question...where is a good company to send boards to be repaired?

woodrailsrus

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question...where is a good company to send boards to be repaired?

i was wondering if anyone knew of a good reliable affordable place to send a pinball board to be repaired. i opened the back of this pinball machine today and i noticed that 2 of the transistors (small black squares) are totally missing from this board. and on the same board there is 3 transistors burnt. im not sure if i can repair these myself but there is some space around them to work with and everything isnt crammed together. but does anyone know somewhere i could send it to get fixed......i see these ads in magazines but i figured id ask on here anyways
 
I'd be more worried about what caused such a catastrophic failure. You need to trouble shoot this (either you or a local repair guy). If you have your board repaired and put it back in I'd say your chances of having stuff fry again is pretty high.




i was wondering if anyone knew of a good reliable affordable place to send a pinball board to be repaired. i opened the back of this pinball machine today and i noticed that 2 of the transistors (small black squares) are totally missing from this board. and on the same board there is 3 transistors burnt. im not sure if i can repair these myself but there is some space around them to work with and everything isnt crammed together. but does anyone know somewhere i could send it to get fixed......i see these ads in magazines but i figured id ask on here anyways
 
We might be able to step you though the problem here too, which machine is it that had the problem?

First thought that comes to mind is to check all your fuses. I bet you'll find a terribly oversized fuse in there for the solenoids. Normally transistors don't burn up like that if things are fused properly. Then identify which coils those transistors powered, and check them for shorts or why they might be locking on.

-Hans
 
HHAASE really knows his stuff. He's done awesome work for me on my Flash board. Fair price is a complete understatement too, I felt like I was stealing from him with all the work he did.
 
wow thanks for the help guys. well the board is from a gottlieb cactus jacks machine. i bought the machine from a guy who used the machine as a movie prop in movies. but this is the machine i traveled the furthest for.....because its the machine i played when i was a child and i finally found one. the game powers on ok and the display works and it will start a game like normal and all sounds work. the only thing i have noticed so far that DOESNT WORK is 1 set of drop targets and the kickout hole at the top of the playfield. this is all i have noticed from a 5 minute visual inspection. i have not tried testing anything but the fuses all look to be ok.....(i will have to test them)
the machine will play like normal except for drop targets not resetting on just the 1 bank of them and the kickout hole not working. there also seems to be about 6 or 7 flashers not working behidn the translite (only 1 flasher works) everything else seems ok. im going to go work on it today from now till about midnight. when i bought the game it had a mouse problem. the mice has made a nest down under the "apron" by the plunger and is not nearly as bad as other mice nest games i have usually turned down. before i bought it i looked over all the wires in it and didnt see anything that was chewed through. my question is could it have had a moisture problem and then someone tried to turn it on? there doesnt seem to be any other damage but i will take pics today of what damage i can see..........hope this helps guys.......pics to follow
 
here is some pics of the damage to the board........i took a few pics but the damage is all on the same board. hope these help. you guys know way more what to look for than i do

like i said even with this damage the game still plays all except for the one row of drop targets and the one kickout hole
 

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I'm not a Gottleib person, but those boards are a mess. It could be anything from bad molex headers, bad solder joints, grounded out wires, over sized fuses, disconnected/bad diodes, bad coils or the IC that controls the circuit.

For starters you need to read the scats and find out exactly what each circuit that burned up is responsible for. Visually inspect and test each item (replace as necessary). Pull the board out and replace all burned items including fuses. Also resolder the molex headers. In fact reflow any solder that looks iffy.

Plug it all back in leaving each molex connector that is responsible for the once burned circuits disconnected. Turn it on and see what works and then one by one plug the molex connectors in.

I chased an issue for months on a pin that kept eating one circuit. Come to find out I had wires that were zip tied together so tight it broke down the wire housing from vibration and would need just the right movement/vibration to cause the short. Miserable - so I feel your pain.
 
you need to replace that driver board!, it has a hole in it from frying, its burnt in multiple places AND its scorched even into the connector,
 
would a new driver board fix these problems for sure?..........i know i will still have to go through and check the fuses. im going to go on ebay and order a manual now.
do these boards look to far gone?
also does anyone know what system this game is......or how i can tell
thanks
 
do these boards look to far gone?

Not at all but in this case you might want to consider buying a good used one. Might be cheaper than sending it out if you don't want to tackle the repair yourself. Steve Young probably sells new ones but they're likely not cheap.

OK I looked it up:
http://www.pbresource.com/boards.html#gtbsys3

$160.50. Ouch. I have a few spares but no way to really test them right now. I would buy one on ebay or fix what you've got.

also does anyone know what system this game is......or how i can tell
thanks

Gottlieb System 3. Most often the system will be listed on pinrepair.com.
 
i was wondering if anyone knew of a good reliable affordable place to send a pinball board to be repaired. i opened the back of this pinball machine today and i noticed that 2 of the transistors (small black squares) are totally missing from this board. and on the same board there is 3 transistors burnt. im not sure if i can repair these myself but there is some space around them to work with and everything isnt crammed together. but does anyone know somewhere i could send it to get fixed......i see these ads in magazines but i figured id ask on here anyways

Use Rob Anthony. Borygard on the RGP forums. He is excellent. His site is below.

http://lockwhenlit.com/default.aspx
 
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