just bought a Q*Bert - now it doesn't work!

car

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Hi all -

I'm a newbie on here. I have a few arcade games & never had a single problem. I finally got a Q*Bert that I have had my eye on for awhile. After visting the seller's home and inspecting the unit (and playing it a few times) I paid him, loaded it in my buddies truck & brought it home.

At home, I plugged it in, hit the power button (top right - push on/push off) - and nothing happens. Nothing on the screen, no lights on any of the boards, nothing. (yes it is plugged into a working outlet). The only signs of any life is if I plug something into the socket located inside the unit at the bottom (power supply?), that thing I plug in does work. But as far as the unit itself - I can't get anything out of it.

I looked for the obvious - unplug connections, even took the switch out & jumped it thinking the switch was bad. Nothing.

Any ideas or suggestions? I'm a little mechanically inclined (mainly with cars), but have never worked on an arcade before. Never had any problems.

Would like to try & figure it out before I have to hire someone.

Please help. Very fustrating especially after I gave good money for the thing. The wife isn't too happy either!

thanks in advance

CAR
(chris)
 
Your back door is probably warped. There is a switch there that cuts power if the back door doesn't push it in all the way.

There is another inside the coin door that does the same thing if the coin door is open.

Sometimes operators or owners rotate these and pull the switch out (ON) so that they don't have to worry about the back door or coin door. If this has been done, then the switch may have popped back to the middle (OFF) position during the move...
 
Modessitt -

A huge thank you for your quick reply & to resolving the issue!

Odd thing - I was aware of both of these switches. Since I had the back panel off, I was pushing in that one every time I tried to start the game. But the one inside (for the coin slot door) - it sits a good inch below the door - there appears no way that the when the coin slot door is closed that it will push in the switch. So i simply ignored it. But after reading ur post, I pushed it in (as well as the one in back) and FINALLY! Q*bert was brought back to life.

For now, duct tape holds the switch in....

Again many thanks. Now if I can figure out why the kicker isn't working....

CAR
(Chris)
 
no need for duct tape the pin on the switch also pulls outward and locks into place staying in an on position. Much less messy in the long run than tape.
 
Welcome, and now please post some pics and how much you paid for it?

Modessitt -

A huge thank you for your quick reply & to resolving the issue!

Odd thing - I was aware of both of these switches. Since I had the back panel off, I was pushing in that one every time I tried to start the game. But the one inside (for the coin slot door) - it sits a good inch below the door - there appears no way that the when the coin slot door is closed that it will push in the switch. So i simply ignored it. But after reading ur post, I pushed it in (as well as the one in back) and FINALLY! Q*bert was brought back to life.

For now, duct tape holds the switch in....

Again many thanks. Now if I can figure out why the kicker isn't working....

CAR
(Chris)
 
Thanks for all the tips!

I will remove the tape and pull out the switch. So much cleaner!

As for the kicker, thanks for the link. I'll see what I can do. When it comes to testing coils, power, etc., I have zero experience. But I'll look for the obvious - bad fuse, etc. (when I first tried the game, the plug to the kicker was unplugged - but plugging it in didn't fix it.)

As for the unit itself, it's in "good to excellent condition". The cabinet, side art, control panel and marquee are perfect. The only flaws are 1) the kicker doesn't work and 2) there is a very slight screen burn. I paid $525 for it.

Q*Bert now sits next to my MultiCade (48in1 built in a Galaga cabinet) and a MultiWilliams (jrok). Both are in new condition & never had any problems whatsoever. So toubleshooting & fixing these are very new to me!

Thanks everyone - I'll try to post some pics soon!

CAR
(Chris)
 
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