Recently purchase a non-working arcade machine

I picked this up earlier today:

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/vgm/1359752051.html

And I have no idea how to fix it. I'm a member at NintendoAge, and they suggested that I come to you for help. I have no experience with arcade machines and I don't know what to look for.

Have any ideas that I could try out? I'd appreciate it if you could troubleshoot with me.

Thank you.
Start with the basics. Grab a multimeter and check for voltages at the power supply and then at the PCB. No power... no gameplay. :)
 
Okay, I'm sure I could figure out how to do that. He told me that he used to play it quite a bit, and then one day when he went to turn it on nothing happened.
 
Okay, I'm sure I could figure out how to do that. He told me that he used to play it quite a bit, and then one day when he went to turn it on nothing happened.

Dumb thought (but more common then you think) check the power switch! Make sure its actually on...

Matt
 
I would also bypass any lockout switches.

I wouldn't bypass them right away. They might work and just need to be enabled. Look for white interlock switches on the back door, etc. They need to be pressed in by the back door to work for machines that have them installed. You can also pull the plunger out to lock it on for testing while the door is open. Sometimes they rotate, don't hit the door, so the game won't fire up.

Also, check the fuses too.
 
I really appreciate all of the help you guys! Hopefully it is just a fuse, but I'll go check out it's guts when I get home.
 
be careful around the monitor. they can hold quite a charge and bite you HARD.
look here for info on how not to get zapped.

http://therealbobroberts.net/sb.html

when you have the game supposedly "on", does the game coin up and play but you cant see it? or just nada? look at where the neck board connects to the back of the tube. in dim light can you see neck glow? a dim orangey light there, should be.
 
Nothing happens whatsoever at the moment when I plug it in. I'm going to go get a mulitmeter tomorrow and check the fuses and the power supply. The guy I picked it up from said it was most likely one of those two things, he just hadn't gotten around to finding out for himself.
 
I wouldn't bypass them right away. They might work and just need to be enabled. Look for white interlock switches on the back door, etc. They need to be pressed in by the back door to work for machines that have them installed. You can also pull the plunger out to lock it on for testing while the door is open. Sometimes they rotate, don't hit the door, so the game won't fire up.

Also, check the fuses too.

Or just bypass them and save yourself the headaches. They are basically an unneeded safety feature at this point and just one more part that can or will fail.

Fuses I agree with. Also check fuse blocks (especially in older Midway games). They are cheap and easy to replace.
 
Or just bypass them and save yourself the headaches. They are basically an unneeded safety feature at this point and just one more part that can or will fail.

Fuses I agree with. Also check fuse blocks (especially in older Midway games). They are cheap and easy to replace.

I dont think T2 has interlock switches.

Its pretty easy to figure out where your problem is though. Think of electricity as water flowing through a hose. Start at the wall and follow the cord into the game until you get no voltage. With your meter measure for voltage at the other end of the cord (inside the game) then move onto the next link in the chain until the voltage isnt there anymore. I'd suspect a fuse or the switch like I mentioned in another post.

Matt
 
Okay, so I took out the only fuse I could see and it was busted. I went to Radio Shack and bought a package of new ones, 5A 250V, and as soon as I plugged it in the fuse blew again. Should I be using a fuse with more power? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I literally have no idea what I'm doing.
 
Okay, so I took out the only fuse I could see and it was busted. I went to Radio Shack and bought a package of new ones, 5A 250V, and as soon as I plugged it in the fuse blew again. Should I be using a fuse with more power? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I literally have no idea what I'm doing.

Now you need to start unplugging things that are supplies with 110VAC to see where your short circuit is. Unplug the monitor, power supply and any all all light fixtures (I think theres only one on that game). After they are all unplugged replace the fuse and power it back up. If it still blows the Isolation transformer or variac (sp?) is bad. If it doesnt blow, power the game down and plug one back in at a time and power the game back up. Continue this until the fuse blows again, that will be where your short is (I'm guessing light fixture).

Did you buy 5 Amp fast or 5 Amp Slo blo fuses? Are they MDL5 or AGC5's?

Matt
 
Well the package says "Fast-Acting" and it looks like they're ACG. I'll go try to unplug things like you suggested, thank you.
 
Well the package says "Fast-Acting" and it looks like they're ACG. I'll go try to unplug things like you suggested, thank you.

Check your original fuse, its probably MDL which is slow blow. A lot of times fast's will pop because of the fire-up load from the transformers.

It may still work though. You cant hurt anything this way.

Matt
 
Well the innards of the original fuse were a lot beefier, like this: %%%%%%

These new fuses I picked up at Radio Shack looked like this inside:--------

I guess that I could go back and see if they have the slow blow.
 
Well the innards of the original fuse were a lot beefier, like this: %%%%%%

These new fuses I picked up at Radio Shack looked like this inside:--------

I guess that I could go back and see if they have the slow blow.

Home depot is the cheapest place around here for fuses. I get some from The Shack, but usually stock up at HD.
 
Okay well I put in a slow blow fuse and it blew right away again, but I wanted to see what it was actually doing, so I had my girlfriend plug the machine in while I watched the second time. For some reason the game came on and stayed on, but it won't let me play it. It just keeps saying "No way Jose" whenever I press the start button.

Is there a free play behind the coin acceptor do you think? The guy I got the machine from told me that he'd have to send me the keys in the mail because he didn't have them on hand when I picked it up.

Thank you guys once again.
 
Okay well I put in a slow blow fuse and it blew right away again, but I wanted to see what it was actually doing, so I had my girlfriend plug the machine in while I watched the second time. For some reason the game came on and stayed on, but it won't let me play it. It just keeps saying "No way Jose" whenever I press the start button.

Is there a free play behind the coin acceptor do you think? The guy I got the machine from told me that he'd have to send me the keys in the mail because he didn't have them on hand when I picked it up.

Thank you guys once again.

Drop a quarter in it. :)
 
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