MVS Cart with Bad sound after cleaning

I got this clear blue copy of Real Bout Special in the mail a few days ago and the game plays great and the FX sounds are fine (best I can tell) but the music is chopped up and just awful. After spending a couple nights reading threads and watching Youtube I opened it and cleaned the connection pins with Electronics Contact Cleaner (Radio Shack Brand) and also a Grey Art gum eraser and even Magic Erase but the music only got mildly better. I thought it was almost fixed after the 2nd of 4 cleanings.

The boards are legit best I can tell using MVS Scans site but there is some solder spots that join two legs of what I believe is a EPROM. Would this be the problem ? or am I missing something obvious as a noob. Thanks in advance to any help.

Find a board with a Uni-bios, and CRC check the roms.

Tyranix95 said:

Find a board with a Uni-bios, and CRC check the roms.

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Ok Thanks ! I don't know if i have access to one I'm currently running a Japan 6slot but ill do some research. Thanks !

Just to get your vocab in order, all of those chips are PROMS, not EPROMs. The E in EPROM stands for erasable, which is done by shinning a strong UV light into the windowed area of the chip. Usually, if you see a lot of windowed chips in your MVS carts, you know you're in trouble... as you're holding a likely bootleg game.

Now, on to this Real Bout. Is the solder blob a problem? Maybe. Those V labeled chips are the sound ROMs for the game, so that is pretty suspect. I've seen similar issues in legit SNK carts before, though. SNK was sloppy at times, and it's not supposed to be like that. I'd clean up the solder there and reflow those two legs cleanly.

The next thing I'd do is give the cart a good cleaning with DeOxit D5 or another contact cleaner. The pins likely have a light layer of corrosion on them that built up over time, and I'd say the number one issue I've seen over the years that caused sound and music issues is corrosion. So, if you get the legs clean and reflow that solder, just give this cart a little lovin' and it will likely play fine.

No two pins should be shorted together on a sound rom unless it's the two center ones.

Check for cold solder joints and reflow. Also reflow any repaired joints. Clean the cart pins with something more abrasive such as glass stove top cleaner.

If all else fails, ask for a replacement. And next time, remember to shop your local authorized Yaton dealer

RabbitTroop said:

Just to get your vocab in order, all of those chips are PROMS, not EPROMs. The E in EPROM stands for erasable, which is done by shinning a strong UV light into the windowed area of the chip. Usually, if you see a lot of windowed chips in your MVS carts, you know you're in trouble... as you're holding a likely bootleg game.

Now, on to this Real Bout. Is the solder blob a problem? Maybe. Those V labeled chips are the sound ROMs for the game, so that is pretty suspect. I've seen similar issues in legit SNK carts before, though. SNK was sloppy at times, and it's not supposed to be like that. I'd clean up the solder there and reflow those two legs cleanly.

The next thing I'd do is give the cart a good cleaning with DeOxit D5 or another contact cleaner. The pins likely have a light layer of corrosion on them that built up over time, and I'd say the number one issue I've seen over the years that caused sound and music issues is corrosion. So, if you get the legs clean and reflow that solder, just give this cart a little lovin' and it will likely play fine.

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@RabbitTroop
Thanks for clearing up the Rom definition that will help in the future and for pointing out that those are the sound chips as i was curious of whats what. Ill go over the solder and I'm ordering the recommend DeOxit D5 from amazon now. Thanks for taking the time to lay all this out and explain it. I hope to be enjoying it soon.

Xian Xi said:

No two pins should be shorted together on a sound rom unless it's the two center ones.

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@Xian Xi Thats really good to know,I was suspect about if any legs at all should touch and was trying to see that on the MVS Scans. Thanks for the heads up.

wyo_vr4 said:

Check for cold solder joints and reflow. Also reflow any repaired joints. Clean the cart pins with something more abrasive such as glass stove top cleaner.

If all else fails, ask for a replacement. And next time, remember to shop your local authorized Yaton dealer

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@Wyo_vr4- Thanks for the tip about the Cleaner and answering the other question in my head which was if I should mess with the other re-soldered looking legs a few pins down from the spot I pointed at. Also is it just a Coincidence that I may have Bought this on the bay by seller named Yaton?

Thanks to everyone for the reply and great info I can't wait to try and re-solder it a bit.

Usually two bridged pins is a problem, but here it's fine. The bridge is on an unused hi-z data line.

I'd fix it either way since I see scratches between the joints and if the trace that runs between them is scratched then it would be shorted to those two pins as well and would affect a low data line on V2.

Fix it and if the problem is still there upload higher res pics.

Cleaning should be done by hand only with a light brush. NEVER use a dish washer, that can leave build up residue from a weak rinse. I restored a completely damaged Metal Slug 3 mvs that had this dish washer look to it. It no longer has graphical issues.

Is the music rhythmically correct, or are some instruments perfectly fine? I suspect that the samples (instruments like the guitar, piano, drums, etc) sound bad while other ones (synth leads, bass) are fine since they are synthesized on the YM2610. If it is like that, but the voices all sound okay (for the most part) then probably this is an addressing problem on the sound ROM. If all samples including voices and SFX are scratchy or annoying then it may be a data path problem. Compounding the situation is the possibility of both.

UPDATE --
After reading the tips from RabbitTroop, Xian Xi and Wyo _vr4
I separated the legs that were jointly soldered and reflowed them best I could (first return to electronics\PCB soldering in 15 years)
I also cleaned the board a bit again as it seemed....sticky....yup insert imagination here.
swell as cleaning the contacts again but still only with electronics contact cleaner as Brasso and DeOxit still in mail.

Results attempts -
1st -Game plays perfect sound and all then crashes to a grid screen after first round
2nd-Game plays perfect but crashes after second round to green screen
3rd Resart- Game plays perfect up to 4th fight when Terry puts BillyKane through a speaker for the win with a Power Geyser and game crashes.
----I reclean board and contacts again and examine solder and then replace cart back in to 6slot MVS again------
4th-Game plays perfectly and Billy Kane whoops my ass over and over and over again(play time 45mins)
Tested game agin this morning seems fine. I hope this is the final verdict but i will use Deoxit when it arrives this weekend.
Thanks for getting me to this point I really do appreciate the help.

bustedstr8 said:

Usually two bridged pins is a problem, but here it's fine. The bridge is on an unused hi-z data line.

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Thats more useful info thank you.

Xian Xi said:

I'd fix it either way since I see scratches between the joints and if the trace that runs between them is scratched then it would be shorted to those two pins as well and would affect a low data line on V2.

Fix it and if the problem is still there upload higher res pics.

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I believe you were correct in you assessment there was a mark below the solder between the other 2 legs to the right which was right on top of a trace i cleaned it best iI could with my copper braid and iron.

LWK said:

Cleaning should be done by hand only with a light brush. NEVER use a dish washer, that can leave build up residue from a weak rinse. I restored a completely damaged Metal Slug 3 mvs that had this dish washer look to it. It no longer has graphical issues.

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I use hippie home made Dishwasher detergent in my Machine could that be the problem ?

mikejmoffitt said:

Is the music rhythmically correct, or are some instruments perfectly fine? I suspect that the samples (instruments like the guitar, piano, drums, etc) sound bad while other ones (synth leads, bass) are fine since they are synthesized on the YM2610. If it is like that, but the voices all sound okay (for the most part) then probably this is an addressing problem on the sound ROM. If all samples including voices and SFX are scratchy or annoying then it may be a data path problem. Compounding the situation is the possibility of both.

Click to expand...

the music sound like there was interference like not tuning in a Radio station well or being to close to a military or rescue tower with feedback. The voices from what I could hear over the choppy loud music were fine and the FX sounds were good as well. the graphics were perfect to memory

UPDATE----

Played the Game a few hours a Day and after 4 days only had one incident when the game crashed restarted 30mins in to game play. I think its a repaired as it can be for a while ill clean it agin with DeOxit now that it has arrived and hopefully this cart can live on. either way would never trash it. Thanks for all the help I received here.

FinalbossNYC said:

UPDATE----

Played the Game a few hours a Day and after 4 days only had one incident when the game crashed restarted 30mins in to game play. I think its a repaired as it can be for a while ill clean it agin with DeOxit now that it has arrived and hopefully this cart can live on. either way would never trash it. Thanks for all the help I received here.

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Clean your slots, too. That can cause all sorts of problems.

break out the isopropyl, and use a toothbrush on the thing. It will leave hairline scratches all over the solder, but who gives a damn really. After a good rinse from the rubbing alcohol, put it sort of near a heater or slightly away from it and it let it dry it out. Then when it is fully dry, check it. I like shaking these things really hard before warm drying.

Xian Xi said:

Clean your slots, too. That can cause all sorts of problems.

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Thanks Ill be sure to cover ones not in use after cleaning.

LWK said:

break out the isopropyl, and use a toothbrush on the thing. It will leave hairline scratches all over the solder, but who gives a damn really. After a good rinse from the rubbing alcohol, put it sort of near a heater or slightly away from it and it let it dry it out. Then when it is fully dry, check it. I like shaking these things really hard before warm drying.

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Thanks ! Is this before or after the Dishwasher method ?

Never use a dishwasher. You need to do this by hand, so you have control of each stage of washing and drying. If you use a dishwasher or soap, it leaves little trace residue at points.

LWK said:

Never use a dishwasher. You need to do this by hand, so you have control of each stage of washing and drying. If you use a dishwasher or soap, it leaves little trace residue at points.

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You can use a dishwasher if you disable the hot water, if you can't then don't. If you do use a liquid soap, use an unscented one.

Dishwashers work great, just remember to rinse with distilled water after the run. This removes most of the residue.

Really great advice here, thanks to everyone who is contributing.

I'm glad this thread is active, because I'm also working on cleaning up a bootleg Shock Troopers cart with audio problems. When I received it, it had glitchy video and no audio. After cleaning the contacts with deoxit, the video glitches are completely gone and it has booted up with perfect audio a few times. I just went over both boards and reflowed a bunch of points, and cleaned them with simple green and a brush. I'm running to pick up distilled water now for the final wash. Fingers crossed.

LWK said:

Never use a dishwasher. You need to do this by hand, so you have control of each stage of washing and drying. If you use a dishwasher or soap, it leaves little trace residue at points.

Click to expand...

Xian Xi said:

You can use a dishwasher if you disable the hot water, if you can't then don't. If you do use a liquid soap, use an unscented one.

Click to expand...

bustedstr8 said:

Dishwashers work great, just remember to rinse with distilled water after the run. This removes most of the residue.

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Don't worry guys I use the Hippie homemade organic soap my wife makes and the water for the house has a salt /charcoal filter for softening

SmokeMonster said:

Really great advice here, thanks to everyone who is contributing.
I'm glad this thread is active, because I'm also working on cleaning up a bootleg Shock Troopers cart with audio problems. When I received it, it had glitchy video and no audio. After cleaning the contacts with deoxit, the video glitches are completely gone and it has booted up with perfect audio a few times. I just went over both boards and reflowed a bunch of points, and cleaned them with simple green and a brush. I'm running to pick up distilled water now for the final wash. Fingers crossed.

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I hope your Shock Troopers cleans up, Thats a fantastic game !

Xian Xi said:

You can use a dishwasher if you disable the hot water, if you can't then don't. If you do use a liquid soap, use an unscented one.

Click to expand...

I do all my cleaning in hot water. I wash buttons that way, everything. I think after a good shake the small droplets of water have a better chance of dissolving. Especially when put near a heater right after. Distilled water has never mattered for me. I use tap each time. A little lever 2000 soap for buttons works good. It also murderes oils, which I love. I reccomend the simple green method for PCB's. Use a large paint brush, go over the damn thing, and a good rinse. I use alcohol as well.

six slot? is it wrong to remember seeing it said that some games have issues just running in, or maybe in certain slots of or was it only that some combos of games in a six slot created issues?

sorry to try to techhelp! when I am a know nothing.

Karou said:

six slot? is it wrong to remember seeing it said that some games have issues just running in, or maybe in certain slots of or was it only that some combos of games in a six slot created issues?

sorry to try to techhelp! when I am a know nothing.

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Its true, six slots are very picky. The issues with certain games having problems over others was limited to the unibios though I thought.

Karou said:

six slot? is it wrong to remember seeing it said that some games have issues just running in, or maybe in certain slots of or was it only that some combos of games in a six slot created issues?

sorry to try to techhelp! when I am a know nothing.

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kraquepype said:

Its true, six slots are very picky. The issues with certain games having problems over others was limited to the unibios though I thought.

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or is it the Power supply? thats what i was told by a Arcade tech. ahhh lifes mysteries