(Topic ID: 333570)
Linked Games
World Cup Soccer
Bally, 1994
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Bloomington, IN
Put a small bit of fresh solder on the iron's tip before heating the cracked joint. This will help heat transfer and the fresh Flux aids in reflowing the solder. It will be obvious once the old solder melts and reflows.
Quoted from sullivcd40:Left side GI in WCS is out. I pulled the driver board and found a cracked solder joint. My plan is to reflow the cracked joint but I am nervous about causing further damage. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Here is a picture of the damage:
[quoted image]
There's no real 'damage' there - someone has already reflowed the header.
I was checking the connector for voltage and when I pressed on the wire the GI came on. So I repinned the connector and it didn't resolve the issue, so I pulled the board and found the cracked joint. Good to know it's not damaged, thats what I was hoping. Should I be concerned with the solder that had crept up the trace? Or should I just reflow and not worry about it. Here is a picture from a different angle.
20230320_173653 (resized).jpgQuoted from sullivcd40:I was checking the connector for voltage and when I pressed on the wire the GI came on. So I repinned the connector and it didn't resolve the issue, so I pulled the board and found the cracked joint. Good to know it's not damaged, thats what I was hoping. Should I be concerned with the solder that had crept up the trace? Or should I just reflow and not worry about it. Here is a picture from a different angle.
[quoted image]
Nah,nothing to worry about. Previous person that did the fix used (way) too much solder, and it just flowed up where the soldermask had been chipped or missing. It's fine. 
I got it to flow a little bit. The problem is the insert that the solder should flow on is moving around.
Not sure what you mean the insert is moving. Maybe you are talking about the header pin? You need to wire brush or sand on the pin to clean it up, then apply some flux, then try resoldering it. It needs to be very clean. If that doesn't work, then replace the header pin(s) and start with fresh, clean header pins.
Quoted from JethroP:Not sure what you mean the insert is moving. Maybe you are talking about the header pin? You need to wire brush or sand on the pin to clean it up, then apply some flux, then try resoldering it. It needs to be very clean. If that doesn't work, then replace the header pin(s) and start with fresh, clean header pins.
There is a little piece of something moving around when I heat up to solder.
Quoted from cartert:Looks like the pad has lifted. Try a stitch to the other side of the through hole pad.
I think you're right, the pad has lifted. What do you mean by stitch to the other side?
Quoted from sullivcd40:I think you're right, the pad has lifted. What do you mean by stitch to the other side?
If the through hole has been torn from the pad, it will not make any difference. There is no connection on the component side of the board. Only pin 6 of that header has a through hole that makes a difference. If you measure continuity between J120-5 and J121-5 then the pad is NOT your problem.
The pins on your header have seen better days. There is obvious "tarnish" from the multiple insertion/removal cycles in the past. The connector may also be part of the problem.
Quoted from DumbAss:If the through hole has been torn from the pad, it will not make any difference. There is no connection on the component side of the board. Only pin 6 of that header has a through hole that makes a difference. If you measure continuity between J120-5 and J121-5 then the pad is NOT your problem.
The pins on your header have seen better days. There is obvious "tarnish" from the multiple insertion/removal cycles in the past. The connector may also be part of the problem.
I reflowed and then tested for continuity between J120-5 and J121-5, got a beep. Thought I had it fixed after that so I put it back in the machine. Problem not fixed. Looking at the picture, the header looks trashed, I didn't notice that in person. I repinned the connector using molex. So put in a new header next? Thanks to all of you for your help.
Quoted from sullivcd40:Problem not fixed. Looking at the picture, the header looks trashed, I didn't notice that in person. I repinned the connector using molex. So put in a new header next? Thanks to all of you for your help.
Check the voltages. It's VAC so you need to measure point-to-point (even though one of the points is actually grounded). Stop any attract mode software from adjusting the triacs by entering diagnostic mode. This should set the brightness of all the strings at 8. Measure the voltage at the pins of J120 and J121.
They should measure identically and at 6.3VAC (nominal). If you don't measure this then there is an electrical problem. If you do measure these correctly then look at either the connector or wires to the connector for starters.
Quoted from DumbAss:Check the voltages. It's VAC so you need to measure point-to-point (even though one of the points is actually grounded). Stop any attract mode software from adjusting the triacs by entering diagnostic mode. This should set the brightness of all the strings at 8. Measure the voltage at the pins of J120 and J121.
They should measure identically and at 6.3VAC (nominal). If you don't measure this then there is an electrical problem. If you do measure these correctly then look at either the connector or wires to the connector for starters.
The GI actually came back earlier today when I was poking on the J120 wiring checking voltages. It would stay on until I turned the game off. This is what made me think it was just and connector and why I replaced the original. When that didn't work, I pulled the board and saw the beat up solder joint.
Quoted from DumbAss:If the through hole has been torn from the pad, it will not make any difference. There is no connection on the component side of the board. Only pin 6 of that header has a through hole that makes a difference. If you measure continuity between J120-5 and J121-5 then the pad is NOT your problem.
I swapped in a working PZ driver board and lost right playfield GI but the coin door lights came on. The left GI remained out. The coin door lights weren't working with the other board, I failed to mention that.
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