Mattel Sub Chase Troubleshooting Guide
Mattel Sub Chase (model 2937, 1978) has no published service manual or schematic, and the chips inside it are not documented.[2][3] Faults that can be found without a schematic are in the battery, the snap and its wires, the POWER switch, the four arrow keys, the FIRE button, the LEDs and the speaker. Mattel's leaflet describes how a working game behaves, and some of that behaviour looks like a fault, so start with the table below. Routine care is on Mattel Sub Chase General Maintenance.
Behaviour that is not a fault
[edit | edit source]| What you see or hear | Why |
|---|---|
| Only one small dot on the screen at switch-on | That dot is your destroyer; the sub is hidden[4] |
| No beeping | The destroyer is not yet near the sub; steer until the beeping starts[4] |
| The beeping speeds up | The sub is directly above, below or under the destroyer[4] |
| The game ends suddenly with a short tune | A torpedo, one or two fast-moving dots, hit the destroyer[4] |
| FIRE stops working and a total score shows | All 30 depth charges have been used and the game is over[4] |
| The score flashes | The cumulative score is shown after a hit[4] |
To start a new game, move the POWER switch to OFF and back to ON.[4]
Sounds
[edit | edit source]| Sound | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Slow beeping | The sub is to one side of the destroyer |
| Faster beeping | The sub is above, below or under the destroyer |
| Fast, steady beep ("sinking" sound) | A hit |
| Short tune | A miss, or the game ending after a torpedo hit |
Source: Mattel's leaflet.[4]
Symptoms
[edit | edit source]| Symptom | Probable cause | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing lights at all | Flat battery; corroded snap; wire broken at the snap; dirty POWER switch | Fit a fresh battery. Check the snap studs and wires; a 1976 Mattel Auto Race needed a new snap.[5] Clean the switch. |
| Display lights misbehave | Battery wearing out; Mattel calls this "the first sign of battery wear"[6] | Fit a new 9 V alkaline battery before anything else.[6] |
| The destroyer will not move one way | Dirty contact under that arrow key | Clean the contact; the other three directions working rules out the battery. |
| FIRE does nothing during a game | Dirty or displaced FIRE button contact on the side of the case | Clean the contact; check the button meets it squarely after reassembly. |
| Display works but there is never any sound | Speaker or its wires | Check the speaker wires and joints, and the speaker coil for continuity. |
| One LED never lights | Failed LED, or a broken joint or track to it | Test the LED with the meter's diode range, battery out; inspect its joints. |
Checks with a meter
[edit | edit source]- With the battery out, check continuity from each snap stud to the board, and through the POWER switch in the ON position.
- Measure the battery with the game switched on. Mattel's advice for misbehaving display lights is a new battery.[6]
- Check the speaker coil and wires for continuity.
- Check single LEDs with the diode range of the meter, battery out.
What can be repaired
[edit | edit source]- The battery snap and wires, the switch, the keys, the FIRE button contact, the speaker and single LEDs are ordinary parts.
- No source identifies the chips on the board, and MAME has no driver for the game.[3] A fault in the game chip itself means a donor board from another Sub Chase.
- Mattel's own service, through its Repair Center in Hawthorne, California, repaired games or replaced them with reconditioned ones, and ended a year after purchase.[7]
Related pages
[edit | edit source]- Mattel Sub Chase
- Mattel Sub Chase General Maintenance
- Mattel Sub Chase Capacitor Replacement Guide
- Battery Explosion, Capacitor or Corrosion Damage
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ Joe Haupt, "Sub Chase by Mattel, Model No. 2937-0330, Made in Japan, Copyright 1978", Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 (retrieved 2026-10-19), examined at 1,920 pixels wide: blue case, black front panel, round screen overlay with concentric rings, crosses and a ship and submarine at the bottom, purple score window at the top of the screen, POWER slide switch at the left, four orange arrow keys labelled ACTION KEY at the right, orange FIRE button on the left-hand side of the case.
- ↑ Mattel, Inc., Mattel Electronics Sub Chase Instructions, code 2937-0920, 1978, printed in Japan. Hosted here as File:Mattel Electronics Sub Chase Instructions 2937-0920.pdf: page 1 (cover; drawing of the game naming the FIRING BUTTON on the left side, the ON-OFF SWITCH and the DESTROYER CONTROL KEY; code and imprint) and page 4 ("The control keys": FIRE BUTTON, POWER SWITCH pushed up to ON, ACTION KEYS to steer the destroyer up, down, right or left).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 MAME source, handheld drivers src/mame/handheld (hh_cop400, hh_cops1, hh_hmcs40, hh_pic16, hh_pps41, hh_rw5000, hh_tms1k, hh_ucom4 and others, retrieved and searched 2026-10-19): no driver for Sub Chase.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Mattel, Sub Chase Instructions 2937-0920, pages 3, 5 and 6: one, two or more players taking turns and keeping their own scores; a small dot is the player's destroyer; 30 depth charges a game; a slow beep means the sub is to one side of the destroyer, a faster beep that it is above, below or under it; a hit on the first try scores 5, the second 3, the third 2, and four or more tries 1; a hit gives a fast, steady beep ("sinking" sound) and a miss a short tune; the cumulative score flashes; a new sub appears at a new place after each sinking; torpedoes are one or two dots moving rapidly across the screen at random, and a torpedo hit ends the game with a short tune; the total score shows at the end; move POWER to OFF and back to ON for a new game.
- ↑ Slashdot, "Retrocomputing Enthusiast Repairs Mattel's 48-Year-Old Handheld Videogame", 9 November 2024 (retrieved 2026-10-19): a dead Mattel Auto Race opened with a tri-wing screwdriver; after failing to resolder the wires to the old connector, the owner replaced the 9-volt battery connector.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Mattel, Sub Chase Instructions 2937-0920, pages 6 and 7: "Care of your game" (do not drop it or get it wet or dirty; do not leave it out in the hot sun) and the "Important notice": "Should the display lights begin to malfunction, this is the first sign of battery wear. A NEW battery should solve the problem. For longer battery life use a 9 volt Alkaline battery."
- ↑ Mattel, Sub Chase Instructions 2937-0920, pages 7 and 8: 90-day limited warranty; repair or replacement with a reconditioned game through the Mattel Electronics Repair Center, 5150 Rosecrans Avenue, Hawthorne, California 90250; after 90 days and up to one year from purchase, for a $10 service charge.
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