Gorgar Hacked to Hell

[Lindsey]

I also tested for voltage at IC19 pin 22 and only get 1.2V DC.

Assuming that's the voltage going to the 5101 from the batteries (didn't look it up) it's too low. You might just need new batteries. If you've got new batteries and there is that much of a voltage drop across the blocking diode it will need to be replaced, though I would expect it to heat up in such a case and drain the batteries quickly.

There are 3x AAA batteries instead on 3x AA batteries... each AAA battery is capable of putting out 1.5V so will that make a difference?

Like Dokert said, they will be fine but won't last as long as AA. I would go with an NVRAM to replace the 5101 and eliminate the batteries personally but that's something you can think about later.

Also, when I power the game on initially it kicks a ball into the shooter lane automatically

Try Dokert's suggestion of resetting to factory defaults. RAM corruption could cause something like that. If that doesn't solve it I would look to the 40 pin interconnect next. I've seen a flaky interconnect cause that problem several times. There are some other preventative maintenance issues on System 6 games that you can consider and they're well documented on pinrepair.com but again, you don't have to do them all at once. I would consider the interconnect a high priority though.

and there are no gameplay sounds (I never played Gorgar buy my Pharaoh has start up sounds). I can get the sounds to play by pressing the self-test button on the sound board.

Have you been able to start a game? Are there sounds during play?

 

[R3LL1K]

I've been wanting a Gorgar for a while, congrats on your score!

 

[Michael Roma]

When I powered it up yesterday it immediately blew the F2 fuse (solenoid) on the power supply. I checked coil resistance on all coils, to include the outkick coil, and they all passed. I put another fuse in and powered the game up and all was fine... I have turned the game on and off probably 25 times or so since then.

I reset the CPU as suggested, set the game to free play and it worked. I got to play (err, test) a couple games on an unleveled, dirty Gorgar.

After playing for a few minutes I began to finally hear some faint sounds. I went to the backbox and fiddled with the pot and was able to make the sound louder but it was still static and crackling.

I pulled the sound board, repaired some cold solder joints, reseated the ROMs and reinstalled the board. Now there were no sounds. I turned both sound pots and get static... I push the sound test button and hear Gorgar talking... rock the dip switchs off and back on... turn/off and on the game and now I get the simple, computer generated sounds (bongs and bings) and no speech. So I pull the board, pull out my DMM and test the dip switch. Sure enough I do not read any continuity in either switch setting.

So today I will hit up Radio Shack and hopefully find a 2-dip switch and some contact cleaner for the pots and hopefully resolve this sound issue.

- Mike

***Dokert, super8man, or anyone with Gorgar schematics... Can you please tell me if pin 6 on 3J1 is used? I am thinking no but my 3P1 connector has a wire there that is not connected to anything and I want to be sure I do not need if before I pull it out.

Again, thanks to everyone for taking the time and effort to assit.

 

[Dokert]

3J1 pin 6 is NC

 

[Michael Roma]

Its been a while so I figured I'd update and hopefully get some assistance... sorry its long.

I completely tore down the playfield, cleaned, touched up and sealed it. I polished all the metal, cleaned all the posts and plastics, installed new rubbers and it is looking good (see picture below).

When I powered it up after reassebmly F2 on the power supply and the added in-line fuse for BR1 (lamp circuit) blew. I checked the x-former for shorts, which there were none. I then tested the BRs and noticed BR2 (solenoid circuit) was a 600V 40A one (BR1 tested good). I replaced BR2 with a tested and working 400V 35A. I tested coil resistance and they checked out good (coin door lockout coil was disconnected already). I replaced both blown fuses and powered back on. BR1 fuse for lamp circuit held and I got CPU controlled lights (YEAH!). I went into diagnostics and figured I'd run it thru the solenoid test. It got to around 14 thru 17 when I noticed the F2 fuse glowing and blow.

14 = Credit Knocker
15 = not used
16 = Coin Lockout

I pulled the board again and tested the driver and pre-driver transistors. I noticed that the credit knocker transistor failed the check and when I went to test from the parts side if fell off. I checked the others and some were really weak and fell off as well after a little wiggle. I replaced three more transistors with TIP122s and tested the rest. While I had the board out I replaced the 40 pin female interconnect on the driver board.

I installed the board again and disconnected the credit knocker coil. I powered the game on, the fuse held, and went into diagnostics again. I skipped the solenoid test and figured I would just put the game into Free Play mode. I got to the audit setting and pushed the player start button and the value did not change. I power cycled the game, went into diagonstics for the switches, and activated several switches... nothing.
While I am trying to activate some switches I see my last 2.5A slo-blow fuse light up and blow in F2. Ugh!!!

Still in switch diagnostics I pull 2J2 and 2J3 and short pin 1 on 2J2 to all pins on 2J3 one at a time and get nothing. I then shorted pin 9 on 2J2 to pin 9 on 2J3 and got the same.

So now I have solenoid and switch issues... Damn this thing to hell!!!

Any suggestions?

- Mike

 

[Michael Roma]

One more thing... I noticed the relay on the driver board looks a little crispy. I am not sure if this if from a driver transistor that burned up below it or not.

Thanks for everyone's help, I really appreciate it.

- Mike

 

[craigmack]

Yep your going to need to change that relay (flipper control)for sure. Have you tested the solenoid 7408 (IC4 which runs solenoids 13-16) the solenoid 7402 (IC8 which is part of the special solenoid circuit) and the solenoid 6821 PIA?

If the transistor and pre-driver are ok, then its gonna be one of these IC's further up the chain.

These IC's can also be tested with a DMM set to the diode function and the game off. For a 7408, put the red lead on ground (pin 7), and put the black lead on pins 1,2,3, 4,5,6, 8,9,10, 11,12,13. A reading of of .4 to .6 should be seen for each pin (a reading lower than .2 is a big sign of a bad chip).

Likewise a 7402 (used for special solenoids) can be tested in the same manner. With the game off. For a 7402, put the red lead on ground (pin 7), and put the black lead on pins 1,2,3, 4,5,6, 8,9,10, 11,12,13. A reading of of .4 to .6 should be seen for each pin (a reading lower than .2 is a big sign of a bad chip).


I would guess based on your symptoms so far that its gonna be the 7408 and/or the 7402 because all of your coils are not locking on. However if your 6821 PIA chip is made by AMI then I'd just go ahead and replace it because those chips are worthless.

Now here is where it gets tricky. If the solenoid that is locking on is one of the special solenoids, it could be any of the 4 PIA's depending on which coil it is. The switch matrix PIA is also suspect since you have no switch activity at the moment either.

These games can be a little frustrating to fix because of the inter-relation of the PIA chips. Just stick with it and you'll have all the bugs worked out of Gorgar in no time.

I just finished my Gorgar and by the time I was done I had to replace both the solenoid and lamp matrix PIA's.

Good luck!

 

[Michael Roma]

Great detailed instructions CraigMack...

I tested IC1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9. All tested good with the exceptions of IC6 and IC7. On those I got .780 on pins 2, 4, 5, 9, 12, and 13 on IC6 and .780 on pins 9 and 12 on IC7. According to the manual those are for the special solenoid and switch input. Does that look like the culprit? Could the flipper relay be causing the problem?

Also, how can I test the PIAs?

- Mike

 

[joeycuda]

Not that this will keep it from initially working, but do yourself a favor and replace those fuse holders. Should be able to put a new fuse block in there, which would provide more surface contact to the fuses.

That playfield looks awesome and glad to see you saving the game..

 

[craigmack]

No those readings are fine for the 7408's. If you see a reading less than .2 (and its usually 0.00) then they are bad.

First I would address that relay and get a fresh one in there. It may be shorted and causing that fuse to pop. Hopefully that will fix it, if not then...


Testing of the 6821 PIA is harder and requires you to download a special ROM set. I see on your board that all 3 PIA's have been changed before and are now socketed. So you have 2 choices. Test them using Leon's test ROM following the directions at the 2 links below or try a shotgun approach and swap each PIA until you find the culprit. Remember following this method you'd only be addressing 3 of the 4 possibilities because 2 of the special solenoids are controlled by the display PIA on the MPU.


To test the PIA's, download and burn the ROM found below. Then follow Leon's instructions.

http://pinballeon.com/williams/ewilliams.htm

and

http://home.scarlet.be/~leonb1/willsol/ewillsol.htm

You mentioned replacing the female side of the 40 pin interconnect. Did you also reflow the solder on the male side? Those pins love to develop cracks in the solder joint and can cause all sorts of weird problems.

You're getting closer, hang in there!

 

[Michael Roma]

Alright... I rec'd my order from GPE and went to work. I replaced the flipper control relay and swapped in two PIAs from a spare board I had laying around.

I powered the game up, went into diagnostics and straight to the audit mode. I selected audit 18 and set it to free play (yeah, switches work again). I power cycled the game and went back into diagnostics. I went into the solenoid tests and held my breath. All solenoids fired except the special solenoids (bumpers, kickers). The F2 fuse on the power supply board didn't blow so I considered this as progress. I went into switch test mode and checked more switches which came back positive. Amen, more progress. I figured I'd swap in the original PIA for the solenoids (IC5) and see if that made a difference. I powered the game back on, went into solenoid test mode and all solenoids fired. Yippee!!!

So a couple games later and some switch adjustments the game appears to be stable and working 99.9%.

One thing I did (or didn't) notice is the Gorgar heartbeat in the background was missing. All other sounds appeared to be there. Any ideas?

Thanks for eveyone's help, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

- Mike

 

[Lindsey]

I powered the game up, went into diagnostics and straight to the audit mode. I selected audit 18 and set it to free play (yeah, switches work again). I power cycled the game and went back into diagnostics. I went into the solenoid tests and held my breath. All solenoids fired except the special solenoids (bumpers, kickers). The F2 fuse on the power supply board didn't blow so I considered this as progress. I went into switch test mode and checked more switches which came back positive. Amen, more progress. I figured I'd swap in the original PIA for the solenoids (IC5) and see if that made a difference. I powered the game back on, went into solenoid test mode and all solenoids fired. Yippee!!!

Do you have batteries installed? Have you confirmed that they're powering the 5101 with the game off? If the RAM is not being powered with the game off it will continually boot into "diagnostics".

One thing I did (or didn't) notice is the Gorgar heartbeat in the background was missing. All other sounds appeared to be there. Any ideas?

I think the background sound is a user selectable setting. I would ensure that it's enabled first.

 

[craigmack]

Alright... I rec'd my order from GPE and went to work. I replaced the flipper control relay and swapped in two PIAs from a spare board I had laying around.

I powered the game up, went into diagnostics and straight to the audit mode. I selected audit 18 and set it to free play (yeah, switches work again). I power cycled the game and went back into diagnostics. I went into the solenoid tests and held my breath. All solenoids fired except the special solenoids (bumpers, kickers). The F2 fuse on the power supply board didn't blow so I considered this as progress. I went into switch test mode and checked more switches which came back positive. Amen, more progress. I figured I'd swap in the original PIA for the solenoids (IC5) and see if that made a difference. I powered the game back on, went into solenoid test mode and all solenoids fired. Yippee!!!

So a couple games later and some switch adjustments the game appears to be stable and working 99.9%.

One thing I did (or didn't) notice is the Gorgar heartbeat in the background was missing. All other sounds appeared to be there. Any ideas?

Thanks for eveyone's help, I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

- Mike

Nice man, glad you got it working! Gorgar is a great game!