(Topic ID: 274066)

Whirlwind boots into diagnostic mode: no display

By HydrogenHuman

3 years ago


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  • 21 posts
  • 7 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 3 years ago by Schwaggs
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#1 3 years ago

My project Whirlwind when turned on appears to automatically go into diagnostic mode (the red light on the board blinks that says "diagnostic" underneath)

I also have nothing appearing on the alpha-numeric display. The backbox lights do come on (except for those that are likely burned out), and several playfield lights also turn on.

I've looked at some of the fuses really quick and noticed some of them looked to be bad/burned out. I haven't tested them with a multimeter however because I honestly don't know how to take them out.

I am very new to working on machines, but I am willing to learn and like tech related stuff.

#2 3 years ago

Sorry, I haven’t dealt with that issue, but if you are new you should bookmark this page: http://techniek.flipperwinkel.nl/wms11/index1.htm

It almost always has what I need to troubleshoot problems. Good luck.

#3 3 years ago
Quoted from Pinash:

Sorry, I haven’t dealt with that issue, but if you are new you should bookmark this page: http://techniek.flipperwinkel.nl/wms11/index1.htm
It almost always has what I need to troubleshoot problems. Good luck.

Ooh nice, thanks! I should probably just buy the fuse kit from Marcos and change out all the fuses. That guide basically says the first thing you should do is check fuses.

#4 3 years ago

Please post a picture of the MPU board to look for potential battery damage.

#5 3 years ago
Quoted from PinballManiac40:

Please post a picture of the MPU board to look for potential battery damage.

No battery damage as far as I can tell. The previous owner, amazingly, swapped out batteries frequently.

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#6 3 years ago

Need one above the battery holder with the ribbon cable out of the way.

How many times does the diagnostic LED blinks, pauses, and repeats the same number of flashes each time?

#7 3 years ago
Quoted from PinballManiac40:

Need one above the battery holder with the ribbon cable out of the way.
How many times does the diagnostic LED blinks, pauses, and repeats the same number of flashes each time?

It pretty much blinks a constant continuous pattern approximately every second, never stops while the machine is on.

#8 3 years ago

The top right (-) battery contact looks missing for sure. Most times because it corrosion caused it to be brittle and makes it easy to break off when changing batteries.

#9 3 years ago
Quoted from PinballManiac40:

The top right (-) battery contact looks missing for sure. Most times because it corrosion caused it to be brittle and makes it easy to break off when changing batteries.

I believe the previous owner did say he just recently changed the batteries when I picked it up. So maybe it broke when he did that.

#10 3 years ago

I only trust what my eyes can see.

Trust not what a seller tells you, especially when something is not working.

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#11 3 years ago
Quoted from PinballManiac40:

I only trust what my eyes can see.
Trust not what a seller tells you, especially when something is not working.

Okay so I checked the fuses, and here is what I found:

F2 and F3 fuses on the Power Driver Board did not appear to show continuity. F2 I believe was the one that definitely was not showing any continuity.
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The F6 fuse on the Aux Power Driver Board shattered at one of the ends. I personally don't know if I was the cause, or if it was already like that and was so brittle it broke. Either way, that also has to be replaced.
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All other fuses were good, although the fuse holders likely need a good cleaning.

Also, some of the metal "tabs" I guess I would call them on the fuse holders, some of them are either bent or broken. Is that any cause for concern, or is it okay? You can see what I mean in the pic below:
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Another thing I found was the battery holder was very...suspect. While there doesn't appear to be any corrosion damage on the board, the battery holder wobbles around and both the negative and positive contacts really look like crap.
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#12 3 years ago

The battery holder looks like several of the terminals are broken (fallen apart).

#13 3 years ago

With power off, try pressing on these socketed IC's to see if the boot up issue improves/changes.
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#14 3 years ago
Quoted from KenLayton:

The battery holder looks like several of the terminals are broken (fallen apart).

I agree on that. Putting in NVram is likely a good option rather than trying to replace or re-do the battery pack.

#15 3 years ago
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:

I agree on that. Putting in NVram is likely a good option rather than trying to replace or re-do the battery pack.

NVRAM is the best idea!!

#16 3 years ago

I'd also recommend verifying all the fuses are the correct rating and type (slow blow/mdl or fast blow/agc). I think I've found at least one wrong fuse in every game I've bought.

1 week later
#17 3 years ago

Okay so I know I'm gonna sound like a complete newb dummy but...which pins/connector do I check with a Multimeter for the display 100 Volts? Right now the biggest priority is getting that working since the game does appear to work normally after a few steps.

Here is what I've done so far:
-I replaced the F2, F3, and F6 fuses, one of which is tied to the dot matrix board (which still does not work)

-The battery holder appears to be shot, as the contacts for the negative/positive sides are corroded/rotted. This may relate to the issue that keeps happening.
When first turning on the machine, it goes into a diagnostic mode and a game cannot be started, and the playfield does not light up as in attract mode. The red lights on the MPU indicate that things are "normal".

-If I press the diagnostic buttons in the coin door, I hear it register the input, but since the dot matrix doesn't work i can't determine which option it's on.

-If I then press the CPU button located on the MPU, the machine goes into attract mode, and the playfield buttons light up.

-When I put in quarters (it's not set on free play yet) and start a game, everything appears to function normal (I hear the "Uh Oh, looks like rain, followed by the thunder and the music and ball kicks out)

-If I play and the ball drains, I can hear the score tallying up, and then the next ball kicks out. However, sometimes the game may completely reset and I'll hear the "Uh Oh, looks like rain" again, and the music will stop. Other times, the game will just continue on infinitely, never stopping the game even after 3 balls have drained.

So what I'm trying to see is what to test or pinpoint first based on this behavior of the machine, which I think would be power to the display.

#18 3 years ago

Power supply board in top right corner. The high voltage section is in the lower portion of the board. I have a picture of mine but It actually does say 100v directly next to the connector. It’s the one on the left side on the bottom

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1 week later
#19 3 years ago

Pull F2 and F3 and see if one or both blew right away. Your power supply board has had some work in the high voltage area (D3 has been replaced for sure and looks like there might be more work behind the capacitor). I would recap that power supply and get a high voltage re-build if the fuses are still blowing.

#20 3 years ago
Quoted from Schwaggs:

Pull F2 and F3 and see if one or both blew right away. Your power supply board has had some work in the high voltage area (D3 has been replaced for sure and looks like there might be more work behind the capacitor). I would recap that power supply and get a high voltage re-build if the fuses are still blowing.

I did replace the fuses and it did not blow again. However, the alphanumeric display is still not showing.

#21 3 years ago
Quoted from HydrogenHuman:

I did replace the fuses and it did not blow again. However, the alphanumeric display is still not showing.

Did you measure them with a meter? They are so fine, you cannot visually see when they are blown.

Take a close look at the displays. Look at them at different angles. Look for any hint of orange glow in either of them. If there is orange glow, you know they are getting power.

If still nothing, measure the voltages on power board J2. BE VERY CAREFUL as there is high voltage there that can hurt you. Black lead on ground, red lead on:
Pin 1 -100v
Pin 3 +100v
Pin 5 0V (ground)
Pin 6 +5V

Make sure ALL ribbon cables are installed properly. Are not reversed on one end. Are not one or more pins off. etc

The fact that you need to enter diags each time you power up is an indication your batteries or CMOS RAM circuit isn't working. Probably due to bad or corroded contacts on the battery holder. Resolved by replacing the CMOS with NVRAM and getting those batteries off the board!

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