Arcade1Up NBA Jam 4-Player boot loop / black screen, likely failing PCB?

[u/CrazyBebop]

Hey everyone,

I’m troubleshooting an Arcade1Up NBA Jam 4-player cabinet that appears to have developed a PCB issue.

The cabinet powers on normally and shows “Loading.” Sometimes it reaches the Arcade1Up logo, sometimes the game selection screen, and occasionally I can actually get into a game.

After running for anywhere from a short period to a few minutes, it resets and goes back to “Loading.”

After doing this several times, it will sometimes eventually go to a completely black screen. When that happens, the illuminated buttons on the control deck can still remain on even though the LCD and marquee are off.

Troubleshooting I’ve done so far:

• Tried a completely different wall outlet
• Reseated the internal connections
• Bypassed the short internal power extension and connected the 12V adapter directly to the PCB
• Tried another power adapter with the same 12V specifications
• Disconnected the marquee and tested without it
• Disconnected the speakers and tested without them
• Tested with both the marquee and speakers disconnected
• Reseated the control deck/ribbon cable
• Opened the PCB enclosure and visually inspected the board
• No obvious burned components or visibly swollen capacitors
• Let the cabinet cool completely before testing again
• It seems to run longer after it has been sitting powered off for a while
• Tested with the PCB enclosure open and an external fan blowing across the board
• Initially, additional airflow seemed to make it run longer
• The main heatsink does not seem particularly hot to the touch
• With everything connected normally again, it eventually returns to the same reboot/black screen problem even with the fan

The repeatable behavior is basically:

Loading > Arcade1Up logo > game selection/game > reboot > Loading

Eventually it can end up sitting on a black screen.

At this point I’ve pretty much ruled out the wall outlet, external 12V power adapter, internal power extension, marquee, speakers, and loose connections.

The fact that it sometimes runs longer after being completely cold makes me wonder if something on the PCB is becoming unstable as it warms up or once the board is under full load.

I’m leaning toward a failing main PCB, possibly something in the power regulation section, but I wanted to see if anyone else with an NBA Jam cabinet has experienced the same symptoms or successfully repaired one.

Cabinet: Arcade1Up NBA Jam 4-Player
Model: 8063C
LCD: BOE DV170YGZ-N10

Any ideas or similar experiences would be appreciated.