Is my Power supply Dead? Astro City.

[JustinS]

Last night I rotated my monitor for Esp.rade everything played great. Looked great.
No issues, no hints of issues.

I shut off my cab at the power supply, go around the back of my cab and pull the plug all together as a second precaution.

Today, I plug in the cab in the back... go to the front and flip the switch and get...........
nothing. notta.
I double check everything. All is good, everything is connected up fine.
Nope. Notta.

My power supply isnt firing up. No monitor. No sound.
No Red Light.

Is this pretty good indicator that my power supply is the issue?

Does anyone think my power supply is dead?

I got the cab from Ken at the game room. Ive been working on other cabs recently. Ive had the cab since May but Ive probably played a total of 10 hours on it and now nothing.

Any suggestions? Ideas are welcome.

How much would a replacement cost me? Where would I purchase it?
Ken at the game room? Japan?

Help me Diagnose this problem.

.

 

[Bay78]

OHHHHH bad luck. I wish I could help you on that one. But I'd phone Ken and see what he says. He knows a lot as you already know. He'll I'm sure help you.

 

[JustinS]

Here is a picture of my Power supply.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49804196@N02/5038504090/ http://www.flickr.com/people/49804196@N02/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/49804196@N02/5038503776/ http://www.flickr.com/people/49804196@N02/

I flipped it over and removed the Fuse.

It looks intact. Its 250V 4amp. Looked good. (didnt look Blown)
But no Red 5V light on in the front next to the switch.

.

 

[JustinS]

When I received the cab from Ken I guess the one thing that stood out about it was it seemed to have a higher pitch hum to it than the other cabs.

Im wondering now if that was a sign that the power supply was on the way out.

I thought it might be coming from the Monitor because Ken said it was recently rebuilt. But after reading, some say that a high pitch sound is common on a power supply that is on its way out.

Any comments are appreciated.

I plan to call Ken when I get a moment but I appreciate any info I can get here regarding this.

I know there are several hundred members who own Astro Cities and would want to know more about this since we will all have to deal with it at some point.

 

[Tango]

I dont recall as it's been years since I owned an Astro, but do they also have fuses on the back panel by the power cord? Is it possible the cord itself has shorted out seeing as you unplugged it also?

 

[Zer0.LimitsArc]

When I received the cab from Ken I guess the one thing that stood out about it was it seemed to have a higher pitch hum to it than the other cabs.

Im wondering now if that was a sign that the power supply was on the way out.

I thought it might be coming from the Monitor because Ken said it was recently rebuilt. But after reading, some say that a high pitch sound is common on a power supply that is on its way out.

The high pitch 'wiz' or 'humming' is a coil in one of the capacitors that is passing a current and vibrating the coil very fast. That's kinda normal. It's close to the sound of "wizzing" noise of a TV.

If the PSU has a low hum to it, it could mean one of the rails in the PSU is bad, thus not being able to push enough to required parts. I'm not familiar with Astros, but it sounds like a bad PSU. Multimeter testing?

 

[Supasaru]

Did you sniff it?

Kinda sounds dumb, but it's a pretty easy way to tell if something roasted....

There's no ground on that power cord - do you have a ground strap for the machine somewhere?

Have you tried wiggling whatever the power cord connects to? It's possible that, over time and if you unplug it every time you're done with it, you can break a solder joint on the power supply mains jack. Usually one side or the whole plug will wiggle with a light amount of pressure. You could also try applying a little wiggle to the power cord while it's plugged in to see if it fires up sporadically. You would have to open up the PSU and resolder or replace the jack if any of that works.

 

[JustinS]

I tried the wiggle test by plugging it in and then wiggling it around to see if it would fire up. Nothing happened. I wiggled it pretty good.

If there is a Cord fuse please show me. Im not aware of it.

I had no idea that unplugging could actually be a bad thing for it.
I was trying to protect it from a surge in power but never thought about the power
that couldnt escape and would be stuck there to damage it.

I have 5 Astros right now.

I need a little step by step on how to rewire with a 3 prong plug. I dont want this to happen again so easily to my other cabs.

 

[JustinS]

Did you sniff it?

Kinda sounds dumb, but it's a pretty easy way to tell if something roasted....

There's no ground on that power cord - do you have a ground strap for the machine somewhere?

Have you tried wiggling whatever the power cord connects to? It's possible that, over time and if you unplug it every time you're done with it, you can break a solder joint on the power supply mains jack. Usually one side or the whole plug will wiggle with a light amount of pressure. You could also try applying a little wiggle to the power cord while it's plugged in to see if it fires up sporadically. You would have to open up the PSU and resolder or replace the jack if any of that works.

Ive only played on this cab a total of about 10 hours. I did always unplug afterward so I guess in that short amount of use it could break a solder joint on the power supply.

Would the soldier joint be something We could see easily if I took a picture of the bottom of the power unit?

I can take a picture tonight after work. let me know.

 

[Supasaru]

Usually, it's pretty obvious if it is a solder joint if it turns on when you wiggle the plug.

It shouldn't be hard to spot if you open the case - just look for where the power cord plugs in and see if there's anything broken away from the board.

To be honest, I've never really had to work with an Astro City PSU - just throwing some easy-to-test stuff out there in hopes it's something simple.

As far as I know, Astro City's usually have dedicated grounding straps on the body somewhere that you can wire into a 3 prong plug or just connet to something nearby that's a good ground - radiators, water pipes, the center screw of a power outlet face plate.....

I tried the wiggle test by plugging it in and then wiggling it around to see if it would fire up. Nothing happened. I wiggled it pretty good.

If there is a Cord fuse please show me. Im not aware of it.

Boo.

There's not a cord fuse. You could try plugging it into a different outlet to see if you popped your house breaker, though.

I had no idea that unplugging could actually be a bad thing for it.
I was trying to protect it from a surge in power but never thought about the power
that couldnt escape and would be stuck there to damage it.

Unplugging it in general usually isn't bad. The mechanical action of unplugging/plugging/unplugging over time will mechanically break down (wear out) the plug.

Speaking of the cord, is it possible the cord is damaged? You could run a multimeter from each pin to the other end of the cord while it's unplugged to check for shorts or opens. Cords can become damaged over time, too.

Always check the simple things first!

 

[JustinS]

Thanks,
I will pick up a multi meter tonight and test the power cable.
&
I will flip the power supply over and take a picture tonight
so you can see the soldier connections.

Appreciate the suggestions.

I talked with Ken today. He says same. Test for power going to the cab and go step by step from there.

I wonder if its a simple fix? like the switch going bad?

the switches seem prety cheap to me. easy to wear out.

anyway, I post the info tonight.

 

[Tango]

its not a cord fuse-- just look around the back plate of the cabinet and on the inside near the line filter for one. Ive owned quite a few cabinets over the years and many of them had 2 fuses in them... again, cannot remember if the Astro did or not. You just need to look around, it usually has a plastic screw-in cap on it.

If something is burned out on the PSU you might see it from the underside but not seeing burned areas does not rule out the PSU going bad. Most PSUs I have had do not just quit out like that, they generally waiver and fluctuate before completely failing. I suspect something else is going on with your cabinet. If you are not getting any power to the machine then having a multimeter might not tell you anything-- so be prepared to have to go through all the wiring to find the fault.

If it is the PSU at least you are lucky in that Astro PSU's are quite easy to get as oppose to just about any other type of japanese cab. The alternative is of course to just get a US PSU if you don't mind and are comfortable/familiar enough to rewire it.

My original suggestion to check the cord was based on the same thing happening to my Windy years ago. The problem was not where the cord input into the PSU though but at the plug itself... Cab was completely dead and when I unscrewed the terminal screw and took apart the power cord plug I found the connections had broken away from the blades. Simple fix and the problem was caused by unplugging it too much by the cord, clearly.

 

[JustinS]

its not a cord fuse-- just look around the back plate of the cabinet and on the inside near the line filter for one. Ive owned quite a few cabinets over the years and many of them had 2 fuses in them... again, cannot remember if the Astro did or not. You just need to look around, it usually has a plastic screw-in cap on it.

If something is burned out on the PSU you might see it from the underside but not seeing burned areas does not rule out the PSU going bad. Most PSUs I have had do not just quit out like that, they generally waiver and fluctuate before completely failing. I suspect something else is going on with your cabinet. If you are not getting any power to the machine then having a multimeter might not tell you anything-- so be prepared to have to go through all the wiring to find the fault.

If it is the PSU at least you are lucky in that Astro PSU's are quite easy to get as oppose to just about any other type of japanese cab. The alternative is of course to just get a US PSU if you don't mind and are comfortable/familiar enough to rewire it.

My original suggestion to check the cord was based on the same thing happening to my Windy years ago. The problem was not where the cord input into the PSU though but at the plug itself... Cab was completely dead and when I unscrewed the terminal screw and took apart the power cord plug I found the connections had broken away from the blades. Simple fix and the problem was caused by unplugging it too much by the cord, clearly.

I appreciate the reply. Ill look into it. Perhaps just picking up an new cable will help with a few questions.
Besides I want to wire in a 3 prong anyway.

 

[Xian Xi]

Just in case, have you tested the outlet that you didn't trip the breaker?

You never know.

 

[Supasaru]

There's not a cord fuse. You could try plugging it into a different outlet to see if you popped your house breaker, though.

Just in case, have you tested the outlet that you didn't trip the breaker?

You never know.

 

[JustinS]

Just in case, have you tested the outlet that you didn't trip the breaker?

You never know.

Yeah I did test the outlet with a lamp and it worked just fine. Outlet is producing
power so we can eliminate that as a possibility.

 

[JustinS]

Astro City Lives another day!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49804196@N02/5044566955/ http://www.flickr.com/people/49804196@N02/


Cheap fix. I cant believe this was the issue.

Ok Fixed problem with a wiggle of the power supply switch.
Looks like the connection to the switch was causing the problem.
The wires were barely connected. I must have turned that thing on/off at
least 50 times and nothing. i push the connections to the switch on the inside hard and firm and
retest. BAM!!!

Works like it used to now !!!!!!!!!!!

Still.................
I need a new 3 prong plug im going to pick one up.
where do I tie in the Ground to?

Best Place? any suggestions?

 

[SSS]

There is usually no need to replace the candies power cord. The astro has a ground post on the back near the cord outlet. With cabs like that I will get a plug from home depot that can be opened up and some decent gauge wire (green color to make sense) I just tie the wire to the post with crimp on connector and run the other end to the third prong on the plug, nothing is hooked to hot or neutral. This plug can have numerous candy grounds tied in, just plug it in the wall or power strip along with the cab's power cord.

 

[JustinS]

There is usually no need to replace the candies power cord. The astro has a ground post on the back near the cord outlet. With cabs like that I will get a plug from home depot that can be opened up and some decent gauge wire (green color to make sense) I just tie the wire to the post with crimp on connector and run the other end to the third prong on the plug, nothing is hooked to hot or neutral. This plug can have numerous candy grounds tied in, just plug it in the wall or power strip along with the cab's power cord.

Can you take a pic of this?
Im not sure I know what you mean by "post"

I cant afford to do this wrong. Thanks for the help with this.

 

[SSS]

Can you take a pic of this?
Im not sure I know what you mean by "post"

I cant afford to do this wrong. Thanks for the help with this.

Recheck my post above.

 

[JustinS]

Recheck my post above.

haha. you must have been putting that up while I was asking.

Thanks man. So thats the Jap way ok. Ill do that. Its easy enough.

Picture answers all my questions. What did u pay for the Plug?

 

[SSS]

Plug is like 4 bucks. Go to the electrical aisle at lowes or home depot. They'll be in boxes loose on a shelf. That style will usually have 2 flat head screws on the top holding the plug together. If you open the plug up, you'll see the openings where you put through wire in, there's another screw that clamps down.

Most candy cabs have a ground post in the back, the impress is the only model cab I've owned that accepts standard pc power cables up to the back of the cab.

 

[JustinS]

Plug is like 4 bucks. Go to the electrical aisle at lowes or home depot. They'll be in boxes loose on a shelf. That style will usually have 2 flat head screws on the top holding the plug together. If you open the plug up, you'll see the openings where you put through wire in, there's another screw that clamps down.

Most candy cabs have a ground post in the back, the impress is the only model cab I've owned that accepts standard pc power cables up to the back of the cab.

Im on it. thank you for the pictures and the info.

 

[Jaelus]

Just replace the plug with a grounded three prong one. Much easier. I actually grounded two of these cabs the other week using this method. It took about 10 minutes per cab and is cleaner.

Unscrew the little panel the power cord goes through in the back and you'll see the power cord just has two O rings that can be unscrewed from posts on the power block next to the line filter. Pinch the grommet with a pair of vice grips and pull it out with the cord. Replace with an 8 or 9 ft grounded appliance power cord from Home Depot. Just snap the grommet on the new cord and pull it through, then solder or crimp new O rings and replace the two wires you removed before. You'll have a third ground wire as well this time. Put another O ring on it and screw it on to the ground post on the inside of the cab. Done.

 

[Supasaru]

Thanks man. So thats the Jap way ok. Ill do that. Its easy enough.

I think the original way to set these up for a vendor was to line up several of these things and ground them all together by the strap.

I always thought they had to be grounded... a floating ground seems like it should damage something or zap someone, though some modern devices use it (Xbox 360) without issue.