Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road Track Pack Video Problem

CChris

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Ivan Stewart's Super Off Road Track Pack Video Problem

I picked up a three player Ivan Stewart Off Road Machine with the track pack.

When I looked at it, it had some flaky boot up problems. The graphics were present, but the colors were off. It didn't boot to a play screen. After a few restarts, those cleared up and the game played fine. All of the controls worked, etc.

When I got the game home and started it, I had a really fun time playing. Everything seemed fine.

I took the pedals and steering wheel off and brought it into the basement. Everything booted up normally, but now the game field is off. The trucks follow the intended path, but the graphics have shifted up.

A previous posting had this same problem.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=19665&highlight=road+nitro


When I contacted dirtsarcade about how he resolved the problem, he said it had been so long ago, that he couldn't really remember what he did.

I ran the self test diagnostics and they all came back clear. Even the diagnostics that show the playing field are correctly aligned. However, when you actually play the game, the play fields are still off.

SuperOff014.jpg



SuperOff004.jpg



SuperOff007.jpg



I pulled the PCBs and pressed in the chips to ensure that they were seated correctly, but did not take them out and reseat them. The PCB does not have any breaks, water damage or anything overtly wrong.

SuperOff017.jpg


I put everything back together and booted it up. The diagnostics all checked out, but I still have the same problem.

My next thought is to pull the chips individually reseat them. I haven't seen any clear instructions on how to do this. I have chip puller, but would appreciate any advice on pulling them, cleaning, etc. Anything about this process that would prevent me from turning a somewhat working machine into a totally non working machine.

I'm not sure if this is even the right direction to go in. I doubt the power supply is flaky or I'd see all kinds of other problems besides this one, weird one. Many of the chips are marked "Track Pack," so I don't think it's a problem with a non-Track Pack board.
I really loved Off Road as a kid and would like to see this one work again.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks much
 
Make sure you have the proper voltage from the Power supply to the PCB, steady voltage between 5.20v and 5.24 volts.
 
OK. I have a multimeter, but where do I put the leads to test for the proper voltage?
 
You should be able to do it right on the +5v of your power supply.....between that and ground.....
This PCB is very sensitive to variations in the voltage....could very well be your issue.....
 
OK. That's very helpful.

I'm getting 4.95 - 4.96 volts out of the power supply.

Is that within spec?

If not, do I clean up the terminals, buy a new power supply?

If yes on the power supply-- where to purchase? What to avoid?

Thanks again. Very helpful.
 
No, def NOT with in spec. There should be "dial" on your power supply. With your meter on, dial it up to 5.20-5.24......not %100 sure that is your issue, but if your voltage is with in that range, you KNOW that isn't it.....power supplies can be found a lot of places....but try dialing it up a bit first....if you get it at 5.2-5.24, and it is still flakey, then I doubt it is the power supply.
 
A-ha! I found a small white knob and adjusted the voltage to 5.24 V

Restarted the machine a couple of times, but it still displays the same error.

The manual said to check for AC voltage on the +5 DC side. It should be less than .005 volts AC riding on the DC side. I found .006 volts AC, which points to the filter capacitator or the rectifier on the power supply.

Now I'm open to suggestions about power supplies. One person with voltage problems said that he removed the 12V items like the lights and that helped.

Are there any downsides to that?
 
Not too sure..... If you have it at 5.2, doubt the power supply would be the problem? Could be that AC riding on the DC? but off by .001v? I doubt it.
That is just a standard power supply found here.....
http://www.twistedquarter.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=4
TwistedQuarter is a good..... you MAY be able to find it cheaper somewhere else?
Any other KLOVers around you with an Offroad so you can test your board in their machine?
If I were a betting man, now I'd bet it is chip issue in your board??
 
Thanks for the twisted quarter advice. Seems reasonably priced as a way to rule-out the bad/good. I seems to me that I should also look at each electrical connection.

It's so crazy that the game:

a) Played beautifully once
b) All of the test fields in diagnosis mode are all aligned correctly
c) While playing, if I advance to the next track, it is also misaligned

Many folks talk about reseating the chips as a troubleshooting technique. Any advice on this?
 
I have 2 boards that I STILL haven't figured out the issues with....
Yes RESET the socketed chips....... Be VERY careful you reset them properly....
It very well could be a bad connection on a chip......Could be some corrosion? Just remove each chip carefully, and reset it pushing it in and out of the socket a couple times...
Try that before you BUY anything......
I don't think it is your power supply......IMO
 
I'm having this same issue on my super off road..Has anyone been able to figure this out besides sending the board to hitecharcaderepair?
 
I would check the ribbon cables too. maybe nudge them around while the game's on to see if it affects the video at all. I'm not a scholar on these boards. I had one that burned up the input voltage header and I just stole from one of the unused ones on the board to fix the game.

I wanna say I dialed the voltage in at 5.10 at the chips too, they haven't had any further issues with the game since then.
 
I got an Off Road Track Pak with this same issue. Track Shifted up. I haven't checked performed any troubleshooting yet but the power will be the first thing I check. Any other advice is appreciated.
 
There are a couple threads that discuss this issue... several people have said it's caused by a bad security PROM. I've never personally confirmed this though.

DogP
 
Yeah, I'm reading through the threads but not finding any smoking guns for this specific problem. First order of business is to check the volts of course. After that I will check the connections and press around on the chips.

Then there's pulling and cleaning the chips but, from what I'm reading so far, this hasn't helped this specific issue.
 
What was the cost? Do you know what they did to fix it? I have no probs sending it to them for repair if I can't work it out... but if I'm paying them big bucks to clean or replace a chip that would make my belly hurt.
 
Tony did a regular one for me... His price was very reasonable in my opinion. I'll let him give you a quote for his current rate... but given what these boards cost and how insanely difficult they are to find working it was worth every penny. My repair was in January.
 
Agreed here. Didn't want to sound like they are unreasonable... just not the $75 friendly cost that you sometimes get from hobbyists on this site. Give Tony a call as I know he's dealt with this issue many times and should be able to provide a good idea on price. In addition, good guy to deal with. He was helpful before, during and after the work done.

Tony did a regular one for me... His price was very reasonable in my opinion. I'll let him give you a quote for his current rate... but given what these boards cost and how insanely difficult they are to find working it was worth every penny. My repair was in January.
 
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