Dirty Harry Pin Keeps Shutting Off

gamingsince80s

New member
Joined
May 9, 2011
Messages
117
Reaction score
0
Location
Ohio
I played it last night for a while. It kept shutting off shortly after I turned it on. It probably turned off and on about seven times the first half hour I had it on and then it only did it one more time in about an hour. When it shut off it would come back on within about five seconds.

I was thinking about checking all the connections at the power source. Since this is my first pin I don't want to go sticking my hands in there without knowing what I am doing. Is it pretty much safe, for me and the machine, to check the connections if I just unplug it or is there anything in there that holds power that needs to be discharged?

I'm thinking something may have come loose when we transported it because when we turned it on at the seller's house it didn't do this and did as soon as we setup it up here. What do you guys think about checking the connections at the power source or is there anywhere else that I should look at?
 
Last edited:
Do me a favor. Push both flipper buttons at the same time. Does it do it then?

I can tell its your first pin, no offense. ;) It's an extremely normal issue with games from this age. The Bridge rectifier BR2 probably needs to be replaced. That and it's fellow cap. Not a big deal, and very normal. Well... maybe a bigger deal for you, but still manageable!
 
In addition to John's suggestions, also check your +5 voltage at the cpu. Test point 2 if I remember correctly. If its below 4.87 the watchdog will cause reset. Also, what else is on the circuit? If its got a heavy load such as an air conditioner, that can cause low line voltage. A easy check is run an extension cord to a different circuit and see if there's any change. Or jab your meter probes into the outlet to check.
 
Before poking around for voltages inside the game, check the condition of your power cord and plug. If the plug has been replaced, open it up and make sure everything is tight. It sounds like your game is losing power since the turnoff/reset takes a few seconds and is not immediate.
 
Do me a favor. Push both flipper buttons at the same time. Does it do it then?
No, it does not

I can tell its your first pin, no offense. ;) It's an extremely normal issue with games from this age. The Bridge rectifier BR2 probably needs to be replaced. That and it's fellow cap. Not a big deal, and very normal. Well... maybe a bigger deal for you, but still manageable!
Gotta start somewhere right? LOL I have worked on my Nintendo Playchoice 10 a little bit and I am not afraid to jump into this with the proper help/guide.
 
In addition to John's suggestions, also check your +5 voltage at the cpu. Test point 2 if I remember correctly. If its below 4.87 the watchdog will cause reset.
I'm not really sure where this is. I can try it if someone will describe where it is and what to look for. I am working through the "game resets" link that was provided below.

Also, what else is on the circuit? If its got a heavy load such as an air conditioner, that can cause low line voltage. A easy check is run an extension cord to a different circuit and see if there's any change. Or jab your meter probes into the outlet to check.

I'm not sure what else is on the circuit, I am running the machine off of an 16 gauge or so extension cord and am getting 117.x volts at the extension cord.
 
Before poking around for voltages inside the game, check the condition of your power cord and plug. If the plug has been replaced, open it up and make sure everything is tight. It sounds like your game is losing power since the turnoff/reset takes a few seconds and is not immediate.


The plug looks to be factory and it is in good shape. I also checked the cord and it doesn't have breaks or looks like it has ever been pinched in any spots.
 
If no other heavy appliances on the same line, then go over Pinwiki's reset section before replacing anything -

http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Game_resets

LTG :)


Started looking into this link. I went through 4.6.2 and everything checks out. I checked the voltage at the auxiliary socket with the game off, it is 117.x- same as at the extension cord, and 115.x at the auxiliary socket with the game powered up.

Section 4.6.3 of the link you provided says "Make sure the power/driver board is screwed down tightly" Where is the power/driver board located so I can check this?
 
Thanks to everyone that has replied so far!

Is it bad for the machine to keep resettting? I am having a memorial day party here tomorrow and was hoping to show off my Dirty Harry pinball machine, but if the powering up and down is bad for the machine I will have to leave it unplugged. :(
 
Started looking into this link. I went through 4.6.2 and everything checks out. I checked the voltage at the auxiliary socket with the game off, it is 117.x- same as at the extension cord, and 115.x at the auxiliary socket with the game powered up.

Section 4.6.3 of the link you provided says "Make sure the power/driver board is screwed down tightly" Where is the power/driver board located so I can check this?

117 is great, so its not a problem with your house circuit. Power board looks like this.

http://viewitem.eim.ebay.no/William...-Condition/300605425150/item/index.en-US.html

I think it is the bottom right board, but can't remember for certain. Check section 4.6.8, see the voltage loss from the power to cpu?
 
When the game shuts off, do ALL the lights on the playfield go out? Or does the game just stop (while the GI lights are still on) and reset to 'game over' mode?
 
The plug looks to be factory and it is in good shape. I also checked the cord and it doesn't have breaks or looks like it has ever been pinched in any spots.

The factory plugs can eventually crap out. With the game on, can you wiggle the power cord near the plug to cause the reset problem?
 
Do me a favor. Push both flipper buttons at the same time. Does it do it then?

After running a few other tests that members suggested I try I fired the game back up and now it does shut off if you push both flippers buttons at the same time. What does that mean?

My girlfriend played it for about five minutes making sure not to use both flipper buttons and it didn't shut off. I told her to push both flipper buttons together after the five minutes and it shut right off.
 
117 is great, so its not a problem with your house circuit. Power board looks like this.

http://viewitem.eim.ebay.no/William...-Condition/300605425150/item/index.en-US.html

I think it is the bottom right board, but can't remember for certain. Check section 4.6.8, see the voltage loss from the power to cpu?



Thanks for the pic of the driver board- I didn't know what the heck I was looking for before the picture.

The voltage at the driver board was 4.99 and 4.94 at the test point of the CPU board, that is if I was testing the right part. LOL I put the red test lead on the bottom right pin of what I believe was the game rom- it had a silver reflective sticker on the ROM piece that I tested.
 
When the game shuts off, do ALL the lights on the playfield go out? Or does the game just stop (while the GI lights are still on) and reset to 'game over' mode?


When the game shuts off all of the lights on the playfield go out and when it comes back on its like you just turned the game on and the boot screen comes up.
 
The factory plugs can eventually crap out. With the game on, can you wiggle the power cord near the plug to cause the reset problem?

I wiggled and twisted the crap out of both the game cord at the plug and also the extension cord that it's plugged into
 
I don't know if you're familiar w/ the Pinball Ninja blog? If not... I highly recommend his site (http://www.pinrepair.com/). Believe me when I tell you it's loaded w/ a myriad of info! I use it conjuction w/ Pinwiki. It does require a small donation but WELL worth it!

Anywho, he has a blog on a WPC Roadshow (roughly same time frame). It has the same exact issues you're describing w/ resets. I'm not familiar w/ D.H. so anybody whom owns this pin... does it have those z connectors on there?

Basically, he was getting 5 volts on TP2, but when he checked it over a certain capacitor on the MPU it was dragged down to 4.9 - too low. Meaning voltage drop was occuring through this IDC connectors.

Which means eventually these need to be changed.... What happens when you wiggle the lower ribbon cable that goes to the driver from the MPU. Do this when the game is on (don't unplug, just wiggle); the issue stop? If so, connectors is your culprit....
 
When the game shuts off all of the lights on the playfield go out and when it comes back on its like you just turned the game on and the boot screen comes up.

I've never worked on a Dirty Harry (or similar game) but I'm leaning towards a problem with the AC into the game since the game goes totally dark. It sounds like you are losing all power at once, not just the 5v for logic.

If it was the typical 5v/cpu/connector reset problem, shouldn't the GI lights should stay on while the game (cpu lights and dmd) resets?
 
Back
Top Bottom