Low Solenoid Power

rikitheshadow

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I need some assistance, I've got a client who called me out today to look at a pin.
A 93" Data East "Last Action Hero," in pretty nice condition too, but we have issues.

The first issue, in which I was called in for, was that the auto launcher coil was not firing, let alone any of the launcher coils wired in series with this. My client had already replaced all the launcher coils, but still nothing. I checked every single fuse in this game and all check out just fine. In fact the game recognizes that your firing it, but of course the coil won't fire. I don't get anything from it when I plug up my multimeter.

On top of that we had another problem that appeared when I first came in and turned it on.... The flippers hardly have enough volts to even operate. Their reading 6VDC at peak, and the input voltage to the flipper control board is also reading 6VDC.......

So I figure it's a power related issue, but I don't know where to start, Ive thumbed through the manual.....no troubleshooting section....gee way to go DE. I've thumbed through the schematics checking the Power Supply Board and the PBB, but I seriously am befuddled.

The MPU board looks good no corrosion, burns, or any apparent physical damage. MPU board has the 5v and blanking lights on (solid). The P1A light....I don't know if it should be lit or not but it does nothing. Figure if the system were anything like a Williams MPU maybe the diagnostic lights may have a certain pattern in which they should be operating.

Anybody out there familiar with this sort of issue?
 
First check if you have power on the solenoids and how much ?
Same for the poewrboar, in the schematics it should say how many volts are at a few specific places (test points, connectors, fuses, ..) measure this.
See if you have a voltage missing and trace this back in the schematics.
 
First check if you have power on the solenoids and how much ?
Same for the poewrboar, in the schematics it should say how many volts are at a few specific places (test points, connectors, fuses, ..) measure this.
See if you have a voltage missing and trace this back in the schematics.

I've checked a lot of the power outputs under load, and from what the diagrams say in regards to which are solenoids.......i think................they check out ok.

I just need to know where specifically the 50 VDC is coming from.

Lets just say there is a lot of wiring so there is no way I'm going to find where it is without a schematic and their just daunting.....
 
Could there possibly be an issue with BR1 and BR2......those are rectifiers right?


Really just need to know where the +50 VDC comes from for the solenoids?
Transformer? Linear Power Supply?
 
First thing I'd check is for cold solder joints at the L/R relay as this can cause low power and always affects more than one coil which sounds like what you've got going on there.
 
Here's the manual:
http://www.ipdb.org/files/1416/Data_East_1993_Last_Action_Hero_Manual.pdf

More importantly, here are the schematics:
http://www.ipdb.org/files/1416/Data_East_1993_Last_Action_Hero_Schematics_BW.pdf

The first issue, in which I was called in for, was that the auto launcher coil was not firing, let alone any of the launcher coils wired in series with this. My client had already replaced all the launcher coils, but still nothing.

At least they took some initiative. It's really common for people to replace coils unnecessarily. In a case like this, if the coils are not burnt, you can be sure they're not the problem. At least they have some spare coils now.

I checked every single fuse in this game and all check out just fine. In fact the game recognizes that your firing it, but of course the coil won't fire. I don't get anything from it when I plug up my multimeter.

If some playfield coils are working but others are not we can assume that the main solenoid fuse is good. Could be a fuse under the playfield though. Same for all the other fuses. If the switched illumination is working we can assume the fuse is good, etc...

If all of the coils that are not working are daisy chained together the first thing to assume is that the wire somewhere down the line in that chain has come off. I've seen that happen in DE games plenty of times. Check for solenoid voltage at those coils. There will be positive voltage there all the time and the ground side will be switched by the solenoid driver circuits. If you find no positive voltage the daisy chain has likely been broken somewhere. Most likely at the lug of a coil down line.

There are a bunch of other things that could cause a series of coils to not work but the first thing to do is confirm that you have power at the coils. Then try manually grounding at the driver transistor (ensure the A/B relay is on the right position) and go from there.

On top of that we had another problem that appeared when I first came in and turned it on.... The flippers hardly have enough volts to even operate. Their reading 6VDC at peak, and the input voltage to the flipper control board is also reading 6VDC.......

I would double check that just to be sure. You should see 50VDC on pins 8 and 9 of connector CN2 on the flipper board. The other voltages on this board can be found in the manuals. If you're really seeing low voltage at the 50V input of the flipper board I would check the voltage on the positive leg of C1 (capacitor) on the PPB board. If you've got the same low voltage there you know that BR1 on the PPB is most likely bad.

Could also be bad solder joints at the bridge, headers, bad pins, etc... but those tests will narrow it down.

So I figure it's a power related issue, but I don't know where to start, Ive thumbed through the manual.....no troubleshooting section....gee way to go DE.

I've never found those things to be useful anyway.

I've thumbed through the schematics checking the Power Supply Board and the PBB, but I seriously am befuddled.

I traced the supply voltage back from the flipper board using the schematics to give you the advice above. Took about 5 minutes. It's just a matter of not getting overwhelmed by the whole thing at once, breaking down the problem and tracing out the effected circuit. You could look at it like a whole ton of subsystems all stuck together to make a pinball machine. That might make it easier to understand.

The MPU board looks good no corrosion, burns, or any apparent physical damage. MPU board has the 5v and blanking lights on (solid). The P1A light....I don't know if it should be lit or not but it does nothing. Figure if the system were anything like a Williams MPU maybe the diagnostic lights may have a certain pattern in which they should be operating.

The MPU is likely not the source of the problem. It could be... but there are a bunch of things to be eliminated as possible causes long before the MPU comes into play.

EDIT: Also make sure they didn't screw something up when they installed new coils.
 
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