failed roms

ArcadeDad79

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Maybe someone can help.
My MK came with a pull out drawer in front that holds the PCB and power supply etc,.
when i got it,.the machine worked,.but i couldnt open the drawer,.because nothing was bolted down,.everything in the draweer was loose and caught up on stuff,.if i tried opening the door when the game was on,.it would get staticy...and mess up the game pic.
I turned it off,.opened the drawer carefully,.bolted down the PS,.took out trash and newspaper,.
noticed bad bad leakage on the board,.
when i put it all back,.and turned it on,.i had wierd garbled stuff,.then the test mode came on (which it always did at startup) but instead of flying thru its test mode,.finding no problems,.NOW it detects bad roms.
Instead if my test screen filled with green pass bars,.i have red fail rom bars.
what happened? was the board already bad,.but playing? and when i wiggled things,.the PC realized there was damage?
Now,.the game plays still. I dont know what exactly this means. Will it just not save scores?
What does the bad ROMS mean?
Sonce i had the machine,.the pic has always been a little dull and grey,. after this happened,.my screen was now very colorful,.really red. At first i thought it was bad, but upon playing it,.it seems right? Like those colors were MISSING until now.
So i turned it off. waited a min, and turned it back on.
Same test screen showing failed ROMS,.same wierd shit,.but the Game comes on and plays,.and those pretty colors are gone,.back to the original dull greyish screen.
Like i said,.it plays and has sound,.but the colors are in and out and i have failed ROMS.
if i know nothing about fixing,.where does this leave me? replace board,.or wait until i see something wrong??
i appreciate your help.
 
1) Sounds like your monitor should be rebuilt. Not uncommon when buying "as-is" games.

2) Turn your game off, pull out your drawer, and push down on all the socketed chips to make sure they are fully seated. Sometimes chips like to "creep" up out of the socket, escpecially when left sitting for a while...
 
thnx

Ok,.so for the sake of learning,.what makes you think its the monitor not the board with bad roms?
I see on the PCB several leaked caps/resistors? There is blood colored goo that seeped onto the board.
I have never actually opened the back and adjusted,.as when i got it,.it played well enough.
I just decided today that i was gonna organize the drawer,.and clearly I did something,.
The top and bottom board were twisted up,.newspaper wedged between,.cords all twisted, and things not bolted down were they should be.
I screwed down the Power supply,.and removed all un-necessary paper.
Next,.i wanted to put the top deck of the board above the bottom half,.as it should be opposed to letting the smaller top board to float loosely around.
So,.i unplugged a few things,...aparently that lead to the CP,.because when i closed it up and turned it on,.everything was fine. JUST FINE. But,.the bottom kick button didnt work so i opened it back up (while the game was on) and went straight to the area i unplugged and noticed the plug was to far over (there were more pins on the board than the plug had, so some pins were exposed,.i thought 2, so i plugged it back in and left the 2 pins exposed,.but there was no kick,.so i plugged it in to expose 3 pins,.and the kick worked,.
BUT
in the process of touching the board while the game was on,.and plugging/unpluging,. i watched things on the screen go ugly. Like i touched something i shouldnt,.but the leaking parts were already there...
Im new to this,.was i not supposed to touch the board while on?
Either way,.do i need a new board,,ROM replacement (as it says FAILED ROM) or monitor?
 
I mentioned a monitor issue from your description of the monitor being dull, then getting bright, then getting dull again. if you have the WG version i think you do, you most likely have some cold solder issues on the neckboard, or old caps, or both.

That "blood colored goo that seeped onto the board" is actually glue used to keep larger caps from vibrating or moving during shipment.

The board stack usually has plastic standoffs to keep the two (or three or) separated so they won't touch and short together. if it had newspaper between them, then the standoffs may be broken or missing, and the newspaper was there to insulate the two from each other. Hopefully that didn't happen.

Sometimes touching a board (especially the bottom) while it is operating can cause the picture to look strange. This is because you become part of the circuit and can affect how and where the voltages travel, and at what values. It shouldn't cause permanent damage.

Also, do NOT ever ever ever move connectors around on pins or pad without checking the manual FIRST to make sure you are putting it where it should be. If you move a higher voltage wire from the proper pin to a pin connected to a more sensitive circuit, you could damage your board severely. If you have no manual, ask here and someone will provide a link to one if it available, or help you using their own experience with the same game.

Have you tried doing what I said before about the socketed chips? It may fix all of your FAILED ROM errors. If it doesn't, you may need a new board, or maybe just new ROMs. It could also be related to low voltage from your power supply. Before you spend a lot of money, you should try to find any of our members who may be located close to you who can help, or at least help you test your board in their game...
 
ok

that sounds wise,.havnt yet met anybody very close,.but im working on it.
I did open the drawer and pushed down on every square black chip..are those what you meant?
It changed nothing.
I did plug my Double Dragon in it ( i had the DD out of cab,.because i parted its cab out for lack of appropiate buttons, and my World Series needed the monitor),.and my doublke dragon plays PERFECT. So monitor issues im temp. ruling out.
Knowing the red color stuff is just glue helps,.then when a cap or something is bad or burnt,.what does it look like>?what color goo would something like that make?
As it is,.im gonna strip the MK conversion (narrow generic cab) of everyhting,.sand and bondo,.paint it and TMold it (what color should i paint,.what color T Mold)
Then find some artwork online if it exists.
Would it be silly to have one side if the cab have a MK1 side art,.and the other side having Double Dragon or say MK2 sideart,.with an easily switchable PCB in my drawer?
It could fit 2 boards.....?
I feel my ROM error prob was ever present,.and i did something to make the self test pic that up?..I just dont see how a board passes one minute,.i open the drawer,.touch a few things.,and it FAILS the rom text the next minute...
If i bought say a MK2 board and plugged it up,.would it work fine in my cab?? or would i need to mod something?
thnx
 
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