Electronic Basketball Game Repair - where do I start?

[Guest]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and relatively new to dabbling in electronics. I'd like to get my feet wet with this project. I bought my wife one of those large "pop-a-shot" basketball games for her birthday - it's got 2 hoops with an electronic scorekeeping / timer system. There are sensors below the hoops that record when a ball makes a basket and it tallies the score. It worked fine for several weeks without any problems.

Here's the problem - it worked great for a while and then suddenly the led lighting for the scoring readout begin to "half-work" to the point that you couldn't tell which number it's trying to display. After a minute or so, it just stops working all together. Here's the thing - when I first plug it in ( standard 120v to 9v dc plug) it works perfectly for about 10 seconds (sounds, lighting, scoring) and then gradually craps out over the next minute to where I lose all power. If I unplug it, let it rest, and plug it back in again, same thing happens; works, and then fades out.

The only thing that I've tested so far is the the wall plug - instead of a 9v output, my multi-meter reads a 14 volt output. Could that be the problem? I'd like to try to test some of the components inside the scoring boards itself, but I'm not sure what the most likely candidate is for the problem. Any suggestions??

thanks for you help!!!

[jts1957]

I presume that voltage was take with the plug disconnected from the game (unloaded)?
You could see if voltage drops nearer to 9 with it plugged in and game operating. You'll need to disassemble game to get to back side of DC in jack.
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[tfisher]

yes, the voltage was taken with the plug disconnected from the game - i will try to get a reading with it plugged into the game - does it sound like a power supply issue?