Moved a machine, now monitor wont work

jcterzin

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Hi all. It's been a while since I've posted and sadly I sold my last machine yesterday. It was to a guy who seemed to admire it though so I didn't feel so bad.

He got it home and messaged me saying that the monitor isn't working. It worked when he picked it up so something happened in transit. It's been a long time since I've fiddled with a machine. What should we be looking for if I go over to help him?
 
Hi all. It's been a while since I've posted and sadly I sold my last machine yesterday. It was to a guy who seemed to admire it though so I didn't feel so bad.

He got it home and messaged me saying that the monitor isn't working. It worked when he picked it up so something happened in transit. It's been a long time since I've fiddled with a machine. What should we be looking for if I go over to help him?

Whether it plays blind. If the game plays fine but the monitor just isn't working then you'll need to focus on the cables; is the monitor getting power? Is the monitor getting a signal?

Do you have another monitor you can hook up to confirm it's the monitor? If it's the monitor then you need to be looking for loose or disturbed components and if nothing is visible probably pull the monitor and look for cracked traces and cold solder joints.
 
Does the game play blind? Or Does the entire game not power on whatsoever? Knowing the answer to these questions will cut the problem in half.

If you can hear sounds and the game coins up then most likley it is playing blind and the issue is isolated to the monitor somewhere. So I'd check for neck glow. If there isn't any, then the neck board may have been jostled loose during transit. Very possible if the game was transported on its back. Gravity will assist with pulling it out.

Obviously work with the game off...and if the new owner isn't comfortable doing this...he could create even more damage.
 
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The sale is complete - he owns the game now. You're not seriously considering going over there and working on HIS game, are you?

All my games are sold "as is, where is." Tail-light warranty only.

Feel free to offer general troubleshooting tips over the phone or via email/text, but I would highly recommend NOT going over there to try and diagnose/fix the problem yourself. That's a can of worms you may not want to open.
 
The sale is complete - he owns the game now. You're not seriously considering going over there and working on HIS game, are you?

All my games are sold "as is, where is." Tail-light warranty only.

Feel free to offer general troubleshooting tips over the phone or via email/text, but I would highly recommend NOT going over there to try and diagnose/fix the problem yourself. That's a can of worms you may not want to open.

Upon further review, THIS ^ is actually a better answer. so +1 :)

Seriously, I know you are are probably just trying to be a nice guy jcterzin...but once the game leaves my driveway...it's not mine.
 
For anyone who has moved a cabinet around inside their own house and it suddenly stopped working, an area to check is at the isolation transformer. When I moved around my HS-5 cabinet to switch monitors, I noticed that there was no power coming into the monitor power plug. Turns out, while moving it around, the wires that were coming from the output on the secondary had wiggled the thin metal tabs enough to snap them off. So there was no electrical connection.

Also learned this is a place where the cost is saved on cheap transformers. Cheap connections. (Got lucky because my Polo monitor does not require an isolation transformer).
 
I think some of you guys are being a little harsh.
What's the big deal? The guy sold something and it broke on the way home and he wants to help out the new owner.
I would too.
Is he responsible? No, but that doesn't mean he can't be a good guy and help out.
Going over to the house may be a bit much, but doing your best to point him in the right direction doesn't take much effort.

I'd start by telling him to reseat all the connectors.
Also clean off the glass where it would glow and turn the lights out.
 
Tail-light warranty.... lol. Love it. :D

The term Tail-Light Warranty has been around for quite some time and you will hear it in other hobbies as well where people are selling items privately.

If you havn't heard the term in this hobby yet...you eventually will. You will eventually have someone say it to you or you will be saying it to them. Either way...it's practially an unwritten rule when buying something face-to-face.

The buyer has all the chance he wants to look the game over and make sure everything is working to his liking. Then...once the game is loaded, all responsibility is transferred to the new owner. There isn't anything harsh or nasty about it. Because it's just understood among most private buyers and sellers.

Now buying something NON face-to-face...that's a totally different story.
 
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