Test the transmitter with a digital camera.

Test the receiver with a flashlight.

Which one works? Which one doesn't?

Ramjet, have you fixed this yet???

I've got the same issue with 84 and 85. I'm also using the 10 opto board from GLM but this started for me with the old board, which has now been fixed. I put in the old fixed board but they still won't work.

On a side note, while trying to fix this, 84 and 85 receivers where accidently switched (84 was in upper position opposite 85's transmitter and 85 was now lower opposite 84's transmitter. What happened was that you'd lock the ball, then the machine would keep the ball in 88 and spit out a new ball to play with. Then when you did the 2nd lock, it would get stuck behind the other ball and the machine would go searching for balls. We realised 84 and 85 had accidently been switched because we went into switch test mode, threw one ball into lock and 88 registered (as it should), then threw another ball into lock and 85 registered, then another ball into lock and 84 registered (so 3 balls behind each other covering 88, 84, 85).

So 2 things to note there:
1. if all is good, it should register in the order of 88, 84, 85 not 88, 85, 84
2. 84 and 85 worked if paired with each others transmitter, but not with their own !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So we changed them back as they should and again 84 and 85 don't work...

We then took the transitters out of 84 and 85 and tested them against the receiver for right ramp 73 (yes we blocked 73's transmitter) and found that 84's transmitter was not transmitting (but it was when 85's receiver was opposite )

Tested the board and it was ok. Replaced transmitter for 84, still no go. So my friend thinks it may be something to do with the 12v for the transmitter, but he had to go. He's going to investigate further and see if he can get to the bottom of it.

In the meantime I found this thread...

The GLM boards work very differently than the factory boards.

The factory boards have all of the transmitters on all of the time, so it doesn't matter how they are wired into the game. As long as they are on, the particular switch will work.

With the GLM boards, the transmitters are switched on/off very fast. This means that when a specific transmitter is on, it NEEDS to be in front of the corresponding receiver. If it isn't, then the board won't register that switch as working and may throw up a blinking red LED to let you know that it has detected a problem.

There have been known cases of games not having the correct transmitter wiring (BSD, DW). Because they are known wiring issues, we have software compensate for it. Other games that have wiring issues are either due to incorrect shop outs, factory blunders, what have you. So far TZ has been the least problematic game for wiring issues.

The best thing to do is to check the wiring for the transmitter harnesses. Match the colors listed in the manual to the headers at the board and to the optos you are having issues with. Keep in mind that any time you have a connector under the playfield somewhere, the colors CAN change from one side to the other (it's not supposed to, but it does happen).

Another trick, if the particular GLM board has the test function built-in (version 3 boards), then you can use that to find out where the wire swaps are. In test mode, it cycles through each transmitter one at a time and outputs all of the receiver information simultaneously. If you have a wire swap, you'll see the incorrect switches show up on the switch edge test. Keep track of which ones are incorrect and then either swap the wires at the board harness or at the transmitter boards.

Hope that helps.

If anyone needs a copy of the manual, just send me a PM with your email address.

A nice turn of events happened just now.

Was checking the plugs going into the 10 opto board and was 'massaging' the wires going into the plugs to see if any were loose. None were, so I plugged them all back in. Turn on machine. Errors gone. All switches work. Game back to normal.

Thanks for the reply to this thread GLM. I would never have done the above if I didn't read your post.

Still send me the manual (I pm'd you) for future reference just in case.

Thanks

Why is the Great Lakes Modular board designed like this?

1) To reduce power consumption by a significant amount

2) To provide a lot of additional troubleshooting information that cannot be done with the factory board

In general, GLM products are not about replicating the factory boards but improving on them or otherwise offering something above and beyond. There are downsides to that approach of course, as these boards can often find issues in games that most owners didn't even know were issues to start with.

Most customers find the troubleshooting capabilities of the board to be worth it, even if they end up putting a factory board back in the game.

didnt you read the rest of his post where he explained all that? Geez lol

Thanks for the response, GLM. The power consumption alone sells the idea in my mind.