether it's slow blow or fast acting. I doubt you could find a lower voltage rating fuse, but just in case, don't go below the 32 volts. Most fuses used now are 250 volt.

Any Fry's stores near you?

GPE is a good source for fuses of all sizes. Stock up on all the sizes in your game.

https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/products.asp?cat=126

Now the time to get you a good molex crimper and $20 worth of connectors/pins and get rid of all those damn IDC connectors. One good day and you will be set for years of trouble free service.

Have you fused the bridge rectifiers?

Anyone know where I might find a coin door? Mine was recently vandalized.

Should have told your wife you empty the quarters every night to keep that from happening.

These are a good upgrade too!

Williams System 3 - 7 Special Solenoid Saver.
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1055-nvramweeblycom/00585-williams-system-3-7-special-solenoid-saver-

GPE is good for mail order.

Menards has genuine Bussman fuses if you need local.

Stainless or the black painted CoinCo type? If the former... That'll be hard. The latter, Atari used that style on a lot of their video games too so you can get them relatively cheaply if you are okay with swapping over the wiring.

Wow, I lucked out and found a NOS stainless. I'm not super excited about disassembling the door as I hear it's kind of a horror show, but I have no choice.

No it's not hard. Done it dozens of times. They kind of come apart in layers. Just pay attention. You'll be fine.

I just finished installing a hardtop on my Firepower and will document the process here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/firepower-hardtop-restoration

So, I just installed the new Rottendog board and of course everything works perfectly. Apparently that was the problem, the question is why.

I need to find someone who can fix the broken one so that I can sell it and make back some of the money I’ve lost.

Good news! you got it working again

Yeah, I am happy that it is working. I would love to understand how I broke it. It seems unlikely that my fiddling around with a rollover switch could have broken it.

That said, the solenoid fuse which was installed was too large. Possibly there was a jolt that fried something?

Furthermore now that it is fixed, and I have the correct fuse installed, something is blowing that fuse after a while. I either have a short somewhere, or one of the solenoids is bad.

I am going to do some testing today, then report back. Hopefully I am not annoying everyone with this saga, I just figured it could help someone else if I record what is going on.

Congrats on getting it back up and running. RD will fix your board for you.

They said they will only fix boards in the warranty period . I need to find someone who wants to fix it, or buy it broken. I’m sure it is not hard to fix, I just don’t have the time to deal with it.

Installing one those will stop a bad coil from blowing the board.
Have them in my Firepower & Scorpion. As I know whats its like to have a short blowing parts on the Driver board.
This why its just a fuse and no damage to the board.

Williams System 3 - 7 Special Solenoid Saver.
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1055-nvramweeblycom/00585-williams-system-3-7-special-solenoid-saver-

OK, good call. I'm going to do this! This #firepower is some kind evil monster. In play testing last night the f'ing kicker fiber boards attached to the plunger actually cracked apart. I'm seriously going to have to put like 100 hours on this machine before I deploy it to my friends bar.

Addictive game, if one was on location by me i would feed it alot of quarters.

Threw my now good boardset in my firepower. I just wanted to test everything before I order parts. I am getting no power to my coils besides my flippers. There is three burnt coils in the game that the wires are clipped off. Obviously going to order some. But just wanted to check everything before making an order. Is that what is causing my issue? Thanks

This is pretty significant. So once it's out of warranty, it breaks, throw it in the trash? Or did they provide you a list of third-party repair people that will work on Rotten Dog boards since the people that made them won't?

Richard

Companies only work on their own stuff so long, then you have to find 3rd party repair people to fix it.

If you call Stern to fix your 70s Stern boards, they'll tell you they no longer work on them.

If you call Apple to fix your Gen 1 iPod battery, they tell you it's obsolete.

If you blow your trans in your 2005 car, the dealer swaps it for a re-manufactured unit done by 3rd party.

Any pintech can fix those RD boards in minutes.

Yeah, I totally understood it. They gave me a working one for a very fair cost. I am happy with the service. I just need to find someone to fix it.

Not really a fair comparison; especially the Stern example as we're talking 40+ years. Can't speak to Apple products as I know nothing about them. The dealership example is not a good one either as in 2018 they will still work on your 2005 model car as long as you're willing to pay.

In this case we're talking about a current product that the maker will not repair because it is out of warranty. Defend them if you like; personally I'm not impressed. Good thing I know how to repair original boards* and will continue to use those.

Richard

* I am not a board repair shop and this is not an advertisement for board repair. I work on my own stuff only, as a hobbyist.

Do you want to repair a RD board?

Sure don't! That's why I was wondering if they were kind enough to direct you to any professional board repair shops that will.

Richard

The schematics are out there. I would call coin op cauldron.