What's new
By:
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Tales from the crypt no longer.boots

S

Schyzophrenic

Registered
Joined
Sep 22, 2021
Messages
42
Location
London
Hello,

I finally moved my pinball (Tales from the crypt) from France to the UK after 9 years. It had been sitting folded in a dry house (indoor) for all this time.
The last time I played, it was working OK.

It has a french plug and I used an adaptor from Argos (with the fuse) to plug it onto a UK plug.

When I turn it on, I have some lights but the matrix display glitches and turn off, no sound and the lights are on but no demo mode. I am not sure what to look for (and a bit gutted after all these efforts to bring it back!)

Does anyone know where I can start the investigation, please?
Thank you so much!

Here is a quick video:
PS the clacking sound is me pressing the side buttons and no reaction..
 
Looks like the CPU isn't booting. Can you remove the backglass and take a look for battery leakage damage and any loose ribbon cables?
 
Battery is fine as I removed them when I turned it off, unless you mean other batteries?

I checked the ribbon cables and they all seem pretty well attached...

1000038537.webp
 
I actually checked some fuses on the board and can't get a continuity test on the F2 7A.
The quick reference fuse chart tells me it's slo-blo + 5VDC regulator input (9VAC). Could it be linked?
How do I know what type of fuse I need to get as a replacement?
 
Schyzophrenic said:
I actually checked some fuses on the board and can't get a continuity test on the F2 7A.
The quick reference fuse chart tells me it's slo-blo + 5VDC regulator input (9VAC). Could it be linked?
How do I know what type of fuse I need to get as a replacement?
Click to expand...

You need a 7Amp slo-blo fuse, any of the uk pinball parts sellers should stock them, or someone on here was selling packs of fuses, Sorry but I can't remember who that was.
Make sure to buy a few though as I think it will just blow again as soon as you turn it on. Or not?
If it does blow....Test the Bridge rectifier. Check youtube for how to test them if you don't know? It's easy but you may need to remove the board, or look at the schematics to find where the pins lead on the front of the board to save having to remove it.
 
@AlanJ sells the fuses on here but he may be on holiday at the.moment.

Mpu big board top right in backbox does run on 5v.

You need 1 1/4 inch (32mm) slow blow fuses.

It probably will blow again.

No 5v will likely be an issue with bridge rectifier or capacitors on the psb power supply board top left corner.of backbox. Capacitor c2 on the psb often leaks and should be replaced as a matter of course on a machine this age.
 
pinparts.co.uk

1-1/4" Fuse Slow Blow Fuse - 7A

Standard slow blow fuse� 1-1/4" long, 250 volt slow blow fuses. PRICE IS PER FUSE.
pinparts.co.uk pinparts.co.uk

Also data east fuse clips are poor quality and they break easily. If the fuse is removed they should have a spring to them. If they don't you will get continuity issues. Plus I see there has been some work on your psb on the inputs wires to the 9vac so any problems with 5v could be there too.
 
So remove the board and checked the bridge connector as well as a few other diodes and everything seems in order. I hope to receive new fuses tomorrow or the following day, but I am not sure where to check if the fuse blows immediately..
 
As @Asiapinball says... replace capacitor C2 first, then check/replace the fuse clips. Then replace the blown fuse. Put the power PCB back in the game but leave all connectors off except the power ones. Switch on and see if the fuse blows (power off and check the fuse out of circuit with a multimeter). If it does, you need to replace the bridge rectifier. If it doesn't then add a single connector then switch on, repeat the process (power off, check the fuse, add connector, etc) until you find the connector which causes the fuse to blow. Then identify what that connector is feeding that is causing the fuse to blow.
 
You can put a filament bulb across the fuse holder to save on fuses. When it lights up you connected your culprit.
 
So, I changed the fuse and gradually replugged all the boards. The fuse didn't blow but the symptoms are exactly the same as before :/
No sound, lights on, no reaction on any button... Any idea?
 
Based on this https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php/Data_East/Sega#Low_or_Missing_5VDC
I am considering changing C2, C3 and C7. I am not sure I understand the rest of the paragraph on LM...
For C4, I see these are actually 4 capacitors in the machine, what should I order?
"18,000uf/25V smoothing capacitor at C4. This cap is probably way past it's spec life. Replacing it is advised. While the original capacitor was specified at 18,000uf, the more common 15,000uf/25V cap will work fine in this application."

C4 is 4 4700uf on my board... I am puzzled by this one
 
C2 is most likely issue. Make sure you check that the traces on the board are intact when you remove it as usually the leaking c2 also corrodes the traces.

The 4 caps in a row rarely have an issue so not worth changing straight off.

I would just pull the board change c2 and put it back in, assuming that you have already got 9vac after the fuses.
 
An update here: I changed C2, C3, C7 and C4 and I now have a steady 5V. The game boots properly and I have been to play a few games.
I once had a weird tilt but other than that no big issues identified. It probably needs a good clean.
Thank you all for the advices
 
Actually, this fix was short lived...
I was playing a game today and the it randomly tilted after maybe 30s and froze.
I rebooted the game is and it freezes saying no pay em no game.
5V is still good on the test pins, so is 12V. -12V reports at -15V but it was the case when it was working. Not sure where to search, any idea?
 
drhex said:
Tilt switch stuck? Either slam on door or bob.
Click to expand...
The tilt "weight" - I believe that's the "bob" is in position and does not make contact with the metal frame around it.
Opening the door in this instance does not do anything (I can't get into the system menu)
 
There should be a slam tilt switch on the door and potentially at the bottom or side of the cabinet. You could also disconnect the cabinet/dedicated switches.
 
The door tilt and the regular tilt look fine.
When booting I see the 5V and PIA LEDs stay on. Is there a way to investigate further?
I also checked the 5V on the CPU board and I get a 4.82V reading which seems OK.
Just not keen to order a new CPU without understanding what happened or investigate further they are not that cheap...
Any idea?
 
4.82v is very low. You still have a power problem. Your cpu is not booting probably because of the low 5v.

The cpu can boot if only the power is attached. Its the connector above the battery. Try disconnecting the power from psu to all other boards and see if the cpu will boot on its own without other boards connected. If it boots this would confirm that it is power issue and not the cpu or switches.
 
Bit of an update. It seems one of the connector had slightly moved due to the vibrations of the game. After securing everything again, the game is now up and running again.
PS: I still have 4.82V on the 5V test point on the CPU board but it seems to be working OK.
Thank you all for your insights
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom