Fish Tales Help - Game re-sets w/flipper use

cjp2401

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Need some help tracking down an issue. I have a Fish Tales set to free play. When you start a game all is fine, however the machine shuts down and re-sets itself when you hit either of the flippers. Looked for loose connections, but can't find anything.

Any ideas? I'm not a computer guru, hoping this is something I can fix though.
 
You need to most likely replace BR2 on the driver board. You will find it under a heatsink.

Don't start with this, check all possibilities first. You always risk damage to the through board continuity and traces when working on those bridge rectifiers.

Any heavy appliances on the same line like an air conditioner ? Plugged into an outlet or extension cord ? Wall outlet voltage the same as what the game is set for ? Power off, reseat connectors from the transformer to the power driver board.

You may end up replacing BR2, it is quick to check other things first.

And you can check BR2 with a meter on diode setting and see if it reads differently from others on the same board.

If you replace BR2, run jumpers across the traces to it's capacitor too.

LTG :)
 
I had a JD that used to do this. Found out it wasn't holding the 5v. Grab a multimeter and check your 5v test point. Needs to be a strong 5v. Hope this helps
 
I was getting random resets when tapping the flippers just due to a loose 110V connection on the undercabinet switch. Never hurts to check the simple crap.
 
I agree with the board issue, as I have seen this with having a weak cap on a board. Also you may want to check if you are drawing too much power from your house circuit. I have seen Fish Tale reset when your circuit is over taxed.


Also, here is a good site for resets:
http://www.actionpinball.com/tech/reset.htm


Lastly, the Pinball Ninja had some great fix stories on resets. Some of the info might be buried here: http://www.pinrepair.com/. If not, you can download the torrent of all pinball ninja blog from here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NEWH5PI0.


Good luck!
 
Step 1: Check the voltage on the circuit you're plugging the machine into. Make sure no other things are plugged in like A/C units or appliances

If that is ok, then you'll want to consider changing the Bridge Rectifiers and associated capacitors.
 
Ok, went looking with a fine tooth comb and found a diode that had broken off the flipper assembly on the floor of the cabinet. I'm attaching a picture, but it's not too clear, but you may get the idea. this is from the right flipper assembly, the diode that fell is the right sided one. I re-soldered the diode on the flipper assembly, but that did not work (?). Could the diode be faulty? Anyone do service in the Northern Kentucky area? I think I may be out of my league if I have to go diving into boards.
 

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Ok, went looking with a fine tooth comb and found a diode that had broken off the flipper assembly on the floor of the cabinet. I'm attaching a picture, but it's not too clear, but you may get the idea. this is from the right flipper assembly, the diode that fell is the right sided one. I re-soldered the diode on the flipper assembly, but that did not work (?). Could the diode be faulty? Anyone do service in the Northern Kentucky area? I think I may be out of my league if I have to go diving into boards.

My guess was going to be a flipper diode, then the large filter cap, then the bridge rectifier. Like LTG said, best to troubleshoot and THEN repair.
 
if the diode came off, its pretty much assured its toast!

you need to buy a few 1n4004 diodes from either online or a local electronics component supplier. it may not fix your reset problem, but those diodes block the voltage going back into the boards(read damaging)so youll need to correct the coil either way
 
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