Action Pinball & Amusement - Pinball 2000 Fan Replacement Upgrade

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Pinball 2000 Fan Replacement Upgrade

NOTICE: For some very important information, please read the Technical Article Notice and Disclaimer, found on our Technical Articles Index page before performing any of the work described below. The information given below assumes you have read the Notice and Disclaimer first.

Overview:

Many Star Wars: Episode 1 games have suffered from failed cooling fans on the power supply and CPU chip. This causes the computer system to overheat and the game can lock up or shut down. If the power supply overheats too much, it can destroy itself, requiring a complete replacement unit (usually $80 to $100). Further damage to the system can occur, too, if the game overheats too much from a failed cooling fan.

The last unit we replaced which had burned itself up came out of a game that had only 670 total plays on it since being purchased new. The cooling fan seized up and caused the unit to overheat, thus killing the power to the rest of the computer system. The CPU cooling fan in this game was still partly functioning, but was making a buzzing, grinding sound, and wasn't spinning at near full speed. Both units were replacd.

Although Revenge From Mars uses similar fans in it's computer system, it hasn't experienced near the number of failures as SW:E1.

Recommended Solution:

We recommend purchasing high-quality replacement ELINA FAN power supply and cpu DC cooling fans from Indek Corporation. Their web site address is www.indek.com. They feature online product shopping and ordering.

NOTE: As of December, 2007, Indek Corp. is no longer in business, so the fans listed below are discontinued and no longer available. We have no updated information on any replacements for these parts at this time. The fans you will need from Indek are:

Unit	Part #
Power Supply Fan:	HDF8025L - 12HB
CPU Fan:	HDF5010L - 12HB

You can get product information from them directly at: www.indek.com/products/product.html

As an option, (or for complete power supply unit replacement) you may want to check out the PC Power and Cooling web site. They produce high quality complete replacement power supply units.

If you want or need to replace your entire power supply unit, we recommend this robust unit from PC Power & Cooling:

NOTE: As of December, 2007, the Turbo-Cool 300 Slim unit listed below is now discontinued from PC Power and Cooling. They may have a similar replacement unit available- contact them directly if you are interested. We have no updated information on any replacements for this part at this time.

Unit	Part #
Power Supply- Complete:	Turbo-Cool 300 Slim

The Turbo-Cool 300 Slim is a heavy-duty 300-watt unit, as opposed to the 200-watt unit which is original equipment in these games. It also has a high-quality ball-bearing cooling fan, which will hold up well and keep the unit running cool.

Installation:

Disclaimer: As with all of our Technical Articles, please read the disclaimer at the top of our Technical Articles Index Page. This disclaimer applies to this, and all other technical articles, information, and suggestions on our site.

It's easiest to remove the whole PC case assembly from the backbox. It comes right out through the front of the backbox (see game manual for additional details).

Open the top of the PC case (latch on top), and remove it.

CPU Fan:

Locate the CPU fan on the motherboard and remove it by removing its four mounting screws. The two wires to the fan (black and red) will have to be cut to get the fan out- cut these back from the fan about an inch or so. Discard this fan, or keep for a spare.

The replacement Indek cpu fan has to be mounted upside down to make it blow in the same direction as the original fan. You can use the screws from the original fan, but it's not a bad idea to get slightly longer screws, as the replacement fan is a bit taller. If using original screws, or replacement screws with the same style head as the originals, you may want to counter-sink the holes in the fan casing so the screws mount flush with the top surface of the fan.

Cut the wires off the new fan about three or four inches back from the fan. Strip all four wires (old wires and new fan wires), and splice / solder them together, and use some heat shrink tubing for neatness. Match red wires to red wires, and old black wire to new blue wire (wire colors may vary- our new fan had red/blue wires).

Note: If you attach the wires wrong (backwards) then the fan will not work. You can check your work as you go along by using the game's line cord and plugging it into the back of the PC case, then turn the unit on/off with the pushbutton switch on the front of the PC case.

Power Supply Fan:

Disconnect power cord from PC case (if plugged in).

Remove the five screws on the back of the PC case which hold the power supply "box" to the PC case. The power supply unit is then free to be moved around a bit in the case.

Remove the cover on the power supply case by removing the the four screws on top of the unit.

Remove the four screws on the back of the power supply unit which hold the large fan secure.

Pull fan up and out of the power supply case. Clip it's wires off about an inch or two back from the fan. Discard the fan or keep for a spare.

Install new fan in the power supply case. Fan mounts exactly the same as the old fan, and in the same direction.

Connect wires from new fan to the wires you cut off inside the power supply case. Again, solder the spliced connections and use shrink tubing for neatness. Remember to match red wire to red wire, and black wire to black wire.

Replace power supply cover and its four screws.

Place power supply unit back in PC case and secure with the 5 screws on the back of the unit.

Test your work by plugging the game's line cord into the back of the PC case and turning the unit on momentarily by using the pushbutton on the front of the PC case. Check to see that both fans are turning and that no wires or any other parts are obstructing the fans, or air flow through the fans.

Power off and remove line cord. Replace the PC case lid, and re-install the PC case assembly back in the machine (see game manual for additional details).

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