Need for Speed E-Brake Issue - Resolved

Ok someone who worked on this thing before and was able to get them working is amazing. info is not readily available. I picked up a machine with a broken chassis, dead 24 v power supply, and figure the Io board is not working because nothing on the shifter / e brake works.

After people finally paid me long story I was able to get to work on this puppy with a new 24v ffb power supply, and after going to Chucky Cheese for a friend's kid who loves me, I kind of liked how the new machines had a giant lcd screen in there well I figured I could so something like that and plan to do something like that with mine (wanted to stay original but eh). Tv Looks good but I am now on to this dang Nytric board. I am not even sure where to start to buy chips for it, or what I need to do. My problem sounded a lot like yours where your e brake stayed on, mine was just completely dead. Not a short that I am aware of but maybe a total failure. I also read those those 3 chips are likely to fail but is it just a mater of buying those you listed and replacing them or like with rom chips you need to load certain rom files on them? I am trying to learn here but starting out sometimes seems like you step in something and do not want to keep spreading it around the house so to speak. After this the next steps seem trivial but eh.

Might as well ask now anyway, I have a players card, but unable to access the career mode, or not know how as of yet. Was wondering if neopolss knew something or anyone else. Right now I am just focusing on the here and now with this nytric board.

Thanks for any help :)


Many thanks to pcjohn for the pointer regarding the potential for buffer chip failure. I would gladly buy you a bucket of beer for the bump in the right direction!

I followed the trace from the I/O card header pin that supported the e brake input wire and followed it through the circuit. I found two 74AC373's (octal transparent latch) and one 74HC4051 (8 channel analog multiplexer) that were my best guess at being the culprit.

Three chips shipped were $12 or so from Mouser. More for shipping than the parts.

I replaced the IC's last night and now every input works properly. Next step is to find out what fried in the monitor chassis and then clean and assemble the game.

Thank again and good day!
 
Hi there,

Sounds like you have a challenging project on your hands. If you haven't already, put the game into test mode and go to the button test option, that will tell you if the computer sees each switch function as you press them (and activate the gas and brake pedals). If you press a button and it doesn't light up on the display, there is a problem.

If they all work except for the shifter / e-brake, I would suggest is to make certain that the shifter / e-brake wiring and switches are in order. Find the wires that run from the shifter handle micro switches and trace them all the way to where they plug onto the Nytric card. IIRC, there will be one wire for HI, one for LO, one for E/brake, and a common ground. Back at the I/O card, clip one lead of your multimeter onto the ground wire and the other lead onto one of the other wires and test for continuity by working the switches and watching/listening to your meter. Should be less than an ohm (repeat for each). You can also test for continuity by first testing the switches and then the wires back to the card...doesn't matter as long as you know that the circuit is complete at the card when you call for each action. I found my E-brake switch to be open when I pressed the button. No continuity when pressed. I spayed some De-Oxit in there and clicked it about a hundred times and it cleared up. Only reason I did that was because that particular switch is a teeny tiny little bugger and I did not happen to have an extra at the time. It's since been replaced. You have to dig for it and pry some plastic pieces apart to get to it.

Once I verified my wiring/switches were good and the card didn't recognize the circuit being closed, I knew it was the I/O card.

I had already bought a cheap hot air rework station off Ebay a couple years earlier for laptop repairs, so I was all set there. I made a tin foil shield to cover the board with a hole it in to expose the suspect chip in order to try and minimize heating the surrounding parts. With tweezers in hand, I let it rip. I got lucky and managed to get the old chips off and the new ones on without bridging or damaging anything. If you do not have soldering experience and the tools, it might make sense to just find a local tech to replace them for you. I got lucky and it happened to work out on a guess. To answer your question regarding the replacement IC's, they come ready to go and do not require programming.
You can get them at Mouser, Digikey, Ebay, or various other suppliers. Just make sure you get the correct package for surface mount and not through hole.


I wish you the best of luck with your project :)


Ok someone who worked on this thing before and was able to get them working is amazing. info is not readily available. I picked up a machine with a broken chassis, dead 24 v power supply, and figure the Io board is not working because nothing on the shifter / e brake works.

After people finally paid me long story I was able to get to work on this puppy with a new 24v ffb power supply, and after going to Chucky Cheese for a friend's kid who loves me, I kind of liked how the new machines had a giant lcd screen in there well I figured I could so something like that and plan to do something like that with mine (wanted to stay original but eh). Tv Looks good but I am now on to this dang Nytric board. I am not even sure where to start to buy chips for it, or what I need to do. My problem sounded a lot like yours where your e brake stayed on, mine was just completely dead. Not a short that I am aware of but maybe a total failure. I also read those those 3 chips are likely to fail but is it just a mater of buying those you listed and replacing them or like with rom chips you need to load certain rom files on them? I am trying to learn here but starting out sometimes seems like you step in something and do not want to keep spreading it around the house so to speak. After this the next steps seem trivial but eh.

Might as well ask now anyway, I have a players card, but unable to access the career mode, or not know how as of yet. Was wondering if neopolss knew something or anyone else. Right now I am just focusing on the here and now with this nytric board.

Thanks for any help :)
 
Global VR computers aren't as bad as everyone thinks.

Yes, they used Windows Embedded, but - it's a very loose
install. I've replaced many Global VR computers with off the
shelf replacements over the years

You just need a replacement motherboard with the same chipset.

You then start with the system restore CD for the game, this is
what installs the Windows OS. 9 times out of 10 the install will
work fine. Sometimes the motherboard won't be compatible but
for me it's only happened once or twice.

Once you've done the system restore, you will get prompted for
all the missing drivers. You obviously need the replacement motherboard
CD for this. Once done you install the video card drivers.

If all goes well you can then use your game restore CD and be
back up on running.

I've done this is many games, including America's Army, Aliens, Madden,
Need For Speed GT, NFSU, Nascar, PGA and probably a few others I'm not remembering.

The nice thing about Global VR is that once you do the system install, Windows
just sort of sits there and does nothing allowing you to install drivers for
other hardware. This allows you to use just about any Nvidia based video card
in a Global VR game. Put the card in, do your system restore, install the new
card drivers and finally the game software. You can't do this with Raw Thrills
games.

JD
Hi JD just a question mate- as I'm going down the rebuild PC rabbit hole for my NFSU, when you say chip set above do you basically mean the same socket 775 compatible cpu speed in this case 2.4ghz and FSB plus ddr2 ram, I'm just trying to get an understanding of what is defined as chipset, any help is appreciated.

Cheers Y
 
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