Pin Bot - Tech questions

jehuie

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Keep in mind I'm new to pins here....

I got this Pin Bot a while back and couldn't do much diagnostics because the displays were bad. I finally bought a set of Pinscore displays so now I can actually get feedback on what is wrong. Yay.

When I turn the game on, it powers up fine and goes through the regular startup sequence but it won't coin up at all. If I cycle through the setup I can see the various settings but I'm not able to change them. Pressing the start button has no effect and won't make a change at all.

If I run the switch tests and check them individually, when I press the start button it pops up and calls it a "Right Lane Change" switch on the display. What's that all about? That's also what it says when I press the right flipper button.

Also, when I activate the left-hand coin switch it says "Left outlane" and when I activate the right-hand coin switch it says "Right return".

This doesn't seem right to me. What's going on you think?
 
You're just going to have to go though the guide and test everything. Maybe someone attempted to repair it and screwed the pooch.
http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_System_9_-_11#System_11a

Keep in mind I'm new to pins here....

I got this Pin Bot a while back and couldn't do much diagnostics because the displays were bad. I finally bought a set of Pinscore displays so now I can actually get feedback on what is wrong. Yay.

When I turn the game on, it powers up fine and goes through the regular startup sequence but it won't coin up at all. If I cycle through the setup I can see the various settings but I'm not able to change them. Pressing the start button has no effect and won't make a change at all.

If I run the switch tests and check them individually, when I press the start button it pops up and calls it a "Right Lane Change" switch on the display. What's that all about? That's also what it says when I press the right flipper button.

Also, when I activate the left-hand coin switch it says "Left outlane" and when I activate the right-hand coin switch it says "Right return".

This doesn't seem right to me. What's going on you think?
 
Bust out the schematic and make sure switches that are reporting oddly are wired correctly. I'm going to do some garage cleaning this weekend. Hopefully will be able to get to my pinbot, I'll run the switch test and see what the ones you mention say. It just sounds like someone wired some stuff wrong or maybe a molex is mixed up somewhere.

Any chance of narrowing that down somewhat? Testing everything is pretty huge.
 
if you can go threw the switch tests and manually trip each switch, just write down any switch that doesn't follow the test to the correct switch. Most switch problems are either a row problem or column issue. If you find that your switches that are wrong follow the row that they are in or that they are in the same column you'll find a common wire off, or a diode that is either bad or has broken loose from the switch....or someone has hooked up the wires wrong during a repair. You'll need the manual to follow along during the switch test....hope that helps get you going in the right direction.
 
Ok thanks for the tips guys. Here's the story so far:

I noticed a correlation between what switches I pressed and what was actually showing up on the display. At least most of the problem ones. Here they are:

Switch --------> Message displayed
---------------------------------------
Plumb bob tilt -------> Playfield tilt
Ball roll titl --------> Left lane change
Credit button -------> Right lane change
Right coin chute ------> Left outlane
Left coin chute --------> Right return lane
Slam tilt -------> Right outlane

So what do they have in common? Well all the switches are on 1J8-1 while all the messages are what should show up on 1J8-2. So something is crossed.

But I removed those cables and tested it at the board using a jumper and it's actually a board problem. There was acid damage and I had hoped I had it all fixed but either I messed something up or just missed something.

I'm not much good at reading schematics but it looks like everything runs back to U40 and U38 (PIA) right? There appears to be only very light damage there and I didn't do any work in that area.

As always, tips are appreciated!
 
Update....not knowing for sure what to check for, I'm just looking for shorts between the circuit connecting pins 1 and 2 on 1J8.

I started at SRC6 pins 2 &3, no shorts.
Then Q45/Q49, no shorts.
Then at SR15 pins 2 & 3, no shots.
Then U40 pins 3 & 18 and then pins 2 & 17, no shorts.
Then U38 pins 10 & 11, no shorts.
Not sure where to go from there....U38 pins 32 & 33?? I tried it, no shorts.

Am I way off on what I should be looking for?
 
it looks like everything runs back to U40 and U38 (PIA) right? There appears to be only very light damage there and I didn't do any work in that area

i would test if you have continuity between the U40 and U38 and over/through the very light damage there

the hope is the very light damage is your problem and can be easily jumpered

if that doesnt work
i'd try another board in there and see if the problem stays the same, if so then you know the problem isnt on the board
if theres no problem, then you know the board needs love

how much is a working board vs sending the board out to be fixed
what if it isnt the board ? then you just payed someone for fixing a board that didnt need fixing vs if the board isnt the problem, you can sell it or keep it for another pin

good luck
 
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