Merit Industries, Inc.

Troubleshooting Guide for

 Merit Boardwalk Games

P

ROBLEM

 

C

ORRECTIVE 

A

CTION

  

• 

no power 

• 

bill acceptor 
motor does not 
run 

• 

no flash on the 
monitor screen 

• 

no cooling fans 
operating 

• 

no output from 
power supply 

• 

Check that the power cord is connected to a “live” outlet. 

• 

Check that the power switch is on. 

• 

Check that the power cord is connected to the game power supply. 

• 

Check that the power supply’s voltage select switch is set to the 
proper voltage. 

• 

Check the harness connections to the on/off switch and circuit 
breaker.  

• 

Check the circuit breaker for an “open”. 

• 

Check the A/C harness connection to the power supply. 

• 

Check the line cord. 

• 

no video 

• 

no cooling fan 
operation 

• 

screen is blank 

• 

A/C power to the 
monitor and bill 
acceptor 

• 

no output from 
power supply 

• 

Check the power on jumper wire located on the motherboard. It 
should connect J2 to pin 21 of Panel 1. If this jumper wire is missing 
or not connected between the correct pins, it may prevent the power 
supply from turning on. For more information, see Tech Note 52. 

• 

Check the D/C harness connection to the motherboard. 

• 

Check the A/C harness connection to the power supply. 

• 

no video 

• 

cooling fans are 
working 

• 

there is a sound 
when coins are 
deposited 

• 

Check the video cable connections to the motherboard and the 
monitor. 

• 

Check the AC power harness to the monitor. 

• 

Monitors will display a test pattern on the screen when the video 
cable is disconnected from the motherboard and the monitor has 
power. Disconnect the video cable and if there is no test pattern; 
replace the monitor chassis board. 

 

• 

no video 

• 

constant beeping 
or a sequence of 
beeps 

• 

The memory card (DIMM) may not be seated properly. Reseat the 
DIMM or replace it. 

• 

no video 

• 

no sound when 
coins are 
deposited 

• 

Check all connections to the motherboard. 

• 

Reseat the DIMM. 

• 

Replace the motherboard or send it for repair. 

• 

poor picture 
quality 

• 

Adjust Brightness, Contrast, Horizontal, and Vertical controls with 
monitor controls. 

• 

coin jam 

• 

Check the coin mech and coin chute for coins blocking the pathway. 

• 

Make sure the coin harness is connected between the normally 
open and common terminals on the coin switch. 

• 

Disconnect the bill acceptor and the coin switch one at a time to 
narrow down the problem. 

• 

Check the coin harness for pinched or damaged wires. 

• 

Disconnect the coin harness from J1, J3, J7, and J8 of the I/O 
board. If the coin jam still appears, the I/O board will have to be sent 
for repair. 

• 

meter not 
advancing 

• 

Check connection at I/O board. 

• 

Check wiring at 

J2 METER

 connector on I/O board. 

NOTE:  

Meter will not advance when Free Play Key is in use. 

• 

trackball not 
working 

• 

Perform a DIP switch 8.  Refer  to the “DIP SWITCH SETTINGS” 
section of the manual. 

Merit Industries, Inc.

Troubleshooting Guide for

 Merit Boardwalk Games continued

P

ROBLEM

 

C

ORRECTIVE 

A

CTION

  

• 

game locks up or 
resets while 
being played or 
in the attract 
mode 

• 

no movement on 
the screen 

• 

power has to be 
cycled off and on 
to get the game 
to function again 

• 

Check the output voltages from the power supply: 

Enhance SFX 1211J

 

Red wire   +5 volt 
Yellow wire  

+12 volt 

Blue wire  -12 volt 
White wire  +5 volt power good 
Violet wire  +5 volt VSB 
Black wire  ground 
Brown wire +3.3 volt 

• 

Clean the vents and the fans of any dust and dirt that may interfere 
with airflow. 

• 

Clean the CPU cooling fan on the motherboard. 

• 

Replace the CPU cooling fan if it is not operating properly. 

• 

Reseat the DIMM on the motherboard. 

• 

Clear memory with the following procedure: 

• 

Turn off the game. 

• 

Press and hold the “Setup” button. 

• 

Turn the game on and keep holding the button until the screen 
displays “ONE BUTTON PROCESSED”. This should take 
about 30 seconds. 

• 

Release the button. This will clear high scores, clear the books 
and reset options, and reset the game menu and coin menu to 
their factory settings. 

• 

Perform a checksum test on the hard drive: 

• 

Turn off the game. 

• 

Turn on DIP switch 8 on the I/O board. 

• 

Turn on the game. The test will take about 10 minutes. 

• 

A failure will cause the test to stop. 

• 

A passed test will display “DRIVE CHECKSUM 
COMPLETE RESET ALL DIP SWITCHES TO REBOOT 
MACHINE”. 

• 

With power on, turn off DIP switch 8. 

• 

game locks up 
with “invalid key 
for version 
PG3002 – V 
XXXX” 

• 

Check the program number on the security key. It should be 
compatible with the program on the hard drive. 

• 

Check the contacts on the security key socket. Lift up on the contact 
on the bottom of the socket and make sure there is a good 
connection to the base of the security key. 

• 

Check the USB cable that connects the I/O board to the 
motherboard. 

• 

Check jumpers JP5 and JP6 on the I/O board. The USB cable can 
be connected to two connectors on the I/O board (J5A and J5B). 
The position of the shunts on jumpers JP5 and JP6 will enable 
either J5A or J5B. The shunts should be positioned towards the 
connector where the USB cable is connected. For more information, 
see Tech Note 55. 

• 

Try another security key with the same program number or test the 
security key in another game with the same program version. 

• 

“INVALID KEY” 
message while 
downloading 
software to the 
hard drive 

• 

If the security key was replaced before the download: 

• 

The motherboard did not boot from the DVD drive. 

• 

Check that the DVD drive is set as master. 

• 

Check the ribbon cable connections between the DVD drive and the 
motherboard. 

• 

Try another DVD drive or another set of DVDs. 

Merit Industries, Inc.

Troubleshooting Guide for

 Merit Boardwalk Games continued

P

ROBLEM

 

C

ORRECTIVE 

A

CTION

  

• 

game will not 
download DVD 

• 

Make sure the DVD is installed correctly, with the logo facing up. 

• 

Check for scratches or a defective DVD. 

• 

Try a different DVD drive or another set of DVDs. 

• 

If you’re downloading a DVD set, make sure each DVD is of the 
same revision. 

• 

"ERROR 
READING DRIVE 
C" 

• 

This message can be caused by the hard drive or in some program 
versions, a coin jam while the game is turned on. 

1. 

Turn the game off.  

2. 

Locate DS 1, position 8 and turn it on.  

3. 

Turn on power to the cabinet. This will start the hard 
drive checksum test, which should take about 20 
minutes to complete.  

4. 

When the hard drive passes the test it will display a 
"CHECKSUM GOOD" message and continue to boot up 
into the game attract screens. This indicates a coin jam. 

5. 

When the hard drive fails the test, the game will lock up 
with a "CHECKSUM ERROR" message, which will stay 
on the screen until the power is turned off. In this case, 
the hard drive will have to be replaced. 

• 

"DISK BOOT 
FAILURE" 

This message indicates the motherboard is not receiving data from the 
hard drive and has locked up. 

• 

Check the IDE ribbon cable connections to the motherboard and 
hard drive. 

• 

Check the power to the hard drive. It should have +5 volts, +12 
volts, and ground. 

 

• 

“QUANTUM 
FIREBALL, 
SMART FAILURE 
DETECTED, 
BACK UP HARD 
DRIVE” 

The self-diagnostics on the hard drive has detected an error. 

• 

The hard drive will have to be replaced. 

• 

“CRITICAL 
ERROR ABORT 
RETRY FAIL” or 
“BAD COMMAND 
OR FILE NAME” 
error 

• 

Try reloading the program onto the hard drive with a different set of 
update DVDs compatible with the security key. If it will not accept 
the download, try another DVD drive. If it still does not work, replace 
the hard drive.