Sinistar controls dropped out

PhotoJosh78

Active member
Joined
Jan 29, 2022
Messages
176
Reaction score
131
Location
Maryland
Just the other day, I switched Sinistar on and the controls are completely nonresponsive. I cannot figure out why. It looks like this board interfaces with the joystick and buttons. I was wondering if anyone happens to have any suggestions for where I might start troubleshooting. The game otherwise boots fine and coins up.

Thanks very much in advance!

IMG_8044.jpeg
 
probably the most common point of failure is the ribbon cable. with the game off preferably you can unplug it and plug it back in and see if that restores the controls. that's not the permanent fix, however, you're just ruling that the ribbon cable is at fault. it would need to be replaced which it's soldered in.

there are other ways I've seen these fail, I don't know specifically if it's the control panel lamps bleeding in and knocking out the chips or what, the 4049s are prone to just literally dying from playing freeze tag.
 
Kind of sounds like you lost your ground on the controls side. Check the connectors under the control panel to make sure they're seated well. Maybe even unplug them and plug back in.
 
What onji said .I have the same thing happen on a stargate but it's the button Rolex connections to the tiny board that are my problem not the ribbon this time ,bad ground
 
Thank you all so much! As it turns out, unplugging and reconnecting the ribbon cables from the I/O board, in between the main boards, did the trick! Very relieved that it's not a bad board.

Thanks also for your suggestion, Onji. I'll keep that in mind if the controls drop out again and the ribbon trick doesn't work.
 
Thank you all so much! As it turns out, unplugging and reconnecting the ribbon cables from the I/O board, in between the main boards, did the trick! Very relieved that it's not a bad board.

Thanks also for your suggestion, Onji. I'll keep that in mind if the controls drop out again and the ribbon trick doesn't work.
re-read what I said before.
 
Get yourself a can of DeOxit, and use it on every connector in every part of every game you own.

Many basic problems are not actually caused by bad cables, just dirty connections. The insides of these games are all covered with nicotine, 40+ years of dust and grime, and just oxidation from metal being exposed to air. Most of it is stuff you can't see, but it's there.

Seriously, a huge amount of flakiness and intermittent behavior can be fixed with this one simple thing. A little bit of preventative maintenance goes a long way. Buy a can now, here's the link:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306144854777

And while you're at it, get a fiberglass pen, and use it to clean the edge connector fingers on all game boards. This is the #2 best thing you can do to any game:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/201067762269
 
Get yourself a can of DeOxit, and use it on every connector in every part of every game you own.

Many basic problems are not actually caused by bad cables, just dirty connections. The insides of these games are all covered with nicotine, 40+ years of dust and grime, and just oxidation from metal being exposed to air. Most of it is stuff you can't see, but it's there.

Seriously, a huge amount of flakiness and intermittent behavior can be fixed with this one simple thing. A little bit of preventative maintenance goes a long way. Buy a can now, here's the link:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/306144854777

And while you're at it, get a fiberglass pen, and use it to clean the edge connector fingers on all game boards. This is the #2 best thing you can do to any game:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/201067762269
from my personal experience with these games, if the ribbon cables haven't been replaced, they need to be

you can keep promoting deoxit, it's probably not going to fix the problem this time though :(

keep fighting the good fight
 
from my personal experience with these games, if the ribbon cables haven't been replaced, they need to be

you can keep promoting deoxit, it's probably not going to fix the problem this time though :(

keep fighting the good fight


You're 100% right, these ribbon cables can break. But you know that many people jump to replacing things too quickly a lot of the time, because other people tell them do to it.

And I get that people want to do things to try to fix their games, and buying parts feels like you're doing something productive. But ordering a bunch of parts without even knowing what the problem is, is never the right place to start. Inspection and cleaning are. (And again, I know you know this.)

But for new folks, the point is to start with the basics (checking voltages and cleaning connections), then see where you're at. You'll be surprised how often this will SAVE you from needing to order or replace anything.

The longer you're in this hobby, the more you realize you don't need to replace anywhere near as much stuff as people told you to when you were new.
 
Back
Top Bottom