Hi guys,

Inaugural post here, but long time reader

I'm posting this because I'm at my wits end with an issue on my Tron Legacy Pro machine. It will never reliably start up. The GI comes on, but no DMD or actual game-board stuff. Now the strange thing is that very rarely I can turn the machine off and on dozens of times and it'll fire up, but more often than not I'll need to jiggle with every connector in the back-box. Sometimes I touch one cable and it fires right up. Other times it won't matter how much I play with that cable, it won't fire up till I jiggle others around. I've tried to determine every combination to find a weak point or something that's responsible, but it seems to be totally random as to what makes it finally fire up.

I've replaced all fuses with the correct slow-blo ratings as per the manual, and checked all connections inside the machine. I haven't yet pulled every connector off the boards and re-seated them as some are glued and they all have difficult clips to remove -- I'm worried I'll do more damage than good doing that. It's running the latest 1.74 code.

I should note that cabinet is loaded with just about every single mod imaginable. I'm about to install the Eli ramp light kit which I think will truly make it decked out with everything there is (short of the EL side-cabinet trimming).

If anyone has any ideas as to what might be happening I would really appreciate hearing from you.

Thanks!

Thanks for the tips, guys. I guess I'll take the boards off the back and have a good look at al the solder joints. I'm based in Australia so sending back to Stern is probably not the best option (will they even deal with me?). Also I wouldn't know which board to send back as jiggling/seating cables on either board can start it up at different times...

btw75, thanks for the input. I agree 100% but I have not been able to replicate the issue, and this is after months of trying different things. I also suspected ground (it explains things the best) but found nothing loose - I'll go back and triple check they they are all secure. I might even try a different power outlet - perhaps the ground is faulty in there!?

Thanks for the continued suggestions, guys!

btw75, nope, no DMD at all - it's just as if you were to unplug power to the game board. Which points would I test specifically? Is there something in the manual about that?

Geremy, I will try reseating everything in the coin door tonight and see if that helps.

phishrace, I have tried to start the cab without the florescent bulb in there at all with the same results. Is that what you mean by pulling the starter?

Brett I'm in AU, but I'm close to contacting them anyways!

Thanks! I'll be sure to test those also to see if provides any further info.

I've been away installing Eli ramp kit over the past few days (wow that thing is amazing!) and unfortunately still have the intermittent power-up issue.

So I checked these and the voltages are spot on, even when it doesn't fire up

This actually made the machine fire up a few goes first try! Thought it might have been it. Then the following morning I tried to turn it on again and nothing. No matter how much fiddling I did with the door, no joy. As soon as I pressed a few things in the back box again, it fired up. So frustrating!

I guess I'll rip the boards out next and check for those dry solder joints. Just thought I'd give an update in the meantime.

Yeah I've tried that but there is no correlation (it seems) any time. Rarely does touching the same thing twice make a difference, it seems to be totally random which is nuts. I will continue to search for some commonality!

Yep, 1.74 as btw75 mentioned.

I don't want to post too soon, but I think I fixed it!

The Eli ramp kit required a .156 IDC pusher for install so I figured I'd go over every cable to the backboard with the tool to ensure each wire was nice and snug. Ever since then, I've had 100% turn on rate! I don't want to jinx it, but I've powered cycled dozens of times over the past few days and it's worked every time. If it stays this way the next few days, I'll be sure to update the topic as solved.

Thanks to everyone who chimed in to assist! Fingers crossed this nightmare is over!