Corrosion is bad, right?

[spiroagnew]

Opened up my Fire last night. Under playfield looks mint. The backbox however held some bad news. Corrosion on the MPU. Attached is a pic of the affected area. To some of the veterans...this board is toast right? The game boots and the power supply checks good. I get a "bong" but no LEDs or other signs of power on this MPU.

 

[mwong168]

The board could be cleaned and possibly salvaged? Clay aka pinball ninja has repaired a few corroded boards

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZSt50Y5DZII[/youtube]

Clay tried to neutralize the corrosion (which is a strong base) by applying some yellow mustard (to the area affected. Mustard is a weak acid, and this counteracts the corrosion’s base. After a minute he washed the mustard away with some iso alcohol. Then sanded the area and checked for any circuit board breaks using the DMM set to low resistance “buzz.”

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rs0PofK0r3k[/youtube]

 

[Grauwulf]

That board is probably done for. Once you get corrosion in to those fine traces around and under those PIA's you're screwed.

 

[spiroagnew]

That board is probably done for. Once you get corrosion in to those fine traces around and under those PIA's you're screwed.

Do you still have that Sys 11A MPU board for sale, Grauwulf? I obviously need one!

 

[Grauwulf]

I don't unfortunately. Funny enough though, one went in to a another Fire!

 

[luch]

there is one on pinside in market place http://pinside.com/pinball/market/ad/12306

 

[tim.sanderson]

That's an 11c. He needs an 11a. I don't think a fire could make use of an 11c, could it?

 

[Grauwulf]

No, fire needs the sound section. A plain old sys11 board can be made to work, or an 11A. An 11B can be used if you repopulate the missing components from the sound section.

 

[somed00dxx]

I fixed a baby pacman board that was worse than that. I personally would try. But it's a fair amount of work.
Richard

 

[spiroagnew]

I'll probably get a replacement, then practice my soldering skills on this board to see if I can get it back in working order. I have a couple of games that use this board, so it will be nice to monkey around with it to try and get a spare.

 

[Menace]

Yeah, anything can be fixed it all depends on your skill level and how much time you invest into it. I've fixed boards with worse corrosion, so it can be done. If you can find a used or replacement board for a good price go that route, and then take your time working towards resurrecting that one. When finished you'd have a good working spare or you could sell it off and recoup some of your replacement investment.

D

 

[Grauwulf]

What Doug said. I've had boards that bad or worse and have been largely successful doing it, but it can be a long and trying process.