Is my new flyback arcing?

[siastbill1]

I have an old G07, and decided to recap it. I also did the flyback at the same time (even though the current one was still working, I decided to do it for preventative measures). The picture is fine, but just today when I was adjusting the monitor, I noticed a little snap/crackle sound coming from the board. I tried to isolate the sound, and I believe it to be the NEW flyback. I recorded a sample of the crackle . It kinda sounds like someone snapping their fingers:
(you may need to use headphones) http://www.billfriedrich.com/test/crackle1.mp3

I can't see any spark, but I am concerned about the noise. Can anyone suggest the problem, or a good way to diagnose it?

thanks!

[cw]

turn off the lights and try looking for a spark again....

[Pac-Fan]

Use an old paper towell cardboard tube center to isolate sound off a board. It's insulated so you can get close to things, but your head is far enough away to avoid shock. Move it around the board until you isolate where it's louder.

Arcing can occur anywhere there are two conductive surfaces at different potentials close together, though usually will happen more at higher voltages, which of course are mainly in the flyback.  Check for solder spills on the bottom to ensure you didn't get some solder joints too close together.

[siastbill1]

Hi, thanks for the replies. I had already tried looking for a spark with all of the lights off, but it still couldn't be seen. Could this be an indicator that it was in fact sparking from the bottom of the board?

I assume that running the monitor with the board removed from it's mount (in order to see the bottom) is probably a dumb idea. Any opinions.

Will also try to isolate the sound with the paper towel tube.

Thanks.

/bill

[siastbill1]

Ok, removed the chassis and sat it in a cardboard box (to provide insulation). I then fired up the monitor and stared at the bottom of the board (it takes a few minutes for the crackling to start). Again, after a while I started hearing the crackle, but I still couldn't see a spark, even in a pitch black room. (There goes the solder spills theory)

I also used the paper towel tube center to isolate the crackling, and it is most definitely coming from the new flyback Could the arcing be inside the flyback such that you can't see it? Could it be possible to that a new flyback might be bad?

I am tempted to go and put the old one back in, but I really only want to do this as a last resort. Any suggestions?

[SirPeale]

I've had flybacks die within hours of installation.  It was only one, but it still ticked me off.

[grantspain]

i had a replacement polo2 hantarex flyback that destroyed the trace of the circuit board,i sent it back to hantarex for testing and they found it to be a short inside-so its quite possible you have a naff flyback.try putting your old one back in

[ChadTower]

I've had flybacks die within hours of installation.  It was only one, but it still ticked me off.

It arced him off, ticked him off, and them somehow became more than one. 

[siastbill1]

Ok, I will stick the old flyback back in and see what happens. I almost regret changing it, seeing as the old one was still working (again, did a cap kit, so figured I'd do the flyback for preventative maintenance).

[siastbill1]

Well, I cleaned the old flyback, stuck it in, and THE CRACKLING WENT AWAY!!!

Unless I somehow screwed up putting the new one in, and then did a great job putting the old one back in, I am going to have to assume that my new flyback was bad

I doubt there would be any warranty on such a part, and furthermore, it's always possible that I did something wrong that caused it to go bad (don't know what). Wondering if I should take the new flyback somewhere to have tested, just to confirm it's bad (although it's probably not worth the cost for a $20 flyback).

Thanks to everyone who gave me input!

[Kevin Mullins]

(although it's probably not worth the cost for a $20 flyback).

$20  is $20 ...... I'd still bring it up to whoever you bought it from and ask about it.
You might get lucky and they might actually assist you with a new one.
Explain the scenario and go from there.

[SirPeale]

Electrical parts like that generally have no warranty, unless they're damaged during transit or arrive in pre-damaged condition.  Once installed, thats usually the end of story.

But hey, if you get a replacement flyback out of it, more power to you.

How long was it between installing the flyback and hearing the ticking noise?

[siastbill1]

How long was it between installing the flyback and hearing the ticking noise?

I installed it about a week and a half ago, but I only noticed the "ticking/crackle" a few days ago. The only reason I even noticed it was because I had my cocktail open to measure the voltage for B+ (which was 110 instead of 120, and thus giving me a wavy picture). I'm not sure if the tick/crackle was happening before, as I noticed that I couldn't hear it with the cocktail closed (unless I stuck my head in the coin door )

I am assuming that adjusting B+ shouldn't have caused this, as I adjusted with a digital meter in very small increments.

/bill

[Kevin Mullins]

Electrical parts like that generally have no warranty,

Agreed.... due to installation errors, other component failures, etc they don't usually have warranties on electical/electronics.
But seeing how this is a flyback we're talking about which rarely goes bad due to "something else" I would hope that the vendor would understand the circumstances.

[FrizzleFried]

Who was the vendor BTW?

[siastbill1]

I got the entire G07 rebuild kit from Bob Roberts. Bob is a pretty decent guy, so I'm sure something could be worked out, but shipping there and back would undoubtedly be worth more than the cost of the flyback alone.

Right now everything is working nicely on the monitor, so I'm kinda tempted just to leave the old flyback in and enjoy the machine. I'm sure the flyback will die some day, but I believe that G07 flybacks should still be around in years to come, so I'm not too worried.

[SirPeale]

How bad was the buzz?  Just because it was making noise doesn't mean the flyback was necessarily bad.

[siastbill1]

Hey, it wasn't a buzz, but a crackle every few seconds. It sounded like something was arcing, but as mentioned earlier, I could not see anything with the lights out. Using a paper towel tube I isolated the crackle source to be the new flyback.

Again, here is the link to the mp3 I recorded of the noise. You can hear the crackle every few seconds:
http://www.billfriedrich.com/test/crackle1.mp3

[FrizzleFried]

Email Bob...

Hell,  he may just cut you some slack on a future order or something.

[Level42]

Why replace a working HVT ?

Are G07 HVT's likely to go bad ?

[siastbill1]

My understanding is that there is a large abundance of G07 flybacks going these days (probably due to their age). Even the arcade where I purchased my G07 mentioned that I should watch out for the flyback.

Now, seeing as I was doing a capkit, and seeing as how the price of a flyback is relatively cheap (~$20), it only made sense to do them all at the same time and avoid future hassles.

[Level42]

Makes sense. Normaly (if well built)  flybacks last very long, but indeed they're now about 25 years old....

[Kevin Mullins]

but indeed they're now about 25 years old....

That pretty much somes it up.

Even if you don't replace a flyback right off the bat while doing a cap kit, I would suggest at least having one available.

25 years will degrade ANY piece of equipment, especially one that has been used frequently.

Send Bob a note about the flyback, he might surprise ya who knows.