data east startup problem / dmd

drwicket

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Hello,

I just picked up this lethal weapon 3 pinball yesterday and it has a few issues. I figured I would hop on here for some expert advice before I really dig into it. I have a feeling you guys would be able to save me a ton of time and research :)

When I startup the machine everything lights up but the DMD is scrambled. There were several blown fuses in the game and I replaced all of them. I am including some pictures of the board just incase that would help. I also took a video of the startup that I could post as well if that would help. I know that there are 3 lights on the board that are supposed to light up and when I turn the machine on none of these light up. Any ideas where I should start first? I have printed off the entire data east guide on pin-repair but it is a little overwhelming for a newbie.

Thanks!
 

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By "everything lights up"....what exactly do you mean by that? I am assuming you just mean the general illumination lighting since the machine doesn't appear to be booting?

If you are getting no activity on any of the CPU led's - first thing you need to do is confirm voltages coming out of the power supply. The repair guide will tell you what to expect.

The DMD is driven by a seperate CPU than the machine itself. So that's why you will see activity on the DMD screen even if your main CPU isn't booting. If my assumption is correct - that the machine isn't booting - don't worry about the DMD at this point. Chasing a potential DMD problem on a machine that isn't booting is pointless.

If I've mis-read your post and the machine is working except for the DMD - check the ribbon cables for proper alignment of Pin 1 and make sure you haven't shifted the whole cable over by a pin. If you mis-align a cable on the plug, you won't hurt the machine but you will have a garbled display.
 
One place to start (been working on a new DE game recently!) is to make sure the CPU board is getting power. When on, the 5V and Blank LEDs should stay on (after the PIA briefly flashes on, I think). Right up by the battery pack (just to the right) there are a couple of small metal loops labeled ground and 5V. Make sure there is 5V here, for starters. If not, problem is nback at the power supply or the power connector to the cpu board.
 
You said fuses were blown. You replaced them. Did you check to see if they were blown again?

Fuse holders? Are they in good condition? I know a lot of those Data East games have bad fuse holders.

Cold Solder Joints? Check backside of power supply(and other boards too) for cold solder joints. That LW3 that you bought from me before had cold solder joints on the back side of the power supply at a few connectors.

Like mentioned above, check to see if you are getting power at the CPU. You need to read the guide. Sure it seems a little overwhelming but its not too bad and will help you get going.

EDIT: Also, remove the batteries from the CPU holder. Is there any acid damage on the board?
 
whats up with that black electricians tape ?
are the wires SOLDERED together inside that yuck ?

use heat shrink tubing



check the connectors inside the white circled area on the power supply
 

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Thanks so much for all your comments! The game is over at my dad's house right now so I will be messing around with it tomorrow. I am sure I will have more questions after I check all your comments and go through the repair guide :)
 
Ok so I checked all my fuses again and made sure all were correct and none of them have blown since I replaced them.

I checked the voltages coming out of the power supply at CN1 and all the voltages are correct based off of what they are saying in the repair guide.

I checked the loops next to the battery pack and I am not getting 5V I am getting 594 on a DC meter.

On CN17 the 3 grey hot wires I am also getting 594 on a DC meter.
On our other LW3 we are getting 4.8 DC volts on these grey wires.

I checked for cold solder joins on the back sides and did not see anything out of the ordinary. Also did not see any battery acid damage on any of the boards.

We removed all the electricians tape and replaced the tape with wire nuts as a temporary fix until we can figure out what the issue is.

We do have general illumination to the entire game, power to the DMD, and power to all the coils.

Can anyone help me out and try to point me in the right direction. I would greatly appreciate any help. I do have a working lethal weapon 3 pinball so I can double check settings on that one to compare but need to be pointed in the right direction. I can submit pictures or provide any voltage settings as needed.

Thanks!
 
weird numbers....

Seems to me the logical thing would be to swap your working PSB into the non-working machine and see what happens.

Even though your output voltages from your existing board seem OK, you never know. And you have the advantage of having a working board available - might as well use it.

If PSB voltages aren't the problem, you could then consider swapping out the working MPU into the broken machine. Might want to keep the playfield connectors unhooked when you do that, just in case you've got any coil problems, etc. on the playfield.

Anyway, with a completely working boardset available, you should be able to isolate the problem area without too much difficulty.


And if you've never done the board swapping - I know it looks overwhelming, but really just unhook the connectors and unscrew the boards. The connectors generally show "memory" and end up right where they need to be, but take a pic or jot some notes down if you are concerned. It's one of those things that by the time you stare at it and fret about what a PITA it's going to be, you could've been done if you had started. Only takes a few minutes.

Based on what you've said, it sounds like you may have a problem on the MPU board.

edit: Thinking, probably the most logical thing would be to put the "bad" MPU in the "good" machine. If it won't boot there, you've isolated the problem to the MPU. (just be prepared to turn the machine off quick if a coil locks on or something). If it boots and plays fine, think about swapping good power supply for bad. Good luck
 
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I am really hoping to figure this out without having to go that route of swapping things in and out of the good machine. That one is my dad's and if I started swapping components out and ended up screwing something up he would kill me!
 
Lethal Weapon 3

I have issues with my multiball game. Once multiball begins it never ends? The balls keep coming out?
 
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