SOLVED: Blown F6 fuse that was also slightly under-sized. Was 2.5A instead of 3A.

Okay, so I've got a Meteor that I can't get working. A couple of kids were slamming the flippers non-stop on Meteor, and it died mid-game. You know the ones, the kids that just bop bop bop non-stop the entire time the ball is in play. The problem is that so far I haven't been able to figure out what they blew when they killed it.

So here's what I've got:

-Switching the game on does nothing. No LEDs or beeps or GI.

-I verified with a meter that the power switch is working

-Service Outlet still has power and works

-All fuses tested good with a meter on board. I did not pull any fuses and re-check yet.

-I get no power at any of the test points on the rectifier board.

-Rectifier board has new headers and J-connectors

Frankly I'm stumped. Based on how it died, I would have thought that I lost a high-voltage fuse, or a part of the SDB (like the relay). But the fuses are checking fine, and if it was the SBD, I'd still get some power in other parts of the game.

Could the machine-gunning of the flippers have blown something on the rectifier board, or is my line fuse bad but testing good on board?

I'd appreciate any help. Thanks.

I will next time I'm back at the location. I know that you need to pull them to be 100 percent sure, but never fully understood why. Since the fuse tested good, and didn't visually look blown to me, I wanted to save stress on the fuse holders.

Appreciate the advice. I'll be following those steps when I go back.

Yeah, our location has cameras and when I went back and reviewed the footage I wanted to cry. We have plenty of new Sterns and JJPs that would probably have been okay with that abuse. But they picked our oldest game to do that to. Probably because it was the cheapest game at 50 cents-a-play.

Yep. It was down for a bad EOS switch that was keeping the upper-flipper from working. Took care of that, and it's been fine since until Saturday morning.

I appreciate the comment; I know I always try to figure out why a fuse blew, because as you said a fuse blowing is a symptom not a problem. In this particular case, a blown fuse would be a symptom of a couple of kids slamming the flippers over and over non-stop. This wasn't normal play, or even over-excited play, this was one kid on the left of the machine, and one kid on the right, each of them using both hands to press the flipper buttons as fast as possible, even before a ball was plunged. It looked like they were playing Mario-Party! I don't know many early-SS machines that would be happy with that kind of behavior for any length of time.

That being said, I do agree that an older fuse and aging components would contribute to a fuse blowing earlier. But the fuses blow to protect the game, so a fuse blowing is technically a good thing.

I'll provide an update next time I get back to the location, as at this point I still don't know exactly why I don't have power. Could be the line fuse, but maybe not. I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks.

So you were correct, Fuse F6 was indeed blown. It tested fine on-board, but once I pulled and re-tested, it showed open. Also, once I pulled it, I could see a small bubble of melted metal in the very middle of the fuse that wasn't visible when it was on the rectifier board. But get this, the plot thickens, because the installed fuse was under-rated. Fuse F6 was only a 2.5A, when it is supposed to be a 3A. So that is likely part of the reason the fuse failed when it did.

Game now has power and works aside from the left flipper. Sadly, the left-flipper coil seems to have gotten overly hot and the sleeve inside is slightly melted. Plunger won't clear the coil, and sleeve won't come out, even with a hammer and chisel. So new coil time it is. But at least otherwise the game is good.

Haha, yes, it is newb-ish behavior to not pull a fuse. But I'm sure I'm not the only experienced pinhead who's tested a fuse in the holder before. It's easy to get complacent because a lot of times it will work fine to test on the board, but there's a reason we stick to the fundamentals. A case like my Meteor being a great example of why you need to pull the fuse.