PCB life expectancy, parts failure, and related topics

[EOJ]

As I look at my stack of CAVE PCBs, I am wondering how long I can expect them to last. Personally I am only interested in SH3/CV1000 PCBs, because that is all I own, but feel free to discuss all CAVE PCBs here.

From what I have seen, if an SH3 PCB does not undergo damage from misuse, one or more of the following faults will eventually arise:

1) Capacitor failure
2) EEPROM corruption
3) U14 chip failure

I have seen several Ibara and Mushi PCBs with cap failures, and this is not a big deal to fix, but it shows that if enough hours are put in the caps will fail. But how many hours?

In relation to 2), I had a Mushi PCB that seemed to have some sort of EEPROM corruption (Ultra would never stay unlocked, settings wouldn't stay saved, etc). I have read of other similar cases (but only with Mushi). Is there a way to fix that that isn't very difficult? Is it Mushi-specific or are there other documented cases in other games?

The U14 chip failure is the cause of color issues, and is well-documented on Futari PCBs, but I have come across it on Ibara PCBs as well. What is the cause? Too much heat near the JAMMA connector due to improper ventilation over long periods of time? And are there any documented cases of U15 or U16 failure?

Any other issues we can expect?

[SWZ]

I'd expect the capacitors to last about 20 years; less if the environment is bad. You don't want to let these fail. There's always the possibility that one shorts and takes the board with it.

[EOJ]

Here's a broken Futari 1.5 PCB:

https://ebay.us/aaKxcw

It says "Game has audio but graphics are garbled. The screen shows black with ghosting of sprites."

I am wondering what are the most probable causes of this. Improper use (and if so, what specifically?), failure of parts due to extensive use (and if so, what parts?), failure of parts due to age, etc? I wouldn't think it is merely due to "age".

[zak]

Also Flash memory degrades everytime you turn on these PCBs

These were never intended for home use, so I don't think they were designed to run perfectly for more than a few years.

The same applies to cabinets (Chassis and PSU failure).

[EOJ]

I think they were designed to last at least 10 years (and almost all of them have, in fact many of their games have been going strong for 20+ years). Their hardware is robust, because arcade installment requires robust hardware in order to run 12+ hours a day every day, year after year (in contrast, a lot of home console hardware cannot hold up in such conditions over several years). Arcade ops also wouldn't want to buy hardware that would die after a few years.

[el_rika]

I'm no expert, but i wager Sdoj would last longer in .zip format