CPS2-No warm boot

[inserttoken]

(First off, I am new here and it wasn't very clear to me whether this forum is specifically for DarkSoft or whether this is a general arcade project forum. Also wasn't clear to me based on the section descriptions whether this Capcom CPS2 section is generally for CPS2 related questions or whether it's specific to DarkSoft support for CPS2. Apologize in advance if this forum/section is only for DarkSoft.)

I recently got my hands on a Japanese A board and a Japanese B board for the Street Fighter Zero 3 game. I don't believe either has been recapped but the B board has had the original battery removed and replaced with a battery holder and a new battery inserted in 2020. I have an appropriate Jamma harness and for video I am using a VGA converter and outputting to an 1280x1024 LCD panel. For audio, I am using the L/R audio connectors on the A board and sending it to an amplifier with two speakers attached.

On a cold boot, everything seems to work fine. The game boots, I get video and audio, picture looks great and the game seems to work.

On a subsequent power cycle, the system will not boot. Fan goes on but no video and no audio. It doesn't seem to be booting. I have to pull power and leave it for 3-5 minutes and then if I power up it works again.

This doesn't seem normal to me but since this is my first foray into these old arcade games, I thought I'd ask. Given the symptoms, I'm assuming it might be capacitor related but normally I see issues with cold boots, not warm boots when it comes to capacitor issues. Anyhow, I know my way around replacing capacitors/fixing PCBs as I have spent time restoring vintage computers. I have replacement caps/super cap for the A board and will be replacing those soon.

For recapping the B board, any extra precautions given the suicide battery? If I leave the battery alone while I'm removing/replacing the caps on the B board, should everything go ok? Just want to ensure I don't brick the B board.

Thanks!

 

[ack]

Hi

Welcome to the forums.

It sounds like there is a fault with the reset circuit on the A board. Specifically I think its likely the capacitor that part of it is bad. Its a small ceramic capacitor labeled CC29 on the A board. Its a little to the left of the BGSA1 PAL chip. I would try replacing that and see if it helps.

 

[inserttoken]

Thanks, appreciate the response. Hopefully a recap of the A board resolves it, hoping to get to it this weekend.

Any advice on the B board? I have read that there's a capacitor which will hold enough charge (10 minutes? 30 minutes? 1 hour?) while you replace the battery. Not clear to me whether this capacitor is the supercap on the A board or whether it's one of the capacitors on the B board (I would assume it's on the B board otherwise you can't replace the battery while the B board is not connected to the A board). I'm hoping as long as I have a working battery installed on the B board, I should be able to replace the caps on the B board without bricking the game.

 

[inserttoken]

Well good news, the problem I was having is resolved. I replaced all the electrolytic capacitors on the A board and also swapped out CC29 with another 1uF ceramic capacitor. Two of the electrolytic capacitors gave off the usual fishy smell when desoldered and were leaking. The other capacitors were clean. All of them tested within 10% tolerance (capacitance) off the board. Now everything is working as expected and subsequent reboots work without any issue.

Also took the time to replace the fan with a Noctua. They do make a 60x60x15mm so same size as the original fan. I just had to cut a 2mm notch in one of the plastic fan supports to allow the fan cable from the Noctua to clear (the cable is in a different location than the stock fan). Noticeably quieter than the stock fan. Yes, I could have just reduced the voltage on the stock fan by moving it to a 5V supply instead of 12V, but decided to go with the Noctua.

Gave the PCB a full IPA bath. And also cleaned the plastic case with soap and water.

Next is the B board. Still curious whether anyone has info on whether it's safe to recap the capacitors on that board as long as I have the battery in place. Or whether there's any risk killing the board going through the recapping process. Obviously won't be giving the B board an IPA bath as I can't remove the battery or cause any shorts due to the whole suicide thing. Will just have to clean it using compressed air.

 

[kazuo]

It's fine, nothing is going to happen as long as you have a working battery in circuit.

Worst case, get an Infinikey. If you absolutely need to have a ticking time bomb in there for some reason, install Infinikey, install new battery, remove Infinikey. Problem solved.

Good luck!

 

[inserttoken]

It's fine, nothing is going to happen as long as you have a working battery in circuit.

Worst case, get an Infinikey. If you absolutely need to have a ticking time bomb in there for some reason, install Infinikey, install new battery, remove Infinikey. Problem solved.

Good luck!

Great, thanks!