Tempest Reset Issue

Pinball Wizard

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Just got a tempest and it appears that it is resetting continuously, long enough for seeing the game flash for a second, then disappear. Any suggestions?
 
Did that and we have good voltages.

Did you check them at the PCB or the ARII?

If they are good at the PCB, then next is to check connectors between the two boards for cold solder joints.

If those are good, then you'll need to dig out the logic probe.

If you put the game into self test does it reset?
 
I checked them at the test points on the pcb. I was thinking about attacking the interconnect next, so I will go ahead with that. I haven't tried the test switch yet, I will do that before breaking out the iron and see if it leads me down a path.
 
Well I ripped the board out of the cabinet, wiggled on the harness and interconnect and reseated everything and I now have a semi working Tempest. The vector lines are completely right, some aren't lining up, others are connecting stuff that shouldn't connect. I played for a little bit but now the spinner is dead. Any suggestions for these 2 issues?
 
Well I ripped the board out of the cabinet, wiggled on the harness and interconnect and reseated everything and I now have a semi working Tempest. The vector lines are completely right, some aren't lining up, others are connecting stuff that shouldn't connect.

Two things to do.

1) Check the Brightness on the monitor, it might be up too high.
2) Reflow the solder on the connectors that interconnect the two boards.

I played for a little bit but now the spinner is dead. Any suggestions for these 2 issues?

You should fix the other issue first and get a stable game. After that go into test mode and see if the spinner is responding in that. Chances are, if it's not working in the game, it won't work in self test. But we want to verify to be sure.

If it still doesn't work it could be the Encoder Wheel, a connection problem (Check the Harness), or a PCB problem.

If it's a PCB problem you should start at D6 and go from there.

It could also be a bad POKEY. The board has two on it, so you could swap them around and see if your spinner works again, and the Audio goes out.
 
I attempted brightness adjustment, and i didn't have a 6100 manual laying around so I could only find the flyback adjustment. Attempted it and it didn't help, possibly another adjustment? I didn't relfow the interconnect yet because I closely inspected it and wiggled it and there is no noticeable movement or damage, and I wiggled on it while it was on and it held stable.

In test mode the spinner doesn't respond either. I will try swapping the POKEY chips around first as that sounds the easiest. I already checked the harness and it appears good. What is the easiest way of testing the encoder wheel?
 
I attempted brightness adjustment, and i didn't have a 6100 manual laying around so I could only find the flyback adjustment. Attempted it and it didn't help, possibly another adjustment? I didn't relfow the interconnect yet because I closely inspected it and wiggled it and there is no noticeable movement or damage, and I wiggled on it while it was on and it held stable.

In test mode the spinner doesn't respond either. I will try swapping the POKEY chips around first as that sounds the easiest. I already checked the harness and it appears good. What is the easiest way of testing the encoder wheel?

Can you post a picture?

The easiest would be to swap it with another one if you had it. Otherwise you could probably test it with a Multi-Meter or Logic Probe.
 
Well I ripped the board out of the cabinet, wiggled on the harness and interconnect and reseated everything and I now have a semi working Tempest. The vector lines are completely right, some aren't lining up, others are connecting stuff that shouldn't connect. I played for a little bit but now the spinner is dead. Any suggestions for these 2 issues?

On the self test screen, advance to the pattern that has all the alphanumeric characters at the bottom and the criss-crossing line pattern. Adjust the pots on the board itself, not the monitor and see if you can get it looking as it should.
 
For the alignment problem, go into test mode. Use the slam switch to cycle to the big + sign screen. It's the screen with the annoying sounds that cycle. Turn your volume down, and align the center of the + sign with the x and y bip pots.

Then use the slam switch to cycle to the diamond pattern and check for linearity. You can then adjust the x and y lin pots

clean and reflow interconnect headers.
Check for AC ripple on your Big blue.
clean the optos on your spinner, and or reseat your pokeys.
 
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