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Sinistar Cabinet Problems

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JODY:
Just got my Joust working yesterday.  At times it would not come on.  Sometimes the LED would light up but not always.  When it would, there might be RAM errors or it might play awhile then get real flaky.  Sometimes it would restart.  Reset the connectors on the power supply and regulator board and it has worked fine since.  The connectors do need to be replaced...but just another example of the connector issues with these.  The connectors were not meant to last more than a few years.

boardjunkie:
This *can* help matters, but if any pin(s) have been overheated, they lose tension and don't make good contact. The only cure is to replace *both* sides of the header connector. The socket side is damaged, and the plating on the pin side will go high resistance from the plating having been burned off.

These 30 year old games normally need extensive attention to get them back up to 100% reliability. The above poster is right on in saying that they were not intended to last this long. Connectors, chip sockets, and especially electrolytic capacitors have a very finite life expectancy and the game won't run correctly until these issues have been inspected and action taken. Chip sockets are often a weak spot since the mfgr's used whatever they could get for the best price in the qty needed. Atari made the mistake of using gold plated sockets with regular tin plate chips and this causes problems down the road because of the reaction between the dissimilar metals and the oxide that forms.

Games like this that use 4116 ram are especially picky about the condition of the pwr supply. Ripple and out of sequence voltages causes problems booting and/or damage to the ram itself.

BewareILive:
I just got around to working on the Sinistar cabinet again.

I recently replaced the fuses and got it to work for about 3 seconds, I got the rug pattern, then the "Initial Tests Indicate All Systems Go" screen, then more of the rug pattern, and that was it. After a few minutes, I turned it off and realized one of the fuses had burnt out, so I tried another and the same thing happened, although I never see anything except the rug pattern anymore.

All three LED lights are on. I've tried several different variation of fuses, there were a few different variations that said worked, but none have. The ROM board flashes 0-1-3 every time I turn it on.

Anyone have any suggestions from here?

The fuse pattern I last used was-

F1 - 1A
F2 - 5A
F3 - 4A
F4 - 7A
F5 - 7A

It's always the  F4 fuse that burns out.

JODY:
Are you using slow blow or fast blow fuses?  Read more here:  http://www.coinop.org/repair/WilliamsPSU.aspx

As to the LED errors, make sure power is correct which includes fixing the fuse issue.   Then, if issues remain, check power to RAM chips.  May need to replace the 40 pin ribbon cable and some board connectors.  Issues could also be caused by bad solder connections on the board connector headers.

If it gets over your head, there is a guy on KLOV that used to work for Williams that repairs Williams boards and power supplies.  He does good work at very reasonable rates.

 

opt2not:
Yeah you have power problems. Common for all WMS games after this long.

Grab the manual: http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arcade_Williams/Sinistar_Instruction_Manual_(16-3004-101)_Feb_1983.pdf
And the schematics/drawing set: http://arcarc.xmission.com/PDF_Arcade_Williams/Sinistar_Drawing_Set_(16P-3004-103_Feb_1983).pdf   So you're a bit familiar with the hardware.

Get a multi-meter, and start probing the power lines and check your 5v line coming out of the PS board (RJ2). 

Your PS board can use a rebuild, seeing that you still have all the original caps and components on there.

If you're somewhat familiar with a soldering iron, this'll be a cake-walk...if not, you might want to get someone to rebuild it for you.  Dokert and YellowDog at KLOV are Williams experts.

If you're a DIY guy, get yourself the WMS Power Supply Deluxe Rebuild kit from bobroberts. I'd "shotgun it" and replaced all the caps, the regulating IC's + sockets, the Bridge Rectifier....etc, with new ones. Also flip the PS board over and check for any damage, or cold-sockets (solder points with cracks, or holes in them) and either replace the connection headers or re-flow the cold-joints.  Probably best to just replace them with new ones.  The Connectors to those headers could probably use a replacing too.
Also check and re-flow the solder on the Fuse holders too, and be sure to squeeze the clamps so they make absolute contact with the fuses.

Williams boards are very finicky when it comes to power voltage, but the best thing you can do is get that original PS Board nice and healthy first...that'll probably fix most of the issues, if not all...

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