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problem with neo geo mvs cabinet
Question from Shaunus: Hi, I have been watching your videos on you tube and think they are fantastic. I have recently been trying to restore a couple of neo geo mvs machines and have had some difficultly. I have a neo geo cabinet with a MV-1FZS in it. I just received it and it has been working fine the last couple of days. So I decided to test the coin op out and see if that worked. You change the board to coin play from free play by switching the number 7 dipswitch on the board. So I did that but now I am having video problems. Only things in the foreground appear, like “insert coin” and “credit” some titles but all the actual video of the game is not visible, sometimes black background sometimes white background. I tried switching the dipswitch back to freeplay but the problem persists. You can here the game is still running as the sound works and the controls work too, just most of the video is missing. The system has a complicated coin op and alarm on it, far beyond my understanding as I am just a noob. On the coin up there are two green wires hanging off that don’t connect to anything, could this be causing the problem? Also when I disconnect the wires to the coin op the board does not work at all, why is this is the coin op important for the board to function and if so how do you attach a coin op properly. I have bought a brand new coin op and have some old ones and they are very different, the new one has a single plug with like 4 wires, the old ones have a mechanism then another board and a heap of wires.
I also have another cabinet I am attempting to set up as a neo geo MVS, however I just can’t seem to get the thing to run the board (same board that has the video problems, as that is my only functional board at the moment/ partially functional now). I went through all the wiring making sure to match it with the original manual. There are some left over wires like ‘R service SW’ ’15 test SW’ and ’26 data input SW’ I don’t know where they go or what they do, are they essential to get the board running?
Any help is greatly appreciated, this is all a bit overwhelming to someone new to arcade machines
Thanks
Shaunus
1 answer
Response from Jonathan: Shaunus,
The video problems that you are describing sounds like a board issue which is a common problem for Neo Geo boards. A lot of times this occurs when the MVS cartridge is not seated properly. This would be very similar to the effect you would get when you would try to plug a dirty cartridge into an old NES (or Nintendo Entertainment System). With that said, the solutions are similar as well. Make sure that there is no debris in the cartridge slot or on the cartridge board that would impede the board from making a good connection with the cartridge. You might also take a look at our post on Inspecting An Arcade Board for some tips on how to clean and maintain boards.
I’m not sure what the 2 green wires you are describing go to. Since the board does not work at all when you disconnect these wires, I would assume these are probably related to the power supply. You might send us a picture of the wires and where they connect so we can see exactly what you are talking about.
The service switch and data input switch are not essential for running the board but are nice to have as they allow you to change options in the service menu. You might look at our Neo Geo pinouts at http://www.arcaderepairtips.com/neogeo.html and see if they are different from yours.
Hope that helps. Thank you for your question and good luck with your repairs.
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