Checking and reseating solid-state board connectors
Steps
- Switch the game off and ground yourself; never plug or unplug connectors with power on.
- Inspect each connector for burned plastic and loose wires.
- Pull each connector straight off by its housing, not the wires and without rocking it, then push it straight back on, checking the key lines up and no pin is missed.
- Look at the base of each header pin on the board for a ring crack in the solder; reflow cracked pins.
- Clean flux off with alcohol on a swab afterwards, as flux can hold solder specks that short pins.
Touch the cabinet ground before handling boards or chips; static can destroy solid-state parts.
Systems
- Williams System 3
- Williams System 4
- Williams System 6 / 6A
- Williams System 7
- Williams System 9
- Williams System 11
- Williams System 11A
- Williams System 11B
- Williams System 11C
- WPC Alpha-Numeric
- WPC Dot Matrix
- WPC Fliptronics
- WPC DCS
- WPC-Security (WPC-S)
- WPC-95
- Bally MPU AS-2518-17
- Bally MPU AS-2518-35
- Stern MPU-100
- Stern MPU-200
- Bally 6803
- Gottlieb System 1
- Gottlieb System 80
- Gottlieb System 80A
- Gottlieb System 80B
- Gottlieb System 3
- Data East CPU Version 1/2
- Data East CPU Version 3
- Data East/Sega CPU Version 3b
- Capcom
Related tips
- Label solid-state head connectors before unplugging
- Reseating socketed chips
- Solid-state lamps out from bad connectors or header pins
- Burned lamp connectors on a solid-state game
- System 1 CPU board connectors
- System 1 driver board connectors
- CPU connectors that fail most
- System 11 CPU board connectors
Source: Pinball Machine Care & Maintenance, Bernard B. Kamoroff (Bell Springs Pinball Alley)