Hard or Race Drivin' Cockpit Owners....

[DanoND]

Does the light on the shifter board come on when you power the game? Mine doesn't, and my shifter doesn't do jack squat on the tests. Registers nothing. I put a different shifter board in, no change. Checked voltage to the board, it's good (17vac). Haven't gone into detail in the wiring, I'm assuming it's an issue in the shift mechanism somewhere, unless there's something wrong with both my shifter boards. Neither are known good or bad.

Rest of the game tests out fine aside from the seat magnet, which I haven't looked at yet. That's next.

 

[ronniep]

If you can google me up a link for a picture of the shifter board and let me know exactly what you are looking for I will check on mine.

Sorry for not knowing. I am not a game builder or technician so I really do not know what I am looking for.

-Ronnie

 

[DanoND]

It's the small board on the left in the following picture...

 

[bluestreak]

DanoND,
Is this for a Race or Hard Drivin' ? The shifters are different between the two. As far as I've dealt with, race drivin uses switches for the shifter whereas the Hard Divin' uses potentiometers. There may also be a difference between the sit down and cockpit versions of each game shifters as well.
Please clarify what you have.

 

[DanoND]

OK I can clarify this as I've done a ton of homework on it. FWIW, I have a Hard Drivin' cockpit that was upgraded to a Race Drivin' through a ROM, CPU and shift assembly swap.

The shift assembly in a Race Drivin' uses a solenoid to "lock" the shifter in place during the game by pulling upward and pressing a rod against a spring-loaded detent mechanism inside the shifter housing. It's not literally locked, but it is much harder to move out of gear.

The shift assembly in a Hard Drivin' uses an electromagnet to lock the shifter in place by electrifying the magnet against the inside of the shift assembly housing and holding the shift rod in place. It also has a spring-loaded detent mechanism, but only to provide the feel that you're shifting into or out of gear.

Both shift assemblies use potentiometers to locate the shifter, 1 potentiometer for left/right and 1 potentiometer for up/down. I believe there is also a "stress" mechanism similar to what's on the brake pedal arm, which I think is just a mercury-based position switch, maybe, but I'm not positive. I saw it on a schematic but I haven't looked closely at mine to see if it's in there. I'm not ready to take it apart yet.

As a result of the difference in locking mechanisms, for the most part, the mechanical shift assembly parts between Race and Hard drivin' cockpit games are not interchangeable. From an electrical perspective the assemblies are very similar.

The shift board for a Race Drivin' and Hard Drivin' are identical. For cockpits that were upgraded from Hard to Race Drivin', only the shift assembly was changed, not the board. I verified this as I have a manual that came with the upgrade kit, and the shift board is not identified as a kit part nor are changes to the board required as part of the upgrade process.

 

[bluestreak]

Ok, I stand in awe. Ive only dealt with the Hard Drivin' cockpit original and the Race Drivin' sit down original verisions, so appears you have more info than I do on these. I've never tried to perform any converisons, so I'm out of suggestions.
Maybe someone else can assist with the above provided info.
Sorry I can't be of any more assistance as I'm not familar with the Race Drivin' cockpit versions, only sit down versions.

 

[ronniep]

I have a hard drivin cockpit that I converted to a race drivin.

All I had to do was put in the RD main board and recalibrate the game using the hard drivin shifter and everything was working fine. I done all of this tonight when I went out to get the info for you. While I was out there I put in a new abort button and adjust button. While I was doing so my two kids whom I am VERY mad at came in screaming and fighting causing me to short out a wire when I turned around so suddenly. Now My game is broken and I am about to come unglued. Now all the game does is come on and act like it is unpacking software and then scrolls and acts like it is starting over. I have tried 3 known working boards with the same results.

Before all the shat hit the fan I did verify that the led comes on when the game is on.

 

[DanoND]

Yeah the Race Drivin' shifter was more of a mechanical upgrade than anything. Not necessary to have, but it's a better shifter all around from what I understand.

That really sucks about your game. There aren't many people around that I've seen who can fix 'em. Talk with Dick Milliken if you aren't able to track anyone down. He's on the forums and fixes quite a few boards; not sure if he can fix a Drivin' board but I can't imagine it's much more than schematics, tracing and a ROM burner.

What does it do when you flip the test switch?

Thanks for the info on the shifter board. Next is to figure out what makes the light come on. At least I know!

 

[DanoND]

Ok, I stand in awe. Ive only dealt with the Hard Drivin' cockpit original and the Race Drivin' sit down original verisions, so appears you have more info than I do on these. I've never tried to perform any converisons, so I'm out of suggestions.
Maybe someone else can assist with the above provided info.
Sorry I can't be of any more assistance as I'm not familar with the Race Drivin' cockpit versions, only sit down versions.

Thanks for the kudos, but I'm just lucky enough to have both shift assemblies to stare at and I got tired of all the misinformation on the 'net about the difference.

 

[ronniep]

I am not sure where the problem is. I have two RD boards and a HD board I know for a fact that one RD board worked and the HD board was working when pulled. Now those two will not work. They just keep scrolling "Drive" when you turn them on. The one RD board that I had not previously tested comes on and starts, but there is no sound or steering.

I am at a loss. My kids will be lucky if I talk to them tomorrow. I am so upset I can't see straight..

As for the test button. If I flip it and let it run its tests everything seems ok. I have not gone into the extensive tests.

 

[DanoND]

Check all your fuses. Start with the easy stuff.

Fixed my issue. The shifter board ribbon cable #1 pin goes on the left side of the board as you face it, not the right. I flipped the ribbon cable and it powered up and it's working. The lock isn't, but the wiring is so nasty to the shifter I was surprised anything worked.

What a ton of trouble for a backwards cable. Thanks either way, guys!

 

[ronniep]

It really sucks because I have a lot to do this weekend. It looks like everything will be re-prioritized. After having this machine fully working for 2 minutes it is all I can think about.

 

[ronniep]

Now that I am at home and can fiddle with the game I have seen that I can unplug the APU board and everything comes up like it works, but nothing will calibrate. Does anyone know what the apu board does?

 

[DanoND]

I think you're in the wrong thread, this was mine, originally started regarding the shifter board.

Either way, I explained the shifter board and gave you a link to the schematic in your other thread (copied into this one). Using the schematic you should be able to tell what voltages should be present at what locations off that board.

...the APU provides audio amplification for the speakers and AC power to the shifter board as well as provides a portion of the circuitry (a transistor and other stuff) for the seat magnet, wiring for the key switch, 12v to the coin door and a few other things.

It's basically a "there wasn't a better place to put this circuit so it went on the APU board" board, from what I can tell.

Also - measure your 5V from the test points on the main board, not directly off the power supply.

Edit: Look here for a schematic package. It'll help with tracing what goes to where. http://www.cityofberwyn.com/schemati...rivinSchem.pdf