Bally Flash Gordon: Solenoids triggering switches

FireSlash

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After weeks of troubleshooting and overall head bashing, I've come abit closer to isolating the problem. In a nutshell:

- When the right flipper is pressed, sometimes it will trigger the left pop bumper or slingshot. Happens sometimes on press, sometimes on release, but almost never during the hold.
- When the drain kicker fires, sometimes the game will score one of three targets.

I discovered today that if I unplug J2 (All PF switches), the problem goes away. Which means that it's not a case of the flippers triggering the solenoids, but the flippers triggering the switches which control said solenoids.

I can't confirm on the PF drain, but I assume a similar situation is going on.

So the million dollar question is: Any ideas what might cause this strange behavior? None of the connectors look burnt, and I've inspected the flippers to death, no signs of wires being damaged by them.
 
So the million dollar question is: Any ideas what might cause this strange behavior? None of the connectors look burnt, and I've inspected the flippers to death, no signs of wires being damaged by them.

You probably have some switches that are adjusted too close. Where is my million?
 
I've checked the switches in question, and they're quite fine. The 25,000 switch is a stand up target and there's a small ocean of space between it and the contact plate. I've also adjusted the pop bumper back to the point where it doesn't always fire. I even broke down and insulated the switch with electrical tape. it's not vibration.

also, bumping, beating, and generally shaking the PF doesn't cause anything to trigger (other than the slam tilt)
 
I even broke down and insulated the switch with electrical tape. it's not vibration.

That's what I would have suggested next.

Damn... no million.

also, bumping, beating, and generally shaking the PF doesn't cause anything to trigger (other than the slam tilt)

hmm... I wonder how stable the +5VDC is when this is happening.
 
Just checked.

5.08v stable at the solenoid board
5.04v stable at the mpu (-0.01v during attract mode and during heavy gameplay)
 
Two of the three mysteries solved.

1) The 25,000 score switch's mounting plate had come loose (missing a screw), and when the kicker fired, it had just the right amount of force to make it twitch in a way that pushed the capacitor into a metal plate, grounding it. Tightened this down, and that problem is gone.

2) The shooter lane cover two way target dropping actually wasn't because of the dropper solenoid, but because the flipper slowly shakes it back until it drops on it's own. I never noticed this because it takes almost 30 flips to do it. The spring looks like it's installed wrong. Not sure how the correct installation goes though.

Pop bumper is still a mystery. I've adjusted the switch several times to no avail. The mechanism doesn't feel any more or less loose than the other ones. Going to tape it and see if that makes a difference, now that I know the tape test on the standing target wasn't a fair test.
 
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