GALAGA Sprite problem (FIXED)

[BUCKETHEAD]

I turned on my GALAGA today, Haven't played it in a week.

Everything is fine, Except when i shoot the sprites.

Instead of the firework explosion you get after shooting them.

I get a bunch of lines and junk, Then my point total.

Any ideas what this could be?

A bad rom chip maybe ?

I ran the test mode, And everything passed.

Any help would be most appreciated !

Thanks !

[RetroACTIVE]

Out of curiosity... have you ever cleaned the custom chips?  Those darn things have so much silver in them they oxidize wicked bad!  The pins tarnish and eventually get weak and fail... If you've not already cleaned them... start with the 04XX chip.
 

[BUCKETHEAD]

Thanks so much!

I Removed and Reseated all the Rom chips.

And fired her back up, And BAM !

The sprite fireworks problem is gone! 

I did remove and clean all the chips not that long ago.

So i don't know what happened? But im glad it's gone!

I have been through alot with this board already!

Just curious?

Where can i pick up a new set of these chips?

Some of them just look plain OLD !

Again, Thank you so much !

[Malenko]

Id guess hobbyroms.com thats where I got NBA Jam TE 2.0 roms made for me

[RetroACTIVE]

I second hobbyroms.com... excellent to deal with.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Thanks guys!

I will give them a try.   

[SirPeale]

How are you cleaning them?

Are the sockets they plug into gold plated?  That could be part of the problem.  Gold reacts with tin forming corrosion.

[BUCKETHEAD]

I can't remember if the sockets are gold or not?

I cleaned the chips with a dremel and a small wire wheel attachment.

I put the board back in the machine.

And now it's back up against the wall.

I really don't want to move it back out and check.

It's a pain you know? 

I will keep the corrosion in mind.

Thanks so much!