Hook - Locks up and becomes unresponsive - Any advice?

[Timmy]

Hey all.

I wonder if anyone might be able to provide some pointers, please.

So, this is what happens:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/taf5mtivujr8jzx/IMG_0940.MOV?dl=0

There doesn't seem to be a pattern to this, it plays well and then suddenly the flippers stop and the ball falls down.

Another time the ball went into the cannon bit (the hole on the right where it shoots out after getting it in the skull), the flippers continued to work but the ball didn't come back out, the machine didn't try to fire like it does when a ball is missing.

Sometimes it just happens when you leave the ball in the shooter lane for 5 minutes (when chatting with friends or getting a drink).

I've checked connections, they all seem to be firmly in. I checked fuses, they all seem to be ok to me. Though I did have a couple blow (same one) within a week, seems fine now. The one that blew was the one that controls the flipper and right bit that fires the ball up the table after a skill shot.

In the video above the score was off, but that doesn't always happen either:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m1s13m7kt6ngy5w/IMG_0937.MOV?dl=0

If the machine is left turned on, but no game, it also locks up after a while.

Restarting the machine seems to fix it, that is until it happens again. There is no set amount of time for it to occur, I've played for hours without an issue, then other times it's been pretty short.

Appreciate any help and guidance you can all offer.

Cheers

 

[pinballmania]

I would guess that the 5v supply is dropping below minimum allowed. You can also see that the display is repeatedly resetting which is a sign of low 5v. Look at the power supply pcb and see if there’s any scorching on the 4x3 square connector. If that’s clean then there is a capacitor on the board at c25 which often causes low volts and should be replaced.

 

[pinballmania]

Correction. C2. 100uf 25v

 

[Timmy]

Thanks

Connector looks clean, so I guess I gotta look to change C2.

Seems I gotta buy one in, is there anything else this might be that I should maybe get the parts for just in case?

Photo included, not sure if that helps.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4jcfbd82vwtglpp/Photo 15-01-2018, 15 05 13.jpg?dl=0

 

[pinballmania]

If you have a meter it’s worth checking the 5v during working and fault conditions to confirm you get low 5v. Will save you wasting time changing it if not needed.

 

[Timmy]

Appreciate this. Thank you.

I’ll ask one of my mates to take a peek, never really thought on before but he has a tester.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Timmy]

I took it off and tested, looked good.

A fella dropped off another machine for me (yay!) and had a quick look. He tapped on the CPU and memory, the issue appeared to happen when he did this on the CPU. He then mentioned there were signs that a battery leaked in the past but had been cleaned up good. Board looks good, but looked like a bit might have been missed though, he suspected maybe the CPU wasn't taken out and done properly.

It seems to be working faultlessly now but he advised I should take them out and clean at some point, at least for the time being it isn't having any issues.

Thanks again!