Water damaged Star Wars cell restoration

[lotsoballs]

I'm going to see the new Star Wars movie tonight and with all the hype about the movie and no current pachinko related projects I've decided to finally get motivated to make some progress on a Star Wars cell that was sadly flood damaged years back. I acquired months ago from Compirate; the price was right though at free though thanks Compirate! If I get this working I'll have quite the Lumina cell assortment to add it to: Julie pinball, Marilyn Monroe, Vicky Chance, Miracle Carpet, Looney Tunes, Neo Fever Powerful, and Dynasty Warriors. I think Julie is the only other Lumina cell that really compares to this one desirability wise thanks to the little R2D2. It appears the cell was only halfway submerged 2-3 inches and it was laying face down; I forgot to get a picture with all the dried up gunk on the play field but I did an initial cleaning just to get it presentable. As you can see from the pics the plywood is delaminated and I plan on shortly wood gluing and clamping it down to fix that issue, and probably have to re-trim it so it fits in the frame. My main question before I start taking apart boards and cleaning them is what product should I use for cleaning the circuit boards? Or just moist q-tips and then dry it quickly?

There's some gunk between the plastic screen and the LCD screen I've got to get to and hopefully the LCD screen still works. Compirate tells me he's had good success restoring these flood damaged cells to working so I'm hopeful. My first question is once I get the plywood part fixed so it can fit in the frame properly; should I try hooking up the connectors for an initial test run before digging in or be patient and disassemble everything and clean first?

photo 4.JPGphoto 1.JPG
photo 2.JPGphoto 3.JPG
photo 5.JPG

[Drunkenclam]

I would probably test it out first. Of course there is still the junk cel on YJA that ends in 11 hrs for ¥2000 with no bids


PS Don't forget the cold start up issues on some of these

[compirate]

Clean everything first and let it dry thoroughly! On the circuit boards i just used a toothbrush and cleaned the boards in the sink. Be gentle on the traces and let them dry completely before any power is applied. The cell should come almost completely apart with a small screwdriver (you will have to snap off the seals to get to the one circuit board). Take lots of pictures as you disassemble, as things come apart, put the little screws back in their holes a couple turns so you won't lose them. The lcd comes out pretty easy so if it doesn't work to your satisfaction it's an easy replace. Good luck, keep us posted!!!

[lotsoballs]

I suppose the boards have been wet before, so one more time can't hurt too much! I'll buy a new extra soft bristled toothbrush just for board cleaning; no expense will be spared for getting R2D2 revived from his years long slumber!

[lotsoballs]

I've dug into the innards of the cell and removed the two main boards; the bigger board does have some obvious water stains on the traces; the other is a bit a bit grimy....stay tuned for more updates.
photo 3.JPGphoto 2.JPGphoto 1.JPG

[lotsoballs]

Yikes! Some of the numerous smaller boards for the LED lights behind the playfield and light saber were absolutely nasty....a bit of brushing with a little water works well even removing some rusty looking spots. I'm thinking cleaning the boards first was surly a good call!

Before:
photo 4.JPGphoto 2[2].JPGphoto 3[2].JPG

After:
photo 1[1].JPG

[luckydog]

crud city

[stampeed valkyrie]

I would recommend isopropyl alcohol as a final wipe down before reassembly. Especially on contact points.. you might also want to invest in some electrical contact cleaner, and clean some of the contact points. I'd be more worried about corrosion on the contact points with the cables.

I can't say I would agree with using anymore water on these components.. Remember its not the water that kills peripherals its the crud in the water that it leaves behind.


my .02 cents.

[compirate]

I mostly used plain tap water and brushes to clean anything, only problem i had was not letting things dry thoroughly (moisture gets under the ic's) and trying things too soon. Didn't fry anything, but didn't work either. A hair dryer does wonders but still an overnight in a warm dry place is advised.

[lotsoballs]

I stayed up late last night and made some serious progress; all the circuit boards have been removed and cleaned and reassembled....I used a damp rag to wipe down the non-cruddy boards and brushed throughly the really nasty ones; mainly the LED boards that are all over the play field. I figured I better put this thing back together ASAP before I forgot how too if I left it laying out for days/weeks. It wasn't as hard as I thought really. Just lots and lots of tiny screws and patience figuring out how things come apart. I can only hope my efforts are paid with a functioning cell!

All that's left to do now is let the glue dry on the plywood and trim off the excess with a coping saw and of course test the cell and pray nothing catches fire! I'm going to wait till tomorrow to try it so any excess water from cleaning the boards has plenty of time to dry.

photo.JPG

[takethecastle57]

Man, what a intensive work sheet to save a Cell . on all your beautiful work .

I remember while in the U.S. Army working at the Direct Support Communications & Electronics Shop at the Old Fort Ord , Northern Germany , Fort Hunter Liggett in 1983-88 and the Old Analog AM and FM radio transmitters especialy the AN/VRC 524-246 radio that the Crew Power Washing their Vehicles would just Flood the $3,000.00 radios with water and they wouldn't tell us at the shop so when we opened them water would just pour out on the bench . We then had to open the Whole radio up and open all the 30+ modules and let it Dry out for a couple of days .

Now here is when it gets interesting . After we let it dry out Then We Apply 24vdc To The Radio and what usually happen is that we would get a big plume of smoke from the front panel which would mean that the Whole Radio would have to be shipped to the nearest Army Depot Electronics Branch for a Total Tear down And Rebuild of the Radio/ Transmitter tax payer cost $2k -3K per Radio .

Now since 1990 the U.S. Army has been using a Digital AM and FM Radio Transmitter called a SINCGARS.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SINCGARS

[lotsoballs]

Well, after 10+ hours of cleaning and disassembling, I'll let the pics speak for themselves! Thank you Compirate! May the force be with you!

photo 1.JPGphoto 2.JPGphoto 4.JPG



Before:
photo 4[2].JPGphoto 1[4].JPGphoto 2[4].JPG


After:
photo 1[1].JPGphoto 2[1].JPGphoto 5.JPG

[luckydog]

Well done

[stampeed valkyrie]

Awesome I am very happy it worked out for you.

[compirate]

I still have lots of cells and full machines like that that should be able to be restored. At this point they're 'free to a good home'. I live in Maryland, half way between Washington and Baltimore.

[lotsoballs]

I still have lots of cells and full machines like that that should be able to be restored. At this point they're 'free to a good home'. I live in Maryland, half way between Washington and Baltimore.

Good to know! Got anymore cool Lumina cells?

Hopefully more members take you up on your offer and restore them because it's not that hard or requires any special electronics skills...just time, patience, a phillips head screwdriver and a toothbrush....not as complicated a project as one would think.

On a side note, Star Wars gave me 2 fevers in the first 20 mins of playing so I can confirm everything works properly! This one is more fun than I thought it would be, I didn't realize you are able to shoot at Vader in his spaceship via hitting the chance button when in Vader chance mode or whatever...very cool!

[Drunkenclam]

But no 電車でGO!2

[compirate]

Sold that one along with the version one , both were never in water.

What does that belt for the train look like?

[Spyder138]

I still have lots of cells and full machines like that that should be able to be restored.

Would there happen to be a Macross Frontier in those machines? Looks like I may need a circuit board for my cell. Happy to pay for the board, your time to remove it, and the shipping.

[Gmwd]

If I were closer I'd take them all! :-) big thank you for being so generous