Did the MTH Doodlebugs use the 5V PS sound or the 3 volt? I read where one fellow reporting on his 5V PS system, referred to capacitor failures. Is it a discrete component failure or the uProc? In my side biz, I have fixed a particular manf. radio model for folks where the manf. put in caps rated for 12VDC in a radio that had a 10V bus, and after a couple years, every cap would be shorted, and there were 32 of them. Retrofitting with 16VDC caps and they would return to life.
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Doodlebugs were produced last in 2006, one would presume that would be equipped with the 3V board. The 2000 models, which I have a sample, have the 5V board. Also, there were several years of PS/1 models.
As for fixing the caps, one issue with the 5V boards is the two boards are permanently joined, and separating them without damaging them beyond repair is not simple. I typically replace the large 330uf 35V cap as I can reach under and unsolder it. That large cap is also the one that I've seen fail more often than any other component. However, there are many different components that run near they're max ratings, including the diodes, motor drive FET's, etc. I've personally observed twice a motor stall (hung on a switch) take out the motor drive FET in seconds.
Here's the 2006 model list, these would have the 3V boards.
Thanks again John for the data. Yes, parts on the edges of a circuit board that are married to another with solder joints, make things a pain to disassemble, are always worth a shot to see if you can get them off the board without having to unsolder the headers between them.
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