What's new

xRealNinjuzx

Student
Joined
May 26, 2016
Messages
126
Reaction score
23
Location
Greenville, NC
I asked Bagheera369 for assistance but I figured I should make a thread for this just for further assistance. So here's the story:

I finally got my TC3 machine into my shop the other day and its got problems.

The left player doesn't work at all. The mobo for it looks very different from the regular 246 on the player 2 side. It gets power all the way up to the cd drive and then the drive gets no power. The power supply is also kicking out CRAZY power, so the jumped fan is getting like 28v and spins like a plane propeller. I assumed that the power supply was fucked up, but i'm not so sure. It looks like there is something on the mobo that is supposed to regulate the voltage and it isn't working. It says VHF PCB on it, but I can't find anything even close to it anywhere online (i'll send pictures later when I get back in to the shop tomorrow). I had a tech come out and he traced everything and its getting power everywhere but the monitor doesnt come on (I assume it wont if the disc and stuff isnt loading) and the cd rom drive doesn't light up. Everything else is on and the player 2 side works with no issues. In order to get the disc out of the drive to see if it was working, I took it to a PC repair place right next door to my shop and they plugged it in and it fired right up and ejected the disc.

Any suggestions? I really need to get this thing working and the techs suggestion was to replace both monitors with 27 inch LCDs, replace the player 1 mobo and the player 1 power supply. I really don't wanna spend money on this fucking thing.
 
OK hold off on even considering changing the LCDs just yet as the screen will stay black until the disc boots. I actually had a motherboard that did the same thing and would not power the DVD-ROM. What I did was build a harness that feeds power to the motherboard but also feeds power to the DVD-ROM separately.

IMG_20170524_213033958.jpg


Now this might not totally work for you as I use a Sega-Capcom I/O JVS instead of the Namco JVS. However you get the idea that you don't run the power for the DVD-ROM through the motherboard.
 
Yeah, I don't plan on going the LCD route. That seems a bit egregious for the machine let alone to fix anything. I'll check that out and see what kind of results I get. Thanks mannn.
 
TC3 won't work with LCD anyway. It was either a crt or rear projection.
 
The power supply is also kicking out CRAZY power, so the jumped fan is getting like 28v and spins like a plane propeller. I assumed that the power supply was fucked up, but i'm not so sure.
you're getting 28V out of the PSU and YOURE NOT SURE!?

first of all, make sure that's the PCB PSU you're testing, these games have a 24V PSU for the kickback solenoid in the guns, it wouldn't suprise me if it was also hooked up to a cooling fan (lots of fans are designed to support 24V power). There should be a completely separate PSU for the PCB.

If this is the PCB PSU then replace that PSU, chances are it's damaged something else but you wont be able to trouble shoot futher until you're getting clean power.


t looks like there is something on the mobo that is supposed to regulate the voltage and it isn't working
that may be, but your System 246 should be getting 5V on the 5V power input pins and 12V on the 12V input pins, measure at the power connector on the PCB (while it's plugged in and running) and let us know exactly what you're getting.


the techs suggestion was to replace both monitors with 27 inch LCDs, replace the player 1 mobo and the player 1 power supply
If the tech suggested replacing the monitors with LCDs then don't use that tech again in the future as he really doesn't understand how this game works.... the TC3 guns will not function without an RGB CRT based display.

you may need a new PSU but that's like a $20-$30 investment, but meter out the voltages you're seeing first so we can determine if that's even necessary.
 
Thanks for the info. I haven't actually gotten in to it myself. This dude was supposed to come fix it as a part of a deal for some other stuff, but he wasn't able to make heads or tails out of it. I'm gonna spend some time with it probably tomorrow and see whats what and I will report back.
 
Twisted Symphony has you covered here.
Don't use the tech, if he's not smart enough/experienced enough to know that your guns need CRT's to function.
Take pictures of the PCB and PSU and wiring on P1 side, and report back, so we can determine what PCB and PSU you have.
Once that's determined, you will know what steps you need to take.
Don't worry...be patient.
As I've told a few folks on here/KLOV....I have spare I/o, 246 w/disc-dongle for TC3, and PSU's so I have you covered from top to bottom if you need parts,
and will do my best to be more than fair.

Just to confirm, P2 side has working monitor, working game, working gun, and plays 100% correct?

Also...the PSU in these games (for the 246) is a silver UNISAN PSU....the PSU for the guns, is gonna be a regular switching power supply specifically for the 24V to the two gun recoil lines.
Fans in the TC2/3 cabs are running on 120vAC...unless whoever you got the cab from did some major modifications...upper marquee will also be 120vAC.


Take a deep breath. We got ya.
 
I went to take pictures right now and the guy closed it up and I think he took my torx bits -_-
 
Ok. I went and bought a new set of bits and was able to get the back panel off and get some pictures.

unnamed (1).jpg
unnamed (3).jpg
 

Attachments

  • unnamed (2).jpg
    unnamed (2).jpg
    95.1 KB · Views: 503
  • unnamed.jpg
    unnamed.jpg
    51.4 KB · Views: 565
Thats the accurate PSU, and a normal 246 system with cdrom. Same thing that's been in EVERY TC3 i've ever worked on.
If thats the "weird one"...what's the one thats normal looking?

On that PSU, Red should be 5v, Orange 12v and Black is ground.
To measure voltage at board(6pin connector to main pcb)...put one lead on black , and the other on orange, and double check voltages...then do the same for black to red.
12v should be between 11.5-12.5, and 5v should be between 4.9 and 5.15/5.2 at the highest.

If its not that, or you still arent seeing a boot, report back.

Also, that little pcb is just the sound amp hence the Red and White RCA's and runs on the 12v rail.

Let us know what you find!
 
Ok. So I am still at this. I tried everything I could think of and I still wasn't getting any action. I bought and replaced the power supply with an identical unit, and it didn't fix the problem. I measured the levels and I am getting +5 and +12 properly. It's super weird. I disassembled the mobo and cleaned it up and checked the connections just to make sure it was all good, and everything was nice and tight and still no go.
 
so you've confirmed good power to the game board. but you're still not getting power at the CD drive. have you tried powering the CD drive directly from the PSU?
 
No I haven't. Would I need to make a harness like Dreygor said or is there another way to do it? Because I have no clue how I would make that work.
 
Maybe... CD drives use normal 4-pin "Molex" connectors. and those Uni-san power supplies often include some spare 4-pin molex connectors, other wise you'd have to build a simple adapter harness.

Take a picture of what connectors are available from your power supply and what the connectors look like where the CD drive and we can give you a better idea of what you need.
 
These are the connectors on the power supply. There is a regular 4 pin molex on the CD drive, the same as pretty much every CD drive. I will take it apart again and take a picture if necessary.
 

Attachments

  • connectors power supply.jpg
    connectors power supply.jpg
    55.3 KB · Views: 339
These are the connectors on the power supply. There is a regular 4 pin molex on the CD drive, the same as pretty much every CD drive. I will take it apart again and take a picture if necessary.
ok so the 3-pin connector is AC input, the other connectors are DC ouput
black = ground
red = 5V
yellow = 12V

there should be a diagram sticker on the PSU that confirms this.

this wire coloring is the same as the molex plug on the CD drive.

I'm assuming one of the DC plugs is used by the game board and the other is free? if so:

get a 4-pin extension cable like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014XDBIA/?tag=aurobius-20
the then a 12 pin molex connector that matches your PSU like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0027SAAT4/?tag=aurobius-20
(you might be able to find one cheaper on eBay... you really only need one side of the housing and no pins)

then you remove the pins from the 4-pin connector and put them in the correct locations in the 12 pin connector
you can use a Molex pin extraction tool: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0094MIS9U/?tag=aurobius-20


or you can use a small screwdriver or tweezers and try not to mangle the pins


this is called "re-pinning" where you're basically taking an existing harness and just changing around the wire positions, it's much easier than building a harness from scratch.
 
Ok. I'll order them all now and report back on this one after it shows up Monday or Tuesday.

Thank youuuuu
 
You never actually showed us photos of the board you said was different? I was still waiting on that for further directions.....
Also, on the PSU inside TC3, Its 5v RED, and 12v ORANGE, same as the power connector on the front of the 246....important distinction.
 
Ok, so here are the 2 boards side by side. I just noticed that I am retarded, and one is a 246 and the other is a different revision. Learning things all the time.
 

Attachments

  • Magic Gate Player 1 Side.jpg
    Magic Gate Player 1 Side.jpg
    86.7 KB · Views: 406
  • Magic Gate Player 2 Side.jpg
    Magic Gate Player 2 Side.jpg
    81 KB · Views: 443
Last edited:
Back
Top