monitor help for new member!

[mastamuzz]

I am posting this for a new member so Ill quote the message:

Alright, so I have an MVS 2-slot that I just recently moved to my new place. I've never had any problems with it before, but now when I go to play it, maybe about every 5th or 6th time the monitor goes black on me. Sometimes after 15 min. of playing other times after an hour. The game is still playing and I can hear all the sounds, but there is nothing on the screen. I opened up the back the last time it happend and noticed that the neck on the monitor was not orange, so I'm guessing it's a power issue. I examined the power cord and looked around inside for a possible loose connection, but everything seemed fine. Unfortunately I have zero tech knowledge , so from what I've scouted online I'm guessing could it be a diode or the horizontal transformer on the monitor board. I'm not sure though. I just want to fix whatever it is and don't know where to start.

Anyone hazzard a guess?

hope someone can help him this is completely out of my reach!

 

[Dion]

He probably has a K7000 in there. They are very bad as far as cold solder joints go. If it is a K7000 he needs to remove the chassis and look for cracked solder joints. The reason why it works sometimes is that the components are making a circuit when its cold but as it warms up it flexes a bit and loses that connection. I just go over all of the solder points with my soldering iron. It takes time but is well worth it. Go ahead and do a cap kit while the chassis is out also.

Have him take pics of the monitor chassis so we can see exactly what monitor it is.

 

[mastamuzz]

thanks for your reply Mitsurugi-w!

I asked him to reply on this thread so he can explain with more detail the issue and to post some pics so he can get help!

 

[NEO-GEO man]

Do these usually have problematic caps on the board? Pretty much a waste of time replacing them if the caps are still within spec.

 

[Dion]

Any electrolytic will fail eventually and they are close to 20 years old now. Since he is a collector he might as well do the kit while he has the chassis out and not worry about it later. Now if he was a repairman then changing a few caps at a time can give you job security. As a collector you might care a little more than just good enough to keep it working. If i have to repair one of mine and it hasn't been capped yet, I go ahead and cap it.

 

[NEO-GEO man]

I would pull a couple of the harder driven caps out and test them, and if they are within spec and all others look to be fine, i would NOT waste my time replacing perfectly good parts.

20 years old doesnt mean its no good. Ive got alot of electronics here with 20 year old and more caps in them, and none of these caps are out of spec, or dead, and there is NO POINT in replacing them. If they are problematic on those monitors, sure, replace them, but dont just throw away time and money on pointless parts replacing.

And will the set operate better after replacing perfectly good caps? No. It most certainly will not.

 

[Dion]

Everyone has an opinion. Its served me well. Most collectors wouldn't know what caps are harder driven. If you are removing a 3 cent cap on a 20-30 year old board to test it then why not replace it for reliability's sake. Surely a recently manufactured cap has a better chance of lasting 20 more years than a cap that is already 20 years old.

 

[NEO-GEO man]

No, i wouldnt agree. Caps made 20 years ago are likely going to be of a pretty decent quality if the device is of a decent quality.

It is a farce that they dry out over time, cause unless they are stuffed, they dont dry up, cause they are sealed. As for 3 cents, they are not that cheap if youre using good ones, and not that cheap here even if youre using cheap junk.

But youre right, everyone has an opinion and a right to it.