Bally Super Sonic help

ArcadeGreg

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I am getting all the proper voltages at the rectifier board test points. I am getting the the +43volts at the MPU, but I am missing the +5volts at the MPU and solenoid board. There are no diagnostic flashes on the MPU. What's next?
 
Okay, I have replaced +5volt regulator (Q20), and the two large capacitors on the solenoid driver board (C23 & C26). I have also added the "solenoid board upgrades" as recommended on the Bally/stern pinwiki site. As previously mentioned, I am getting all the proper voltages at the rectifier board test points, but the +5volts is absent everyewhere else. Anyone else wanna give my a tip...or two.
 
Start the arduous but necessary process of ohming out all your 5V pertinent connections. You have 12V coming into the solenoid driver to make 5V at the upper right hand connector, start there. TP1 and TP3 on the solenoid driver should both be at 5V. The 5V then goes to the MPU.....

Chris
 
Start the arduous but necessary process of ohming out all your 5V pertinent connections. You have 12V coming into the solenoid driver to make 5V at the upper right hand connector, start there. TP1 and TP3 on the solenoid driver should both be at 5V. The 5V then goes to the MPU.....

Chris

Speaking of connectors, I keep reading that it is easy and smart to change out all the connectors in old pins. Where can I find a set of these connectors?
Thanks,
Greg
 
Speaking of connectors, I keep reading that it is easy and smart to change out all the connectors in old pins. Where can I find a set of these connectors?
Thanks,
Greg

Start with folks like Great Plains Electronics - Ed has outstanding parts and customer service second to none. He should be able to help.

Chris
 
you may find cracked solder on the header pins, but you also will want to check/replace the pins inside the connector (J3) as well...look at the small orange wire in J3 for a poor connection.
 
Okay, I have replaced +5volt regulator (Q20), and the two large capacitors on the solenoid driver board (C23 & C26). I have also added the "solenoid board upgrades" as recommended on the Bally/stern pinwiki site. As previously mentioned, I am getting all the proper voltages at the rectifier board test points, but the +5volts is absent everyewhere else. Anyone else wanna give my a tip...or two.

You mean throwing parts at the game didn't fix it? DAMN! Now what the hell are we going to do?

This is what I would do to test the +5V circuit.

1. Start at the rectifier board. The +5V is derived from the +12V coming out of the rectifier board so we need to check that first. Check at the rectifier board TP3. Then check TP5 on the regulator/driver board. If you don't have +12V at the driver board but you do at the rectifier board then you've got a connector problem to solve between the rectifier and regulator/driver.

2. From there the +12V is connected to a +5V regulator. The output of this regulator can be seen at TP1. If you're got +5V at TP1 on the regulator/driver board but not at the MPU then you've got a connector problem between the regulator/driver and the MPU. Take a look at the schematics for which pins will be the problem.

You can see that the circuit is pretty simple to trace from end to end. You should be able to pinpoint the problem pretty quickly with a logical approach to solving the problem.

Connector problems are getting more and more common on the Bally/Stern games. Also keep in mind that the +5V goes out of the regulator/driver and back in via a jumper (look at the schematics for more detail). It's wise to connect test points TP1 and TP3 on the regulator/driver to eliminate those 2 connectors.

Also keep in mind when replacing connectors you should be replacing both the pin and the header on the board. Just doing the pins isn't enough.
 
You mean throwing parts at the game didn't fix it? DAMN! Now what the hell are we going to do?

First off, thank you for the tips. Second, I don't throw parts at games. I used to play baseball, and my throw would probably break the components upon impact. Thrid, the regulator was shorted, and both capacitors tested bad at 0 uF. Lastly, pinwiki recommended replacing the capacitors regardless if they tested good or bad.

I will check the wires, but again pinwiki (and others) have recommended changing out the connectors regardless of their current condition. Therefore, I would like to update the connectors. Will someone recommend a place to buy a Bally connector kit?

Thanks for the help guys,
Greg
 
I would do both especially on the MPU where you might have tarnishing or acid damage... You'll also fix any cracked solder joints on the header pins by replacing with new!

I don't even turn on one of these old Bally's projects without rebuilding the connectors and most of the headers on the boards.

One word of advice, I highly recommend getting the proper .100 molex crimp tool for the .100 connectors. It can be the difference between a tedious job and a very frustrating time consuming one. Also purchase 20% more connectors than you need in case you mess up a crimp!


You'll be playing in no time. Good luck!
 
First off, thank you for the tips. Second, I don't throw parts at games. I used to play baseball, and my throw would probably break the components upon impact. Thrid, the regulator was shorted, and both capacitors tested bad at 0 uF. Lastly, pinwiki recommended replacing the capacitors regardless if they tested good or bad.

I will check the wires, but again pinwiki (and others) have recommended changing out the connectors regardless of their current condition. Therefore, I would like to update the connectors. Will someone recommend a place to buy a Bally connector kit?

Thanks for the help guys,
Greg

Understanding how the thing works is the most important troubleshooting tool. That will get you further than repair guides. Troubleshooting and repairing problems grows your overall understanding.

If you were able to troubleshoot a shorted voltage regulator it should be a pretty simple task to check some voltages and continuity through some wires like we've mentioned in this thread. So you tell me why you've got no +5V at the MPU, etc... I'm sure you'll have it fixed soon.

Personally I would fix the problems causing the game to not boot and then do the preventative maintenance. Obviously there will be overlap in some cases. Like broken or corroded connector pins causing the game to not work. But I would still want to know what I was doing and why rather than just replacing all the parts people say to replace and hoping it works. If you don't care how the thing works then just do that. Either approach is totally valid and will eventually get the thing working. It all comes down to what you want out of it. I assume people asking for advice here want to know how the thing works and why it might not be working so that's the advice I tend to give. Preventative maintenance stuff for these games is already well documented online.

As far as the connectors go I'll add great plains electronics to the list of recommended vendors. The proprietor is a poster on KLOV:

http://www.greatplainselectronics.com/

You'll want to replace the headers as well as the pins. I wouldn't just blindly go replace every connector in the game. That will be a waste of time and money as I'm sure there are plenty that don't need to be replaced and can just be cleaned and have the solder re-flowed. The most important connectors to address are the connectors that carry power throughout the game. I've discussed this at length on this forum and I'm sure it's covered in online guides. Look at the schematics for more information and just physically look at the connectors. I wouldn't be surprised if you find some broken pins.
 
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