Best arcade repair info for newbies?

mstevenson

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I want to get my crystal castles working again (it went dead a while ago, I can hear the screen turn on, but nothing, no sound and no video). I am not a very handy guy, but I would like to learn. I know enough to check the fuses, but other than that, I'm not really sure what people mean when they say to check the +5 etc... What is the best resource for this? I have done a search, but most of the repair tips I find have to do with things like discharging the monitor, doing a cap kit, and things more specific like that. Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.
 
I want to get my crystal castles working again (it went dead a while ago, I can hear the screen turn on, but nothing, no sound and no video). I am not a very handy guy, but I would like to learn. I know enough to check the fuses, but other than that, I'm not really sure what people mean when they say to check the +5 etc... What is the best resource for this? I have done a search, but most of the repair tips I find have to do with things like discharging the monitor, doing a cap kit, and things more specific like that. Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.

you can start by using the search on here. there is tons and tons of info on this site. plus bob roberts site has some info..
 
If the game doesn't play blind it's more than likely you're power supply. Checking fuses doesn;t mean eye ball them. You need to buy a digital multimeter and set it on continuity test. While your board could've died it's not very likely. Pictures are always helpful - we have no clue if your power section has been updated witha switching power supply or is still using the original.
Assuming it's still original AND using the filter board - Start by removing the two harness connectors from the big greeen board. Remove the big green board exposing the game PCB board. Plug your harness directly into the games PCB board and see if the game fires up. If it doesn't then using your digital multi meter set it to the voltage test, remove the larger harness connector and use the following to locate the +5 lead.
http://www.crazykong.com/pins/Crystalcastles.pin.txt
Put the black lead from your digital multimeter to ground (anything metal will do) and the red lead will be used to press against the +5 lead.
 
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I did test the fuses with my multi-meter (using the continuity or beep test). They all checked out. What pics would you like me to post? I'm guessing the power supply is the board on the bottom of the cab that had the fuses in it. It looks like the main game pcb is in a cage, but I didn't see right away how I could get it out of that cage, but I haven't really inspected it yet (I'll go look). I'm not totally sure what you mean by the following:

"Assuming it's still original AND using the filter board - Start by removing the two harness connectors from the big greeen board. Remove the big green board exposing the game PCB board. Plug your harness directly into the games PCB board and see if the game fires up. If it doesn't then using your digital multi meter set it to the voltage test, remove the larger harness connector and use the following to locate the +5 lead.
http://www.crazykong.com/pins/Crystalcastles.pin.txt"

I guess I'm not sure what a filter board is, I'll go look and try to take some pics of what you might need and post them. I do appreciate any help here, thanks for your guys expertise, must seem so simple you guys, but it all looks like chinese to me at this point, hope to get a little more competent with it :)
 
Ok, I grabbed some pics of the inside of the cab. I didn't see the filter board, I think it goes from the power supply to a sound board to the graphics board, but I don't know, I am just guessing.

Let me know if you need a photo of something in particular, I wasn't really sure what to get pictures of.
 

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See that big blue cap?

Check the voltage on it.

Is it OK? If not, check the AC going into it. Is it there? If so, pull the whole power unit from the bottom of the cab and check it for burnt wires or melted connections to the underside of the fuse holders and to the bridge rectifier.

If not, check cabinet interlocks, power cable, on/off switch, and any connectors.

RJ
 
The best advice I can give you is to:
(1) Find all of the manuals and schematics you can for your machine. Most are posted on the Inet somewhere. Google is your friend.
(2) Starting at the plug on the end of the cord, make sure all three pins are there. You wouldn't believe how many ground pins have been cut or thrown away.
(3) with your multimeter trace the power from the wall to the circuit boards.
(4) if you are getting the correct voltages all the way through, you probably have a board problem. If you are not, then you need to find out why not (hint: the schematics).

ken
 
See that big blue cap?

Check the voltage on it.

Is it OK? If not, check the AC going into it. Is it there? If so, pull the whole power unit from the bottom of the cab and check it for burnt wires or melted connections to the underside of the fuse holders and to the bridge rectifier.

If not, check cabinet interlocks, power cable, on/off switch, and any connectors.

RJ

Don't hate me, but I don't know how to do any of this :( I just about maxed out my multi meter skills with checking those fuses, don't really know how I would go about testing that cap. Don't know where to put the leads, don't know if the game has to be on when I'm checking or just plugged in, don't know what the cap is supposed to be reading, and imagine that the info on that is in the schematic (which I have) but don't know how to read a schematic.

I would love to start learning these things, that is why I was wondering if there is a basic arcade repair guide that goes over this sort of stuff (I know people here probably don't want to hold my hand through this stuff, I don't blame you guys, this is probably all incredibly basic stuff to you).

Is there a good resource out there that is aimed at beginners for this stuff? I tried searching for it, but couldn't find anything (but maybe I don't even know enough to search for the right thing).
 
Don't hate me, but I don't know how to do any of this :( I just about maxed out my multi meter skills with checking those fuses, don't really know how I would go about testing that cap. Don't know where to put the leads, don't know if the game has to be on when I'm checking or just plugged in, don't know what the cap is supposed to be reading, and imagine that the info on that is in the schematic (which I have) but don't know how to read a schematic.

I would love to start learning these things, that is why I was wondering if there is a basic arcade repair guide that goes over this sort of stuff (I know people here probably don't want to hold my hand through this stuff, I don't blame you guys, this is probably all incredibly basic stuff to you).

Is there a good resource out there that is aimed at beginners for this stuff? I tried searching for it, but couldn't find anything (but maybe I don't even know enough to search for the right thing).
Once thing you may want to consider is getting a 1 year subscription to Randy Fromm's online "technical department." It's $60 for one year of access, but honestly you can just save all the content to your hard drive so after one year you don't really need to subscribe again. He has a lot of info from beginning troubleshooting up to more advanced topics. This guy used to travel the country and teach an "arcade school" on game repair. For newbies and people looking to become more advanced with repair, it's a great start.

www.randyfromm.com
 
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Once thing you may want to consider is getting a 1 year subscription to Randy Fromm's online "technical department." It's $60 for one year of access, but honestly you can just save all the content to your hard drive so after one year you don't really need to subscribe again. He has a lot of info from beginning troubleshooting up to more advanced topics. This guy used to travel the country and teach an "arcade school" on game repair. For newbies and people looking to become more advanced with repair, it's a great start.

www.randyfromm.com


How is the material behind the subscribers gate on his site? Are the podcasts well done and informative?
 
How is the material behind the subscribers gate on his site? Are the podcasts well done and informative?

The podcasts are honestly somewhat cheesy, but they are still informative. A significant number of them are recordings from his various arcade schools he put on. If you go on youtube you can actually see some more recent podcasts from him which are pretty similar you'd see in his subscriber section. Personally I've learned quite a bit from his videos and books, but I know others have complained at how "outdated" his info is, which can be true to an extent (ie K7000 flyback failures are common now but not at the time this stuff was made). I think for the price it's a great deal considering you get his videos and his Big Blue Book and monitor book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mMewIjjoJk&feature=PlayList&p=5B372483806F7AA6&index=0
 
I myself am new to the hobby. Replacing parts based on suggestions, is sometimes a crapshoot at best, I've found. While I can solder, and replace parts with ease- I have little idea how to troubleshoot board and some monitor problems. Also schematics and pinouts can be a bitch to decipher for people who are new to them.

I appreciate all the links you guys have given here, and will make it a point to check them out.

It'd be nice if there were some picture diagrams (for idiots like me) specific to arcade components, that gave visual descriptions of board parts, and maybe gave specific links of places to order such parts.
 
Before you go completely crazy with information overload. When did your Crystal Castles stop working? Did you move it and then it stopped working. Did it give you some symptons before it went kaput?
 
sounds like the best thing for you to do is to hire a tech to come out and help you or take your game to him for some troubleshooting.

Yes Yes Yes, and I will tell you why.

I am probably about 50-60 successful board repairs down the novice road, some easy, some pretty complicated, so I feel I should chime in.

If you are starting out in board repair, unless its a very simple fault like a lack of power or a bad connection it is highly likely you will kill/destroy the board while you make the mistakes everyone makes at least once when staring to fix boards.

So, basically, do NOT make your favourite game board your first repair project. In fact dont even make it your second or third. Pick up a $10 faulty bootleg JAMMA baord on ebay and go for your life, just be prepared to do more harm than good to board number 1.
 
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