Super Pac Man Keeps Blowing a Fuse

Jake13

Member

Donor 2012
Joined
Sep 7, 2012
Messages
92
Reaction score
0
Location
Solvay, New York
Hi,
I have a Super Pac man cocktail table that keeps blowing a fuse on the power supply,
I replaced it w/ the same fuse (BUSS MDL 5 / 32 Volt) and it blows as soon as the game is turned on.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestion on where to begin to troubleshoot this issue?
(I have not yet worked on power supplies)
Thank you!
 
What is the fuse protecting? which one is it?

can you post a pic also plez. I suspect a wiring problem, a connection touching metal (ground), bad fuse holder, or a bad cap. and in that order. With power off and cord disconnected from any power source, meter from each side of fuse to ground and see what the ohms reading is; 2k or 20k scale should do it. I would say it is very low if not a dead short to ground.
 
Heres a pic of the fuse that keeps blowing (its the empty slot)
Thanks!

IMG_29352.jpg


IMG_2937.jpg
 
I would say remove the two screws and look for anything under the fuse block that might be shorting it out right there.

That fuse looks like it is coming from the transformer right near the fuse block and coming in from top and going out the bottom. If it is the fuse holder, when you unplug the bottom connector and put in a new fuse, it will blow again. If it doesn't then there is a problem somewhere with that yellow wire or the associated pcb, rectifier, etc. That is ac voltage also so set the volt meter accordingly when measuring the voltages.

Usually the ac voltage goes to a rectifier and gets changed to dc voltage and filtered and regulated. Some boards take ac right into them, Galaxian is one but that is not common for most pcb's.
 
Power supply

Are there any obvious hacks? I see they used 12g Romex to feed the machine.
 
kb0jjn: thank you for the tips, I'll try that out tonight when I get home.
is the board in the picture below the "rectifier" you mention? (this photo isnt from my table, but the power supply runs to the identical board as pictured below in my table and it is mounted on the side)

PUTTS5205: I dont see anything that looks like it has been hacked, but I'm not really sure what to look for either. What is 12g Romex, does that refer to a type of 12 gauge wire?

Thank you both, I really appreaciate your help!
 

Attachments

  • $(KGrHqR,!lQF!SDPlWZRBQI-BGWwT!~~60_35.jpg
    $(KGrHqR,!lQF!SDPlWZRBQI-BGWwT!~~60_35.jpg
    30.4 KB · Views: 15
That is the arII board I think and that is what takes the ac voltage and produces the dc voltages and the audio stuff. That board usually has r29 burnt up as a result of bad connection to the pcb. If the fuse block is not the problem then that board is the next usual suspect.

follow the yellow wire going to that board and you will have a good starting point to do a bit of detective work. There should be schematics for that board readily found here or on the net.
 
That is the arII board I think and that is what takes the ac voltage and produces the dc voltages and the audio stuff. That board usually has r29 burnt up as a result of bad connection to the pcb. If the fuse block is not the problem then that board is the next usual suspect.

follow the yellow wire going to that board and you will have a good starting point to do a bit of detective work. There should be schematics for that board readily found here or on the net.

That is not an arII board and there is no R29 on it, your thinking of Atari.

Jake- That is a midway linear power supply, and yes it rectifies the incoming ac into dc for your super pacman. There is at least 1 fuse in that board, maybe two (cant remember). Is it blown?

Anyways take the edge connector off your game board, make sure that the edge connector and molex are clean.

Next disconnect the connectors that are supplying the power supply board from the transformer assembly . put a good fuse in F3 (the manual says that you can use a 5 amp slowblow if needed). Power it up and see if it blows the fuse. If it does you have narrowed your problem down to the transformer assembly and associated wiring. If it doesnt, turn power off and reconnect the wiring going to the power supply board. Leave the the game board edge connector off. Turn power back on. If the fuse now blows, you likely have a bad componet/s on your power supply board. In which if it was me would just patch in a switcher ps, but if you want to keep it og. then repair your ps board or buy a working one. If it doesnt blow then reinstall your edge connector on the game board and apply power again. These steps should help you narrow down where your problem lies.
 
That is not an arII board and there is no R29 on it, your thinking of Atari.

Jake- That is a midway linear power supply, and yes it rectifies the incoming ac into dc for your super pacman. There is at least 1 fuse in that board, maybe two (cant remember). Is it blown?

Anyways take the edge connector off your game board, make sure that the edge connector and molex are clean.

Next disconnect the connectors that are supplying the power supply board from the transformer assembly . put a good fuse in F3 (the manual says that you can use a 5 amp slowblow if needed). Power it up and see if it blows the fuse. If it does you have narrowed your problem down to the transformer assembly and associated wiring. If it doesnt, turn power off and reconnect the wiring going to the power supply board. Leave the the game board edge connector off. Turn power back on. If the fuse now blows, you likely have a bad componet/s on your power supply board. In which if it was me would just patch in a switcher ps, but if you want to keep it og. then repair your ps board or buy a working one. If it doesnt blow then reinstall your edge connector on the game board and apply power again. These steps should help you narrow down where your problem lies.

You are right about the Atari supply thing; Here is some other info on the different power supplies and maybe you can find yours here.....

http://users.rcn.com/jenison/mars/trouble/part/powersupply/
 
Awesome! I really appreciate all the info!
I'm out of town this weekend, but plan to work on this when I get back. I'll post some updates w/ what I find.
Thank you for all of the help!
- jake
 
Back
Top Bottom