The controller board in my Baywatch was being so problematic it was causing the sound board to reset due to the draw on the 5v rail. So I wired it up to an arcade machine power supply and installed a 2.5A inline fuse between the power supply and controller board. With the board on its own power supply, the 5V level in the game showed much better and the sound board stopped resetting.
As for the display controller, it was still only showing 4.83v at the board itself. I had to increase the arcade power supply up to 5.2v, which is what we normally use in arcade machines with similar issues. After making this adjustment, the controller now shows 4.95v.
I played a few games with no display resets and no sound issues. But the 2.5A fuse runs warm to the touch, and the various PAL chips on the controller board are nearly hot to the touch. Not sure how long this will work until my original 24 year old board dies completely, but it must be pulling 2A of current (10W).
The experience of mine and others is irrefutable evidence that as these controller boards age, they consume more and more power. I don’t know if the PAL chips are slowly shorting themselves out or what.
