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Intermittent Translucent Characters and Jumping Ghosts From Bad 285 Socket
Repair Case Summary
This page documents a firsthand Intermittent Translucent Characters and Jumping Ghosts From Bad 285 Socket repair case.
It is intended for technicians and collectors troubleshooting original Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man arcade PCB hardware.
- Date: 2018-06-07
- Board: Original Pac-Man PCB
- Category: Socket / intermittent graphics
- Symptoms:
- Two Pac-Man characters briefly appeared toward the upper-left.
- Multiple ghosts jumped around the screen.
- During the glitch, characters appeared almost translucent.
- Diagnostic observations / tests:
- The 285 had previously been inserted without the sweep, enlarging the individual socket receptacles.
- The 285 barely made contact in the damaged socket.
- Components / locations investigated: 285 socket, 285
- Root cause: Damaged/loose 285 socket.
- Repair: Replaced the bad 285 socket.
- Result: The socket-related graphical instability was corrected.
- Search terms: Pac-Man 285 socket; translucent characters; ghosts jumping; two Pac-Man characters; intermittent graphics; bad socket
- Evidence: Physically verified repair / firsthand repair log
How to Use This Repair Record
This is a firsthand physical repair case. The same symptom on another Pac-Man or Ms. Pac-Man PCB can have a different electrical cause. Use the documented diagnostic observations and tests to guide troubleshooting rather than replacing a component solely because it repaired this board.
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