Namco Games

[channelmaniac]

Tip: Pac-Land Error Codes and boot issues
Courtesy of cmonkey from the KLOV forums


Pac-Land boots with the screen flipped upside down and displays a ghost and numbers on the screen during self test. A successful self test screen shows a ghost and 0 0 0 before it flips the screen and displays the title screen after this boot process has finished.

If stuck at the upside down 000 self test screen, double check dipswitch B switch 7. That's the FREEZE switch and if it's on when the game boots it'll hang with the boot error codes on screen and go no further until you turn it off.

The upside down error codes are as follows :-

leftmost digit = MCU (sub-cpu) error code (The number furthest away from the ghost)
0 = sub-cpu woke up OK
1 = sub-cpu internal ROM failure or sub-cpu failed to wake up

middle digit = eprom error (only positions 8B, 8D (main cpu) and 3E (sub-cpu) are checked)
0 = all 3 code eproms good
1 = eprom @ 8B failed checksum
2 = eprom @ 8D failed checksum
7 = eprom @ 3E (sub-cpu) failed checksum

rightmost digit = ram error (The number next to the ghost)
0 = all rams good
1 = work ram @ 9M bad (addresses $3000-$37ff)
2 = work ram @ 9N bad (addresses $2000-$27ff)
3 = work ram @ 9P bad (addresses $2800-$2fff)
4 = tile ram @ 9R bad (odd bytes - addresses $0000-$0fff)
5 = tile ram @ 9S bad (even bytes - addresses $0000-$0fff)
6 = tile ram @ 10R bad (odd bytes - addresses $1000-$1fff)
7 = tile ram @ 10S bad (even bytes - addresses $1000-$1fff)
9 = shared ram @ 3J/3K bad (one or both are bad)

The ghost character has no significance, it's merely there to look pretty.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Namco Classic Collection Vol. 2
Symptom: Plays blind

Board had burned traces in the video section from being plugged into a cabinet with a miswired monitor. (Monitor should've had an isolation transformer and didn't.)

Replaced bad LM1203 IC and 9 surface mount resistors in the video output section. Replaced 1 surface mount resistor and a 74F04 in the sync output circuit. Patched 2 burned sections of the video ground trace. Tested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Dead

Replaced all the old style resistor packs and single wipe 24/28/40/42 pin sockets. Cleaned the customs and replaced a bad 07xx on the CPU board. Tested. No sound or controls. Cleaned the edge connector with a fiberglass pencil and retested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Soul Calibur 2
Symptom: No video/audio

Cleaned foreign substance off of the Altera chip on the I/O bard and tested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Dead

Board had attempted repair damage. Replaced all the old style resistor packs and single wipe 24/28/40/42 pin sockets. Cleaned the customs. Socketed and cleaned up the damage around the 74LS368 at 3N. Removed a solder short from the reset line where an audio cap was improperly soldered in.

Board would now boot to RAM errors. Replaced 2 2114 RAMs and board would boot but had incorrect colors on motion sprites. Replaced bad 2147 at 6K to fix the color issue. Tested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Rally-X
Symptom: Dead. Garbage on screen.

Resoldered popped leg on the the 220uf capacitor. Cleaned legs on the program ROMs and Z80 Sync Buss Controller IC. Replaced 3 bad mask program ROMs with failed checksums. Tested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Display split in 2 and the number 3 filling 1/2 the screen.

Replaced all old style resistor packs and old sockets. Cleaned the custom IC and tested the board. Board would boot, give the explosion sound, and reboot again before working. Replaced bad 06XX custom and retested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Dead. Garbage on screen.

Replaced bad Z80A CPU and tested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Dead, incorrect colors on screen.

Installed all new 24, 28, 40, and 42 pin double wipe sockets and cleaned the legs on the custom ICs before reinstalling. Cleaned the pins on the 2k x 8 SRAM at 1K on the video and the board booted and played, but with a yellow tint to everything on the screen. Cleaned the legs on the PROM at 5N on the video board to fix the color issue and retested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Rally-X
Symptom: Damaged edge connector

Replaced a staple (?!?!?!?!) being used as an edge contact with copper trace tape and tested board.

Used this board repair to make a video for our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdLDlAl2iWo

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Dead. Attempted repairs had been done.

Removed all the 24/28/40/42 pin sockets to install new ones and found one pin on the socket at 1H on the video board that was broken at the socket body. Fixed two shorted solder pads to an adjacent trace on the 74LS259 at 3C on the CPU board. Fixed two pins that were bent under the chip on a 08xx and the 51xx custom ICs. The broken socket would've made the board intermittent and the two shorted solder pads rendered it non-working. The bent under pins on the 08xx would've rendered the board dead and on the 51xx would've affected one of the inputs from the controls.

Installed new 24/28/40/42 pin sockets. Replaced bad RAM at 5E to fix a "RAM 2L" error. Tested. Cleaned the pins on the PROM at 5E to fix a flickering brightness issue and retested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Random crashes/resets

CPU board had been repaired in the past by Eldorado Games and had machine pin sockets installed.

Replaced the single wipe 24/28 pin sockets on the video board and cleaned the custom IC legs. Tested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Dead

Board had attempted repairs done to it. The 2147 RAMs were removed and replaced with 2 2148 RAMs by another person.

Removed a solder short between pin 14 of IC2L that was shorting the data bus and returned the board to life. The game ran but had missing lines in the sprites and corruption in the crosshatch screen. Replaced a broken unencapsulated resistor pack to fix the crosshatch and removed a solder short between pins 2 and 16 of the removed 2147 at 6M to fix the sprite issues.

Replaced the remaining unencapsulated resistor packs and all of the 24, 28, 40, and 42 pin sockets. Tested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaxian
Symptom: Dead. Missing parts.

This is the early Namco ROM version board with the harder ROMs.

Installed a missing ROM board and ROMs at 1H and 1K. Installed missing RAM at 1N, 1P, 1R, 1S, and 1T and a missing 74LS245 at 5J.

Replaced the 2114 RAMs at 3F/3H and popped a diagnostic ROM on the board to test the rest of the RAM. Replaced bad CPU RAM at 7N and 7P. Retested and replaced a bad RAM at 4F. Since the other RAMs were also bad I replaced the RAM at 5F for good measure. Retested and board had graphic corruption and would randomly lock up and reboot.

Replaced 74LS161 at 3A to fix the lockup. The corruption was interesting - when you shot an alien the whole row would turn the color of the explosion and when aliens from the upper rows dove down the rows they went over would change colors. The text showing alien scores in attract mode was the wrong color. Replaced ICs at 5C, 4D, 2M, and 2N since they had corrosion on the pins and cleaned/tested the traces under them. Broke out the logic comparator and found pin 3 on the 74LS32 at 3S had an incorrect output. Replaced the IC and tested the game successfully.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Suzuka 8 Hours 2
Symptom: Dead. No sync.

Board had attempted repairs - a resistor in the sync section was replaced and a jumper wire installed around a burned trace.

Replaced a bad 74AC240 at A2 to restore sync. It had sync signal the gate input but the output was stuck high. Board would boot but had a Sub CPU error. Replaced missing Sub CPU ROM at 13K and tested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Namco Classics Volume 1
Symptom: Streaking graphics

Replaced 1 47uf, 1 100uf, 1 10uf, and 3 4.7uf surface mount caps in the video amp section. Tested.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Dead. Had attempted repair damage.

Board had been worked on by another tech and all of the 24/28/40/42 pin sockets on the CPU board had already been replaced.

Fixed 3 solder shorts, resoldered a pin on a 74LS367 that was desoldered (?!),  replaced 3 08xx and 1 07xx ICs that had multiple missing pins, and replaced all of the old style resistor packs on the CPU board. Tested and found a dead Z80A on the CPU board then retested successfully with a good video board.

Replaced all of the 24 and 28 pin sockets on the video board, repaired a broken leg on the 00xx IC, and replaced a missing board standoff. Game would boot to a 2L error. Replaced bad 2114 RAM at location 3E and retested successfully.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga (from hell)
Symptom: Dead with a sticker that said "frozen." Attempted repairs were done to the video board

Replaced the resistor packs on the video board. Replaced 2 bad 2114 RAMs and the 2K SRAM IC and tested with a known good CPU board. The game would run through self tests for about 4 seconds then freeze. Removed solder short from 2 pins on the 50 pin board interconnect and retested the video board successfully.

Replaced the 24/28/40/42 pin sockets and resistor packs on the CPU board. Replaced the 06xx, 3 x 08xx, the 07xx customs, and ROMs at 3K, 3L, 3M, and 3N because of multiple leg failures. Installed a missing 54xx custom and tested. Board would not boot. Replaced bad 74LS139 at 4P and board was then stuck in watchdog. Replaced all 3 bad Z80 CPUs and tested. Board would try to boot but fail with random errors and the address lines were garbled on the far side of the 74LS367 address bus buffers. Replaced all the 74LS367 and the board would boot further but still had no digital sound effect/music, locking up randomly, and garbled static out of the speakers. Replaced bad 74LS138 chips at 1P and 2P to get rid of the garbled static. Replaced the 74LS32 ICs at 3P and 4C and the 74LS259 with rotted legs at 3C to fix the lockups. Replaced 2 bad 7489 RAMs and a 74LS283 in the sound section to restore the music and digital sounds.

Connected the 2 boards together and tested for an extended burn-in.

Every chip on the CPU board that touched the address buffers on the far side away from the CPU had some kind of damage.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Dead

Replaced all the 24/28/40/42 pin sockets on the CPU board and tested with a known good video board. Board would lock up at the OK screen. Replaced bad Z80A CPU and retested. Board would boot and play but would display "READY" on the screen when the aliens try to steal your ship. Board would then randomly freeze the player ship in place and letting shots pass through it before displaying "GAME OVER" on the screen and ending the game mid-play. Replaced bad 08XX chip at 2J and restested successfully.

Replaced all the 24/28/40/42 pin sockets on the video board. Repaired a broken pin on the 00XX custom IC then tested. Replaced bad 2114 RAM and retested successfully.

[channelmaniac]

Model: Galaga
Symptom: Dead. Nothing on screen.

Board had a rebuild kit installed and had damage done by another tech during the install.

Video board was only at 3.6v DC and would not go above that. Inspected the board and found the 02xx IC in backwards and the 05xx in the wrong socket. Replaced the 02xx chip and put the 05xx back in the proper socket. Replaced the filter capacitor and cleaned leaking electrolyte off the board. Replaced corroded board interconnect. IDed the character ROMs and put them back in their proper sockets. Board would not boot. Removed multiple solder shorts, replaced bad 2k SRAM IC, and replaced a bad 74LS245 at 2H. Board would boot with a known good CPU board but had graphic corruption. Repaired 3 broken traces to fix characters and 1 broken trace to the color PROM at 1C to fix color boxes around characters. Tested with a known good CPU board.

CPU board was dead. Repaired multiple shorted traces, replaced corroded CPU sockets at 4J and 4M, and repaired a broken trace on the CPU at 4J. Replaced damaged EPROM socket at 3L and corroded sockets at 3M and 3N. Replaced dead program ROM at 3N. Replaced physically damaged socket on the 06xx IC and repaired 4 traces between it and the 08xx custom next to it. Repaired a burned trace on resistor pack RM22 next to DIP switch 6K. Board would not boot and would constantly crash/reboot or stop at RAM 0L errors. Replaced a bad 74107 at 5B and board would boot but stick on RAM OK. The CPU at 4E would not start. The Fluke 9000A pod errored out with a CTL ERROR message and pin 20 would never go low to allow for a read of the EPROM at 3E. Replaced a bad 74LS139 at 4B and removed a solder short between pin 24 of the CPU at 4E and the ground pin under the socket of the 07xx IC at 4D. Tested. Board would boot but had no explosion sounds. Replaced 4 broken mylar capacitors and cleaned the pins on the 54xx custom. Tested.