Tron troubleshooting help?

ribs

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Hello folks. I am not too electrical savvy so bear with me please. I have a Tron machine that is not working. The machine turns on, marquee lights up, machine makes buzzing sound from speakers. There is nothing on the monitor and game does not play. I did a little looking on the internet and read about power supply problems with these machines. I unplugged and reconnected all connectors on all boards. There was some corrosion on one of the connectors on the power supply board south of the leaky battery. I cleaned it and no change. One of the adjustable pots under the battery is corroded as well and does not turn. I am assuming I have a power supply issue, but would like to make sure. How do I check for proper power supply output to verify a power supply problem? I was about to order the power supply upgrade from the arcadeshop but would like to make sure this is my problem first. Any suggestions? Thank you.
 
when the battery dies the stuff inside leaks out and over time follows the traces and eats them up. sometimes one can save them if its not too bad but that takes soldering know how and lots of patience and replacement parts. the metal traces that the electrons use to run the game cant flow to thier intended destinations like the corroded pot you describe and hence the game no worky

i would guess the power supply could be working and the battery corrosion is the culprit in this case
could be wrong, just going by the words you typed

what i would do is, i would replace that adjusment pot and solder in wires in place of the traces going into/out of that pot and to/from the battery if its not too bad
if the traces look real bad and the corrosion is extensive i might fine another of that board and replace it

you can also use vinegar with a toothbrush to neutralize the corrosion with the goal of trying to determine just how bad and how far the corrosion went in deciding the next course of action. then just wash the vinegar off and let it dry for several days before you plug it in again
 
90412

90412 powersupplies work for a while but if it is corroded with acid, plan on it being bad. I sold 4 untested ones a few weeks ago then I need one for a game I was selling. I tested 5 more and got only 2 working ones out of that. The odds are against you I am afraid. Depending on the amount of Acid damage they are pretty easily repairable if you can halfway solder. Bob Roberts sells a complete rebuild kit for a reasonable price that includes the connectors.

A word of warning: The Arcade shop Switching power supply adapters cause a hum in the speakers, especialy in attract mode on Trons. They are stable power but the hum is awfull.
 
A word of warning: The Arcade shop Switching power supply adapters cause a hum in the speakers, especialy in attract mode on Trons. They are stable power but the hum is awfull.

Why is it that I don't have hum on my Tron in attract mode and I'm using a arcadeshop power supply. I install a seperate 12 volt ac @5 amp transformer (found a radioshacks). And install it that way... Thus the power is totally seperate from the switcher. I've done this on my Tron and Discs of Tron. And no hum what so ever.
 
12v

Why is it that I don't have hum on my Tron in attract mode and I'm using a arcadeshop power supply. I install a seperate 12 volt ac @5 amp transformer (found a radioshacks). And install it that way... Thus the power is totally seperate from the switcher. I've done this on my Tron and Discs of Tron. And no hum what so ever.

That would make sense. I think you answered your own question. The 12v is used for the sound. You can put caps accross the 12v line to reduce it as well also. That is a lot of crap when you could just run the oridional PS. Do you have the NVRAM mod to save high scores on your Tron and DOT?
 
That would make sense. I think you answered your own question. The 12v is used for the sound. You can put caps accross the 12v line to reduce it as well also. That is a lot of crap when you could just run the oridional PS. Do you have the NVRAM mod to save high scores on your Tron and DOT?

I'm using the arcadeshop ps /w a switcher power supply. Along with a 12 volt ac transformer for the sound portion (the 3 prong plug on the Arcadeshop switcher. As for NVRAM mod ... Never heard of that one... I just use the battery power from the arcadeshop power supply for storing scores.
 
Nvram

I'm using the arcadeshop ps /w a switcher power supply. Along with a 12 volt ac transformer for the sound portion (the 3 prong plug on the Arcadeshop switcher. As for NVRAM mod ... Never heard of that one... I just use the battery power from the arcadeshop power supply for storing scores.

The NVRAM replaces the ram that has to be powered to retain high scores. It is pretty cool. You can pull the boards and it still retains the high score for 10 years with no battery.
 
The hum from the Arcadeshop adapter isn't that bad. When you have other games powered up next to it, you don't even notice it. If you're "not too electronically saavy", this would be the easiest way to determine if everything's okay. You could spend days soldering and resoldering pots and traces and never fix the problem...and still not know if it was the board or your patch job. You put in the switcher/adapter and you know that your power supply is definitely not your problem.
 
Thank you for all the input, for it has been helpful.
Update: I pulled out the power supply board to get a better look at it. I found a spot under the battery where a jumper had corroded and fell off completely. I purchased a soldering iron and soldered a jumper back in. Put the board back in and fired it up. Now the loud hum is gone and now I can credit the game and hear it play, but I still have no video. It appears as though the monitor has power for I can see a dim haze of light passing across the screen. What should I do next?
 
Monitor

Thank you for all the input, for it has been helpful.
Update: I pulled out the power supply board to get a better look at it. I found a spot under the battery where a jumper had corroded and fell off completely. I purchased a soldering iron and soldered a jumper back in. Put the board back in and fired it up. Now the loud hum is gone and now I can credit the game and hear it play, but I still have no video. It appears as though the monitor has power for I can see a dim haze of light passing across the screen. What should I do next?

Just as a test, try turning up the screen knob on the flyback on the monitor. Se if you can see an image after that.
 
Ok, I had the gameplay working, no video. Now I turned the game on and I am back to square one: Slight hum, no gameplay or video.
 
Hum

Ok, I had the gameplay working, no video. Now I turned the game on and I am back to square one: Slight hum, no gameplay or video.

You have a connection issue most likely. At least you know the amp board is getting power still. Your powersupply is failing on the 5v side or you have a connection issue on the fuse holder, powersupply or the large connector that plugs in at the rear of the game PCB.
 
You have a connection issue most likely. At least you know the amp board is getting power still. Your powersupply is failing on the 5v side or you have a connection issue on the fuse holder, powersupply or the large connector that plugs in at the rear of the game PCB.

Thanks. I am a bit of a rookie, how do I check for this stuff?
 
Issue

Thanks. I am a bit of a rookie, how do I check for this stuff?

Having a meter and a schematic would help alot. If you dont have those 2 things. Clean the metal retainers on the fuse holder in the bottom of the cab. They loose tension where the fuses go in. Also, visualy check the fuses as best you can. Some times it is obvious they are blown, Sometimes they look good but are blown. (meter is handy in that case). There is also 2 fuses on the medium power supply. (green board where the battery is) Check those. If all good, dissconnect and reconnect the plugs on the powersupply. Sometimes the pins in the connectors where they are soldered on the backside of the powersupply loose there connection. Check that too. Re solder if nesc. While you have them unplugged. See if any of the pins in the connectors are green looking from corrosion. While you are at it. Unplug and plug back in the large connector at the rear of the game PCB board stack. (rear of the PCB as you look at the game from the back door) If that fails, You will have to get a meter and find out where you are loosing the 5V.
 
Thanks again. I have the schematics, although I don't really know what to do with them. Purchased multi-meter and began taking a look at the power board. I measured resistance across the the corroded stuck pot v102 and came up with no reading/open. I am going to replace it, see if that helps and go from there.
 
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