HELP Sammy Pachinko "Fist of the North Star" 2005 broke

[daverob]

When you say the rest of the machine works, how far have you tested it. Was this just a power up test, where you just made sure it lights up and nothing else, or did you check any further?

The fault is either that the screen is faulty or not receiving data, or that the display controller board (GPU) is faulty or not sending data, or the main CPU board is faulty or not sending data to the display controller board, so there are a lot of potential problem areas and/or connection problems along the way, and knowing which parts of the rest of the machine are working or not can quickly narrow down where the faults are.

So, is the screen completely static, or does it change in relation to events? (like dropping a ball into the start pocket).

When you drop a ball into the start pocket, do you get the payout along with the normal sound and light display on the machine?

These machines are getting a bit old, and sometimes the connection problems are with the socketed video ROMS on the display board. There are also internal connections between the actual LCD panel and it's PCB that can give problems. There can also be power supply problems that can cause the display controller not to start up properly.

I'm also trying to remember if this machine is in the Sammy "Flash Illusion" frame. Full pictures, front and back might help me jog my memory, and help point to things to check.