Konami Simpsons RAM trouble?

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Hi everyone, I am new here...

About 18 months ago I finally achived a personal goal of getting some arcade games of my own!! :)

However today when I turned on my Simpsons machine, it seems to be stuck on its RAM test? I don't know enough yet about computers or arcade games to have a clue what to do so I am relying on your collective expertise!! :)

The screen is orange and just cycles through its RAM test. It says "OK" next to all but 2 of the codes those 2 it says nothing at all? The instruction manual I have says it should either say "OK" or "BAD" but the word "BAD" doesn't appear, just nothing?

I have tried pressing the reset button on the board, but that does nothing?
 
Welcome. First thing you should check is the voltages. You will need a Multi Meter. When you check the voltages you should do this at the PCB. The +5.0vdc is what runs most of the board functions. Some PCB's are a bit temperamental regarding this voltage.

If this does not help or you need more instructions. I suggest you take some photos and give as much detail as you can about your machine.

Here are a few links that might help. Good luck!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1844713/how_to_test_basic_electronic_components.html

http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arcade_Manuals_and_Schematics/
 
That sounds beyond my capabilities... :-(

I read the links & I am still confused.
 

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That sounds beyond my capabilities... :-(

I read the links & I am still confused.


Here are a couple more links that might help.

http://www.ladyada.net/learn/multimeter/index.html

http://www.therealbobroberts.net/jh.html

Your board has a JAMMA type harness. A JAMMA harness can be used with quite a few types of boards. So if you see a game board that says it is a JAMMA, you can unplug/disconnect the board and put the new board in its place (Give or take a few buttons).

If you look at the harness, you have two sides; a component side and a solder side. On the component side, you will see what should be solid red wires. This is your +5.0vdc from the power supply. You should see black solid wires, these are ground. Hook up your multimeter set to dc and on the right range. Place the red lead where the red wire meets the PCB. Place the Black lead where the black wire meets the PCB. This will tell you what voltage is getting to the PCB. Report back what you get for a reading and also take a picture of the Power Supply.
 
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Thanks, that was helpful. :)
I have not been able to check all of this sooner as we moved internationally and all of our stuff was in storage & on a ship for 12 weeks anyway...

The red 5 volt pins were 4.97 & the yellow 12 volt pins were 12.7 is that the problem?
 
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4.97 should be within tolerance, although you could bump it up a little to be sure. The 12v is unregulated so that's not an issue.
 
Where does it stop?

Which chips never show OK or bad?

It could be a bad custom IC or a bad trace somewhere causing it to not be able to access the chips to be tested.

Before you go too crazy, hold down the test button on the board itself while powering up the game. Hold it down until it says EEPROM Reset on the screen. If the reset of the saved data doesn't help then post the results of the self test.

RJ
 
Thanks for replying!

When I turn it on, it says this:
11F - OK
1J - OK
160 - OK
16F - OK
90 -
80 - OK
12C -
13C - OK - AFF3
15C - OK - BD25
16C - OK - 82C7
17C - OK - 8DC6
60 - OK - 0726
70 - OK

When I tried what you said & turned it off & held done the "test" button whilst turning it on again & it did nothing but turn the screen upside down? Nothiing different was displayed though.
I then turned it off & then on again & it went back to the right way up again?
 
How do I discover that answer? I have had a good look inside, but I don't really know what I am looking for...
 
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Looking at the manual, the chip at 9D is a LS257, 12C is a ER5911,
I'll open my cab up tomorrow and post what I see at that local.....
I'm thinking the 9D is going to be LS74257........Right?
Not sure what the ER5911 is?
 
Did you ever look to see what those other 2 chips were?

The board has each chip labeled on the silkscreen. Look at it closely and you'll find 9D and 12C.
 
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