Troubleshooting astro ms-9

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Daniel B.
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Troubleshooting astro ms-9

Post by Daniel B. »

Hi gang,

I finally got in a Sega test PCB for my astro. I plugged it into the jamma cable and plugged it in.

I get absolutely no response from the cabinet. I pressed all of the buttons on the power supply and get nothing.

I've never powered on this cabinet in the 10 years I've owned it, but I do remember it powering on when I picked it up.

I'm unsure what to do, or what to expect. This is my first cab.

I will try to get some pictures of the power supply and wiring but I must say it all looks in really good condition considering what I've seen posted.

Very grateful for any advice or suggestions.
Last edited by Daniel B. on May 17th, 2021, 12:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by mRCaESaR »

Replacing all fuses would be the very first thing I'd do.

Do you have any other cabs to test if the PSU is dead?
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Daniel B. »

I don't have any other cabs to test the power supply in, unfortunately.

Are the fuses located inside of the power supply itself?
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by mRCaESaR »

There's a fuse inside the psu.

Not sure which astro city you have, but on my original astro city, there's a fuse on the bottom right of the psu (if looking at the switches as the front)

Also depending if the back plate has been modified or not, there could also be a fuse there too.
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Daniel B. »

I will get some photos uploaded here in just a bit once I get to work. I don't think the back plate has been modified. It's a first version astro city. I know there are a few different power supply models that have been used in the different models.
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Daniel B. »

http://imgur.com/a/HtzN1

Here is a few photos of the power supply and the PCB. There is also a spare plug that I am confused about. There doesn't appear to be anywhere to plug it in.
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Sp33dFr34k »

Could sure use a good cleaning :D

Do you have a multimeter? Can you measure power after the socket there? If it feeds ~100v then the issue is after the socket, so in the PSU.

That spare connector is the kick harness connector, you can just leave it unplugged. What's that little Syncro box? Also, may look a bit different in the pics, but is that red wire on your jamma loom securely connected? Is it the 5v one? Looks a bit fiddly.
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Daniel B. »

Sp33dFr34k wrote:Could sure use a good cleaning :D

Do you have a multimeter? Can you measure power after the socket there? If it feeds ~100v then the issue is after the socket, so in the PSU.

That spare connector is the kick harness connector, you can just leave it unplugged. What's that little Syncro box? Also, may look a bit different in the pics, but is that red wire on your jamma loom securely connected? Is it the 5v one? Looks a bit fiddly.

I will need to find my meter, and a pinout of the cable to test the throughput.

I'm not sure what the Syncro box is - I was hoping someone would mention that. I was in tight space in my cramped garage to get the pics and all so I have not followed the wires.

I did notice that there are several smaller wires that are soldered to pins on the connector edge - they seem firm, but again, I haven't even attempted to trace them back yet. I'm sure it could stand a refresh.

And yes, a good cleaning is definitely needed. I was just excited to test the monitor on this machine before I went full bore.

thank you!
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Daniel B. »

Update time.

I was able to remove the fuse inside the power supply but it looks brand new. Not blown.

The Syncro box has 4 or 5 wires that are connected to pins on the jamma edge connector, but I'm still not sure what it is for.

Still haven't found my meter so I have not been able to check the mains plug, but I believe it SHOULD be getting power as the powerstrip I'm connecting to is lit up and supplies power to a worklight.

Anyone have any insight on the syncro box or have more suggestions? I do appreciate any input as I am already way over my head.

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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Hrvat9 »

That synchro box I’m guessing will have to be part or some sort of game that was in that Astro once upon a time ago. You should see what pins it’s connected to on the jamma edge, maybe to the coin up pins? Also does the monitor have any static when you turn it on?
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Flinnster »

Hrvat9 wrote:That synchro box I’m guessing will have to be part or some sort of game that was in that Astro once upon a time ago. You should see what pins it’s connected to on the jamma edge, maybe to the coin up pins? Also does the monitor have any static when you turn it on?
I'd expect that's a box that either boosts the sync voltage or does some kind of sync cleaning for a non-standard monitor?
Looks like it has red, blue and white (video sync) wires going into it from the jamma edge connector.
Would need to see if it has green and a ground too.
Should connect to pins 12,13,14 on the top (parts) side, and N, P on the solder side.

Also need to see where the wires are that come out of the Synchro box... where are they going to (should be the monitor chassis, surely).

Not sure about that sega test PCB (it was just a **** workaround Asia product law...)
A pandoras box or similar may have been more useful as at least you can check it's powering on OK and the control loom connections are valid with an output to an external VGA monitor, even if the cabinet monitor is failing to power up.
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by mRCaESaR »

I would change the fuse anyway tbh. I had the same scenario where it "looked" like it hadn't blown, the moment I changed it, BOOM! Power! :)

The Syncro box looks like possibly a similar device to a sync strike or something. Does it have any inputs like VGA? Are there any visible switches?

The cables that are coming out of them look like an RGBS cable and I think I can see a GND coming out of it.. the red wire soldered to the Jamma edge looks like a +5v wire (which I'm guessing is powering up the syncro box)
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Daniel B. »

mRCaESaR wrote:I would change the fuse anyway tbh. I had the same scenario where it "looked" like it hadn't blown, the moment I changed it, BOOM! Power! :)
Can anyone tell me what type of fuse I need to get? Any chance of locating it somewhere local (auto parts store or something?), or does this need to be done online?

I will try to get some more done on the syncro this weekend but I'll probably just document where it's attached and remove it for the time being.

thanks so much everyone! One step closer!!!
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Sp33dFr34k »

Find your meter first and you'd be able to confirm whether the fuse is blown or not :)
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by yosai »

Do Astros have a power switch underneath like the E2? If so, have you tried that?
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by nem »

There's just two power switches in an Astro, one at the back and one on the PSU.

Echoing what everyone else has said, get a multimeter.
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Daniel B. »

nem wrote:There's just two power switches in an Astro, one at the back and one on the PSU.

Echoing what everyone else has said, get a multimeter.

I did not know there was a power switch on the back! It's been against a garage wall and I didn't have room cleared out to pull it out. I will definitely do this and report back!!!
I hope it's this simple!!!
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by nem »

:lol:

There's also a fuse at the back. You should check that as well.
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by Daniel B. »

Well,

It took me a while to get some nice weather to clean the garage out enough to pull the cab out and flick the power switch.

We have power!

However, I have no image on the screen, at all....but I can hear the static of the monitor turning on and off! Marquee light works as well.

I'm using 2 different sega "test boards" to test this monitor with but now think that an older pandora box maybe a better solution?

2 steps forward, 1 step back.

ugh.
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Re: Troubleshooting non powering astro. Newbie needs help!

Post by nem »

Try adjusting the brightness and contrast pots on the monitor remote board under the CP. You should at least get a grey screen if nothing else.
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