ARpiCADE Forums

Using an arpicade with an Rpi 3b+ which is said to be an Rpi 3b+ image, but having "lightning bolt" issues.

It will take a long time to boot to a game menu, and then it just sits frozen and a yellow lightning bolt will appear at upper mid right of the screen. Sometimes the bolt will appear on just a black screen. Controls are unresponsive.

The ARpiCADE had a mini 1A soldered fuse that apparently had blown and it has been replaced with another 1A fuse with pigtails on the end and soldered in. This part seems fine now.

What might be causing this? Is it a bad Rpi 3+ computer? Corrupt SD card/files? I have tested the voltage from the JAMMA harness into the ARpiCADE from 4.75 to 5.5 with the same result and have used an official CanaKit power supply with the Rpi also with the exact same results. On the box of the CanaKit power adapter it says that if you see a lightning bolt that it is not a power issue but an incompatible operating system. This SD card image however was tested before it was sent to me and was said to be working ok, may have it become corrupted?

I'll order another Rpi 3b+ if needed.

Thanks for suggestions

I'd say it sounds like it's probably the 1A fuse or your cabs JAMMA loom power wiring causing the low current condition however you have said a Pi power supply also shows the lightning bolt, so that rules tham both out *(assuming the Pi power supply is fine - I'm not familar with the model you mentioned).

I recommend using a 2.5A fuse rather than 1A for Pi3 onward. 2A is also fine for a Pi3B+. I have been using 2.5A as the stock value for a few years now but the silk screen on the PCB has not been updated to reflect this.

Also don't go over 5.2V at the JAMMA edge, it should be about 5.1V at the JAMMA edge for a PI3 (or Pi4) - having to go much higher than that generally suggests an issue with the fuse, power wiring or power supply (but it's possible not in this case).

If it's loading to a menu it's compatible software, it wouldn't boot if the software was not. The lightning bolt symbol is very much the symbol for power issues on RPi. It may also be reused as an indicator the SD card you're using isn't working, but in this case your system is starting up so that isn't it - you would be seeing nothing other than the lightning bolt if the software wasn't compatible for Pi3B+.

I have had a report of a newer Pi3B+ being incompatible but I'm fairly sure this is not the behaviour that user had. Just in case, here's that thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4626

If you can try a different PI3B+ without having to buy another that would be a good idea. Also, it may be worth downloading the vanilla release of ARpiCADE 3.X and trying it on a different SD card just to rule it out. I don't know what software version you have or what has been done on it to speculate so trying the vanilla release may be worth while. Given that you've tried both JAMMA power and RPi power (sepperately I hope) it's possible the issue is the Pi or SD card...

Definitely Sounds like low voltage. I was getting that some time ago on my Pi3B, It was actually causing the joysticks via the GPIO port to be sluggish as well. I ended up checking the voltage on my Arcade PS and it was 5V not 5.1V. with the Pi plugged in, and the multimeter attached, gently turn it up to get 5.1V and it should be alright, and the Yellow Lightning bolt will vanish.

Installed a new green 2amp fuse on the ARpicade, with same result.

Then, tried the setup with a known working Rpi 2 and it did boot up immediately.

The SD card image is configured for an Rpi 3 so perhaps this is why it still had the lightning bolt showing at the right, but at least I could move through a menu, though it did not launch a game. Going to get another Rpi 3 and try again.

Rpi2 uses less power than RPi3 so it may not rule out a power issue.

If you haven't tried the vanilla 3.X release that's what I'd do next in trouble shooting, it's definately set up for Pi3B+