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Author Topic: PCB Cleaning  (Read 5878 times)
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xcaliber
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« on: March 07, 2015, 09:24:15 pm »

Guys,

I have a Crystal Castles that when I power it on I get garbage, but when it stays on for 15 minutes the game is fine....looks great and plays great. The test mode shows everything is ok. The PCB is dirty, should I re-seat the chips? Also, can the PCB be washed? I've seen videos that show the monitor being washed, but I haven't seen a PCB be washed. As always thanks for the help.

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VertexGuy
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« Reply #1 on: March 08, 2015, 12:02:46 am »

that's my guess..  when the chip legs heat up they expand so it might be making a tighter contact when that happens.
be reeeeeally careful with those chip legs sir.
get some really fine grit sand paper and gently brush the legs until you think they will make a decent contact.
when you reseat them make sure every leg is lined up and going in before you give it a push in.
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xcaliber
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« Reply #2 on: March 08, 2015, 03:55:22 pm »

I pulled all the chips, sanded, and re-seated them. It still comes on with some garbage and then 15 minutes later I can play. Any other suggestions?
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SanTe
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« Reply #3 on: March 08, 2015, 07:56:56 pm »

I pulled all the chips, sanded, and re-seated them. It still comes on with some garbage and then 15 minutes later I can play. Any other suggestions?

I'd suspect the edge connector at this point.  Clean the PCB contacts and then re-seat the wiring harness connector.  If it doesn't feel like it has a tight grip on the PCB's contacts when you slide it back on it's likely the springs in the connector have lost tension over the years/decades and the edge connector could use rebuilding.
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xcaliber
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« Reply #4 on: March 08, 2015, 09:48:12 pm »

Is an eraser the best tool to clean the PCB contact or is there something better than that?
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VertexGuy
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« Reply #5 on: March 08, 2015, 10:03:22 pm »

I pulled all the chips, sanded, and re-seated them. It still comes on with some garbage and then 15 minutes later I can play. Any other suggestions?

You may have a bad cap on the board..
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VertexGuy
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« Reply #6 on: March 08, 2015, 10:04:00 pm »

Is an eraser the best tool to clean the PCB contact or is there something better than that?

yeah I use a big pink eraser , then a paper towel with windex.
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iankellogg
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« Reply #7 on: March 09, 2015, 09:31:40 am »

Is an eraser the best tool to clean the PCB contact or is there something better than that?

I use paper towels and rubbing alcohol. If its really really bad I sometimes use a brillo pad, or one of those scotch brand green scrubbing things you use for dishes and pans.  The key is to be light and not destroy the copper. If you are cleaning legs on a chip. go VERY VERY light, you only need to clean just a bit off to make it good. If you push too hard you WILL break the leg, especially atari custom chips and konami chips.
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xcaliber
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« Reply #8 on: March 09, 2015, 09:38:31 am »

I will clean the PCB contacts today and update you guys.
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HarrieD
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« Reply #9 on: March 09, 2015, 02:19:12 pm »

I will clean the PCB contacts today and update you guys.

Try some freeze spray on the warmed up board. Spray some on the chips to rule out bad integrated circuits.
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xcaliber
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« Reply #10 on: March 09, 2015, 03:10:36 pm »

Alright guys,

I have good news and bad news. Good news is I cleaned the PCB contacts and the game now shows moving garbage instead of still garbage. Also, the game is playable in about five minutes instead of fifteen minutes. The bad news is that I think you guys are right about the edge connector. When I pulled the edge connector off I noticed that it come off with almost no effort. So, that may be the problem.
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iankellogg
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« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2015, 07:07:17 am »

when you first turn the game on, try wiggling the connector to see if you can make it fire up even momentarily.
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xcaliber
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« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2015, 09:11:17 pm »

Update on the Crystal Castles....I rebuilt the audio/power board and "tinned" (don't know if I used that properly) the edge connector. I wiggled the wires like you suggested Ian, but still same problem. I had a buddy let me borrow his working pcb and still the same problem. Any suggestions?
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iankellogg
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« Reply #13 on: March 18, 2015, 09:18:38 pm »

Update on the Crystal Castles....I rebuilt the audio/power board and "tinned" (don't know if I used that properly) the edge connector. I wiggled the wires like you suggested Ian, but still same problem. I had a buddy let me borrow his working pcb and still the same problem. Any suggestions?

No no no no.  Don't put solder on the edge connector ever.

It's still possible your edge connector is just too damaged to do the job.
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xcaliber
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« Reply #14 on: March 18, 2015, 09:20:45 pm »

My bad. Crap. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and get a new one. Thanks Ian.
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