REPAIR DIAGNOSTIC BAY
Diagnose the cabinet before you buy parts.
Pick the loudest symptom, gather the right proof, and send a repair tech a useful packet instead of a foggy “it doesn’t work” message.
SYMPTOM LANES
Start where the machine is screaming.
DEAD CABINET
Cabinet is completely dead
Treat power, safety, and evidence as the first job. A dead cabinet is not automatically a bad PCB.
CHECK FIRST
- □ Wall outlet and power strip
- □ Power cord condition
- □ Main switch and rear interlock
- □ Fuse value and repeated fuse failure
- □ Smoke smell, scorched wiring, or hacked AC work
LIKELY SYSTEMS
- • AC inlet / switch
- • Fuse holder
- • Power supply
- • Wiring harness
- • Game PCB drawing a fault load
STOP SIGNS
Burning smell · Repeated fuse blow · Wet cabinet bottom · Bare AC wires · Unknown prior owner rewiring
SHOP BRIEF
Cabinet has no power. Include outlet test, power cord photo, rear door/interlock photo, fuse photo, power supply photo, and whether any lights/fan/monitor neck glow appear.
PLAYS BLIND
Game plays blind
If sound and controls work but the display is blank, separate game logic from monitor/chassis diagnosis.
CHECK FIRST
- □ Coin/start sounds
- □ Attract-mode audio
- □ Control response
- □ Monitor neck glow
- □ Brightness/flyback setting only if safely accessible
- □ Video connector seated
LIKELY SYSTEMS
- • CRT chassis
- • Monitor power
- • Video signal wiring
- • Game board video output
- • Isolation transformer on older cabinets
STOP SIGNS
CRT arcing · Cracked tube neck · High-voltage snap sounds · Burning chassis smell · No qualified CRT experience
SHOP BRIEF
Cabinet appears to play blind. Send video with coin/start/audio, monitor neck-glow photo if visible, chassis photo, video connector photo, and cabinet/game board model if known.
BAD CONTROLS
Controls are flaky or wrong
Control faults are often cheap, but hacked panels and bad grounds can turn simple switch work into wiring cleanup.
CHECK FIRST
- □ Which buttons/joysticks fail
- □ Whether failures are constant or intermittent
- □ Under-panel wiring photo
- □ Switch type and connectors
- □ Ground daisy-chain condition
LIKELY SYSTEMS
- • Microswitches
- • Leaf switches
- • Harness connectors
- • Ground chain
- • Encoder / JAMMA adapter
- • Control panel conversion work
STOP SIGNS
Cut harness with unlabeled wires · Splices everywhere · Unknown multicade conversion · Water or rust under panel · Burn marks near controls
SHOP BRIEF
Controls are unreliable. List exact inputs failing, whether each failure is intermittent, include control-panel top and underside photos, and note any conversion/multicade hardware.
MONITOR GEOMETRY COLOR
Picture has collapse, color, roll, or geometry problems
Monitor problems need symptom photos, chassis identification, and CRT-safety boundaries before anyone quotes parts.
CHECK FIRST
- □ Photo of picture defect
- □ Whether image rolls/collapses/flickers
- □ Color missing or purity issue
- □ Burn-in level
- □ Monitor/chassis model labels if visible
LIKELY SYSTEMS
- • CRT chassis capacitors
- • Flyback
- • Yoke / convergence
- • Remote adjustment board
- • Video signal board
- • Tube condition
STOP SIGNS
Vertical/horizontal collapse · Arcing · Cracked neck · Smoke · Severe burn-in on a rare cabinet
SHOP BRIEF
CRT picture problem. Send front-screen photos, short video of the fault, monitor/chassis label photos, and whether the game otherwise plays normally.
WATER DAMAGE
Water damage or swollen cabinet body
Water damage changes the economics. Decide preserve, stabilize, part out, or sell as-is before paying for electronics work.
CHECK FIRST
- □ Cabinet bottom and side swelling
- □ Mold or odor
- □ Rust inside coin door/base
- □ Delamination depth
- □ Whether monitor/board area stayed dry
LIKELY SYSTEMS
- • Cabinet structure
- • Base levelers/casters
- • Coin door rust
- • Harness corrosion
- • Power safety
- • Artwork loss
STOP SIGNS
Soft floor/base · Mold · Rusty AC wiring · Swollen particleboard around load points · Cabinet cannot be moved safely
SHOP BRIEF
Cabinet has water/body damage. Send base, side, inside-bottom, rear, coin-door, and power-area photos before asking for electronics repair pricing.
MOVE DAMAGE RISK
Cabinet works but must be moved through a hard path
A working cabinet can become a broken cabinet during pickup. Plan access, protection, and liability like part of the repair scope.
CHECK FIRST
- □ Cabinet height/width/depth
- □ Stairs count and turns
- □ Doorway width
- □ Glass/control protection
- □ Truck/liftgate plan
- □ Who carries insurance
LIKELY SYSTEMS
- • Cabinet corners
- • Side art
- • CRT neck
- • Control panel
- • Glass/bezel
- • Coin door and locks
STOP SIGNS
No measurements · Basement stairs with turn · One-person move plan · No straps/blankets · Freight quote without cabinet prep
SHOP BRIEF
Move-risk brief. Include cabinet dimensions, pickup path photos, stair/turn count, destination path, truck/liftgate plan, and protection expectations.
TECH PACKET
Send this before asking for a quote.
- □ Cabinet title, cabinet type, and any manufacturer/serial tags.
- □ Exact symptom in one sentence, plus whether it changed over time.
- □ Photos: front, sides, rear, inside back door, power area, board, monitor/chassis, control panel, coin door, damage close-ups.
- □ Short video showing boot, monitor behavior, sound, controls, and the symptom repeated if safe.
- □ What was already tried, including parts swapped, fuses replaced, adjustments, or prior owner claims.
- □ Move/access notes: stairs, basement, doorway width, liftgate, long carry, or no loading dock.
DO NOT START HERE
The expensive mistakes are usually boring.
- • Do not keep replacing fuses without finding why they blow.
- • Do not open or discharge a CRT unless qualified.
- • Do not sand, repaint, or strip original art before documenting it.
- • Do not buy random boards or chassis parts before identifying the cabinet, monitor, and symptom.
- • Do not call a machine fully restored because it boots once.
Need a copyable repair message?
Use the Cabinet Command Center, choose Restore / repair, and turn these diagnostics into a clean message for a cabinet tech, seller, mover, or buyer.
BUILD REPAIR BRIEF