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You are here: Experts > Shopping > Video Games > Video Game Repair > pacman screen issue
Expert: Octane - 11/3/2009
Question
QUESTION: I recently acquired a pacman cocktail machine and turned it on. I get sound. I get lights. I can drop in coins and get credits. I can start a game and move around and hear it all working. But I DON'T GET anything on the screen. I opened the cabinet and cleaned everything out. unplugged and replugged everything. Still nothing on the screen. I don't get a glow from it or anything. Can I just mount a standard T.V. into it to replace the tube?
ANSWER: Gday Brian,
Sounds like you have a problem relating to the monitor. If the game turns on, your marquee lights up, it has sound and plays like it okay even though you can't see a picture (IE put in a credit and play as see if the sounds sound right) Then you have monitor problems.
Manual...
http://www.crazykong.com/manuals/PacMan.man.pdf
Which could be fuse, wiring, power or the Monitor.
First basic test you can do is with the machine turned on and the back off look in the neck of the monitor. If it has power you should see a glow. (Provided the tube has not blown)
Fuse.
Check the bottom of the machine there are a number of fuses located there they are for both the monitor and gameboard. Check and replace if need be. NB occasionally some monitors will have a fuse or fuses mounted on the chassis (Circuit board underneath the monitor. An original Pacman should not but occasionally these monitors get replaced.)
Wiring.
Check the wiring going to and from the monitor, disconnect and reconnect any plug (Molex) and probably the main harness going to the PCB. There should be a power wire going back to the Fuse/Transformers Board and a RGB wire going to the main harness.
Power.
Unfortunately you going to need some kind of Multimeter to check this. You need to check the voltage coming off the Transformer and going to the Monitor. Most older Arcade games have a separate Transformer for the monitor. Occasionally the Transformer will go bad and will not supply power to the monitor. These are alittle cheaper then replacing the whole monitor. NB You will be checking for AC and set the multimeter accordingly as the Transformers convert it from mains DC.
Monitor.
Unfortunately if you have confirmed that you have good power up to the monitor and it is not working then usually you have a problem with the monitor. (The monitor is the most dangerous pieces of equipment in the machine. If you don't know what you are doing then don't do it) Could be the tube, chassis or flyback transformer. So you are then faced with repair or replacement. (A monitor to replace this NEW would cost around $200, a LCD one would be around $400, second hand much cheaper) to get someone to look at it you probably need a good TV Tube repairman (Since they are fairly similar)
You could replace the Monitor with a TV but you will need a RGB CGA to TV converter. (which are around the 25-60 mark) plus all the work of getting the TV monitor out of its casing and mounting it in the cabnet. All TV do not have a nice frame to mount in your unit.
Hope this gives you a push in the right direction.
Octane
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: after talking to the person I bought it from I am told that the screen went all blue before conking out completely. I do not get a glow from the neck of the monitor and I have not yet had a chance to source out a multimeter to check if the monitor is getting power at all.
Pending a worst case scenario with the monitor needing to be replaced. Where or how could I find an appropriate replacement?
Thank you very much for the prompt reply to my questions.
Answer
Gday Again Daryl,
Depending on where about you are I would do a search for Arcade parts, maybe you have a dealer locally. You could always ask anywhere there are Arcade machines in your area and see who services them, usually they point you in the right direction.
Failing that you could always try Ebay. (Although there are fewer monitors there when then when I last checked)
Of if in the USA www.happcontrols.com has just about everything you'll ever need arcade wise. (although alittle expensive I usually feel)
Best place I've picked up really cheap second hand monitors are at Police Auctions (Because they are always auctioning off illegal run 8 liners which just happen to have 19 inch arcade monitors in them)
Hope this helps you again.
Octane
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