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Initial D Twin - Black screen one side after extended play

UltimateTofu

UltimateTofu

Student
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Pasadena, CA
Hi All, I could use some help troubleshooting a recent issue I’ve been having with my Initial D ver 3 Twin USA cabinet.

The pair have been running well for a few years and have had play sessions of 6+ hours with only the occasional card jam. But recently anywhere between 45 mins to 3 hours of use and the master side which has the main power plug would cut to a black screen and cause the slave side to reboot to checking network waiting for the master cab to come back online. The longer I wait to reboot the cabinet the higher the chance of the master side booting up clean for bit or else it will stay at a black screen. I’ve also noticed if I leave the cabinet off for a few weeks the link settings and records reset.

Any suggestions on which parts I should inspect and or replace?
 
Ok I’ll get a probe and find the spots to check. Should I be checking every extra io board this dedicated cab has too or mainly just the main naomi 2 mobo?
 
Just insert the meter leads in the power connectors on the front of the Naomi motherboard. Brown for 3.3V, yellow for 5V, red for 12V and white for ground. Check both 3.3V and 5V.

UltimateTofu said:
I’ve also noticed if I leave the cabinet off for a few weeks the link settings and records reset.
Click to expand...
It probably needs to load the game to memory too. That's the DIMM board battery running out of juice.
 
Thanks for all your help nem!

My problem was definitely voltage related.
When I tested the power being delivered to the mobo the values looked good, but I went ahead and swapped it with a spare Sun PSU I had lying around that I knew was good. Turns out it wasn’t either PSU, but rather a dip in power from the wall when the AC unit for my house kicked in. I’m now looking for a power conditioner with battery backup for consistent power delivery and will only run the cabs with the AC for the house turned off (Initial D is in the garage anyway)

nem said:
It probably needs to load the game to memory too. That's the DIMM board battery running out of juice.
Click to expand...
I thought it loading the game into memory was normal for every boot lol! For the DIMM battery is it just a normal CR2032? It would be nice to save the course records more consistently.
 
Glad you got to the bottom of it.

UltimateTofu said:
I thought it loading the game into memory was normal for every boot lol! For the DIMM battery is it just a normal CR2032? It would be nice to save the course records more consistently.
Click to expand...
There's a coin cell CR2032 on the motherboard under the DIMM board. Try first swapping that battery to a fresh one. The DIMM board battery is two 18650 batteries wired in series:

https://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/Sega_Naomi_DIMM_board_and_GD-ROM#DIMM_board_Battery

If you have a working battery in the DIMM board, the game will just check that the DIMM memory is OK and then boot to the game. It's a good one to two minutes faster to boot.

Most games save settings and high scores on the motherboard (not sure on Initial D), so if you're fine waiting, then you don't have to have a DIMM board battery at all. Check if the batteries are in the carts and either replace them or just leave them out. I wouldn't keep them connected if they won't recharge.
 
Thanks again for all your insight nem!

Unfortunately the one side still turns itself off although power is good. I tested power again after the mobo turned off and noticed the usually noisy Naomi was quiet. I tapped the mobo with it still receiving power from the main cab and heard the CPU fans spin back up and the game started to boot up again. It was only a matter of time before the fan stopped working and turned the mobo off again. Today I took apart the mobo and noticed one of the two CPU fans has a bad bearing and allows the fan to visibly wobble.

I’m located in the USA and found replacement fans through https://m.distrelec.biz/en/axial-fa...hfb44b05a/p/30037287?track=true&no-cache=true but couldn’t find a way to place an order based on my location :(

Does anyone have a replacement fan or 4 they’d be willing to sell or any vendors that will ship to California?
 
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