Advice on a possible buy.

[Peale]

Start checking RAM. Touch them. Are any of them hot?

Check the ROM board display, is it showing numbers other than a zero?

[Masco73]

Well I went ahead and got some new 4116 ram chips. I took of the old ones and started to put some new ones in and by the time I got the 3rd one in of the new ones, they were red hot!! They would actually burn your hand if you held it on for more than a few seconds. Now I know this means something, but what do I do next. I immediately pulled the plug and hopefully I didn't damage anything. I hooked the new switcher the exact same way as the old one was hooked up. I measured the +5v and it was 5.2v.. If I hooked it up wrong, would the monitor work or not??? If you need me to measure something, please be descriptive because I have no clue. Thanks.

[Masco73]

A few other thing that happened. There were no numbers on the error light, it was kind of pulsing lightly though. Also, when I originally installed the new switcher, I put a new 7amp fuse in the original linear supply board. When I turned it on, the fuse blew instantly, but the screen came up garbled. I don't know if that tells you anything, but it seemed weird to me because I thought the switcher took over the power jobs and eliminated the need for the linear. I am totally confused!!

[Peale]

The first thing I would have done was dump the 4116 RAM and installed 4164 in its place, along with an adapter.

And you weren't swapping out that RAM with it ON were you? Sounds like you were.

If the chips are getting HOT to the touch, something else is wrong.

[Masco73]

It was plugged in, but not on. I unplugged it and waited for the chips to get cool again and since the chips were probably fried already, i replugged it and they got hot right away.
I have heard about the 4164 ram, but I thought you need to mod something to do it. I was using the 4116 because it is easy swap. Like i said, I have no skill with this stuff, but I am willing to learn.

[Peale]

You can either modify your board, or use a plug in adapter. I have one on my site:

http://www.pealefamily.net/arcade/st...=index&cPath=4

If the chips were getting hot when the game wasn't even on, but plugged in...that's not good at all.

[Masco73]

I assume that using that adaptor won't solve the chips problem will it?? Do you have any ideas of what the problem is and what to do next?? I know I am probably bugging you with all the questions, but I do appreciate all the help. I was hoping it was only going to be a quick ram switch or change the power supply, but here we are.

[Peale]

The only thing the adapter will do is allow you to use 4164 RAM in place of the 4116 RAM that is on there now. I would definitely change it over, but the fact that the cabinet appears to be powering up even when turned off screams "problem" to me.

[Peale]

Anything new?

[Masco73]

Well after trying to put the 4116 in and getting some smoke off the board, I posted the question over at the KLOV boards. It appears that someone may have spliced directly off the service outlet, which would keep it hot at all times when plugged in. I am not sure what to do at this point. I don't have the knowledge as I said, I am a newbie at this stuff. I would probably want to change it back to the original linear supply and fix up the hacked in wires.
The problem is I don't want to turn it on as I fear damaging more things. If I can't turn it on, I can't check voltages, so I am at a stand still now.
Any suggestions??

[Peale]

Two suggestions:

1) learn everything you can about cabinet wiring, and apply that knowledge towards wiring this properly.

2) have a professional (or at least someone who knows what they're doing) do it for you.