Tron refurb...everything was working, now all red blocks!

Jedidentist

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Tron refurb...everything was working, now all red blocks!

Hi guys,
Just starting getting into this business with no computer or electrical background whatsoever. I overpaid for a Tron a week ago...kind of a sight unseen deal, but the guy delivered it for me, so whatever. It was working decent...a little squished on the bottom during the lightcycles, but the cab had major water damage. I ended up removing all of the boards and lopped off the bottom 8" and rebuilt it. Well, this afternoon I finally put it all back together and powered it up. It really wasn't much of a surprise to me that I now have nothing but a screen of red blocks. All of my lights work, but I've got nothing else. Just thought I'd throw this out there in case it's something that someone can diagnose right off the bat. I checked the boards prior to replacing them, and there was nothing obvious broken and all of my wires are snug. I can't get test mode to run. Can anyone help?

Derek
 
I've been working on mine also. Check the interconnect cables and make sure your video cable is secure. You should also check your Molex plugs to make sure they are secure. Good luck. Don't get frustrated, it will all work out in the end. I've been working on my Tron for over a month and it still doesn't work right.
 
check all of your connections and connectors to see that they are seated well and the pins on the connectors are making contact. Also check board interconnect cables as mentioned. Test voltages to be sure they are correct. If the voltages are off the game may not boot or could boot to garbage. If you go through all that and everything checks out you will probably want to pull and clean your socketed chips on the boards. Also make sure all your connectors are connected to the correct locations.
 
tron

Check your voltages on the power supply board. I had a TRON that did that also, I adjusted the +5 on it and restarted it and never had a problem with it again.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I went back down this morning and thought I'd just turn it on and see what happens. Well, the test menu popped up. I could select items, but couldn't see whatever it is that moves up and down to show me what I was selecting. I switched it out of test mode and it worked...partially. Everything looked redder than normal. Also, on the selection screen, I couldn't see the bottom "triangle". The game play and sound seemed to be okay, but there was no "maze" on the tank level. After having some time to think about it, I think that I'm just missing all of my "greens". Does that make any sense? I suppose it could be a monitor problem, but I didn't take it out...although I did leave it in the cab when I laid it on its front as I was working on it. Anyone know a specific chip or resistor that might be responsible for the "green"?
 
Try messing with the cutoff controls on the monitor's neckboard. There should be a pot for Red Green and Blue.
 
Try messing with the cutoff controls on the monitor's neckboard. There should be a pot for Red Green and Blue.

assuming that you may have messed with a pot on the monitor if you removed it. otherwise, i would first check the voltages on the power supply (instructions to check it are on either page 17 or 18 on here, i think) http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arca..._Midways_MCR_II_&_III_Systems_(July_1983).pdf . finally, i'd check the connections on the ribbon cables that go between the board stack and potentially replace them.
 
assuming that you may have messed with a pot on the monitor if you removed it. otherwise, i would first check the voltages on the power supply (instructions to check it are on either page 17 or 18 on here, i think) http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arca..._Midways_MCR_II_&_III_Systems_(July_1983).pdf . finally, i'd check the connections on the ribbon cables that go between the board stack and potentially replace them.

I finally bought myself a multi-meter, so I can check these things out. Unfortunately, I'm at my parents' house, so I won't be back until sunday to try things. The first thing I was going to do was check the voltages, because that would probably have been the easiest thing for me to knock during the deconstruction/reconstruction. Also, my office manager's cousin is in the repair business, so I'm probably going to have him drop by and check it out next week. I figure that as long as I have him out, I might buy a cap kit and have him install it. I want to get all of this stuff out of the way before it has a chance to go bad.

Oh...and I didn't touch the monitor other than clean it with some compressed air and electronic cleaner. I was too afraid to mess with that bottle of death.
 
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So I finally get home with my new multimeter...ready to use this piece of equipment that I have no clue how to use. Read all of the instructions, downloaded and followed the instructions on this page:
http://users.rcn.com/jenison/mars/trouble/part/powersupply/MCR/

in these documents:
http://users.rcn.com/jenison/mars/trouble/part/powersupply/MCR/mcrPowerSupply.pdf
http://users.rcn.com/jenison/mars/trouble/part/powersupply/MCR/mcrPowerSupply.txt

Hooked up everything how I was supposed to, and I've got jack. Everything's turned off and I disconnected the output to my PCBs, in case I did something stupid and caused some sort of small power surge. I'm starting by checking the +5 V and I have basically a zero reading (sometimes I get a fleeting .055 V) reading. I adjusted my +5V pot, and it does nothing. I have power when it's plugged in, so I know I'm measuring something incorrectly. I've got the red (+) attached to the (+) and black to the (-), just like in the above diagrams. My multimeter is on "auto", so it fluctuates between AC and DC and it selects "V" vs. "mV" depending on the current running through it. What am I doing wrong?
 
The video cable pins is one of the hardest to reach on that boardest. Sometimes the pins get bent; make sure the video cable is correctly connected to the boardset. If everything used to work and now just a color is missing, most likely it's just a connection somewhere getting dropped. Wiggle the video cable at the connector at each end (of course, hard to seen the screen this way, so enlist a friend).

Put the black (-) on point A and red (+) on point B. Make sure you have the multimeter set to voltage DC, and that the scale is correct. To verify, take a simple AA battery and put the black lead on the flat end and the red on the other and verify you see 1.5VDC.
 
Okay, so yeah...as stupid as can be. First off, voltages were fine...I just rechecked everything with the power on! Turned it down a little as I was running 5.6V. And even though my wires were secure, I checked the one running from my board to monitor, and sure enough, just removing it and replacing it fixed it all. I think I'm still going to get a cap kit, but it will certainly be more of a luxury than a necessity...same thing with my switcher kit. I also have fuses to replace, etc. but "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" The previous owner had already removed the battery, so I should be good to go for the immediate future...just work on refinishing the cab.
 
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