Arkansaw1983
Member
The following is a summary of conversations between the last owner to work on this machine and Technician Patrick Powers at Stern:
Owner: On ball launch, 50% of the time the ball makes it 3/4 of the way around the playfield track and drop back into the trough. 20% of the time it will continue to lap the track until power off. 30% of the time it works correct. Game may randomly kick ball out into the plunger.
Pat Reply: check the 5 track optos, dual opto board from extra ball kicking out. Switch 15, switch 15 and 15
Owner: Reply: Opto transmitter board for switches 14 and 15 bad. Track problem remains, switch 34 trips out of order
Pat Reply: Replace the trough opto boards and then recheck track optos
Owner: Replaced tough opto transmitter for switches 14 and 15, and this corrected the trough kicker problem as expected. Track opto problem persists. Opto switch 34 (lower accelerator right) is tripped whenever coil 20 (upper accelerator magnet) is engaged. When playfield high voltage is disabled by the coin door interlock, the track optos work correctly. When high voltage is enabled but coil 20 is unplugged from its connector, the optos work correctly. Only when coil 20 is engaged does switch 34 trip out of order.
Pat reply: That's weird problem for sure. How long has your game had this problem? Could you tell me what version of software …..past repairs.
Past problems and Reply by Pat:
1. One of the coils on the 2-post ball diverter assembly (coils 27/28) apparently blew its resistor and melted the coil. Neighboring coil got hot as well so replaced both coils.
Pat Reply: Make sure switches 27, 28 and 32 are working in switch test
2. Another tech said the ball would continuously lap and dump into the trough ….. this problem will not go away.
Pat Reply: Does coil 21, the "right track exit diverter" work in coil test?
3. The tough kicker started to fire multiple balls at random into the shooter lane. Problem has not come back since replacing the opto transmitter board last week.
Pat Reply: check to see if the enter/exit scoop mounted above the trough is loose. See page 83 of the manual.
4. The machine has been in service with the track disabled under Feature Adjustments without incidence since installing the new trough optos but this evening I have discovered that switch 11 (4 ball trough #1) is intermittent resulting in false lost balls and an unplayable game.
Pat reply: put all four balls out of the game and place them on a table. Line all four balls so that they are touching each other and see if they are sticking together. If they are, it means they are magnetized and may be causing your trough problems.
5. Replaced two transistors on the board previously.
6. How do I verify software?
Pat Reply: While the game is off, hold in the right flipper button and power up the game. Keep the flipper button depressed while you view the display. The display will show both the display and CPU software revisions.
Owner: Start up display reads: CPU A4.50 (#39FF); Display A4.00 ($92BD)
Switches 27, 28 and 32 all functional. Found a wire pulled off opto 32's receiver board and fixed.
Coil 21 and all others work in test.
Enter/Exit scoop is secure.
Ball do not appear magnetized.
The "crossover" signal problem with switch 34 and coil 20 is unchanged from last report. I have one more question, could a switch failure of 11 cause the game not to react to drained balls.
Pat Reply: This is a tuff one. Can you swap the opto receiver boards between switches 34 and 35? Also swap amplifier boards #1 and #2. Does switch #30 register as the track exit popper? Is switch 11 installed correctly and is its diode installed properly?
Owner: I tried swapping amplifer boards 1 and 2 and got nothing but when I switched the optos themselves between 34 and 35 the problem disappeared.
With the good news is bad there are still several issues and new ones. The trough switch problem has moved from 11 to 13 …. to restate, switch 11 seems to work all the time and switch 13 has the intermittent signal.
Switch 30 registers as normal and the trough popper kicks balls into the trough during play, but the game still does not see that the ball has drained and initiates a ball search after a few moments.
Switch 23 (truck ramp kicker) is good in switch test but in play testing it does not see the ball when present, resulting in a stuck ball. The associated coil (3) works fine in test and during ball search.
Coil 23 (inner orbit post) always works fine in gameplay but does not work in coil test.
Coil 27 (pit lock release left) is always partially engages…. When the game is powered up, the post retracts about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. This is the same coil that failed at the start of our problem.
I'm starting to suspect board failure of some kind. … I'm interested in your insight.
Pat Reply: When you swapped the optos, was it 34 and 35 or could it have been 35 and 37?
Owner: definitely 34 and 35 …. Going to replace transistor Q27 to see if it corrects coil 27 partial activation problem. Replaced Q27 corrected coil.
All column 2 switched went dead at once so replaced Q2 on the CPU. All fine for 15 minutes and then after power off and back on later, all column 2 dead again. That tells me the blown transistor was from another problem. … Opto switch 37 failed and I traced it to the opto board it shared with 35. On the J1/J2 channel, the opto board receives the signal from the switch (board LED lights) but doesn't pass it on to the game (I verified good wiring) The J3/J4 channel on the board works fine, and when I swapped the wiring on optos 35 and 37 to test, the failure stayed on the J1/J2 channel. Rather than order a new board, I switched it with the neighboring opto board for switch 34 that only needs one channel (I rewired the connector to move switch 34 to the good J3/J4 channel. This corrected the switch 37 issue for a playtest, but the channel was dead again after a few hours of being powered off. Could the opto transceiver(s) for switch 37 be cooking the board, even though the switch works initially? Is there something else in the game that could kill a channel on the opto board?
Pat Reply: did the transistor Q2 fail again.
Owner: It must have, all the switches and diodes are still good according to the multimeter and the wiring has continuity back to the board. That's why I'm confused, I don't know why the transistor would fail so quickly after being replaced.
I NOW TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THIS MACHINE.
My observations:
Now Q3 row is completely out. The game still does not react to drained ball and does not go into search mode. You then have to power the machine off. All trough switches work in switch test. From Mouser I ordered transistors and caps and resistors and U400 and U401 in the switch row matrix on the CPU. I had to order the transistors and pay for shipping anyway so I ordered the extra parts in case. I am hoping someone can tell me why this machine cannot keep track of the balls and other switch problems (switch matrix problems) and why it is blowing transistors Q2 and Q3. Thanks for any help.
Owner: On ball launch, 50% of the time the ball makes it 3/4 of the way around the playfield track and drop back into the trough. 20% of the time it will continue to lap the track until power off. 30% of the time it works correct. Game may randomly kick ball out into the plunger.
Pat Reply: check the 5 track optos, dual opto board from extra ball kicking out. Switch 15, switch 15 and 15
Owner: Reply: Opto transmitter board for switches 14 and 15 bad. Track problem remains, switch 34 trips out of order
Pat Reply: Replace the trough opto boards and then recheck track optos
Owner: Replaced tough opto transmitter for switches 14 and 15, and this corrected the trough kicker problem as expected. Track opto problem persists. Opto switch 34 (lower accelerator right) is tripped whenever coil 20 (upper accelerator magnet) is engaged. When playfield high voltage is disabled by the coin door interlock, the track optos work correctly. When high voltage is enabled but coil 20 is unplugged from its connector, the optos work correctly. Only when coil 20 is engaged does switch 34 trip out of order.
Pat reply: That's weird problem for sure. How long has your game had this problem? Could you tell me what version of software …..past repairs.
Past problems and Reply by Pat:
1. One of the coils on the 2-post ball diverter assembly (coils 27/28) apparently blew its resistor and melted the coil. Neighboring coil got hot as well so replaced both coils.
Pat Reply: Make sure switches 27, 28 and 32 are working in switch test
2. Another tech said the ball would continuously lap and dump into the trough ….. this problem will not go away.
Pat Reply: Does coil 21, the "right track exit diverter" work in coil test?
3. The tough kicker started to fire multiple balls at random into the shooter lane. Problem has not come back since replacing the opto transmitter board last week.
Pat Reply: check to see if the enter/exit scoop mounted above the trough is loose. See page 83 of the manual.
4. The machine has been in service with the track disabled under Feature Adjustments without incidence since installing the new trough optos but this evening I have discovered that switch 11 (4 ball trough #1) is intermittent resulting in false lost balls and an unplayable game.
Pat reply: put all four balls out of the game and place them on a table. Line all four balls so that they are touching each other and see if they are sticking together. If they are, it means they are magnetized and may be causing your trough problems.
5. Replaced two transistors on the board previously.
6. How do I verify software?
Pat Reply: While the game is off, hold in the right flipper button and power up the game. Keep the flipper button depressed while you view the display. The display will show both the display and CPU software revisions.
Owner: Start up display reads: CPU A4.50 (#39FF); Display A4.00 ($92BD)
Switches 27, 28 and 32 all functional. Found a wire pulled off opto 32's receiver board and fixed.
Coil 21 and all others work in test.
Enter/Exit scoop is secure.
Ball do not appear magnetized.
The "crossover" signal problem with switch 34 and coil 20 is unchanged from last report. I have one more question, could a switch failure of 11 cause the game not to react to drained balls.
Pat Reply: This is a tuff one. Can you swap the opto receiver boards between switches 34 and 35? Also swap amplifier boards #1 and #2. Does switch #30 register as the track exit popper? Is switch 11 installed correctly and is its diode installed properly?
Owner: I tried swapping amplifer boards 1 and 2 and got nothing but when I switched the optos themselves between 34 and 35 the problem disappeared.
With the good news is bad there are still several issues and new ones. The trough switch problem has moved from 11 to 13 …. to restate, switch 11 seems to work all the time and switch 13 has the intermittent signal.
Switch 30 registers as normal and the trough popper kicks balls into the trough during play, but the game still does not see that the ball has drained and initiates a ball search after a few moments.
Switch 23 (truck ramp kicker) is good in switch test but in play testing it does not see the ball when present, resulting in a stuck ball. The associated coil (3) works fine in test and during ball search.
Coil 23 (inner orbit post) always works fine in gameplay but does not work in coil test.
Coil 27 (pit lock release left) is always partially engages…. When the game is powered up, the post retracts about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. This is the same coil that failed at the start of our problem.
I'm starting to suspect board failure of some kind. … I'm interested in your insight.
Pat Reply: When you swapped the optos, was it 34 and 35 or could it have been 35 and 37?
Owner: definitely 34 and 35 …. Going to replace transistor Q27 to see if it corrects coil 27 partial activation problem. Replaced Q27 corrected coil.
All column 2 switched went dead at once so replaced Q2 on the CPU. All fine for 15 minutes and then after power off and back on later, all column 2 dead again. That tells me the blown transistor was from another problem. … Opto switch 37 failed and I traced it to the opto board it shared with 35. On the J1/J2 channel, the opto board receives the signal from the switch (board LED lights) but doesn't pass it on to the game (I verified good wiring) The J3/J4 channel on the board works fine, and when I swapped the wiring on optos 35 and 37 to test, the failure stayed on the J1/J2 channel. Rather than order a new board, I switched it with the neighboring opto board for switch 34 that only needs one channel (I rewired the connector to move switch 34 to the good J3/J4 channel. This corrected the switch 37 issue for a playtest, but the channel was dead again after a few hours of being powered off. Could the opto transceiver(s) for switch 37 be cooking the board, even though the switch works initially? Is there something else in the game that could kill a channel on the opto board?
Pat Reply: did the transistor Q2 fail again.
Owner: It must have, all the switches and diodes are still good according to the multimeter and the wiring has continuity back to the board. That's why I'm confused, I don't know why the transistor would fail so quickly after being replaced.
I NOW TAKE OWNERSHIP OF THIS MACHINE.
My observations:
Now Q3 row is completely out. The game still does not react to drained ball and does not go into search mode. You then have to power the machine off. All trough switches work in switch test. From Mouser I ordered transistors and caps and resistors and U400 and U401 in the switch row matrix on the CPU. I had to order the transistors and pay for shipping anyway so I ordered the extra parts in case. I am hoping someone can tell me why this machine cannot keep track of the balls and other switch problems (switch matrix problems) and why it is blowing transistors Q2 and Q3. Thanks for any help.