Response from Jonathan: Randy,

This is definitely a problem with the board. Just from your pictures, it looks like the V-RAM addresser is having some issues. Of course, it’s hard to know for sure without running some tests on the board. Just to give you a bit of information, the V-RAM addresser is a small board that’s attached to the main board via a zip tie. There are usually 2 of these small boards attached to the Ms. Pac Man PCB and the V-RAM Addresser is typically the larger one. You might try to push down on it (with the game powered off) to see if it makes a difference. If not, you may need to replace it altogether.

There are places online where you can order a replacement V-RAM addresser (they run about $20-30 plus shipping) but without running some tests on the board it’s hard to know for sure if this is indeed your problem. With that said, the price is reasonable enough that you might consider trying this out to see if it solves the issue. If you don’t feel comfortable trying a repair like this yourself, you might contact one of the entities under the Board (PCB) Repair & Component Sales heading on our resources page to see if they can repair the issue for you. The choice is up to you.

As for the filter board, it is no longer necessary and usually causes more problems than it solves (which is probably why they removed it). This board was installed from the factory in order to pass the FCC’s RF Interference requirements. Without the filter board installed, the Radio Frequencies produced by the game board would sneak back down the line cord, causing all of the AM radios in the area to buzz. Since this is no longer a problem, we recommend that you remove them (or leave them off in your case) as it just adds another set of connections you may have problems with in the future.

Hope that helps. Thank you for your question and good luck getting your wife’s Ms. Pac Man arcade cabinet back up and running.