More Space Shuttle "Fun"...help!

[grantopia]

Hi Gang,

Two separate issues here...

There are 3 lights that are not functioning on my playfield, all by the spinner that are used to indicate the spinner point value. These are the only light that are out (not a whole column) and I've replaced them with known good bulbs. Someone mentioned checking the diodes, but to be honest I wasn't really sure what they meant (or how to do it). Any recommendations on starting to figure out the root cause here? I'm more familiar with vids than pins, so any specifics you can give are greatly appreciated. I can provide more pictures (see attached) or info if needed.

Also, one of the jet/pop bumpers randomly stopped working. I can't trigger the switch with the ball or by pressing the skirt down. Any suggestions on what to check first here?

Thank you in advance!

 

[ArcadeTechGW]

Wow.

Trace the wires on the diagram. There should be driver transistors. I don't think they are likely, since all three going bad would not be probable.

Have you checked the sockets for voltage? If you have voltage there, sockets do go bad.

What turns on the lamps (no diagram, spitballing here)? Is it a drop target, switch, what? If the switch (if it is the spinner) isn't working, that could cause this glitch.

The jet bumper issue - check the coil for continuity. Sometimes, the wire between the solder lug and the coil breaks.

 

[grantopia]

Wow.

Trace the wires on the diagram. There should be driver transistors. I don't think they are likely, since all three going bad would not be probable.

Have you checked the sockets for voltage? If you have voltage there, sockets do go bad.

What turns on the lamps (no diagram, spitballing here)? Is it a drop target, switch, what? If the switch (if it is the spinner) isn't working, that could cause this glitch.

The jet bumper issue - check the coil for continuity. Sometimes, the wire between the solder lug and the coil breaks.

Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough to follow everything here. When you say there should be driver transistors...what exactly am I looking for? I haven't checked the sockets as I'm not sure how, I'm not too familiar with pins so I'm not comfortable guessing at where to put the leads and what the voltage should be. I'm sad to say the same is true for the coil in that as I haven't done this before I don't have a good baseline of how to actually check that.

The spinner should in theory light the lamps. When I hit it the game makes the noise and registers the points you score, so I know that much is working.

 

[grantopia]

Ugh, sorry too much bourbon. It's completing a bank of drop targets that light the lamps that indicate the increase in spinner value. The completion of the targets also triggers the "airlock" to close, which works still if that helps.

 

[Cmndr Brain]

All 3 lights are in the same column. There are 8 lights in the matrix column. If you say the other 5 lights in the column work, then I believe you just have a broken wire. According to the schematics the Yel-Grn wire is the common column wire. Follow/trace that wire under the playfield and I bet you'll find it broken at a solder joint to another light socket.

 

[Kilgore]

I would go with the broken wire thery, with all the vibration on a pinball playfield that accounts for 50℅ of my service calls. If those 3 lamps are on the end of the same column or row then pull on wire between the last one lit and the first one not. If you still can't find it put a jumper from the beginning of that column or row to the end. If it still doesn't work its on the board.

 

[grantopia]

Running the lamp tests this morning I also noticed that the "shoot again" light is out which is on the same column as the spinner lights. Now here's where it gets interesting. In trying to check the other lights on the column, I see lights 38-40 are on the same column, but looking at the location diagram (attached) I don't see them labeled to check the wires there. Am I crazy?

 

[Kilgore]

It's not a broken wire, its your lamp sockets.