Dragon's Lair Fans - Arcade Lifestyle
General Chat => Technical Area => Topic started by: Superully on June 06, 2010, 08:29:37 PM
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ok guys, i'm having trouble with my congo bongo: when i turn it on, all i get is a green screen :'(. but let me back up and go into greater detail: when i picked up the congo bongo, the seller had told me that occasionally the game doesn't work, because there seems to be some kind of shortage / loose connection on the power assembly. in order to prevent this, he came up with a "very modern fix": he stuck a beer coaster behind the connector to prevent it from "jumping out". obviously this seemed to work, because i never had any troubles with the game and therefore didn't investigate any further. here's a picture of the power assembly and the beer coaster - i have already removed the cable, but i'm sure you get the picture, right?
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4674805377_da3ab87073_b.jpg)
closer with out the beer coaster
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4675428120_c3811eaa41_b.jpg)
even closer: one can clearly see the burn marks on two pins
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4674804833_dda2189375_b.jpg)
view from the back. note that the two pins with the burn marks obviously have been bridged with a wire! what's the use of that?
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/4674804469_fca78f1275_b.jpg)
and finally the "burned" connector :o!
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/4675428316_a08ee9760e_b.jpg)
questions:
- do i have to replace the connector?
- what are your suggestions? ;)
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Beers are clearly getting back at you, switch the beer-coaster to a soda-coaster and it will work again... ;D
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Looks like you will need to replace the pins AND the connector.
Be sure to use "pins" IN the connector that have THREE contact surfaces ! Very often they use a pine with only 1 surface (this I learned from Andreas).
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Looks like you will need to replace the pins AND the connector.
Be sure to use "pins" IN the connector that have THREE contact surfaces ! Very often they use a pine with only 1 surface (this I learned from Andreas).
thx andré, a couple more questions:
- where do i get the connector and the pin thingy?
- any idea what the function of that bridging wire could be?
- what caused the connection to "burn" and how can i prevent that from happening again?
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i had something simular in the past, not in arcade hardware though, but in a old server
it could be high current through a bad connection, so its "sparking" in the connector, its acting like a resistor causing heat
that was the case in my situation, but i dont know if this is the case in your situation
a new "inside" in my connector and cleaning the pin was doing the trick in my case
i took a new "inside" from another simular connector and solderd the wire to the replacement connector
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i took a new "inside" from another simular connector
what do you mean with "new inside"?
and if there is high current flowing though that connector, what prevents if from happening again once i've changed the parts?
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Looks like you will need to replace the pins AND the connector.
Be sure to use "pins" IN the connector that have THREE contact surfaces ! Very often they use a pine with only 1 surface (this I learned from Andreas).
thx andré, a couple more questions:
- where do i get the connector and the pin thingy?
- any idea what the function of that bridging wire could be?
- what caused the connection to "burn" and how can i prevent that from happening again?
The pins you need are called trifurcon pins.
The best source is GPE - http://greatplainselectronics.com/
I'm guessing those are 0.156 connectors but measure to be sure.
I'm guessing the bridge was either to replace a physical bridge on the PCB that got damaged or both pins carry the same thing so someone just "reinforced" them.
The burn is most probably due to a bad connection (as Andre says, the trifurcon connectors will get you a better hold, as they grab from multiple sides of the pin). It could also be bad design and a cable that's not the right gauge for the current carried (the wires looks smaller to those pins on the photo), it's more unusual but some pinballs are known to have that problem if I remember correctly.
It's an extra expense, but if you can, order a crimper for the connectors also, it'll make your life much easier (and I just rebuilt a pinball connector for someone who did it without the proper tools, I speak from experience :) )
Colin
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Got a similar problem 5 years ago... :arrow:
(https://www.dragonslairfans.com/forforum/mesa290ok.jpg)
...it was on my Mesa Boogie 2:90 power amp.
I had to replace the burned connector ( now, it's directly fix on the board...not the best option I know now :oops: ) and change one transistor. Done by the official technician from my guitar shop.
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The pins you need are called trifurcon pins.
thx colin! those trifurcon pins are the ones which go into the white connector, right? but where do i get the connector itself? link would be great ... ;)
PLUS: do i have to replace this part as well? :arrow:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4674804833_dda2189375_b.jpg)
if so, where can i get that?
sorry for those seemingly stupid questions, but this is totally new territory, so every help i can get is appreciated!
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forgot something: which crimper would you suggest to order?
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its nice to have a connector ofcourse, but you can solder the wires straight to the pins / board, this eliminates bad contacts..
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i took a new "inside" from another simular connector
what do you mean with "new inside"?
and if there is high current flowing though that connector, what prevents if from happening again once i've changed the parts?
i mean the "clamping pieces of metal" inside the wire connector ;D
dont know how else to explain ;D
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The pins you need are called trifurcon pins.
thx colin! those trifurcon pins are the ones which go into the white connector, right? but where do i get the connector itself? link would be great ... ;)
PLUS: do i have to replace this part as well? :arrow:
<photo>
if so, where can i get that?
sorry for those seemingly stupid questions, but this is totally new territory, so every help i can get is appreciated!
Yeah, there are so many of those connectors it gets complicated.
The female connector should be this one - http://greatplainselectronics.com/search.asp?pg=1&stext=CS156-10-LR&sprice=&stype=&scat=
that one locks/clicks into place, which seems to be the case on yours (the white edge at the back).
The contacts are these ones - http://greatplainselectronics.com/search.asp?pg=1&stext=08-52-0113&sprice=&stype=&scat=
The cheap crimper at the bottom of that page will do ($15). I have that one, it's only problem is the plastic sleeves one the handles kept slipping off, so I put some super glue in there and they've been fine ever since.
I don't think you need to change the header pins, they're already the square ones so will make good contact. You probably just need to sand/clean them.
In case you do it's this one - http://greatplainselectronics.com/search.asp?pg=1&stext=CH156-10A-SFL-T&sprice=&stype=&scat=
But it's out of stock right now. You can, however, just get an 11 pin one and cut the lats pin off.
Make sure the size is right first though. (3.96mm = 0.156")
Colin
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Make sure the size is right first though. (3.96mm = 0.156")
thx a lot for those links, colin :spaceace:! what does the size stand for? the length of the pins?
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Make sure the size is right first though. (3.96mm = 0.156")
thx a lot for those links, colin :spaceace:! what does the size stand for? the length of the pins?
The spacing between the pins, from center to center.
Colin
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while i'm at it, i'd like to add some molex connectors to my order as well. what is the standard size used on most arcade games? 0.062, 0.084 or 0.093?
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Depends on the game I think
Check out Bob Roberts, he has size comparisons:
http://www.therealbobroberts.net/conectas.html
Colin
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a small package from the usa has arrived
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1427/4732960564_7c33a12478_b.jpg)
in it, the parts needed to replace that burned connector
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1043/4732315923_9aa45803d8_b.jpg)
question: can i remove the pins from the connector without cutting the wires or is this the only option i have? i'm just asking because i don't want to shorten the original wiring ...
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4063/4675428316_a08ee9760e_b.jpg)
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Just cut the wires, you are talking about 1 (one!) cm or so. :roll: Or is your wire loom really short?
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back to this one, finally found the time and quiet to tackle the problem :P
after some testing, i found out that the individual pins could easily be removed with the help of a sharp thin object
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4901293027_44d8073aca_b_d.jpg)
to make sure i don't confuse some of the wires, i labeled them individually
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4901293525_7cd88c57c4_b_d.jpg)
though just some of the pins were burned, i replaced all of them just to make sure. here's the new connector :arrow:
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4096/4901292411_66fafc158d_z_d.jpg) (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4901293683_ae880315e3_z_d.jpg)
let's find out if the operation yielded the desired result - time to plug in the game!!!
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4901880158_888b7881ee_b_d.jpg)
YEAH BABY!!! the troubles in congo bongo country have been fixed, thx a lot to everyone who helped me out here! :spaceace: :spaceace: :spaceace:
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to make sure i don't confuse some of the wires, i labeled them individually
smart thinking nr 1 ;)
though just some of the pins were burned, i replaced all of them just to make sure.
smart thinking nr 2 :D
before you know it the others start to burn due to corosion/bad conductivity
did you clean the pins on the board too btw ?
YEAH BABY!!! the troubles in congo bongo country have been fixed, thx a lot to everyone who helped me out here! :spaceace: :spaceace: :spaceace:
the result of smart thinking 1 & 2 ;D
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did you clean the pins on the board too btw ?
thx etienne, sometimes i can be a smart thinker indeed ;D
as for the pins: are you talking about the ones where the new connector plugs onto? if that's the case, then the answer is YES, I CLEANED THEM!
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Yes the ones that the plug on to, the new are ok i persume :D
very good my friend ;)
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Nice to see your board working Ully! I must play Congo Bongo, i have never had the luck to see that game here!