What's new

New Astro City MS9 not starting up

W

wabbylegs

Beginner
Joined
Dec 17, 2022
Messages
28
Reaction score
9
Location
USA
Hi everyone I recently acquired my first cab but the monitor isn't powering on. Prior to shipping it they sent photos of it running but when it arrived I get nothing, no neck glow or static but I can hear the game running. Re-seated connections, still no go. I've managed to remove the chassis and gave it some cleaning as well as reflowed as many joints as I felt comfortable with doing.

Is there any particular component that is likely the cause? I checked the fuse (there's only one right?) and I have continuity so based on research I checked the mosfet. I'm very new to electronics but I tried the turn-on test and I believe it's failing. My multimeter shows voltage increasing until OL when I have black on S and red on D. Then when I touch gate with the red prong and go back to D I don't have a lowered reading. Could that be a sign of something or am I just doing it wrong?

I assumed it would be a cold joint somewhere since it was working when the seller had it. I'd appreciate any help or suggestions.
 
Check all the solder points for the vertical ICs that are mounted to heatsinks. The traces often lift from the board due to heat and reflowing makes it look like they are still making contact. Given vibration from journey over to you, probably first thing I would check.
 
Hey thanks for the suggestion. So tonight I went through and I didn't see any busted traces. It's likely due to inexperience but I really didn't see anything out of the ordinary, especially on the those heatsink mounted ICs. I'm starting to worry it could be anything at this point. If there's nothing else to take a look at visually or with a multimeter I'm thinking I should throw in the towel and send it to sharp image repair.
 
It could be a cold solder joint on PSU section, this solved mine. Also reflow the neckboard.
 
I'll take a closer look at those two, thanks. I think what I'll do is reflow some more and then hook it all back up and give it a shot. If there's a change then I'll keep hunting otherwise if still completely dead I can try the repair service route.
 
Sorry to jump in, but I have a similar issue with my Astro City cabinet: the monitor suddenly shut down and won't turn on—no neck glow or static and had a slight burnt smell, suspecting the flyback is dead. I'm wondering what the problem is; I have no electronics experience, so I'll ask a friend to check the chassis, though it doesn't seem chassis-related. anyway I hope you got yours fixed!
 
Hey mine was a result of caps and cold solder joints. No amount of reflowing on my end worked so I sent it off to Sharp Image Repair (amazing service). I'm pretty new too but your description definitely seems chassis related. A burn smell probably means something did fail on there if you aren't getting a neck glow. Do your game boards still run? Like you hear game audio when you power it on? Hopefully your friend spots the issue but I see your location is Hong Kong, there must be expert services still there who can help you too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top