Replacing a Battery on a 1977 - 1985 Bally CPU board

Symptom

The battery is missing, no longer working or corroding on the CPU board.

Resolution

If the battery has corroded the CPU, obviously first remove all the corrosion and repair any bad connections with soldered traces. The easiest and fastest (maybe not the cheapest) is to purchase the following battery from Radio Shack:

Radio Shack Rechargeable Telephone Battery

Cat #: 23-953

NiMh 3.6v 600mAh

This is about $15.99

Then simply solder the red (positive) wire to the positive connection on the left and solder the black (negative) wire to the negative connection on the right.

The top picture shows the MPU. The bottom picture shows the battery area with another battery in it. I have shown the positive and negative sides.

 Testing Magnets

Put the DMM on Ohms. It should read 4 ohms or a bit above. Less than 3 is bad. 3.2 or better is acceptable.

 Correct Fuses

As I find fuses that are mislabeled in the manual, tech shett, or when you press start in coil test mode, I will note them here.

Tales of the Arabian Nights

 Coil Resistance

Here are some 90's WMS flipper coils and their resistance values:

(from an email from Mike S. Kalamazoo, MI 3/4/2005 and Clay's guides)

 Integrated Circuit Pin Numbering

The pins are numbered counter-clockwise around the IC (chip) starting near the notch or dot. The diagram shows the numbering for 8-pin and 14-pin ICs, but the principle is the same for all sizes.

The above information is from the following web site:

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/index.htm

This is a great web site to learn about electronics.

 WPC CPU Switch Matrix and Dedicated Switches

I picked up a corroded CPU (Judge Dredd) from Coin Op Warehouse. After cleaning up the corrosion on the board, I replaced the battery holder, added sockets for U16, U17, U18 and U19 (LM339) and U20 (ULN2803A). I replaced the 1K resistors for R43 - R50.

I checked the schematics and confirmed on RGP (as well as a working CPU) that some of the information was not correct. Below I have listed each pin to each chip with the appropriate items in between. The information below assumes you are looking at the board with the switch connectors closest to you.

J205
Direct switch 1 uses pin 1
J205-1 to D15 (bottom)
D15 (top) to R50 (right side)
R50 (left side) to U17 pin 5

Direct switch 2 uses pin 1
J205-2 to D16 (bottom)
D16 (top) to R49 (right side)
R49 (left side) to U17 pin 7

Direct switch 3 uses pin 3
J205-3 to D17 (bottom)
D17 (top) to R48 (right side)
R48 (left side) to U17 pin 11

Direct switch 4 uses pin 4
J205-4 to D18 (bottom)
D18 (top) to R47 (right side)
R47 (left side) to U17 pin 9

Direct switch 5 uses pin 6 since pin 5 is the key
J205-6 to D11 (bottom)
D11 (top) to R46 (right side)
R46 (left side) to U16 pin 9

Direct switch 6 uses pin 7 since pin 5 is the key
J205-7 to D12 (bottom)
D12 (top) to R45 (right side)
R45 (left side) to U16 pin 11

Direct switch 7 uses pin 8 since pin 5 is the key
J205-8 to D13 (bottom)
D13 (top) to R44 (right side)
R44 (left side) to U16 pin 7

Direct switch 8 uses pin 9 since pin 5 is the key
J205-9 to D14 (bottom)
D14 (top) to R43 (right side)
R43 (left side) to U16 pin 5

Dedicated Switches
Left side of R43 to U16 pin 5
Left side of R44 to U16 pin 7
Left side of R45 to U16 pin 11
Left side of R46 to U16 pin 9

Left side of R47 to U17 pin 9
Left side of R48 to U17 pin 11
Left side of R49 to U17 pin 7
Left side of R50 to U17 pin 5

Column Drivers (J206/207)
J206/207 pin 1 to Bottom side of R67 to U20 pin 18
J206/207 pin 2 to Bottom side of R68 to U20 pin 17
J206/207 pin 3 to Bottom side of R69 to U20 pin 16
J206/207 pin 4 to Bottom side of R70 to U20 pin 15
J206/207 pin 5 to Bottom side of R71 to U20 pin 14
J206/207 pin 6 to Bottom side of R72 to U20 pin 13
J206/207 pin 7 to Bottom side of R73 to U20 pin 12
J206/207 pin 9 to Bottom side of R74 to U20 pin 11

Top side of each of the above resistors has continuity to U20 pin 10

Switch Rows (J208/209)
J208/209 pin 1 to D3 to Top of R51 to U18 pin 11
J208/209 pin 2 to D4 to Top of R53 to U18 pin 9
J208/209 pin 3 to D5 to Top of R55 to U18 pin 5
J208/209 pin 4 to D6 to Top of R57 to U18 pin 7

J208/209 pin 5 to D7 to Top of R59 to U19 pin 11
J208/209 pin 7 to D8 to Top of R61 to U19 pin 9
J208/209 pin 8 to D9 to Top of R63 to U19 pin 5
J208/209 pin 9 to D10 to Top of R65 to U19 pin 7

 Change Language to English

When you have a game in another language, use menu E.1. 21 to change the text to English. (At least from the German text.)

 Bally Addams Family Plunger Not Working

Symptom

The plunger looks like it works but the ball barely makes it to the swamp hole.

Resolution

The sleeve end was broken and coming out when the plunger was pulled back. I took off the sleeve temporarily until I can get a replacement. It turns out that the plunger tip was hitting the metal side rather than going through the middle opening. I unscrewed the 3 screws and moved the plunger assembly over towards the left flipper. The ball now shots out great.

 Bally Addams Family Thing Opto Not Working

Symptom

The thing opto is not working.

Resolution

I checked the wires. They all looked good. I pulled out the opto on the right side near the bumper (transmitter). It looked like if you pushed the board back then it worked (temporarily until it shook out of alignment). The plastic connector was broken and barely connected by the 1 screw. I replaced the plastic connector with a good one. The opto did not line up with the hole. I rotated the board until it worked and placed a washer in the appropriate place to align the opto with the hole. It works. I would assume that the original people were lazy and broke the plastic connector and made it work temporarily rather than really fix the problem.

 Bally Addams Family Left Ramp Entry Switch Not Working

Symptom

The entry ramp on the left switch is not working. The wires looked okay. The lugs and solder looked okay. I tried to put a wire between the two lugs on the switch to force the switch to be recognized in switch test. It was not. This meant (possibly) that the electricity was not getting there.

Resolution

I pulled out the connector. There are 6 holes. On connector looked like

xx
xx
x

The other looked like

xx
x
xx

I checked the manual. The white brown wire needed to mate with the white wire. I moved one male pin to the correct place and the switch worked.

What is amazing is that the company that sold the game said that the game worked 100% when it left their place. (The above opto issue and plunger issue were also problems on this machine.) There is no way that that male pin could have moved on its own! (Unless maybe there was a really pretty female connector close by.)

 Bally Addams Family Thing Hand Not Working

Symptom

When the game is turned on, the Thing hand comes out several times and then gives an error. The magnet to lift the ball was not working, but would work once in a while.

Resolution

The Open opto was working. The closed opto was not. I took the hand out of the game and cleaned the opto and it worked.

This is never the end of the story since I also screw things up.

I forgot that this game doesn't have the high power door protect circuit. I put the hand down and turned on the game again to test. It moved as it usually does during test mode and shorted out the dedicated switches. I had to replace the chips on the CPU to correct this stupid mistake.

SECOND RESOLUTION

The metal finger that moves between the "open" opto and the "closed" opto was aligned in such a way that it went past the closed position but never got to the opto in the open position. I used an allen wrench to loosen the metal assembly and moved it 1/8" to align correctly in the closed position. This also fixed the open position.

THIRD RESOLUTION

I purchased a new coil assembly for the hand (A-12158) and a new core (probably didn't need it but it looks squeaky clean) and the magnet worked. This would imply that the wire on the old coil assembly is broken someplace (I haven't bothered to find the exact location of the break) but broken in such a way that the wires would touch and make contact once in a while.

 Bally Addams Family Bookcase Not Working

Symptom

The bookcase does not work.

Resolution

I went into test mode and the bookcase does not turn.

I checked the little board next to it and it worked ok.

I checked voltage on both lugs. It was 14.53 which is the same on the working Thing hand motor. I tried using a 3 AA battery pack to move the motor, it would not move.

I push it and it worked for a second and then did not work.

I bought a new board (probably didn't need it) and a new motor. The bookcase now works.

 Bally Addams Family Switch Registering Two Switches

Symptom

The Right Ramp Top Switch 65 was also registering switch 85.

Resolution

I originally thought the diode was bad. I replaced it. Same problem.

Then I realized that the banded side of the diode should not be on the same side that the row wire comes in on. So I changed the direction of the diode. Same problem.

Then I looked at another switch and realized the diode was facing the correct way but the row wire was attached to the wrong lug which effectively made the diode not in circuit. (A similar problem happened and I documented on Mr and Mrs Pac Man.)

I moved the row wire to the other lug. I corrected the diode so that the banded side was facing away from the wire. The switch worked correctly.

The crude drawing below shows a micro switch with the 3 lugs and the switch lever coming out at a 45 degree angle with the switch (represented by the 0) that the lever hits

1    2   3

|     |     |
----------
\ 0
 \
  \

Correct Wiring

Diode 1 to 3 with banded side towards 1

2 contains the column wire (such as green-blue)

3 contains the row wire (such as white-green)

Incorrect wiring - One can see with this set up the diode is NOT in circuit so the other switches register.

1 contains the row wire (such as white-green)

Diode 1 to 3 with banded side towards 1

2 contains the column wire (such as green-blue)

 Bally Addams Family Several Controlled Lights Not Working

Symptom

Turned on the game to show off all the work I did on it to my wife and she said, why are so many of the lights out?

Resolution

Damn! They all worked yesterday. I looked at the lights that were out in T9 All Lamps

Grave V #17

2 Bear Kicks #27

Center Swamp Millions #37

Electric Chair Red #47

Seance #57

Grave at Max #67

Thing Yellow #77

Thing * #87

Obviously Row 7 was out which is controlled by Q84 (TIP102).

Also the following lights were out

Lite Advance #71

Right Special #72

Shoot Again #73

Vault Green #74

Vault Red #75

Thing Green #78

This is Column 7 controlled by Q92 (TIP107).

I assumed I needed to replace Q84 and Q92. But would be a waste of time until I found the problem socket.

I went into T8 Single Lamp Test.

Lamp #11 Lock would light up, but so would #13, #71, #73.

Lamp #12 Extra Ball would light up, but so would #13, #72, #73.

Lamp #13 would light up by itself.

Lamp #14 would light up by itself.

Lamp #15 would light up, but so would #13, #73, #75.

There was a pattern here.

Lamp #73 Shoot again was a #44 socket and it seemed like the problem because it was just really loose. I removed the light and re-ran the above tests. Only the individual light worked as expected.

In T9 All Lamp Tests, the above lights did not work.

I replaced Q84 and Q92 and all the controlled lights worked

Williams Alien Poker All Solenoids Not Working

Symptom

All solenoids did not work.

Resolution

Replace the solenoid fuse and all solenoids worked except for one...

Williams Alien Poker One Solenoid not working

Symptom

After changing the fuse for the solenoids, one solenoid still did not work.

Resolution

I remembered that a wire was cut but didn't know why. I found it and saw that it led to solenoid. I repaired the wire and solenoid worked.

Williams Alpine Club Various Issues

Symptom

I needed to repaint the game and fix it up.

Resolution

Through trial and error and also having some of the original labels on the playfield and backboard, I have been able to figure out how to adjust the game. I assume some of the information will be general to Williams machines that were designed around the same time frame, but I do not have other machines to confirm this.

Click here to view information about the Alpine Club machine and Williams machines of this era.

 Williams Argosy Game Not Starting

Symptom

When you press the start button, the game clicks but does not start.

Resolution

I looked under the playfield. The switch was mis-adjusted. I adjusted the switch. The switched scored but stuck down. I thought that the button was missing a spring. But I should have realized that the switch leaf closest to the bottom of the playfield simply needed to be adjusted closer to the playfield.

Williams Attack From Mars Gives Error Check Fuse 101/106

Symptom

During start up testing, the above error message is displayed.

Resolution

According to Clay's guide and posts on RGP, Diodes D11-14 need to be replaced. In a WPC-95 game, this replaces the BR2. I replaced these and the game worked.

 Williams Attack From Mars Switch Error Right Gate Stuck Closed

Symptom

During the Loop test, neither gate opened to go around the loop.

Resolution

The first issue were the springs on the gates. Behind the playfield at the end (not the bottom) there is a spring that goes to the gate to lift it. It was not attached. This solved my left gate problem.

My Right Gate problem did not get fixed until I adjusted the switch 74 which is entering the left loop.

 Williams Attack From Mars Switch Error Diverter Stuck Open

Symptom

During test report I get the above message.

Resolution

I tested the diverter in test mode. It worked fine. I checked RGP. They stated that the switch behind the diverter was not registering. This was the problem. A message in the test report that the switch may not be working would be more helpful.

Williams Black Knight Resetting

Symptom

Got the boards fixed and then the game would reset.

Resolution

A friend sent in his boards to fix. Once returned the game reset. I lent him a power supply board to see if the problem was on the power supply but it was not. He thought about and realized that the only thing that changed was the connectors. So he took out all connectors and carefully put them back. The resetting problem stopped.

 Williams Black Knight Will Not Start

Symptom

The game turns on, but pressing the start button desn't start a game.

Resolution

I went into test mode. Dislays worked, sound worked, coils did not work. Looked at the 2.5AMP Slow Blow Solenoid fuse. It was blown. Replaced the fuse and the game worked.

 Bally Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy Not Resetting

Symptom

The game does not reset and the 10s digit on player 2 remains at 40.

Resolution

The switches were in the correct position for 0 (and 9 and 1-8). The coil was not fully engaging the score reel. I took off the score reel and cleaned the plunger and the plastic sleeve that were very dirty. It now works well.

 Bally Captain Fantastic Constantly Resets

Symptom

Once the score reel, as described above, was fixed. The game played well for about 30 minutes and then would start to constantly reset as if the start button was continuously pressed.

Resolution

If the game works for 30 minutes or an hour, it would imply that a switch was getting hot and expanding and/or contracting and slightly touching or not touching as appropriate.

Don Owen provided the following list for me to try on the game:

So on that game, the Credit button, should start a game… it depends on several factors looking at the schematics…

A. All coin chute switches are open.
B. The slam tilt switch on the coin door is shut.
C. There are games on the credit wheel
D. Normally closed contact on the DELAY relay is NOT dirty or open
E. Reset relay contact is working properly and is NOT dirty – switch with the Blue-Orange wire
F. Credit Unit switch is working properly; this is the switch that opens when credit wheel is at 0, and closes when one or more games won. This switch has an orange-white wire
G. Motor switch 5C and 1E… make sure these switches are clean, and working properly… look for a stapled diagram of the switch positions on the left side of the cabinet near the motor. Position C is the third switch from the bottom; E is fifth switch up from bottom.

I cleaned the above switches. The right switch on the reset relay was very close together, I slightly moved it. I turned on the game and pressed the start button. The ball didn't kick to the plunger lane. I turned off the game and even more slightly moved it back. The game worked. We played the game for over and hour. Two times during play, the game reset and started from ball 1 (when the ball went though the top lane guides and hit the pop bumpers but we can't narrow it down) but did not constantly reset.

Except for this, the game now works for more than 30 minutes.

 Williams Comet Flippers Not Working

Symptom

Flippers not working.

Resolution

The flipper fuse was blown. I replaced the fuse and the flippers worked for a game. I started another game and the flipper stuck in. I turned off the game. I checked the coil. The normally closed EOS switch was stuck closed. I cleaned the contacts and it made it smooth. Somehow the contacts were acting like Velcro and sticking together.

Bally Corvette Press Both Flippers and It Resets

Symptom

Press both flippers during the game and it resets.

Resolution

Surprise! Its another BR2 Bridge Rectifier. I guess I should just replace these things on every game I get. Actually, I now replace BR1, BR2 and Cap 5.

 Bally Corvette Race Track Error

Symptom

When the game starts up, I get a Race Track Error.

Resolution

The Encoder optos were not registering. I replaced the optos and the encoders worked. In the end this solved the problem.

Let me explain the dumb thing I did in between:

The game was still giving an error. I finally noticed that the left car was causing the right encoder to register on the screen and vice versa. I flipped the encoder opto board and the game worked.

 Bally Corvette Engine Failed to Initialize

Symptom

When the game starts up it states that the engine failed initialization.

Resolution

I checked all the voltages, diodes, resisters, etc on the slave board. It was fine. I checked the coils. They worked fine. I checked the 2 ribbon cables. They were fine. I took the ramp off and adjusted the potentiometer. It is supposed to be centered at 2.5 volts. I set it to 2.515 volts.

I looked at the master board on the back box. One of the chips was extremely hot. I checked the manual (actually the addendum). It said it was a 74LS374 chip. I looked at the actual chip. It is a 74LS175 chip. I spoke with Ed at GPE and he said it can be replaced with a 74HCT175 chip. I replaced the chip and the engine works great.

 Bally Corvette Engine I Moved the Machine, It Acted Up, Gave Check F115, F116 or +12 V opto power

Symptom

Whenever you move this stupid machine, the Race Track seems to get messed up. In test mode it was kind of working. When the left car was moving, the numbers were going faster than it was advancing up the track and would stop in the middle. While the left car was moving, the right opto was registering numbers. In game mode, the cars would not move.

Resolution

I tried taking the game through Race Track Test several times hoping that it would align or something. I turned off the game and back on in a few minutes. I then got the error Check F115, F116 or +12 v opto power. The engine would slam and start to initialize and stop. The left car would go half way up the track and stop and the right car would not move.

Fuse F116 was blown. This is a 3 amp slo blo. I replaced the fuse and it immediately blew when the game was turned back on. I took out connectors J116, J117, J118 and J119. The fuse did not blow so this should imply that the problem is not on the board. I put the yellow connector on the door switch and placed J119 back in and turned on the game. It worked. I did this with the other three connectors and it worked.

I took apart the race track. Now that the track is upside down, I checked the opto encoder on the left. This is the right car and it worked. I checked the right opto switch and it did not register. The opto was in at a weird angle. I replaced the opto and it still did not work. I looked at the board and realized the trace from the ground pin to the opto on the right (which controls the left car) was burnt apart. I added a trace. The race track now works better than it ever did! Maybe this has been the problem all along. When I first got the game, I needed to replace the optos. Maybe the trace was on its way out back then.

Bally Corvette Race Track Acting Up At Customer Once Delivered

Symptom

The race track acted a little strange when I delivered the machine.

Resolution

I took apart the race track and tested it. It worked fine. I put it back together and it worked fine. The customer was having a problem with the multiball eject and was lifting the playfield. Now the race track did not work again.

I came back and it appeared to work fine. I lifted the playfield and changed some lights. Now it didn't work. When it doesn't work, the right car starts to register numbers as the left car goes up. I remembered the connector to the race track. We pulled out the playfield. The race track was acting up. I tightened the connector. The race track worked. I placed the playfield back into the cabinet slowly and carefully and the race track works. We will need to tighten this connection.

 Williams Cyclone Right Side Playfield GI Not Working

Symptom

The playfield GI (general illumination) on the right side is not working.

Resolution

The customer was pretty handy in fixing the game. In fact he did an excellent job getting everything working except for a couple of electrical items that I will explain here. I asked him to find a burnt connector. I expected it in the backbox on the interconnect board. The board had good connectors. He did notice a burnt connector at the very bottom of the playfield as viewed when lifted up. This connector went into a small board. This same board is also used on the back box to control the GI there.

I rebuilt the connector but the lights did not come on. We looked through the game and realized that the 5 amp slow blow fuse (3rd fuse from the front) on the right side of the back box was blown. We replaced this and the GI came to life.

 Bally Corvette No Coils Work

Symptom

No coils work. Flashers work.

Resolution

I checked all coil fuses F103, F104, and F105. They were all good. F111 is the flasher secondary. F112 is the solenoid secondary. When I moved the ribbon cable out of the way, F112 fuse was missing. I put in another fuse and it immediately blew.

I always replace the driver board with a repaired and tested board. If the board worked, this would have meant that the appropriate circuitry on the old driver board needed repair. The F112 fuse blew on the newly installed board.

I looked at RGP. Someone suggested that the fliptronics board could be bad. I removed conectors J901, J904, and J907 from the fliptronics board. Turned on the game and the fuse did not blow. Tested all coils and they worked. I had a new Rottendog replacement fliptronics board and the game worked.

 Williams Cyclone Solenoid 1 Does Not Work

Symptom

The coil that kicks the ball out to the plunger does not work.

Resolution

I expected there to be a problem with a wire connecting to other coils. It turns out that this coil has a different wire than all other coils and is not daisy chained. Transistor Q33 controls this coil. I tried to short the transistor and it did not work. I thought I would have to change the transistor.

But I was looking for a fuses that controlled coils. All the fuses in the back box worked. I remembered that there was a lone 2.5 amp slow blow fuse under the playfield. This is attached to the coil. I replaced it and it worked fine. So far, so good. So maybe it was just fatiqued after 30 years of service...

 Williams Cyclone Adjust Failure

Symptom

Adjust failure message was showing that usually means that the batteries need to be replaced.

Resolution

We replaced the batteries. Turned off the game. Turned it on. Pressed the reset button in the coin door. Turned of fthe game. Then turned it back on and it still said adjust failure. I took the batteries out to get a closer look and the battery holder fell apart. I took out the board and replaced the battery holder and the adjust failure message went away.

 Williams Diner Pinball Missing

Symptom

With all three balls in the trough it still thought a ball was missing.

Resolution

When the playfield was up, the third switch usually worked. With the playfield down, it did not. When I pulled the wire, it worked better. I followed it and noticed that when the playfield was up, the wire was resting on another switch but not connected. I soldered it and it worked. I should have also quickly checked continuity and lightly pulled on each switch wire.

 Williams Diner Ramp Not Going Down

Symptom

When you turn on the machine, the ramp goes up but not down.

Resolution

In test mode, both coils to raise and lower the ramp worked fine. When I put the playfield down and watched it try to lower the ramp, you would hear it try several times but not work. I tried again and lightly pushed it up to give it a nudge it worked. I realized that the ramp mechanism goes slight up before it goes down. I added a second spring on the coil plunger and it worked fine. I also cleaned the plunger and the plastic sleeve. The coil is much crisper.

 Williams Diner Not Always Sensing Ball In Trough

Symptom

When the ball drains, the ball sensed and pushed into the trough, but the ball does not end and go to end of ball mode.

Resolution

I took the apron off and watched the ball. The third ball would sometimes rest on top of the switch and be raised off the trough by about 1/8". I carefully bent the metal to make the top part of the metal lower so the ball would rest on the metal trough and totally push down the switch. This seemed to do the trick. But it happened once in a while so I think the metal is slowly bending back. We will try to put in a felt circle above the ball area to push the ball down to see if this totally solves the problem.

 Bally Eight Ball Deluxe would not reset

Symptom

When the game was turned on, it would not reset.

Resolution

I checked everything in Clay's guide. I then noticed the tilt ball was stuck up against the tilt switch. I freed the ball and the game worked.

 Bally Eight Ball Deluxe Several lights not working

Symptom

Some of the lights not working.

Resolution

The SCRs needed to be replaced.

 Bally Eight Ball Deluxe Strange Numbers Appearing and Popping

Symptom

Turned on the game and worked. Then started showing 7s on the screen while in attract mode and playing. Turned off and back on it did not turn on.

Resolution

I checked the LED on the replacement MPU board and it stops after the 2nd flash. I heard popping up the playfield. I lifted the playfield and turned on the game. It booted correctly and did not show the 7s. I turned off the game. I turned on the game and it did not boot and heard popping sounds.

I lifted the playfield and turned on the game and it worked. I started lowering the playfield with the game on and the expansion solenoid board with the relay at the top left of the underside of the playfield started going crazy and the light above it (connected to the blue ground wires) was also going crazy in sync. I turned off the game and needed to look to see if something was shorting on the ground wire.

I unplugged the solenoid expansion board. When the light comes on attached to the blue ground wires at the top left of the playfield, the popping does not occur since not connected. Obvious but quieter.

In test mode, when certain coils engage, the light comes on.

When I press a cluster of wires on the left side of the playfield the light comes on.

GI lamp between A and B under blue plastic was causing the short in the GI circuit.

 Bally Eight Ball Deluxe Coil Not Working

Symptom

Left Sling coil not working.

Resolution

I lifted the playfield and the coil is fried. The plunger is stuck in position. I replaced the coil and it still did not work in test or game mode. When I shorted Q7, the coil fires. I looked at the driver board and R14 right above is a 330 ohm resistor and was burnt to a crisp. Replaced the resistor. Still doesn't work. I will try the transistor since it is cracked.

I will try an Ultimate Driver Board just to ensure it works. This works. And since this is the best game in its board set, I will keep the new board in there and raise the price. This game will now be more reliable since I went through it.

 Bally Eight Ball Deluxe Switches Messing Up

Symptom

Game tilting when not being shaken. Right and left sling firing for no reason. 7s showing up on the display. GI lights burning out in a minute or two.

Resolution

I thought the tilt switch was screwing up so took off sinker and put electrical tape on the rod. Still tilted.

I thought the switches to the left and right sling were too close together and vibration was causing them to touch. This did not help.

Finally during testing, I realized the "A" switch at top was causing the right sling to fire. The "B" switch was causing the left sling to fire. Realized that the A switch was touching the GI light to the right and the B switch was touching the GI Light to the right. I put electrical tape under the switches to isolate from the GI light. All problems went away (so far).

The lights under the drop targets at the right were also too close to the wires for the drop coils. I added electrical tape and they also seem to be working correctly. Maybe, just maybe, I have it all working.

The picture below shows the A (left) and B (right) switches. I loosened the A switch, shifted it to the left farther away from the GI light, and added electrical tape between the GI and the switch. I loosened the B switch and moved to the left, but did not yet add the electrical tape to the GI light.

The pictures below show the drop targets for the balls and how close the lights are. With the sharp edges, I believe some of the lights are shorting against the coils.

 Bally Eight Ball Deluxe Left Flippers Stay Up

Symptom

In game play, the left flipper stick up.

Resolution

Customer called with the above problem. I was hoping it was a stuck EOS switch. It was not. During play, the two coils were electrically up. The upper coild is controlled by a switch on the lower coiland both were stuck electrically. So I looked at the flipper switch next to the flipper button. It would occassionally stay together and cause the flippers to stay up. I used a file and filed the nibs on the switch to remove the pitting. The flippers worked fine after this.

 Bally Eight Ball Deluxe Sound Doesn't Work Properly

Symptom

Speech is working on the game, but music is not. There is a slight pining.

Resolution

Customer called with the baove problem. The game has an Ultimate MPU in it. The customer called back and asked on RPG and people suggested resetting the settings in memory from 16 to 21 to 3. The battery came out of the battery holder and the sounds stopped working properly. I believe if they pressed the clear and reset switched on the board the same thing could be accomplished.

 Bally Evel Knievel Doesn't Turn On Correctly

Symptom

When you turn on the game, Some of the GI lights light up but the displays do not work.

Resolution

As very well documented at www.marvin3m.com/fix.htm, the MPU is not flashing correctly. The game is flickering once, and nothing else. There is corrosion all over the place. I put in an Ultimate MPU and the MPU flashes the correct number of times.

 Bally Evel Knievel Coin Door Buttons Not Working

Symptom

The credit button, test button, coin acceptors do not work.

Resolution

The coin door lights and the coin door coil work. The customer stated that the credit button would work by wiggling the wires to the coin door. I did this and shorted the wires together to the coin door. I saw a flash in the backbox. I thought I ruined the Ultimate MPU board. Now it only flashes 5 times. I started to panic that I ruined a perfectly good board.

I then realized that I probably blew a fuse. I tested the 5 amp fuse on the rectifier board. It was bad. I replaced the fuse and the game booted up. The coin door still doesn't work but it boots up.

Some of the test points on the driver board showed 0 volts. I checked the 3/16 amp fuse in the high power section of the driver board. It was blown. I had a 1 1/4" 3/16 amp fuse (that was also in there). I put in a new fuse. The test points now test correctly but the coin door still does not work.

The blue/white wire from MPU J3 pin 14 to the credit switch has continuity and records 3.2 volts.

The red/yellow wire from MPU J3 pin 2 to the credit switch shows 0 volts. I have continuity from the switch wire to the connector. I pulled the connector off. I get 1.7 volts on the pin. The connector is bad. I will need to buy pins and connectors for this size connector (0.1"). I checked the pins on the corroded board and the pins on J3 looked terrible.

I shorted pin 2 to pin 14 on J3 MPU and the game started up. Everything works fine. As soon as I get the connectors, the game should work 100%.

 Williams F14 Adjust Failure

Symptom

When you turn on the game, it says ADJUST FAILURE.

Resolution

Replace the batteries.

 Williams F14 Display Replacement

Symptom

Display not working well. Need to replace.

Resolution

I use Rottendog Amusements replacement LED displays. They are great. I worked on one at a customer's house (on Big Guns - which uses the same board as F14). Theirs was not working correctly. It turned out when I tried to replace a new ribbon cable, I put it in backwards. Thankfully, putting in a ribbon cable backwards would not mess up the display. And putting in a bad display [which it was not] will not hurt the driver board.

The ribbon cable does flip the side of the red line as shown in the pictures. So I am documenting so I remember in the future. Plus I will do a better job to label ribbon cables when I remove.

Below is the original board with sections missing from the display.

The picture below shows the ribbon cable into the display. Note that the red line is on the left.

The picture below shows the ribbon cable into the driver board. Note that the red line is on the right.

New display. It is beautiful.

 Williams F14 General Illumination (GI) Not Completely Working

Symptom

Several sections of the GI is not working.

Resolution

Checked the fuses first. These are the four fuses on the right side of the back box connected to the back ground plate. The picture above shows the 4 fuses on the right (the picture below also shows the 4 fuses). These all work.

So it must be the connector to the power board. I pulled out the connector and the connector was burned. I replaced the connector and it worked fine.

Above is the burnt connector resulting in the lower back box lights not working as shown below.

Replaced the connector as shown below.

Now all the lights on the back box work. (The four lights not on are flashers that are controlled by another circuit that we are not testing and fixing here.)

 Williams F14 Never Going to Multi-Ball (Diverter Issues)

Symptom

The game would never go to Multi-Ball. The ball was being diverted incorrectly.

Resolution

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

After all the things I tried below, the main issue was the wiring to Coil 21 and Coil 22 was reversed either at the factory or by a previous repair person.

Coil 21 is supposed to be the UPPER diverter but is engaging the lower.

Coil 22 is supposed to be the LOWER diverter but is engaging the upper.

I reversed the wires and the game works great!

PROBLEM STATEMENT:

Adjustment 33 - Multi Ball mode is set to 00. This means that the first TOMCAT should light 2 locks.

In gameplay, the first TOMCAT lights the bottom two locks at the left. The first ball into the VUK locks the lower one to the right.

The middle stays flashing. When the ball goes to the VUK, the top diverter engages putting the ball to the wrong place.

RESOLUTION STEPS:

Ensured all switches worked. They did.

Then used the switch matrix and ensure I tested ALL switches (which I did) and that they worked with the ball. Some worked with my finger since I was pushing further down than the ball could. Got all the switches working.

Above issue continued.

Then after I locked the first ball. I manually locked the 2nd ball by placing it into the left kicker/lock.

After I got TOMCAT again for the 3rd lock, I got the ball to the VUK and instead of diverting to the right like it should, it diverted to the left.

The DIVERTERS were wired backwards.

Then I went back into the coil test and confirmed they were backwards.

I switched the wires and the game works.

See the picture below. When working under the play field a technician can confuse upper and lower since they would be reversed from the top of the play field.

The blue/black wires should have gone to the top coil which is the lower diverter and the sea green wire should have gone to the lower coil.

I cut the wires and reversed. Much easier than trying to solder in a hard to reach place.

Note the writing on the side of the cabinet in red. That was done by a previous person. If they followed their own instructions they would have been correct! In the picture above you can see that I cut the wires and wire nutted the blue/black wire to the green wire and the green to the blue/black.

 Williams Fire! Recommended Additional Fuses

Symptom

While reviewing the documentation (thank http://www.marvin3m.com) for Williams Fire! (1987) pinball, I realized that System 11a games were built without a fuse between the power cord and the bridge rectifier.

Resolution

Click here to view information about Fire! machines and Williams System 11a in general.

 Williams Fish Tales left flipper not working

Symptom

The left flipper did not work in the game or test mode.

Resolution

I took out the left flipper cabinet opto board that the flipper connected to and cleaned the optical sensors. The flipper worked. Then to improve the playfield, I took some of the game apart to add a missing rubber that was required so the ball would not get stuck. Once complete, I turned off the game and on one final time to ensure it worked before leaving. The left flipper no longer worked.

I took the left flipper cabinet opto board from the right flipper and swapped them. The left flipper worked; the right flipper did not work. I ordered a new flipper cabinet opto board and installed it and the flipper worked perfectly.

 Williams Fish Tales fishing reel not turning properly

Symptom

The fishing reel does not move to capture balls for multi-ball.

Resolution

I checked in test mode with the playfield up. The fishing reel worked fine. Everything tested perfectly. I placed the playfield down and it no longer worked. I thought maybe I would need to change the rubber drive link.

Upon further inspection, the back of the wire ball guide was rubbing into the side of the fishing reel. When the playfield was up, gravity was moving the ball guide slightly away from the fishing reel.

I gently readjusted and tightened the ball guide so that it was not touching the side of the fishing reel and the game works great.

 Williams Flash Sound Not Working

Symptom

The sound does not work.

Resolution

The customer stated that the sound worked, but was getting worse. He replaced the sound chip and the sound no longer worked. I assumed that the capacitors needed to be changed. This did not solve the problem.

I wanted to put back the original chip. I noticed that the chip was in with the label right side up. We looked at a schematic and noticed that the notch was on the wrong side. We placed the original chip in the correct way and it worked (but missing one sound as it was originally missing). It did not get worse so maybe the new capacitors helped.

We placed the new chip in the correct way but it did not work. I assume it is fried. I asked the customer to buy a new chip and it should work. The customer bought a new chip and it worked.

 Williams Flintstones Lower Jet Bumper Coil Dangling and Missing Parts

Symptom

The lower jet bumper coil was dangling with parts missing under the playfield.

Resolution

The game came with a new coil for the jet bumper, a metal bracket and spring. I disconnected the dangling coil and added the new coil. I tested the old coil. It worked. I will keep as a spare. Realized I was still missing the C bracket and the 2 screws to connect the C bracket to the main bracket. I took the C bracket and screws off of the jet bumper on a 1980 Alien Poker. It worked great.

 Williams Flintstones Right Flipper Not Working Correctly

Symptom

The right flipper was not staying up. It would also flutter when pressed.

Resolution

I tried changing the flipper board. The same problem still existed. I replaced the original flipper board. The game came with additional flipper coils. I replaced the flipper coil and the game worked great.

 Williams Flintstones Drop Targets Dropping Slowly

Symptom

The seven drop targets would drop slowly when hit with the ball.

Resolution

I removed the assemblies. I opened the assembly and cleaned all drop targets with alcohol. A lot of dirt was removed. The drop targets work much better now.

 Williams Getaway Accelerator Ramp Not Working

Symptom

When the ball goes up the accelerator ramp, it does not go around fast.

Resolution

I opened the assembly. A wire was off of the first opto sensor. I replaced it and it worked.

 Williams Getaway Test Button Not Working

Symptom

The test button was working. I replaced the batteries and it stopped working.

Resolution

The batteries were corroded. I replaced the batteries. Some corrosion got on the LM339 chip. I tried to clean it off but I may have shorted something out. I replaced the chip with a socket and chip. I pulled up the trace from pin 2 to U17. I added a trace. I must have messed up another trace since the second red button on the coin door is not working. But since you can use the first left button to move around the menu, the person is not concerned. Although I would like to get the board so I can finish what I started.

 Bally Gilligan's Island GI Connectors J120, J121 and J115 Missing

Symptom

The wires are soldered directly to the board.

Resolution

I created replacement connectors. I wire nutted the existing wires to the 4 inch extensions I added to each female connector. On J115, several wires went to 2 pins.

The pads on J115 were missing so I could not do "solder stitches". (See Road Show below.) I added traces from the following pins to the transistors:

When I solder the wires to the transistor I solder to the top pin (looking from the front of the board.) Working underneath, pin 12 on J115 is closest to me so the pin on the transistor is also closest to me that I am soldering to. (Items with * are the traces I added. I also needed to replace F110.)

Pin 1 Ground

Pin 2 to F106

Pin 3 to F110

* Pin 4 to F109

Pin 5 to F107

Pin 6 to F108

* Pin 7 to Q10 top leg from front

* Pin 8 to Q18 bottom leg from front (note that this is connected differently than the others)

Pin 9 Key

* Pin 10 to Q16 top leg from front

* Pin 11 to Q14 top leg from front

* Pin 12 to Q12 top leg from front

 Bally Gilligan's Island Machine is Acting Up and Some GI Lights Out

Symptom

The display is looking like a jail. The middle GI went out. Left flipper is weak.

Resolution

The short answer is:
1. The bridge rectifier legs were not cut down causing the board to ground to the backbox which resulted in the resets and island problems.
2. Fuse F110 was getting hot so I replaced the fuse holder.
3. Replaced BR1, BR2 and CAP 5 and ensured BR2 traces connected to CAP 5.
4. Clay's guide states to ensure that the traces from BR2 to D3 and D38 are not broken. Ensure
a. solder side top left BR2 lead to D38 (non-banded side) closest to BR2.
b. component side bottom left BR2 lead to D3 (non-banded side) closest to BR2.
5. Remove half the lights in the backbox to relieve the overpopulation of lights.
6. Reverse the left coil as described in Clay's guide.
7. Replaced the mushroomed coil stop.
8. Incorrectly put the blue-gray wire onto the middle lug rather than the left lug! (Another self-inflicted wound!)

Now if you are interested in the progression of the story to arrive at the solution....

A few hours after I replaced the connectors and the male pins and added the traces as described above, I played the game. The display starting acting up.

I turned off the game and back on. The display was fine. I played some more and the same thing happened. I turned off the game, I removed and reattached all the display connections. The display was fine. I still need to figure this out.

During the motor test, the game reset. I have not replaced BR2 and Cap 5, but it looks like it has been replaced recently.

The GI in the middle of the playfield and the right side of the back glass went out also. I checked my wire nuts. They were fine. I checked F110. It was bad. I replaced and it worked. But this is the second time replacing it...

I took out connector J120 and J121. Obviously the fuse F110 is not blowing. Need to track down some more. I did notice a wire soldered together and not covered with electrical tape. I was hoping beyond hope this would fix the problem since P1 and Pin 7 go to F110 and this was on pin 7 of J121. This did not solve the problem.

However, the game played fine. It was not even rebooting anymore. Then I had an Island error. Now it seems like the motor will not move after I used a 5/32 allen screw to get the island off the game and test and clean the opto switch (which was very dirty). It appears once I fix one thing something else breaks. But I think this had a problem when I tightened the screws to the board. (See below, but I think this caused the long legs that were not clipped to ground to the back box.)

I read a post that said if the island is giving errors, take the batteries out and restore to factory settings. After I dealt with changing German to English (see Changing Language above), the game appears to recognize the island and it moves correctly. Stay tuned for the next issue...

I think F110 blows after the show once you get all ramps runs during Kona and get the ball in Kona's mouth for 50,000,000. Maybe since the wiring was so screwed up when I got it on J115, this is where the problem lies.

I took all #555 out of the back box. The right string and top string had continuity between the 2 wires. The string on the left did not.

I pulled the one wire off the top string one socket at a time hoping to find the shorted socket. None of them were the culprit. I put back the wires one by one.

I removed J120 and J121, the top string and right string no longer had continuity.

I added one connector at a time and the strings did not have continuity. I added both back and they both had continuity. Now I think I am getting somewhere.

But upon further inspection, there was continuity because the bulbs in the playfield were still in place. The string on the left is on a circuit by itself...

But I also noticed that pins 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 had continuity to each other. This should not be. However, when I took the board out of the game, they no longer had continuity. I realized that some of the legs on the bridge rectifier were REALLY long. When I screwed in the board tightly, they were probably grounding to the back of the back box. I cut off all the legs and put the board back in. Pins 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 no longer had continuity to each other.

This may explain why pin 7 which goes to F110 was blowing and hopefully why the game was resetting occasionally (but not like when you need to replace the BR2 because of hitting both flippers).

Well, fuse F110 still blew. It was very hot. We'll see if the game resets or the island screws up.

I kept J121 connected. This has the right string on the back box lit (which goes to F110). I pulled out J120 which took out all of the GI lights on the playfield. I played several games. The fuse did not blow. I disconnected the wire to pin 7 on J120. This should (and did) disable the middle playfield lights. All GI lights are now on except for the middle playfield. The F110 fuse should not blow. I will play several games..

So far, it seems to work. So there is either a short or a shorted bulb in the middle playfield GI string. I will research that later this week...

I connected pin 7 on J120. The middle playfield lights lit up. I checked all the wires connecting to all the lights on the GI string. I even checked the 2 #555 lights connected through the hole in the playfield to the top plastic to the left of the island. It looked good. So I decided to test each switch individually to see if one of these caused a problem. None of the switches did. I then checked each coil one at a time. None of the coils caused a problem. I then tried each light one at a time. No problems.

I then lifted the playfield and checked all the wires connecting to lights, coils and switches near the GI wires in question. I think I found the problem. One of the wires to the coil to the left of the island that shots the ball up the right back ramp had two wires soldered together and the area was exposed. I covered it with electrical tape and played for over 1/2 hour. With the glass off, I got into every mode and the lights did not blow fuse F110.

This did not solve the problem. I replaced BR1, BR2 and CAP5. I checked the traces from BR2 to CAP5. They were good. The F110 fuse still blew. I checked Clay's guide further and it states:

a. solder side top left BR2 lead to D38 (non-banded side) closest to BR2.

b. component side bottom left BR2 lead to D3 (non-banded side) closest to BR2.

The component side bottom left BR2 lead was not getting continuity to D3. I added solder (carefully) on the component side and it provided continuity.

I also realized the fuse F110 was getting VERY hot. Clay's guide states to replace the fuse holder. Tomorrow (Saturday, 4/28/2007), I will go to Radio Shack and pick up a fuse holder. Hopefully this will solve the problem. Of course, Radio Shack does not have these fuse holders. I will need to order them.

I put a known working driver board in (without J110 for the flippers). I kept the back box plug in and started cutting portions of the White-Yellow wire to cut off portions of the middle playfield illumination. Even with the entire playfield middle wiring disabled and the backbox right side illumination working, the fuse gets hot. Not as hot as before, but hot.

I kept the connector for the backbox connected. I removed the connector for the playfield. It is still hot. The fuse looks stressed. I put a new fuse in to see if it stays cool. This did not work.

I removed the connector for the backglass and connected 2 lights on the middle string. The fuse did not get hot. Maybe I am getting someplace!

I added the connector for the 2 lights on top of the playfield to the left of the island. Still cool. Added Thurston and Lovey. Still cool. Add all playfield middle string back. Still cool.

I added the connector for the backbox GI. I took out all the fuses from the right string controlled by F110. F109 became hot. I took half of the lights out of the backbox. It looks like the fuses are not blowing....

The left flipper is weak. I replaced the coil and the capacitor. It is still weak. I reviewed Clay's guide again (I should have seen this issue first). The left flipper coil was in upside down. I found a correct coil bracket with the alignment hole and flipped the coil. It is still weak. If I press on the flipper it will go down and cause the EOS to vibrate and the coil to smoke. Obviously I won't do this again.

I replaced the coil. But both coil's ohm rating match what their specs.

I filed the flipper switch and the EOS switch.

With the power off I checked continue to the lugs on the flipper coil. I get continuity when the EOS is closed. I get quick beeps when the EOS switch is open.

I changed the yellow capacitor. I tested the old one after I took it out and it is within specs.

I still have the same problem. The coil is getting very hot.

With the power off, I checked continuity between the outside lugs. The EOS switch is closed. I get continuity. I open the switch, I now don't get continuity.

I tried this with the power on and hitting the flipper button, I don't get continuity when the flipper switch is held but I get a hum and vibration and the coil gets hot. I try this on the right side and I simply loose continuity. I DO NOT get a hum or vibration.

I took the board out and checked all the connectors on J109 and J110. No broken solder joints.

I replaced the coil stop. Played a game. The coil still gets hot.

I checked the wires. I realized that the blue-gray wire was connected to the middle lug instead of the left lug on the coil. This was the problem!

 Bally Gilligan's Island Check Fuses F114 and F115

Symptom

Game was working fine. I turned it on and got above error.

Resolution

I took out the driver board and put in another. The other board worked. I looked at Clay's guide. Several of the LEDs were not lit up. I used my DMM to check Test Point 6 below CAP 5. As I pressed the end of the probe to the test point, the board bent in slightly and all LEDs turned on. I turned off the game and I tightened up all the screws thinking this was the problem. It was not. I pressed in CAP 5 with the game on and the LEDs lit up again.

I few minutes later I went back to look at it. Several of the LEDs were out again. I tried to press on CAP 5. No luck. I pressed on CAP 6 and I saw a flash of light. So I looked back at Clay's guide and replaced BR1 (which I did when I first got the game and made sure all the traces were good) and CAP 6 and CAP 7. The game now works. Thanks again Clay!

Of course, it never just works with another problem. Now all of the lamp matrix is out. I checked F114 and all the connectors at J133/134/135 and J137/138. Clay's guide states to test F114 (which is good), LED6 should be lit (which it is) and TP8 should have 18 volts (mine has .6 volts). So looking at the front of the BR1 (with the heat sink on), the top left leg should have continuity to TP8. This does not. Now I will take off the board and ensure the front side of the BR1 has a good solder joint. I tried to add a solder stitch to both CAP 6 and CAP 7. This did not work well. I added a trace between the top leg (looking from the front) of CAP 6 to CAP 7. This provided continuity to TP8 and allowed all the lamps to work.

 Bally Gilligan's Island Lamps Not Working

Symptom

As usual, when I deliver a game something does not work. This time it was the controlled lamps.

Resolution

As stated in the previous problem, I checked F114. CAP 6 was loose and when I moved it, the lamps worked. I replaced CAP 6 and it still did not work. Looking at what I wrote above, it is probably because I did not add the solder switches. I did notice that T18 was not getting any power (nor the transistors below). I added a trace from CAP 6 to T18 and it worked.

 Williams Gorgar Nothing Worked

Symptom

I bought a Gorgar game. The game turned on, the general illumination turned on, but the game did not reset.

Resolution

I sent the boards to Coin Service Technology. When the came back, I tested all the solenoids before turning on the game. With the playfield up, the game reset. I changed two lights under the playfield that were not working.

I lowered the playfield, closed the door and put on the backglass. The game turned on for a second and stopped. Just the general illumination came on. I thought I messed something up.

I called Coin Service Technology. They suggested that I see if something is shorting on the playfield when it is lowered. I tested the game with the playfield up. It worked. I turned off the game and put the playfield at a 45 degree angle. It worked. I then turned off and put it flat. It worked. I closed the door and it stopped working.

I tracked down the problem (with Coin Service Technology's help) to the white push button at the top left of the coin door. With the door open, the game works. With the door closed, it does not work.

I removed the second connector at the top left of the MPU board. There are two 4 pin connectors. The left most has one wire which Joe tells me is the blanking circuit. The next 4 pin connector has the wires from the push button in the door to test and the white door switch. Joe told me that pin 1 is the memory protect; pin 2 is ground; pin 3 is the advance button and pin 4 is the auto up/manual down switch wire. Pin 1 has a black wire with purple strand that leads to the white switch in the door. Pin 2 is the solid white ground wire that connects to the white switch in the door and daisy chains into the test button assembly.

When the door is closed the game lights turn off and the displays turn off. The machine stops responding until you turn off and on the game with door open. I temporarily removed the 4 pin connector and the game works with the door closed.

I tested continuity from the black/violet wire near the door to pin 1 on the connector and it has connectivity. I also tested the ground wire from the door button to pin 2 and it has connectivity. When I press the white button there is connectivity between pin 1 and pin 2.

I posted the above to RGP. I was told that the braid ground wire is probably broke or squeezed in some way. I checked mine. It was mostly frayed. I fixed it and the game works.

In hindsight I may not have had to send in the boards. But it can't hurt for them to test everything.

 Williams Gorgar Some of the Coils Not Working

Symptom

After I got the game working as explained above, all of the coils were not working.

Resolution

I realized I cut the wires to a coil that I thought was not working. I replaced the coil to be on the safe side. I realized that by not connecting the wires to the solenoid, all downstream coils on the daisy chain would not work until I reconnected the coil.

As usual a simple fix, but I document this so I do not do this stupid thing again.

 Williams Gorgar Test Buttons Not Working

Symptom

After I got the game working as explained above, all of the coils were not When I go into the test mode with the buttons, it shows "1111111" in the displays but does not move to the next digit and can't do any other tests.

Resolution

All wires to the test buttons were working. All connectivity was correct. The blue wire connected to the toggle switch was not making good contact. I gently pulled the wire away and the displays started to move and we could go through all the tests. This is a short term solution. I will eventually need to resolder the wire for a better connection.

 Williams Gorgar Game Never Goes to Game Over

Symptom

The game keeps kicking out balls and never ends the game.

Resolution

I asked the user to change the batteries before I arrived. Once we got the test buttons working as described above, we were able to go to the setting and change it from 00 (undefined) to either 01 (3 balls) or 02 (5 balls). It appears when you change the batteries and do not reset this value, the 00 undefined value causes the game to never end.

 Bally Grand Slam two lights not working

Symptom

I replaced all the light bulbs but two lights still did not work.

Resolution

I looked at the manual, they assign two lights to each connector pin controlled by a 2N5060 SCR. It turned out the two lights that were out were controlled by the same SCR. I replaced the SCR and the lights worked.

 Bally Grand Slam one of the displays did not always work

Symptom

One of the displays would stop working for no reason and then work again.

Resolution

I noted if I pulled the wire down and used a tie plastic thingy, the display would work. Upon moving the machine to a customers house, it stopped working. Upon further examination, I should have seen that the wire was not connected. I soldered it back to the connector pin and it worked fine.

 Bally Grand Slam Game would not work at customer's home

Symptom

After the game was moved and the wires put back in place in the back box, the game would not work.

Resolution

It turned out that the wires were not put into the clip and were heavy and hanging and the connector to a board was not making a solid connection.

 Bally Grand Slam Game HOMER flyaway targets are not registering

Symptom

HOMER flyaway targets not registering.

Resolution

I took off case and slightly adjusted the switches with a switch adjuster. These switches were very sensitive and needed to be adjusted very carefully.

 Williams Indiana Jones Path of Adventure Diverter Not Working

Symptom

The diverter was not working and it was very loose.

Resolution

It turned out that the shaft was not inside of the solenoid. I found it in the bottom back of the machine (after it was moved). The spring was broken. I bought an 80 cent spring from Pinball Resource and an $8.00 set of tools to poke out the pin. Replaced it, reset it in the game and aligned then it worked.

 Williams Indiana Jones Path of Adventure Diverter Not Holding

Symptom

The diverter on the clear ramp that diverts the ball to the path of adventure was not holding to let the ball to the path.

Resolution

Thanks to people on RGP, they helped me see that the problem was that the spring was too tight.

I should have realized this since this was the only thing that I changed after I shopped out the game related to this assembly.

Instead, I tried to replace the fliptronics board (since the transistors on this board control the diverter and hold). I also switched out the flipper button boards and the coil. People on RGP also confirmed that the wires were correctly installed (which is blue on the left, black in the middle, orange on the right) when looking at the under playfield as shown in the following picture. (This was after I added the coil and wire nutted it on to test so all the wires in the picture are the black leads I added to the coil.

 Williams Indiana Jones A and E lights in ADVENTURE do not light

Symptom

The switches record the hit but the lights do not light up.

Resolution

II tried to change the lights for these two switches. These are on the large light board in the middle of the under playfield. They stick out from the ends. The lights were nicely stuck in and I could not get them out. I tried to reorder replacement light sockets from Pinball Resource. Steve states they do not reproduce these sockets and I will need to solder lights directly to the board to fix.

I took the board out. I pulled the 2 lights out of the sockets. Upon further inspection, it looked like there were cold solder joints. I reflowed the light sockets, replaced the lights and they worked.

 Williams Indiana Jones Switch 42 (Opto) Not Working

Symptom

I delivered an IJ and it worked perfectly (On a Sunday). Got a call from the customer that the switch 42 was not working.

Resolution

I went back to his house (the next Saturday) and reflowed the solder on the opto receiver and transmitter boards. The switch worked and worked. He played the game and sent me an email the next day that it was not working anymore. I came back Monday evening. The switch was not showing up in the switch matrix. I replaced the opto receiver and transmitter boards and it worked for 2 seconds. I lifted the playfield and at about eye level (my eye level - yours will be different) the switch showed up in the matrix and worked. If I moved the playfield a little either way it stopped working. If I moved the playfield up or down a little and it didn't register but twisted the playfield the switch showed up in the matrix. Maybe the opto was not perfectly aligned. I did buy a new plastic ramp.

I looked around the wires to ensure they were not shorting. I tried putting electrical tape on the metal items near the boards. It did not work. I loosened the path of adventure ramp (since switch 42 is the opto entrance switch). I switched sides of the opto transmitter and receiver. The switch worked and worked and worked. I think it has to do with alignment rather than anything electrical. It is now almost a week later and the customer has been playing the game extensively and it has worked fine.

 Williams Indiana Jones WPC Driver Board Resetting

Symptom

I replaced BR1, BR2, and Cap5 on this driver board in March, 2010. The board started to reset when you pressed the flippers in June.

Resolution

This should not happen. The customer brought the board to my house. I placed the board into a Road Show that was working perfectly. The display showed a line across the center and nothing happened. I noticed that the heat sink on the BR1 and the BR2 were touching the capacitor under it and it was bent down rather than being centered. I slightly pushed the heat sink back up about 1/4". I turned on the game and it worked without resetting when pressing the flippers. We played for awhile and it worked. I just received an email from the customer who put the game back into the IJ and it worked without a problem.

 Williams Indiana Jones Path of Adventure Mini Playfield Not Working

Symptom

When the game starts, the mini playfield does not move and I get an error with switch 94 and 95. In test mode I get an error message that the mini playfield is not working correctly.

Resolution

I tested the transistors, fuses and connectivity between the board and the connectors on the little board that controls the motor. The gears would not allow the motor to move or the board to move. I took off the cylinder in the back. I made sure the wires were connected. When it was off it worked 2 times but not really well. It turns out I needed an entire assembly for $70 rather than just the little motor part. It appears the gears get stuck. When I loosened the motor I finally got the shaft to turn and switch 94 and 95 (opto switches at the back of the playfield registered in the mini playfield test. (They do not show up in switch test mode since only the first 64 switches can be tested.) The new motor did the trick and the game works 100%.

 Williams Indiana Jones Left Flipper is Weak

Symptom

The left flipper is weak and gets weaker while you play.

Resolution

The spring was getting caught up in some wires. This removed a vibration but not the problem. I realized that the FL-15411 solenoid on the left flipper was getting hotter and hotter (and therefore weaker and weaker). I also tested the left flipper opto board. It seemed to make a difference on how it flipped. I replaced the flipper opto board after I let the coil cool down. The flipper was strong, remained strong and did not heat up. I believe that the opto was intermittently turning on and off causing the coil to overheat.

 Williams Indiana Jones Ball Trough Popper Constantly Feeding Balls to the Plunger Lane

Symptom

When the game is turned on, the game starts feeding the balls to the plunger lane.

Resolution

This had to be an opto switch problem. I put the game in switch test mode. I let it sit there for about 10 minutes. Switch 87 finally engaged on its own. This is LED1 on the trough opto board. I replaced the LED and the game worked fine.

 Williams Indiana Jones Right Flipper Sticks Up

Symptom

The right flipper sticks.

Resolution

The problem was not electrical. The spring was good. It turns out that the EOS switch was getting jammed and not letting the flipper return to the resting position. I bent both parts of the switch down to get the switch leaf out of the path of the flipper. It now works nicely.

 Williams Indiana Jones Path of Adventure Not Moving To The Left

Symptom

The path of adventure moves to the right but not the left

Resolution

The allen wrench adjustment was loose. I tightened the allen wrench and the path of adventure moves both ways nicely.

 Williams Indiana Jones Coils 9 - 16 All Engage

Symptom

When the game is turned on, all 8 coils (9-16) engage.

Resolution

I checked all coils and wires for shorts. There was a wire that was bare in a section that was fixed.

The main problem was the 3" ribbon cable between the CPU and the driver board apparently had a broken wire. I posted this problem on RGP and Lloyd O. suggested this ribbon cable. I was checking all circuits from the driver board to the coils, but I did not think to look at the circuit "upstream" from the driver board.

 Bally Indianapolis 500 Machine Turns Off When you turn on the game

Symptom

While starting to go through the initial test mode, the game turned off.

Resolution

It turns out that I turned on the game and it started to test. I started to close the door and the game turned off and would not turn back on. It turns out that the main line 8 amp fuse blew. I checked Clays guide. It stated that either the BR3 or the BR on the flipper board was bad. I removed fuse F112 on the driver board (which connects to BR3). I turned on the game and closed the door. The game did not turn off. I replaced BR3, BR2, BR1 and Cap 5 since they all seem to be problems. I put the board back and the game works.

 Bally Indianapolis 500 Ball won't properly pop out of VUK Lock

Symptom

When the ball goes into the lock hole it takes 2 or 3 times to properly kick the ball into the turbo.

Resolution

I looked at the plunger. The tip was warped. When the ball went into the hole it rested against the wood side of the hole most of the time. This did not allow a clear path up and into the turbo lock. After 2 or 3 tries, it would rest squarely in the middle and pop nicely into the turbo. I purchased a new plunger. It worked better but still rested against the wood. I have small felt circles. I stuck one to the inside of the hole (the wood was starting to wear). When the ball goes into the hole, it no longer touches the wood. It pops up the first time every time. (Maybe I did not need to purchase a new plunger.)

 Williams Lucky Ace Not Resetting and Shooting Ball To Plunger

Symptom

When you press the start button, the score resets to 0 but the motor does not stop working so the ball is never sent the plunger.

Resolution

The top and middle switch on the 10,000 unit was not opening at 0. I adjusted the leaf and it worked.

It worked a few weeks ago. It could have been the change in temperature and/or humidity in the basement when the season changed.

The switches on the score reel should look like:

1 - 8
Open
Closed
Closed

9
Closed
Closed
Closed

0
Open
Open
Open

 Bally Judge Dredd Right Lower Flipper Not Working

Symptom

When I arrived at the customer's house, the right flipper was not working.

Resolution

I replaced the coil and put in a new fliptronics board. The flipper worked but quickly became sluggish and weak. It finally stopped completely.

The fuse on the fliptronics blew. I replaced it and it worked. But I noticed that the coil was getting hot very quickly.

I realized it was the optical flipper switch on the cabinet. I replaced it and the flipper worked fine. I should have realized that the coil was probably cycling on and off high power really fast. I kept the new coil and fliptronics board in the game.

 Williams Jungle Lord Not Working

Symptom

The customer brought this machine to me to repair. It was not working.

Resolution

I checked the fuses. One of the solenoid fuses was out. I replaced it and the game worked.

I noticed that the decals on most of the drop targets were coming off and obstructing the motion of the drop target. The targets (especially in the back) were coming up but getting caught on the decal. The machine would constantly try to raise the target and the fuse would eventually blow from fatigue.

I removed the offending decals and the game has worked with no problems.

Does anyone know where to get replacement decals?

 Williams Magic City Resetting to Zero but 1 Point Coil Engaging

Symptom

Start a game. Score resets to 0000. But then a coil engages and is loud.

Resolution

I realized it was the 1 point coil that was locked on. I ensured the 1 point score reel switches were correct (although probably not the issue). I also cleaned the shaft to allow it to cycle freely.

I thought it was the lower 1 point bumper where the switch was too close together. Although this was not the problem, it was probably a factor.

When I lowered the play field to about 30 degrees the coil engaged.

This should mean that a switch was probably very close. I looked through all the 1 point switches and did not find it.

I finally realized that the switches on the play field for the slings where not directly connected to the score reel. So the slings were working and whacking the ball but the points were not scoring. I looked at the switch and realized that the play field switch engaged the coil. The coil then engaged a flat switch under the play field. This switch was too close. Once I adjusted the switch, the game worked. (I adjusted both sides so I am not sure if one side or both were the culprits.)

 Williams Millionaire Does Not Turn On

Symptom

Flip on the power and the game does not turn on.

Resolution

I checked to see if the main fuse was working. It was. I finally took the metal casing that holds the main fuse and electrical outlet off the side of the game. I checked continuity from the two ends of the fuse holder. There was no continuity. I replaced the fuse holder with a fuse holder from Radio Shack. I needed to use a Dremel to make the hole bigger. The game now works.

 Williams Monster Bash Several Switches Not Working

Symptom

The "I" in DIG, the right outlane and the shooter switch are not working.

Resolution

This is not enough switches to be a row or column (although a wie could have been off in the middle of the chain). I tested each switch. They work. But they are not adjusted correctly for the ball to activate the switch. I needed to adjust the switches. The switch in the plunger lane sticks up too high and is bent to the right. Sometimes the game does not sense the ball. I needed to adjust the switch and lower the wire. To correctly fix the problem, I replaced a bunch of switches that were questionable rather than continuing to adjust. This is a great game and I want it working 100% rather than jerry-rig it to save a few bucks.

 Williams Monster Bash Dracula Semi Circle is Not Even

Symptom

The Dracula track is not even. The ball will not go up the right ramp or the right most loop.

Resolution

I purchased a Dracula Bracket from Pinball Resource. Part # WLL-01-15202 for $7.72. This makes the playfield much smoother but the back is still a bit up. I carefully sanded the back of track to create a smoother "ramp" so the ball now goes over the track, up the slight ramp in the wood and back into the correct areas.

 Williams Monster Bash Lower Jet Bumper Does Not Always Work

Symptom

The lower bumper does not always work.

Resolution

The switch needed to be adjusted to sense the ball. It was a bit tricky. After adjusting it about 10 times, I think it is correct. There is now a lot of action between the 3 jet bumpers.

 Bally Mr. and Mrs. PacMan Center Bumper sometimes causes the game to reset

Symptom

When the center bumper is hit sometimes the game starts over or additional players are added.

Resolution

I realized that the game was not resetting. The game thought that the credit button was pressed. During the first ball it added players. During subsequent balls it started the game over. I also realized that sometimes the PacMan mode would start.

I finally was able to duplicate the problem. When the second from the bottom left drop target was down and the upper yellow drop target was down and the center bumper was hit, the game started PacMan mode. If you look at the 4 switches they make a rectangle. When the second from the bottom left drop target was down and the lower yellow drop target was down and the center bumper was hit, the game thought the credit button was pressed. These 4 switches also make a rectangle on the switch matrix.

I tried changing all the 1N4148 diodes. I still had the same problem.

I finally realized the wires to the center bumper were connected incorrectly. The wires were connected such that the diode was not in circuit. I originally moved the brown/yellow wire so it was connected to the side lug on the opposite side of the diode. But the switch did not work at all.

Then I compared it to the other bumper. The gray/yellow wires on the other bumper were connected to the side lug. So I moved the gray/yellow wires to the side lug and the brown/yellow wires to the bottom lug and it now works perfectly!

 Bally Night Rider Lights Turn On But Game Does Not Work

Symptom

I turn on the game. The general illumination lights come on. But the game does not start.

Resolution

During power up, the board LED flashed correctly. It turned out being a fuse that was blown.

 Bally Night Rider Game Does Not Work

Symptom

I turn on the game and nothing happens.

Resolution

The power rectifier board was bad. All of the connectors were burned. I bought the more expensive power rectifier board from Tom Callahan. I used the molex connectors and re-attached all the wires as detailed in his instructions and now the game works great.

 Bally Night Rider Sometimes some of the GI lights turn off

Symptom

When the game is on for a while, some of the GI lights turn off.

Resolution

After tracing the wires and checking connections, I realized that one of the GI wires had a wire nut holding the wire together. I touched the wire near the wire nut and the GI lights came on. I pulled gently on the 2 parts of the wire and they came out of the wire nut. They were not in there securely. I put the wire nut back on securely and the GI lights all work.

 Williams No Fear not kicking the ball up from under the playfield

Symptom

The balls under the playfield were not being kicked back to the right in lane. The solenoid was firing.

Resolution

I took off the VUK (Vertical Upkicker). As opposed to the STTNG where the assembly hang because of the wires, this machine is nice and uses connectors which easily come off. This makes it easy to fix.

Upon inspection of the VUK, the plastic part of the armature was broken. Therefore, the opto switches sensed the ball, the solenoid fired, but since the armature was broken, the ball was never touched and remained in the unit. Then the opto sensed the next ball and continually fired.

I replaced the armature (plunger) and this now works nicely.

 Williams No Fear No Fear cave has broken nut connectors

Symptom

The cave connectors to the playfield are broken off.

Resolution

I could try to find a replacement or jerry-rig something to connect the plastic to the playfield. Instead, I bought Velcro tabs at Home Depot. I placed one at the top of the VUK unit and one on the left. I then carefully connected the plastic and it looks great.

 Williams No Fear Top upper right flipper is loose

Symptom

The top right flipper is loose. There are gold-colored shavings on the floor of the cabinet.

Resolution

The bushing rod is bad. I bought a new one from Pinball Resource for about $19 and replaced it. It is a pain in the neck to get the inner rod out but doable with a hammer and screw driver driving out the rod from the holder once loosened. It is even harder to get it back in. You got to keep hitting the flipper with a hammer while keeping the assembly in the bottom straight. It finally went in.

 Williams No Fear ramp is cracked at turn near upper flipper

Symptom

The ramp is cracked at the 90-degree turn near the upper flipper.

Resolution

The support column is cracked. Both parts should be replaced and correctly restored. This will take some stress off the cracked area.

I will find a washer to place above and below the cracked area to add additional support.

 Williams No Fear switch 57 is showing up in test report

Symptom

Switch 57 is showing up in test report.

Resolution

I took off the cave plastic. One of the wires needed to be soldered back on.

 Williams No Fear left magnet reported in test report

Symptom

The left magnet is showing up in the test mode as a problem.

Resolution

The magnet is not working correctly. The magnet showed as closed. This did not appear to affect the board by messing up the transistors. When the game was shopped and all ramps removed, the magnet has been replaced.

Before I fixed this, I went into test mode and disabled the magnet so that the machine will compensate. I also disconnected the wire to the magnet.

 Williams No Good Gofers Screwed Up Switch Matrix

Symptom

Coin door is closed and the game doesn't recognize the door is closed.

Resolution

While "doing one more thing" I realized too late that the left servicer sled support under the playfield was not connected to the wood. The screw had stripped the wood and was dangling. I had the coin door closed since working in a tight space. I moved the playfield ever so slightly since it was up so I can work on the underside. I turned on the power and in slow motion I saw the sled hit a coil and a switch and nicely mixed my switch matrix circuit with my coil circuit. (It is amazing how many problems I bring upon myself.)

The game reported "GND. SWITCH ROW 1 is struck closed." I new I screwed up.

Luckily as Clay's guide say, the U20 ULN2803 chip is socketed. I replaced the chip the coin door was not recognized as being closed. I went into the switch matrix and Column 2 (including the always closed switch 24 was not displaying). No switches in Column 2 worked. This meant that I needed to replace U23 74HC237. Luckily I had the good sense to buy a lot of chips and transistors from Ed at Great Plains Electronics a few years ago and I bought several of these. Since I am having a party at the house in a few days and it was Thursday evening at 12:30am (okay it was actually Friday morning by this time and I needed to get up at 4:30am to go to spin class), there would be no way to buy these chips in time for the party on Monday (Labor Day).

Friday after work, I removed the U23 chip. I put in a socket and then replaced the 74HC237 chip.

I put the CPU back in and switch 24 was closed like it should be but so was 14. Some switches did not work. But others causes to switches to work. For example, hitting switch 26 caused 16 to also register. Pressing 16 would not cause any switch to engage. All switches in column 1, 3, 5, and 7 did not work.

There was a pattern here and I needed to figure it out. I knew that the game was mostly working before I soldered so I had to have messed up a trace.

Using the schematics, I traced all switches from U20 to U23. They all worked. Ground worked. I then tried to trace

U23 pin 1 to G10 pin 10 (SD0)
U23 pin 2 to G10 pin 11 (SD1)
U23 pin 3 to G10 pin 12 (SD2)

U23 pin 1's trace to G10 pin 10 was not testing out. I added a trace and the game worked.

I know this is obvious to the experts, but to help explain it. These 3 pins act as binary code to represent the 8 columns:

I am not exactly sure why two switches were registered. But you can see when pin 1 is on, it helps to represent either column 1, 3, 5, or 7.

I added a trace and the game worked. I probably had my desoldering iron set too hot.

The above picture shows U20 that was already socketed and U23, which I needed to add a socket then replace the chip.

The above shows the trace that I added between U23 pin 1 and G10 pin 10.

 Williams No Good Gofers No GI Works Except 1 Lightbulb

Symptom

I thought that maybe there was a problem with the GI circuits on the driver board.

Resolution

I replaced a bad J115 connector. All fuses worked. I then realized that if one lightbulb on one GI circuit worked, then maybe it was not the circuits but the lightbulbs. EVERY SINGLE GI lightbulb on this game was burnt out except the one that worked. I replaced the bulbs and the game brightened up.

 Williams No Good Gofers Two Spinning Targets Do Not Work

Symptom

Two spinning targets do not work.

Resolution

Upon squeezing my hand under the ramp, I was able to move the switch enough to engage on both switches. I simply loosend the switch and changed the angle of the switch so that the spinner wire engaged the switch.

 Williams No Fear several lights are out

Symptom

All the lights worked fine. Then showed the game to a customer and a set of lights did not work.

Resolution

Whenever more than 1 light is out, I always check the lamp matrix. All the lights were on the same row. I checked the wire on the board and it was okay. I checked the wire to the light board under the playfield. I wiggled the wire and it worked. I pushed the wire into the connector tighter. It worked then did not work. It turned out that the pin on the light board had a cold solder joint. I reflowed the solder and the lights worked. The game was stored in the garage due to space limitations. Maybe the cold weather caused it.

Usually I have to always replace J120 and J121 on the driver board. I now always do this since the connectors are usually burnt and also change the BR1, BR2, CAP 5 to solve the reset problem.

 Williams Pinbot Switches Do Not Work

Symptom

Various Switches do not work.

Resolution

I asked the customer to print out the manual. They were all in the same column. There was continuity to the board from and between all the switches. I replaced the 2N3039 transistor. It tested bad but I am not sure this was the problem. Then I changed F4 which is a 2.5 amp fuse (that had a 4 amp fuse in it). Everything worked. (I should check fuses first!)

 Williams Roadshow Test Buttons Do Not Work

Symptom

The test buttons do not work. The coin door quarter acceptor does not work.

Resolution

One of the coin door quarter mechanisms had all of the wires disconnected. I should have realized immediately that the two black wires were ground to the entire dedicated switch circuit. Once I wire-nutted the black wires together, the circuit was complete and the test buttons and coin door acceptors worked.

 Williams Roadshow Bulldozer switch was not working

Symptom

The game never went into multiball mode.

Resolution

The eddy sensors for the bulldozer, Ted and Red were on (the LED on the eddy switch board was on). I turned them back and forth to loosen them. I then moved them to just when they turn on and backed it off until it was off. The game now recognized the hits. (This is the same thing that has to be done on the inlanes of a Star Trek Next Generation pinball.)

 Williams Roadshow Bulldozer does not go up for the 3rd ball lock

Symptom

The bulldozer remains down with Ted's mouth open so you can never get multiball.

Resolution

Many people on RGP had the same problem where it would work in test mode but not in the game. I took the bulldozer opto board out. I cleaned the optos. They were dirty. I also reflowed all the solder joints. I put the board back in and the bulldozer went up for the 3rd ball locks. It also goes up and down during multiball.

 Williams Roadshow During the Game, Teds mouth stays open

Symptom

After multi-ball, Teds mouth remains open.

Resolution

The gears on his mouth are worn. I purchased a new gear and his mouth works nicely.

 Williams Roadshow Red's eye lids do not close

Symptom

Reds eye lids do not close.

Resolution

I took off her head. I checked out the solenoids and assembly. Everything looked fine. It looked like the spring was not powerful enough to go up (which causes the eye lids to go down). I put on a different spring. I cut one down to size (after a failed attempt) and the eyes work nicely.

 Williams Roadshow The Left Bridge Out LEDs do not work

Symptom

The left bridge out LEDs do not work.

Resolution

I checked out the lamp matrix and it looked okay. I started taking off the screws to the sign. The lights worked and then they did not. I took off the screws and tightened the connector and it worked.

 Williams Roadshow Dead as a Door Knob

Symptom

When the machine is turned on, the display shows garbage. Nothing happens. (This is now a second machine.)

Resolution

Some of the LEDs on the driver board work. TP2 should be +5V, it is 0. LED4 should be lit. It is not. I replaced BR1 and BR2 (set) and Cap 5. TP2 still showing 0 volts. I took out the board again. I checked Clay's guide and needed to add one trace between the BR2 and Cap 5. TP2 still showing 0 volts. I tested the voltage (AC) at J101 pin 1 and 2. This showed .7 volts. I traced the wire to the transformer. I marked the connector. As I marked it, the connectors came apart. I put the connectors together snuggly. The game turned on. Now to getting it all to work.

 Williams Roadshow GI Lights on the Backbox not working

Symptom

Half the lights on the backbox are not working.

Resolution

The J120 connector was burned. I replaced the female connector and pins. The male header pins looked good. It still did not work. I read further in Clays guide where it says if you don't do the following you will wonder why the GI is still not work working.

I took out the driver board and realized that pins 11 and 12 on J115 were in very bad condition. I tried to solder them back but they would not go. This controls the level of brightness of the GI lights. I ordered new male header pins and put them in. I did a solder stitch on pin 12 but I could not get one on pin 11 since the pad was missing on both sides. I added a trace from pin 11 to the top leg of Q14. This solved the GI problem.

 Williams Roadshow Left small flipper is fluttering

Symptom

When the left flipper button is pressed, all left flippers go up, but the middle small flipper flutters and then goes down.

Resolution

I checked the coil and it looks like the wires are connected.

After much fighting with the screws in the backbox, I took the fliptronics board off. I put on a new one I purchased from Marco Specialties. The problem still exists so hopefully it is the coil.

I then checked the Ohms on the coil. I get 7.2 Ohms from the middle to the right and 160 Ohms from the left to the right lug. This looks correct.

One of the diodes may be bad. I changed it but it did not help.

I purchased a new coil and this did the trick. I reread my notes and realized the same thing happened on my Flintstones machine....

 Williams Roadshow Plunger Gate Sticks Open

Symptom

Sometimes when the balled is plunged into play, the gate sticks open and causes the ball to return to the plunger during game play.

Resolution

I checked out the gate. The gate would just stick if it opened too much. I used felt dots purchased from Home Depot. I placed these on the wood frame where the gate almost touches the wood. The gate now does not go up enough to get stuck and works great!

 Williams Roadshow Reset

Symptom

The Roadshow resets at any time, not just when both flippers are used.

Resolution

Updated: June 19, 2010: Summary of Resolution. I sent the CPU to Coin Service Technology. They said that there was a bunch of boards that were probably not produced correctly and the solder was just not correct. They replaced the sockets at the top of the board and the pin connectors and tested. All of the other stuff was interesting but I think the real solution was getting the board fixed through Coin Service Technology.

----

I purchased this machine from a customer that said the reset problem happened and a company came out and repaired the driver board. But it started resetting to the point it would not turn on.

About the time he sold it to me, he said it was turning on but would occassionally reset.

I replaced BR1, BR2, and CAP5 to ensure that the reset problem was not occurring. The game seemed to work for several weeks while I fixed up other parts of the game.

Yesterday, I was playing the game. The shaker motor turned on and the game reset. (This was an important hint.) The game turned back on. Then it reset again but would not turn on. I pushed in connectors and the game turned back on but reset.

When it reset, the blinking light on the CPU, D20, would stop blinking and D19 would turn on and stay on. When the game was turned on and did not start, D19 would stay on and D20 would not start blinking.

I looked up this problem on RGP and Clay's guides. There was a suggestion to look at U1 and U2 on the CPU board.

When the game came back on, I pressed U1 and then U2 slightly. The game reset. The board had a lot of play.

The game is missing the screw and spacer to the backbox on the top right of the CPU so it is not solidly connected to the backbox. The shaker motor is probably causing vibration that messed up the CPU.

I removed the CPU. Using my Jeweler's magnifying lenses, it looks like pins on U1, U2, and U3 have cracked solder joints. I have reflowed them. The pins on the two double connectors at the top also needed the solder reflowed.

The metal screw and connector to the backbox are missing from the top right of the CPU. I will rebuilt it to keep the board solidly connected. I found a plastic sleeve that was about the same length to space out the board correctly and screwed a screw into the wood. This appears to solve the problem.

I am glad this did not happen at a customer's house. I am not sure if I could have fixed it as fast. It took me yesterday night and today (just in time for the Super Bowl to start) to figure this out.

The picture below shows a close up of the missing screw base and screw. The shaker motor is probably causing the CPU to vibrate.

 Williams Road Show Goes Crazy After Being On A While

Symptom

After the game is one for a while, it starts going crazy and not reacting to anything. Turn it off and it seems to work.

Resolution

I thought that there could a problem with a chip on a board getting hot. Coin Service Technology suggested that I look at the switch matrix when this happens. Duh! I finally did and realized that the Bull Dozer and Ted eddie switches were not adjusted correctly and firing a million times a minute. This was the problem.

 Bally Scared Stiff Crate LED Lights Not Working

Symptom

Several lights are missing and others are not working on the crate LED board.

Resolution

Although I want to buy red LEDs to replace them, the spacers may be hard to find. I bought a replacement board for $38.

 Bally Scared Stiff Left top gate not working correctly

Symptom

When the ball goes up the left side of the playfield, it hits the gate on the right and comes back down the left side.

Resolution

After taking the ramps off, the metal wire for the gate is missing the tab that stops the gate from allowing the ball to return down the left side. I have a spare Alien Poker playfield. I used the gate from the top right of the playfield. I replaced it on Scared Stiff. It is a perfect match. The ball now goes to the dead heads as intended.

 Bally Shadow Err Bat. Drop Bad

Symptom

In test mode, get Err Bat. Drop Bad error.

Resolution

This error means that the Battlefield Drop Target is bad. Once I realized that the error referred to the yellow drop target at the entrance to the battlefield, this was half the battle. It turned out that a wire was disconnected from the switch on the drop target.

 Bally Shadow Sanctum Wall Switch Not Set Correctly

Symptom

The switch that detects if the wall is up or down is very strange. If not set correctly, it will always think the wall is down.

Resolution

The switch needs to be set to detect the edge of the wall and not the large metal pivot. This will always be down. The switch has to be bent back to not detect the pivot. It was obvious that the switch was bent many, many times. Hopefully it is now bent back correctly.

 Bally Shadow Resetting

Symptom

The game resets during game play.

Resolution

The typical problem: Need to replace BR2.

An interesting problem that I caused myself. I replaced the BR2. I did not have the tool to cut off the ends in the house. Went to the garage and forgot to cut off the ends. I put the board back in and it immediately shorted 3 fuses. I replaced the BR2 again and the three fuses. I cut off the ends and it worked correctly. I now cut it immediately.

 Bally Shadow Left Diverter Not Working

Symptom

The left blue diverter button is not moving the diverter.

Resolution

The solenoids had power. The switch worked. Upon closer inspection, the diverter simply came loose from the rod. I used an allen wrench and tightened the diverter and it works fine.

 Bally Shadow Magnet Lock Not Always Working

Symptom

The ball looks like it will be pushed into the inner sanctum but just sits there.

Resolution

Upon inspection of the area, there was a pronounced divot where the ball stops. Since the ball gets stuck in the divot, the correct locking sequence does not happen and the ball just sits there until shaken back into play. The ball is correctly considered locked.

The solution was to clean the area. Put down a small piece of mylar to fill in the divot. Then a larger piece of mylar to protect the area. The lock works.

The locking sequence is:

The ball goes through the optical sensor and the magnet stops the ball.

The magnet releases the ball and it falls back to the optical sensor.

Once the ball crosses the optical sensor the magnet is turned on in such a way to whip the ball into the inner sanctum.

Step 2 was never occurring because of the divot.

 Williams Shuffle Inn not working

Symptom

A customer moved a Shuffle Inn from the basement to the main floor and the game would not work.

Resolution

I checked all the connectors. The customer put one connector in one pin off and it blew a fuse. Once we replaced the fuse and put the connector right, the game worked.

But it would not reset to the next frame. It turned out that some of the switches all the way in the back were not connecting when the puck went over them. I adjusted and corrected the switches and the game worked perfectly.

 Williams Space Station Bumpers Do Not Work

Symptom

The bumpers do not light or work.

Resolution

I asked the customer to check the fuses. He said several were out. He went to Radio Shack and replaced the fuses (270-364 $1.99). One blew again. He replaced it and it worked. I asked which one. He said the one for the lights. I asked him to check the wires above and below the bumpers to ensure that there is not a short. For now the bumpers work.

 Williams Space Station Middle Lane Not Working

Symptom

When the ball is launched to the top playfield, the middle lane does not register.

Resolution

I took off the top playfield. The two connectors to the switch were touching and shorting out. I bent the connector and added electrical tape between the connectors and the switch now works.

 Williams Space Station Not Rotating Correctly

Symptom

The Space Station does not line up correctly and the ball does not always go through correctly.

Resolution

I took the Space Station Apart. I cleaned the two optical sensors. I also noticed that the connector male pins had cold solder joints. I reflowed the solder and the space station is now lining up correctly.

The switch on the drop target was also not working. I cleaned the optical sensor. But it still did not work. I noticed one of the wires was not in the connector correctly. I pulled it out and back in (with a flat head screw driver) and it worked fine.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation Some of the General Illumination Lights not working

Symptom

Some of the general illumination lights are not working.

Resolution

General Illumination is controlled by connector J120 and J121. These are identical and can be used interchangeably. If wires are burnt out or bad connector pins, they can be moved to the same pins on the other connector.

For example, on J120 pins 2 and 3 were burned. I moved these to J121 to pins 2 and 3. On J121 pins 5 and 6 were burned. I moved these to J120 to pins 5 and 6.

Second Resolution

Half the lights on the backbox were not working. I checked F106 F110. F108 fell apart when I pulled it out. I replaced with a new 5 Amp SB. The GI on the backbox now works.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation Opto Switch Not Working

Symptom

An opto switch is not working.

Resolution

Ensure opto switches, both the photo transmitter and photo receiver work. Use a pen flashlight to test. Do not go off switching chips until sure.

If the wires are connected backwards, the photo transmitter or receiver will be ruined.

The game had a bad opto switch, I replaced the transmitter and photo receiver boards with new ones. The new ones did not work. I changed several LM339 chips and it still did not work. A friend suggested that I shine a flashlight. The opto switch worked. It turned out that the transmitter was incorrectly placed in the small board from the place I board the replacement board from. I called up the company. They told me I must have done something wrong. A few days after I figured out that the wiring was backwards and switched the wires and replaced the transmitter, the company called to tell me they had a bad batch of transmitters (but never offered to replace the one that did not work).

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation Several Switches Are Not Working

Symptom

Several switches are not working.

Resolution

If several switches are out, before you go ahead and try to figure out what is wrong, look at the switch matrix to see if a column or row is out. If so, do the test in Clays manual.

Check for corrosion on the CPU and repair. Check to ensure that pins connect correctly to capacitors, etc. Otherwise trace repairs will need to be made. When I realized a row was not working in the switch matrix, Clays manual suggested replacing LM339 and/or ULN2803. However, corrosion can cause the same issues. Check connectivity. In my example, Row 6 was not working. It turned out that if you connected the wire as directed in Clays instructions to the capacitor that connects to pin 7 (row 6) on J208, then the switches are detected. I added a wire between the back of the pin to the solder point of the capacitor.

Connectors J206 and J207 are interchangeable. Connectors J208 and J209 are interchangeable.

Less rows were working when I connected the connector to J209. If I traced the connections, I probably would have seen more bad (corroded) areas that needed to be fixed.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation constantly resets and the left flipper is weak

Symptom

The game resets during play and the left flipper is weak or not even working.

Resolution

The BR2 Bridge Rectifier is bad and needs to be replaced. This is on the main board under the heat sink. Take out the BR carefully to ensure that the trace is not pulled up.

Once replaced, the game works nicely. The game does not reset. The flipper is strong. When this game was purchased, the previous owner stated that the cannons did not line up correctly. So far they have. Hopefully this will not be a future problem.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation the spinner does not work. The right upper flipper button is also reported as not working.

Symptom

The spinner does not work. The Test Report is stating that the right upper flipper button has a problem. In test mode, when you press the left flipper button, two switches show as being closed. When you press the right flipper button, only one switch shows as closed. Two switches should close.

Resolution

I tested to ensure that the switch was making contact. It was. I also noticed that the spinner switch is labeled F7 and the Right Upper Flipper button is labeled F6. These switches work off of the flipper board rather than the switch matrix.

I discussed this issue with a friend. He stated that the flipper board needed to be repaired. Once repaired, the spinner switch works and the right upper flipper button switches.

2nd Resolution

The spinner was not registering in switch test. This is switch F7. I changed out the fliptronics board since I have a spare. The switch still did not work. I traced the black wire from the switch to the J906 pin 6. It showed continuity. I tested that the spinner switch worked. Therefore, the wire needed to be the problem. I was looking at the manual that was saying the opto switch on the right flipper board is F6 and trying to trace to that. When I physically traced the wire, it went to the EOS switch on the right bottom flipper. The wire was not connected. I connected (soldered) the wire and the switch now works.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation F8 switch U.L. Flipper Showing In Test Report

Symptom

The F8 switch is showing up in the test report.

Resolution

The F8 switch is not used in the game. I believe this is the lower opto switch on the flipper board on the left flipper. I removed the backglass and reseated all of the connectors to the flipper controller board. The F8 switch then started showing up in the switch test when the left flipper was pressed. It was not showing up before. The test report is no longer displayed.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation the drop target switch (57) shows up in the test report

Symptom

The drop target switch is being reported in test mode.

Resolution

I looked under the playfield. A wire was disconnected from the switch. But the wire was not disconnected, the leaf was broken off completely. A new switch had been purchased and now it works fine.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation one of the poppers starts to pop for no reason while the game is in attract mode

Symptom

Showing off several machines to a friend. The game is on but not being played. All of a sudden we hear a constant popping of an up-kicker.

Resolution

I turned off the machine until the friend left. I tested the switches. They all worked. Left the machine on in switch test mode. After about 20 minutes column 4 began to flash on and off. I hit a switch and it stopped. It has not happened again.

I checked Clay's guides (www.marvin3m.com/fix.htm). Pins J206 and J207 control the switch columns. My connector was plugged into J206. I cleaned the pins on J207 and moved it there. I also reseated all of the ribbon cables and all of the connectors. It seems to work but I will continue to watch this.

Second Resolution

This also happened to a customer during game play. The game would go wild and add balls to the playfield and constantly engage the left popper. When I went to test mode and removed all balls, the left popper would continue to pop. I checked the switches in switch test. All switches in column 4 (an opto switch column) showed as open rather than closed. Therefore, it was not the opto on the popper. It was the connection to the board. The connection was going into J206. I moved it to J207 and this seemed to solve the problem. Then I turned off the machine and turned it back on. In switch mode, the switch column was all open. I cleaned the connector and put it back on. It works. But this is probably a temporary solution. I will need to see if I need to add traces, clean the connector or replace the connector.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation the game resets

Symptom

The game was resetting. I replaced the BR2 bridge rectifier. It worked fine. I delivered the game. The game worked fine. Then I got a call that the game was resetting.

Resolution

I own the game too. I switched the boards and the board worked in my machine. I recommended that the connectors get cleaned. He cleaned it and my board worked in his game. We switched back and the boards have worked. I guess J101, J102 and J103 needed to be really clean.

We also needed to ensure that he screwed the board securely to the back box.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation Multi-Ball Gets Confused

Symptom

Mostly in Ferengi mode or after the Final Frontier, the game loses track of the balls

Resolution

As usual this is an opto switch problem. I looked at the trough in switch test. I took the 6 balls out and the game only showed switch 1, 2 and 3 as being open and 4, 5, and 6 as being closed. I turned off the machine and took off the opto board facing the front. 2 of the capacitors had broken connections; 1 of them had a cold solder joint. The 3 capacitors mapped to opto switch 5, 6 and 7 which worked for switches 4, 5 and 6. Once fixed, all 6 trough position showed as open. The game now works correctly in and after multi-ball.

But the game still occasionally is confused. The game has Rom LX-5. Documentation states that L6 fixed up multi-ball in Ferengi mode and other modes. I will update the ROM and see if this fixes the problem.

Second Resolution

The +12 V wires on the connector to the opto board on the trough were poorly attached. I thought that LED 6 was bad and replaced it. The problem continued. I soldered a wire (temporarily) to the capacitor that connects to the +12 V pin and wire nutted the two wires to the temporary wire. The LED 6 works nicely now.

Third Resolution

Once in a while the game would get confused in multi-ball after the Final Frontier or Ferengi mode. We replaced the CPU with LX-7. The game has not had any problems and works nicer than it ever did.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation On the skill shot, the ball is not going to the cannon

Symptom

When the Launch Probe skill shot is chosen, the ball is not directed to the subway. Then in the middle of the ball when the ball goes under the playfield, the game goes into launch probe mode.

Resolution

The finger that drops the target in the back of the game was broken. Although the game was telling the finger to knock the target down so the ball could go under the playfield, it was not happening. When the ball hit the target, it would drop (and then be raised under the appropriate situations.) It turned out that I needed to purchase a whole new assembly to get the drop target to work correctly.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation coil 40 does not work in test but works when shorted

Symptom

During game play and in test mode, coil 40 was not working. This is the coil that flicks the little finger to knock down the drop target in the back of the game. When the transistor was shorted, it worked.

Resolution

This implied that the transistor and pre-transistor were probably good. I looked at the schematic for the 8 driver board. Pin 15 on the 74ALS576 chip runs Q5 (2N4403) and Q13 (TIP102). I shorted (carefully) pin 15, the coil did not work. This implied that a trace was bad. I took the board out and checked the traces. It turned out that the trace was bad between Q13 and R30 and R30 and R22. I added a trace and the coil works.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation Test Switch is sticking

Symptom

The test switch sticks. The down button does not work.

Resolution

Soda was poured into the machine. The coin door did not open and close since it was sticky. I cleaned the door with water. I cleaned the inside of the coin door. I took apart the test switch and cleaned it with water and 91% rubbing alcohol. The switch now works. A few hours later, it was not working. I simply ordered a new switch from PinballLife.com for $8.50. This should solve the problem.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation Sends a Second Ball Into Game Play and/or Ends a Ball Before Any Drain

Symptom

The game sends out balls during game play from the left popper. It also acts like the ball in play is over before the ball drains. In test mode, the Borg entry and Borg lock switches were not registering. The test report also stated a ball was missing.

Resolution

This turned out to be three problems on the game.

I took out the balls (originally only 5). Realizing the Borg shot is difficult, I tested the entry switch and it worked. I took off the Borg ship. The 6th ball was here. I tested the Borg lock switch. It worked. Upon closer inspection, a wire to the coil broke. I resoldered the wire and the coil worked. I hoped this would solve the problems.

It did not. I asked the customer to play a game. During the game it ended a ball early and shot out a ball from the left popper. I I took out all the balls. I went into switch test mode. I did not see any bad switches. I took off the left popper to check for wire problems. Everything looked good. I asked the customer to play a game again. I realized that a ball was released from the left popper when the customer pressed both flippers.

I took out the balls. Went into test switch mode. I enabled the high power. I watched the switch matrix as I pressed both flipper buttons in and out repeatedly. Switch 46 flickered. This is an opto underneath the playfield in the subway about at the entrance to the delta quadrant ramp. The wires were good. The emitter and receptor were very dirty. I turned off the machine and cleaned them with alcohol. I tried this before spending the time to replace the emitter LED.

I went back to the switch test mode with the high power enabled. I beat on the flipper buttons and switch 46 remained in the closed position. I asked the customer to play a game. The left popper no longer gave balls away for no reason during game play. But the game once thought the ball ended while the ball was still in play.

I already checked the trough optos through the switch test mode. I thought I should clean the optos before doing anything else. I went to hold the board to prepare to unscrew the board. The board was very loose and was moving considerably. I thought (hoped) that the problem was a loose board. I tightened the screws and played the game. It worked.

In summary,

1. The broken wire on the coil stopped the ball from being kicked out of the Borg ship and a ball was "lost".

2. Switch 46 was extremely dirty. To the point that the emitter was almost black. This caused the game to "think" a ball went to the subway and STTNG does what it always does: it shoots the staged ball at the left popper out to save time.

3. The trough emitter board was loose. Maybe it was shaking enough to break the opto beam between the emitter and receiver. This made the game think a ball was drained when it was not.

 Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation Disassembly To Shop

Symptom

How to take apart a Star Trek The Next Generation to shop.

Resolution

This is my favorite game. I work on at least one or two of these year. Here are the steps I use to disassemble, clean, replace rubbers, add plastic protectors, plastics (if necessary), Cliffy Protector, decals, and clear plastics.

I bought the LED kit from BCSPinball. I replaced all 36 white lights in the backglass and the flashers in the backbox. The green flasher should go at the top right under the Romulan ship (to match the green flasher under the Romulan ship at the top left). Four blue flashers should go at the top left under the Borg ship to match the Borg ship blue on the playfield. The white flashers should go under the "Star Trek" logo at the bottom right. Although I think blue flashers may look better.

I wish BCSPinball.com would provide a list of the bulbs and the locations. I can infer the GI lights. His legend for this is okay. But all other lights I am guessing, especially when there are different red light #555 (frosted bulb, flat top, 5 leds, etc). Basically, they are all white, except for the 4 red #44 lights under the lane guides, 6 green #555 lights on the shields, 2 orange #44 for under the Klingon ship, 2 red #555 lights for the red bumpers and 1 #555 white light for the bumper under the right ramp (I would probably replace with a red one - I use to be able to buy the cut bumper caps from marcospec.com but cannot find any), and finally remember that 2 GI lights go beneath the slings, one on each side. (Three blue #906 flashers go on this big board in between the 2 green lights for the shields. Remember that they are flimsy so do them last or they will break.)

I used two amber lights for the nacelles that always remain on on the ship. I would think this is part of the GI kit but I don't remember where I found them. I also seem to have extra lights and need to use the extra lights I have around the house. So my suggestion if you buy the kit from BCSPinball is to buy extra lights because I expect to not have enough lights, expect several to break and/or not work to begin with, and have strange colored lights left over. In other words, if you don't have the right lights to complete the under play field lights, you can't put the subway ramp back on until you get them and this will frustrate you and slow you down.

Don't forget to replace the light in the "Start" button, "To be Continued..." button and the two coin door slots.

I will mention removing connectors to easily remove components (poppers, ramps, etc). You should use a sharpie to clealy mark the connectors or use stickers you can buy in the electrical aisle of Home Depot. They are numbers from 1-45 and costs about $7.99. The product is Ideal Wire Marker Booklet, #44-103. (I also use the 3 number label or 6 number label to mark the connectors in the backbox for the boards. For example J120 on the WPC IO board, I would put a 6 number "20" label on the connector. I also use a sharpie to mark the right side or the top of each connector. Overkill but good.)

I lift up the play field. I take the under ramp subway off. In order to take the subway ramp off, it is easiest to take the right popper mechanism off that feeds the right cannon. This allows the subway to slip right out. If your subway ramp is like mine, it will be black. Take apart the cover and use plastic cleaner to clean. If there are any cracks, use spare mylar pieces (you can buy sheets from Pinball Resource) to strengthen them. Replacements are also available if necessary.

Now you can replace ALL the lights with LEDs. There is one light under the top left popper that you will need to temporarily take the unit out to get to. The 2 lights (one on each side below the cannon bracket) are pain in the necks to replace but is possible without taking anything apart. Since some LEDs are polarized, ensure you test all lights before putting anything back on. A note about the blue lalshers. They are very flimsy. Be careful not to break them. It appears that they are not glued into the base but simply connected by 4 teeny tiny metal connectors to the base.

There are 4 #89 white flashers under the playfield. Only the one that goes into the bumper area can be replaced from below. The other three will need to be replaced from above because they are too big to fit through the hole.

The 1 red #906 flasher goes in at the top of the play field (looking from underneath) under the "Return to Duty" light.

Some controlled lights I can infer:

3 green frosted #555 for the lanes

5 green frosted #555 for the bonus multipliers.

6 yellow #555 5-LED lights for the 3 orange arrows on both sides of the playfield to relight the kickback.

3 yellow #44 5-LED lights for the 3 orange arrows to the neutral zone.

Put the subway ramp back on. Put the right popper on. You are ready to work on the top of the play field.

I put paper down to make notes about the screws and the locations on the play field, including the order in which washers, ramps, nuts, and screws go together. I suggest you do the same.

Take off the tough loopwire ramp first. 4 sets of screws. Mark the order of the screws and washers, especially for where this loop intersects the cross wire ramp.

Take off the cross wire ramp.

Take off the right wire ramp.

Remove the clear protector over the left wire ramp. Loosen the left wire ramp. This ramp can't easily be taken off until the alpha quadrant ramp is removed. This is because the plastic undeneath has a bolt under the alpha ramp so it can't be moved.

Now I take a rest from removing ramps and work on cleaning the lower portion of the play field.

Take the left and right lane guides off. If you are replacing plastics and/or clear plastics, you will start doing that now. Also clean the play field. I use a Magic Eraser and 91% alcohol. Put them back on. Replace the flipper rubbers.

If you replace plastics, remember to take the protective coating off of both sides of the plastic.

Take off the sling plastics. Replace the rubber. Add the light. clean the area. Put in the plastic protector. Clean the plastic and re-assemble. If your red posts look cruddy, spend a few bucks and buy new ones.

Remove the cannon cover plastics and replace the LEDs. I think these use the red #555 5-LEDs although I only had one left. (At least this is easy to fix at a later time.) The 5-LED dome looks better than the regular light. I have the covers with the laser pointer. It is cute.

Take off the 4 plastics on the right side, where the ramps were removed. Clean/replace, put in the appropriate plastic protectors. Below the "Klingon Assistance" plastic, replace the #89 white flasher. It seems to be a tight fix. I removed the light bulb from underneath.

We will now start to work across the back to the left counter clockwise.

Use a 1/4" bolt driver to remove the dome at the back right of the playfield. The right bolt comes out easily. The left one requires you to squeeze next to the switch on the right ramp, but will come off.

Lift the playfield and mark the connectors going to the right ramp and the borg ship. Remove the 3 screws to remove the plastic cover of the borg ship. Then separate them so the borg ship and right ramp can be removed. Clean the ramp. If you are replacing, transfer items to the new ramp. Clean under everything. Of course don't forget the two small screws in the metal flap. The two screws in the back of the ramp can just be lossened. Mark locations where you took the screws to take apart. The right ramp has 1 connector that goes through the very back right plastic. The borg ship has 3 connectors that feed through the back and a retaining clip. There are also two small screws holding the borg ship to the left ramp. Loosen these.

Clean the ramp. Replace the clear plastic.

Clean under the ramp. Change the bumper caps to LEDs. Replace the Red bumper caps. Replace the red inlanes if necessary. Clean the plastics.

Hint: There is a rubber that goes from the left most guide to a post very close to the left bumper. In order to replace the rubber, the bumper cap should be off. Use a 1 1/4" rubber. Twist the rubber in the figure 8. Otherwise, the left side of the rubber will rest on the metal ball hole and push up the bottom part of the rubber. Plus the right side of the rubber needs to make a sharp right turn. This configuration works nice. The rubber that goes from the one way gate to the top of this guide can also be twisted.

Take the Delta Quadrant ramp off. There are four connectors to disconnect.

The Alpha Quadrant can be taken off or just moved around to leave it connected.

The left wire ramp can now be removed. All the plastics underneath can now be cleaned.

The game uses 5 #89 white flashers and a red #89 flasher in the back right. The BCSPinball Kit only had 4 #90 white flashers. I sent him an email. If you buy the kit from them, ensure that it has the correct number of flashers.

Now that everything is off the play field, put the decals on the targets if you got them.

Now to put the game back together (and make sure each ramp works as placed back on).

Before we secure the Alpha Quadrant ramp and the long plastic on the left side, place the wire ramp back in and ensure it is all lined up. Then secure the plastic, wire ramp and Alpha Quadrant ramp. The screws for the wire ramp into the play field are a pain in the neck. I don't have a magnetic screw driver, but I should. If I did it would be easier. I use a magnet and a screw driver to align the screws.

If you bought ramp protectors, put them on while putting the ramps back. It seems that the left ramp protector on the Alpha Quadrant will stick out at the front if you don't screw in the back screw. Screw in the front screw and then create a hole for the back screw. The front should rotate out. Unscrew the front and remove the screw. Hold the protector flush with the ramp on the left and tighten the screw in the back. Now put the screw back in the front and it should line up nicely.

Before we leave the Alpha Quadrant ramp, ensure you put the clear pastic back over the area where the ramp connects to the wire ramp.

Put the Delta Quadrant ramp on next. Ensure all 4 connectors go through the bottom left area. Connect connectors and ensure all switches and lights work. Connect ramp. Add ramp protector to the right side if purchased. Put the column back for the wire ramp.

Install the Romulan ship.

Attach the Borg ship. Ensure all optos now work. The blue flashers and blue #555 should be placed in here. It is a really cool effect, as long as you don't break and of the flimsy #906 blue flashers... Don't forget about the two screws that connect to the Delta Ramp. Remember that the three connectors go through the back of the play field and into the harness holder. Put the cover back on.

Put the Beta ramp back on. I did not place the top right plastic on to feed the connector easier. Put the flasher into the dome. Attach the dome. Connect the wires and test the flasher and switch.

Put the right wire ramp back on attached to the Beta ramp.

Put the cross ramp back on.

Put the loop ramp back on. Connect to the cross ramp. Ensure ball line up on all ramps. Adjust if necessary.

 Williams Strike Zone Shuffle Alley does not work

Symptom

I put together the game but nothing worked. (This game uses a system 9 CPU.)

Resolution

The plug in the backbox worked but nothing else. I noticed the ground plug was missing so I replaced the plug with a 3 prong plug. I traced the wire from the on/off switch and realized it was not connected. I traced the wires from the transformer and realized I bolted them between the pin block and the backglass. I loosened the backglass and pulled out the two female connectors I was looking for and the game turned on.

 Williams Strike Zone Shuffle Alley game comes up in audit mode

Symptom

The game comes up in audit mode.

Resolution

According to all the documents, the batteries are dead, the battery holder is bad, the 5101 memory is bad or the D17 is bad. I cant find the D17 or 5101 memory. I changed the batteries this still happens. I will try to change the battery holder.

But with the coin door open I can turn off and on the machine fast a second time and it goes into attract mode.

A new battery holder solved this problem.

 Williams Strike Zone Shuffle Alley display scores flicker

Symptom

The score display flicker on and off quickly but work.

Resolution

I purchased a new power supply board for $85 from www.marcospecialties.com and this solved the problem.

 Williams Strike Zone Shuffle Alley game goes to game off after a frame or two

Symptom

In test mode, switch 52, 44, 36, 20, 12 and 4 came up.

Resolution

This is a row controlled by the white/yellow wire. I pulled the wire off the connector, it stopped. I then put the wire back on the connector. I disconnected both the row and column connectors, I tested each switch with a jumper wire. All switches in the above row worked fine. After some fooling around with the switches, I plugged in both connectors and the row did not appear. I tested all of the switches. I realized there are some switches that only work if another switch is already pressed.

I finally narrowed it down to the back row switches (36). Then I narrowed it down to the switch that is the second from the left. It turns out the switch did not have fish paper between the switch wire and the switch and caused problems every time it was pressed. It made all switches show up. I added electrical tape (my version of fish paper) between the wire and the switch and now the game scores correctly. I found the correct insulator from a 1964 San Francisco game and put this on to correctly finish fixing this.

2nd Resolution

At the customer's house, this continued. After checking all the switches, it turned out that another switch did not have the insulator between the leaf and the wire. I know this was there so it must have fallen off. I corrected this and the game works.

 Williams Tales of the Arabian Nights (TOTAN) the optical switch column is turning on and off in test mode

Symptom

The balls are all being ejected from the trough, the flippers do not work and the 2 optics above the cage do not work.

Resolution

I was told (by Steve at PBR and in Clay's manual) to test the 12 volts on the driver board. Mine tested at 12.1 Volts.

Using a DMM, the 12 v wire at the opto board reads 12.1 volts. I thought this was good so I dutifully went through all the steps below to find the problem.

Martin Reynolds helped me test the voltage at the opto board with an oscilloscope. It was fluctuating above and below 12 volts.

We connected a jumper between TP100 and Pin 2 on J3 on the opto board and it worked.

Martin thought I checked for 12 volts at the pin but I did not. (Martin was assisting me over the phone.)

We thought it was a cold solder joint. I reflowed the connectors and added solder.

The game did not work. I checked continuity between TP100 and the pin on J141 (2nd from left). There was no continuity. But when I spoke with Martin he realized that the power comes from TP103. I checked the back of the board and realized that all of the 12 volts for the optos and flippers were going through C8 on the driver board. Since we got the game to work by jumping in a capacitor the day before, I thought this could be the problem. I had a 15000 uf 25 volt capacitor. The game had a 10000 uf 35 volt capacitor in it. Martin said I could use the 15000 on. It worked and the opts worked. Therefore changing C8 was the resolution.

Below is a bunch of steps I did before I spoke with Martin Reynolds and found the problem

I replaced the LM339s on the opto board. This did not help, but the LM339s on the opto board are now in sockets I did not think this would work since the flippers are also not working.

I replaced ULN2803 at U20 on the CPU. This did not help. I asked for help on RGP.

If I put my hand under switch 37 (right cage opto) the switch shows as open but does not flicker. The left eject (switch 38 non-opto) does not flicker when it is closed.

I took off the opto board after an email from Lloyd Olson and realized that R29 (1.2K ohm, watt, 5%) was fried. I replaced R29 and still have the same problem. Lloyd also suggested that I check all switches in the row and column that the ball jam switch (ball eject switch 31) is in. I checked all switches, they are not touching metal or squashed together. They are all working (except the optos in the same column). It looks like they are wired correctly and the diodes are not backwards.

I took off connector J206 (column) and J208 (row). All switches except the always closed switch is open. There appears to be no flickering.

Other observations:

I put the balls in the trough and when open they do not flicker either.
With the coin door closed, the flickering happens much more rapidly.
I am testing the switches using an alligator clip and a 1N4004 diode.

I DID NOTICE A DIFFERENCE. It has taken a while for me to figure out and I have just been confirming it.

It looks like J206 and J207 are interchangeable and my connector is on J206. But I tried both and got the same results.

When I put the clip on pin 1 (then 2, then 3, etc) of J209 and test the pins on J207 (using the 1N4004) the following happens:

The SWITCH BEEPS and REGISTERS IMMEDIATELY when it is not switch 31 - 37 (opto switches).

When I touch one of the above opto switch pins (switch 31- 37), it REGISTERS IMMEDIATELY on the screen (and does not flicker) but DOES NOT BEEP UNTIL I REMOVE the clip.

At first I was just touching and immediately removing the clip from each pin and it seemed to work. Then I realized there was a slight hesitancy in the beep. Then I realized it was doing what I said above.

When I test pin 9 on J209 (Row 8) with pin 3 on J207 (or J206), this is the one switch (switch 38) in column 3 that is not an opto and the switch registers on the screen and beeps immediately so I assume this is not an issue with pin 3 on J206 (J207).

I tested both ways as shown in Clay's guide and the same thing above happened.

This is supposed to have the delay.

 Williams TOTAN The Flipper Boards Are Not In the Machine and New Ones Do Not Work

Symptom

Both flipper boards have been taken out of the machine. Therefore, the test report reports problems with the flipper switches.

Resolution

My new TOTAN came with the flipper boards out and the R1, R2 resistors fried.

I replaced the left one with a new board and it did not work.

Martin Reynolds helped me solve the problem with the 12 volts not getting to the opto board. This 12 volts also goes to the flippers. It was capacitor C8 on the driver board.

We then tested the R1 resistor on the side closest to the connector. We read 15.2 volts. We also read 15.2 volts on the other side of the resistor. Martin immediately told me we were not getting ground. We tested the ground on the board. It was showing 15.2 volts as well.

We tested the ground at J212-13 on the board. It was reading 0.

Today I traced the wire to the break. It turned out that I did not yet connect the right flipper board. The ground wire from J212-13 goes to pin 3 of the right flipper board. The ground on the left flipper board comes from pin4 on the right flipper connector. Until the connector is on the board (or manually connected to test), the left flipper wasn't getting ground.

The flippers now work.

 Williams TOTAN The Left Flipper Sticks Up

Symptom

The left flipper sticks up in game play.

Resolution

It looks like a mechanical issue rather than electrical. I replaced the spring. There was the wrong spring on the flipper. The flipper connection to the flipper assembly was not tight either. The flipper works but there is a slight hesitancy at the end. I may replace the coil.

 Williams TOTAN The Plunger Is Not Strong Enough To Launch The Ball

Symptom

The plunger is not strong enough to launch the ball.

Resolution

I spoke with Steve at Pinball Resource. He told me that the spring was probably replaced with a weaker one. The manual states it should have a 10-148-3 spring. Steve said that a 10-148-4 would also work and sent that.

The ball now gets to the bottom scoop but no further.

I squeezed the barrel spring so it allowed the plunger to stick out a bit further. I also bent back the metal that holds the ball next to the plunger. The ball now shoots out great.

I added a washer into the rubber tip of the plunger to add length to the plunger, it now works.

 Williams TOTAN The Machine Beeps 3 Times. In Test Report States U3 Check Sum Error

Symptom

When the game is turned on, it beeps three times. The test report shows a check sum error for U3 (74LS245 on the CPU board).

Resolution

In game play, voice works. Some music works but it looks like background music does not work. This could really be the S3 chip on the audio board. I ordered a replacement chip from John Wart.

The chip did not work. I sent the board to Clive at Coin Op Cauldron. It turned out that a trace was bad from the S3 chip. He fixed it and the sound works great.

 Williams TOTAN Left Cage Opto Not Showing Up In the Switch Test Matrix

Symptom

It looks like the left cage opto switch is not working.

Resolution

Once the capacitor was replaced in C8 as described above, the optos worked except switch 36 (the left cage opto).

I put a Flintstones 7-opto board into the game and all switches work. Therefore, the switch is good and a part on the opto board needs to be replaced for opto 6 (switch 36). I ordered parts and will fix the opto board.

I replaced the resistor and the left cage works great.

 Williams TOTAN Ramp Magnet Coil (on Left) Does Not Work

Symptom

The left ramp magnet coil does not work.

Resolution

It looks like the magnet does not work because the F104 fuse that controls it is blown. I replaced it and the magnet works in test mode. In game play, it blows the fuse. I ordered another magnet 20-10179. This should solve the problem.

I sent the driver board to Clive at Coin Op Cauldron. Although I thought I fixed a lot of things, he fixed even more things. I got the board back. The fuse 104 still blew but it did not mess up the ramp diverter.

After sending numerous messages to RGP, it turns out that the 4amp fast acting fuse should be a 4amp slow blow fuse. In test mode, it says a 2.5 amp slow blow, but I think that is still not enough.

 Williams TOTAN Left Cage Not Coming Up In Test Mode

Symptom

The left cage is not coming up in test mode. It comes up about 1/8 but that is all.

Resolution

When testing it manually, it goes all the way up but does not come down. The right side goes all the way up and comes down smoothly. Maybe the rod and other items need to be cleaned. Maybe the solenoid needs to be replaced. Maybe the cage needs to be better aligned. Maybe a better spring would help.

Once the optical switch was replaced, the cage worked fine.

 Bally Theatre of Magic Balls Not Staying Below The Playfield To Lock

Symptom

When the ball went into the trunk to be locked, it would not stay in the subway. It would immediately come out the trap door and the third ball would never be locked to see the magnet illusion.

Resolution

I finally realized that the solenoid that keeps the balls locked was backwards. It would be open to let a ball through and when it engages, it would hold back a ball. Then I also realized that a pin was broken off of the assembly that makes the backwards method correct and logical. I found the pin and hammered it back into the mechanism. It worked for a while but the pin fell out. I simply bought a new piece for $19 from Bay Area Amusements. (Stop Ball Feeder Assembly A-19936 [GS-TOMA19936].)

 Bally Theatre of Magic Left Magnet Drain Save Magnet Not Working

Symptom

The left magnet drain save does not work.

Resolution

I tested the ohms on the magnet. It read 4.4 ohms. This is good. I checked continuity. Continuity was good. I switched the magnets and it worked on the other side. I thought maybe Q1 on the flipper board (TIP36C) may be bad. I took the board out. I checked continuity between components and checked components. They all worked. When I got to R23 on the board, there was a DIODE there. I unsoldered it and put in the 470 Ohm resistor specified and the magnet worked.

 Bally Theatre of Magic Solenoid 01 Trough Kicker Not Working

Symptom

The ball is not kicked out to the plunger lane.

Resolution

I checked F105. It was good. I checked the voltage at the coil. There was none. I checked continuity from J130-1 to the purple wire on the coil. There was continuity. I checked continuity from J107-2 (or maybe one, whatever the manual states) to the coil. There was none. I started checking the wires at each coil. There is a coil all the way at the bottom of the playfield when the playfield is up. One of the red wires was disconnected. I resoldered the wire and the game worked.

 Bally Twilight Zone Balls Stack Up When Balls Drain

Symptom

In multiball mode, when the balls drain, they stack up in the opening to the trough.

Resolution

It looked like a switch was not working. The switch immediately in the trough was working. I raised the playfield and noticed the right trough switch was stuck down against the proximity sensor board. I bent the switch to clear the board and it worked fine.

 Bally Twilight Zone Reset Issue

Symptom

The typical reset occurs when pressing both flippers.

Resolution

I replaced BR1, BR2 and Cap 5. The problem continued. But it only continued for the first few minutes of turning on the machine. Then the problem would go away. I looked up similar issues on RGP. I did not find the exact match. But someone suggested tightening the screws to the boards in the back box. My driver board was loose (since I did not tighten it after I placed it back in). After I tightened it, the problem does not continue. This was a relatively simply fix.

2nd Resolution

This also happened on a customer's pinball. I assumed it was the BR1, BR2 and Cap 5. I opened the backbox and these were recently changed. The flippers did not cause a reset. The customer showed me that if you simply touch the power cord, the game would reset. I explained to the customer the cord was like the cords on computers. I tested it and it did not fit into the machine well. (The end of the cord was damaged.) I used a new cord and it worked fine.

3RD RESOLUTION

I replaced BR1, BR2 and Cap5 a few years ago on a customer's machine and it solved the problem. They called and said the problem returned. I did not think the problem was with the board. I wiggled all of the connectors. When I got to J101 it reset the game. I looked at the connector and it was burned on top where the two red wires come in. I rebuilt the connector and the game works without resetting.

 Bally Twilight Zone Ball Stuck

Symptom

The customer stated that the balls would get stuck. I played the game. The diverter from the mini playfield was not working just right. The game played okay then some of the coils stopped working.

Resolution

It turned out 6 of the 8 coils off a daisy chained circuit were not working. This meant that there was a wire problem. I found the offending solder joint at the connection to the diverter from the mini playfield. I soldered the wire and all coils worked.

 Bally Twilight Zone Switch 75 Error

Symptom

The customer stated that switch 75 is showing up in the test report.

Resolution

This opto switch is at the back of the mini playfield. In order to replace the optos, the mini-playfield has to be removed. This is probably well known but the manual shows two nuts to loosen on the left side where there are actually two nuts, one on the left and one on the right.

There are also two 6 pin connectors that look identical except for the wire colors. Be careful to replace these correctly.

 Bally Twilight Zone Ball Stuck in Entrance to Trough

Symptom

The customer stated that the balls would not go into the trough.

Resolution

I looked at the trough and the lever that hits the ball to the plunger was blocking the way.

I removed the apron and took the coil apart. The pivot point was not moving. I took it apart and there was gunked up grease. I cleaned the area and sprayed with a little WD40 since it was metal against metal. I put back the apron. This took longer than usual since it was a tight fit. Coils 1 - 8 did not work. The fuse was blown. I replaced the fuse and it blew again.

I realized I put the coil back with the lugs facing up (and obstructing the apron - which is why it was difficult to put back) and they grounded against the apron and blew the fuse. I turned the coil 90 degrees and everything worked fine.

 Bally Twilight Zone Gumball Not Dispensing

Symptom

While final testing, the gumball did not dispense.

Resolution

In test mode, the game states to check the Geneva Switch (#55). The first thing to check are the fuses. F111 (top right) was blown and needed to be replaced. (Probably from me switching the 6 pin connectors on the mini-playfield as described above)

2nd Resolution

At another customer's house, this switch (#55) was also showing in the test report. I raised the playfield and tested the switch. It is the switch that senses as the motor spins. The switch worked but it wasn't being activatyed by the disk. I needed to adjust the switch to get it to correctly sense the disk.

 Bally Twilight Zone Opto Switch 76 Mini-Playfield Exit Not Registering

Symptom

Opto switch 76 not working.

Resolution

Every other opto switch worked fine in edge test. Examined the transmitter with a digital camera and was lit so presumably getting voltage (didn't check voltage). Checked receiver and was only getting 5 volts when activated. Clay's guide states it should be getting 12 volts. Replaced the receiver but no change. Learned that the transmitter/receiver should be replaced in pairs, as different brands transmit on different frequencies. No change. Purchased a new set of matching opto boards for the switch and replaced in case one was bad. No change. Checked continuity of all wires back to the 10 opto board and everything tested fine. Checked voltage on the 10 opto board and everything appeared fine. Suspected a problem with either LM339 or the wiring plug connection, and found a lose wire on J1 Pin 1. Rebuilt the connector and the problem was corrected.

 Bally Vector Sound Not Always Resetting When Turned On

Symptom

Sometimes when the game is turned on, the LED on the Squawk and Talk board remains on and sound does not work.

Resolution

This is an intermittent problem. Looking at Clay's guides, it states that the reset circuit needs to be fixed. Based on this advice, I previously replaced all the capacitors.

Then I finally found the parts that made up the reset circuit. They are

C1 - Capacitor, Electrolytic, 47uF
CR1 - Diode 1N4148
R1 - Resistor, 1/4W, 5%, 27K
U15 - 74LS14 (I added a socket then the chip)

Replacing all the capacitors and the above parts now allows the Squawk and Talk board to consistently boot up and reset correctly then turn off the LED and be ready to play with sound.

 Bally Vector Controlled General Illumination (GI) Partially Not Working

Symptom

A portion of the general illumination on the raised back portion of the playfield is not working.

Resolution

Finally tracked the black/yellow wire to an auxiliary lamp driver board under the playfield. I swapped the board with another used for the center circle in the backbox. The lights now work on the playfield.

The resistors on the small board work. So I purchased a new MOC3011 (Mouser P/N 512-MOC3011M). This is the 6 pin chip on the board. I also purchased sockets (Mouser P/N 571-182509301). I also replaced the transistor attached to the heat sink. This is Mouser P/N 511-BTB08-400C. I replaced these parts and the controlled GI works fine.

 Bally Who Dunnit Several Lights Are Not Working

Symptom

Several controlled lights are not working.

Resolution

I changed the bulb. I checked continuity (I thought). I changed the diodes just to be sure. These lights were #555 in the black twist holders. It turns out the solder around the edge of the circle on 3 lights was worn off. I reflowed the solder around the edge and the lights worked.

 Bally Who Dunnit Coils 1 - 8 Are Not Working

Symptom

A customer called and said that balls were getting stuck in the machine.

Resolution

I asked the customer to go to the coil test and coils 1 - 8 were not working. I asked him to look at fuse F105 (3amp sb). He said it looked good. I asked him to switch fuse F104 and F105 since they are the same. Now coils 1 - 8 did not work and 9 - 16 did not work (but 9 - 16 were working before).

I went to his home. I checked continuity between coils 1 - 8 and to J107-1 on the driver board. There was continuity. I switched out the driver board. The coils still did not work.

I grounded the tip102 transistor to all coils and they worked. I realized it may have to do with the signal or switches going to the computer. I went into switch test mode. All switches appeared to work. I closed the door and got a ground switch row 1 error. I looked at the wire colors which were white brown. The customer looked at the door and noticed the white brown wire. I looked at the switch matrix and noticed it was in row 1. I noticed the slam tilt switch was bent at a weird angle. I bent it a little more. I checked the coils and they worked. I realized I did not solve the problem. I went back into switch test mode and the game kept getting a ground switch row 1 error. I finally noticed that the bent slam tilt switch was touching the door when completely closed and grounding the row.

The switch was so badly bent that I told the customer it was better to simply remove it from the circuit by cutting the wire. They can buy another switch someday if they wish. The game no longer gave a ground switch row 1 error and all the coils worked.

 Bally World Cup Soccer Flashers Not Working

Symptom

The flashers are not working.

Resolution

J125 and J126 control the flashers on the playfield and backbox. J107 pin 5 and 6 and J106 pin 5 are the flash lamp power. Following the schematic Power Driver Board (Power/Triacs) Sheet 1 of 3, this power goes through R224 to C11 and BR4 through F111 and F112. F111 was blown. BR4 and C11 needed to be replaced. I have a "template" power driver board that I marked the typical connections that need traces. I needed to add a trace between BR4 and C11.

I was able to place this in my Star Trek The Next Generation to ensure I fixed this.

 Bally World Cup Soccer Top Kick Out Hole Not Strong Enough To Get To Goal

Symptom

The top kick out hole is not strong enough to shoot the ball into the goal.

Resolution

Thanks to Larry Kagele for pointing out that the little tabs on the plastic eject shield were probably broken and needed to be replaced. I bought transparent red eject shields, rather than the violet eject shields since they were available. This worked and it looks nice on the game.

 Bally World Cup Soccer Opto Switch 51 Not Working

Symptom

This switch is in the skill shot mechanism at the right. It is the lowest hole the ball can drop in and it was not working.

Resolution

I have to learn to stop doing the brute force "typical" repair and analyze the problem first. I "thought" the problem was the opto LED on the transmitter, so I replaced it. It did not work. I looked at the receiver side and realized that wires were spliced together inside electrical tape. It turned out that the wires were twisted and not soldered. I soldered them together.

In the picture above, the wires have electrical tapeall the way to the left (hardly visible).

I went into test mode. The switch did not work. I pulled on the wires and the switch worked. (This was probably back in the January 2011 timeframe.)

I have not had a chance to look at the game much since then. I have turned it on and the switch would not work or was flaky.

Fast forward to Friday, June 24, 2011. I had some time to look at the game in detail. Pulling on the wires means that the connectors are bad or a wire is loose or both.

In the picture below, you can see that I already replaced the large 12 pin connector (J3) on the 10-opto board under the playfield. The wires were barely connected and in some places not connected at all. I also replaced J4 connector (which goes to switch 53) and the two wires. I am holding the Orange/Brown wire (although wit hthe flash it looks different) leading to the receiver opto for switch 51. This connects to connector J6 (5 pin) at the bottom right. In the above picture this is the same wire as the orange/brown wire leading to the right side of the right opto receiver.

I was hoping this obvious disconnected wire would allow the opto to work. It didn't. I replaced the opto receiver in the above picture (right one) and the switch worked.

The above picture shows the J6 connector (bottom left replaced).

I originally replaced the opto on the transmitter on the switch all the way to the left. It probably didn't need to be done.

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