Help!!! Star Wars pin blowing fuses

VIPER13

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I just replaced the pit coil on my Star Wars DE pinball game and I think I screwed up and wired it backwards. Now the left flipper and launcher switch/coil don't work. I noticed that the F5 fuse was blown, so I replaced it and put the old coil back on. This didn't seem to help because the fuse keeps blowing and the flipper and fire button are still not working. Does anyone know what I can check or do to fix the problem? I hope this wasn't a really costly mistake on my part.
 
Probaly blew a transistor on the board , not too serious . Someone will chime in on which one to check . If you know how to use a dmm it's not that hard to test rhen to see which one it is.
 
Thanks, I read somewhere that the diode has to be going a certain way, is this true and do I even need a diode if I put a new coil back in.
 
Does anyone know which transistor to check? Also, does the game need to be plugged in to test a transistor or do I need to unplug all of the cables leading to the board that the transistor is on?
 
To test a transistor properly, you actually should pull it from the board. While I dont know which transistor to check for this problem, I do have a working DE SW pin here we can get reference values and voltages from if needed. And yes, diode's need to be installed in the proper orientation. They only allow power to pass 1 direction, so if its backwards, it will block power from completing the circuit.
 
To avoid this type of mistake, which is VERY easy to make, I always clearly mark the solenoid wires with little tape tags before I de-solder them - "BAND" "NO BAND" "CENTER" that sort of thing.

RussMyers
 
To avoid this type of mistake, which is VERY easy to make, I always clearly mark the solenoid wires with little tape tags before I de-solder them - "BAND" "NO BAND" "CENTER" that sort of thing.

RussMyers

That's what I did after I blew up Pinbot the same way. I got lucky though, didn't blow a transistor, just the fuse. Made little tape sleeves with a small piece of paper indicating where they went and attached them to the wire.
 
I put the old coil back in (which was operating before, but not 100%) and wired it correctly, but since I keep blowing the F5 fuse I assume I either ruined the diode, a transistor, both or something more.
 
Something is definitely shorted, probably the drive transistor. Usually an easy fix for someone with basic soldering and PCB repair skills.

RussM
 
I just replaced the pit coil on my Star Wars DE pinball game and I think I screwed up and wired it backwards. Now the left flipper and launcher switch/coil don't work. I noticed that the F5 fuse was blown, so I replaced it and put the old coil back on. This didn't seem to help because the fuse keeps blowing and the flipper and fire button are still not working. Does anyone know what I can check or do to fix the problem? I hope this wasn't a really costly mistake on my part.

The fuse F5 holds the 50 volt and most likely one of the big TIP36c transistors is shorted on the PPB board.Power off the game,You can test those TIP36c Transistors with your meter set to diode function.Also,There's a TIP102 transistor on the CPU board which drives this TIP36c. So that will need to be tested too.MM set on diode setting,Red probe on metal tab and black probe testing legs.A .4 or .6 reading should be seen.

Always replace the coil,Transistors with new ones and don't put that old coil back in the game.
 
Heres what I do when I'm too lazy to bust out the manual...

You can leave the boards in the game and leave all harnesses connected. TURN OFF the game... Get a meter and put it on continuity test. Put one probe on earth ground somewhere and with the other probe apply it to the metal tabs on the transistors until you find the one thats shorted. I'd start with the larger TIP36C's and work my way back to the TIP122's. Once you find the bad part replace it. Now, you also need to replace that diode on the coil. Its a 1N4004 but you can also put a 4007 in its place.

After that you should be good to go unless you blew more then just the primary drive transistor.
 
I tested the transistors on the PPM board and it looks like two of them are giving me a reading of 0 or close to 0. I plan on changing these two, replacing the coil with a new one as well as replacing the diode. Does anyone have a good place I can get new transistors and a new diode?
 
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