I am going through all of my pinball machines and resolving the "minor issues" that make the game less pleasant to play. This TAF pin is my wife's favorite and she complained that Thing no longer comes out of the red box to steal the ball. I checked the computer diagnostics settings and received a number of messages indicating a problem with optical switches 84 and 85 as well as one (unrelated) to switch 77 - Thing Kick out not working. I did my homework and checked Pinside to see what others have done in the past so I would know what to look out for. When I lifted the playfield and looked over the wiring I could fine none of the usual culprit problems (detached wires or diodes, unplugged connectors, stuck parts, etc.) Switch 77 was an easy fix: I found the switch worked perfectly and everything was intact, but the two little screws that secure the switch in place were loose. I simply tightened them up, adjusted the roll-over wire and it was fixed! Easy! As for the Thing optic switches problem, this took some digging. I decided to remove Thing from the machine altogether so I could inspect those optic switches. To do so, you need to remove two small hex screws on the metal box that covers the Thing assembly. Then lift the box straight up. Then I had to remove two small hex screws and two Phillips screws from the bracket that holds the assembly in place on the underside of the playfield. I also had to disconnect two small connectors: One to the small PCB and the other a molex connector.

Once removed, I gave Thing a good cleaning with window cleaner and an old toothbrush. I also loosened the PCB by removing two small Phillips screws. I then cleaned the two optical switches with a Q-tip and some rubbing alcohol. I cleaned out the metal box that covers Thing and reassembled everything. I played a game and Thing and Thing kickout worked great!

I played a few more games and then rechecked the system diagnostics. No more messages! Everything cleared! Yet, when I played the game I had a few instances where I shot the ball into a chamber (bookcase or swamp) and the ball was locked for mulitball. Usually when this happens, a fresh ball gets fed into the shooter lane to replace the locked ball. However, in my instance the machine cycled through all of the solenoids to eject a stuck ball several times. Not being able to release a stuck ball, the machine ejected the captured ball held for mulitball (not one into the shooter lane). Ugh! There are no error messages on the computer diagnostic and this happens intermittently. It is a real PITA.

Jmckune recently started a thread about this problem, but the thread was hijacked by a newbee with questions about a DMD problem. The original problem was never resolved. I plan to check the through switches although I have never had a problem with the ball loading during start up or when a ball drains. I should also point out this is a regular (original) TAF machine running with the TAF Gold edition software. I wonder if there is a glitch in the software?

My thoughts were a non-functioning switch too, but I was not sure which one to check. I will take your advice and check that switch and the others in that area. As for the onboard diagnostics, I have not received any messages. Thanks!

Thanks Jeff! Will do. This is my evening project for tonight. Is the problem only stemming from the swamp switches? I'm looking forward to digging in. I will report back.

Problem resolved! I stood the playfield up and checked every switch in the swamp. I had thought I found something when I found a pinched wire gate where the clear plastic tunnel meets the metal swamp tunnel, but freeing it up did nothing to solve the problem. All of the switches in the swamp looked fine and all the wires and diodes were firmly connected. I checked the action of each switch by activating each one with a small, flat bladed screwdriver and they all clicked fine when activated and clicked again when they returned to the rest position. The swamp switches all tested fine!

I played a few games to make observations. I tried to listen to the ball moving through the tunnel system when captured for multiball. I noticed that when the ball was shot into the vault, everything went as it should. A fresh ball was delivered to the shooting lane. The only time there was a problem was when the ball was captured by the Thing hand! The playfield went straight up again and I went directly to the switch 77. Sure enough, upon close inspection I found there was some funky looking bend to the rollover wire. This was the same switch that was giving me a problem yesterday with the onboard computer message.....

I completely removed the screws from the switch and left only the electric wires attached to the switch. I gently bent the rollover switch to a right angle the way it came from the factory. I reinstalled the switch and played 6 faultless games! (I even managed to get my initials on the board again). Thanks for your help guys!

taf thing kickout switch (resized).jpg