Quoted from statictrance:

Took my kid down to play (he's 2 1/2) and for the first time (since he's an impatient player ), I noticed that even during the boot up cycle, my Strikes/Spares has functioning flippers. Other than 'it's incorrect', is there any reason to rush to fix it? Pretty sure I know how, just trying to figure out where in my list of fixes I need to prioritize it.

Quoted from FiatsRUs:

I just completed refurb work on a Xenon, but it has an intermittent flipper issue that I can't figure out.
The left flipper works fine, but will periodically stay "flipped" (won't return to the resting position) even when the flipper button is not depressed. It is an electrical issue, because it releases if the power to the machine is turned off. The EOS switch is clearly open when this happens, as is the flipper button switch. I have done the following:
* Metered the coil. It is good and the flipper works quite well until it gets "stuck" open.
* Replaced both diodes on the coil. They are installed in the correct orientation.
* Resoldered all of the wiring to the EOS switch and the coil.
Thoughts?

Quoted from dudah:

My Xenon is missing the metal plate under the power supply board. Should I just throw some heat sinks on there and call it a day?
Was also thinking of just relocating the bridges to the top of the board...

Quoted from desertT1:

Can't remember if I've asked this or not. I'm getting phantom tilts on Space Invaders. Is there a typical cause of this? I'm thinking the diodes on the switches around the tilts might need to get swapped out. Anything else?

Quoted from desertT1:

What causes the flipper to re-fire when you are holding it up and the ball comes down and hits it?

Quoted from MrSanRamon:

I picked up a SIlverball Mania yesterday and of course it has a couple of issues that I could use some help with.
The game boots and plays sometimes.
If it kicks out a ball & plays, when the first ball drains the game resets.
If it won't kick out a ball, everytime I push the start game button 1100 points is added to the score.
The trough switch looks good and like it hasn't been changed or resoldered since new and the diode appears to be in properly.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks.
Robert
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Quoted from desertT1:

Great info, and I have been semi-successful in tracking down the issue. I have traced it down to being somewhere in the door side of the molex connector/button area. First thing I did was to pull the pins from the contacts from the plugs in the head, press the button and got no tone. Worked back from there. I think it is one of the contacts in the plug of the door harness. If I use tweezers to short the female contacts on the harness that runs through the cab I can cycle through the test menu. Still have some more poking to do to narrow down where the issue it.
All of this to confirm that yes, the tilt bob is in fact not registering. Anybody want to take a stab at this one? I will pull the glass and go through the switches on the playfield to see if anything else is not registering. I am getting some phantom pop bumper triggering.
This is all on a Future Spa by the way.

Quoted from pinfixer:

Future Spa, KISS, and Space Invaders use a unique power supply to these three games. This may have something to do with it. I think everyone so far is spot on from my experience. The little flicker does occur on pretty much every Bally to one degree or another. I'll let the engineer types chime in but I'd bet that the multitude of windings in the transformer to derive the different voltages plays a part. When the draw from four flippers happens on the +48v line, the emf puts the 7.5vac GI string sine wave out of kilter. Add that LED's are for the most part off or on, whereas incandescent filaments take a while (milliseconds) from cold to glow. Probably exacerbates the issue on this Future Spa. Anyone with a scope want to see what the 7.5vac GI line looks like when four flippers are energized?

Quoted from jsa:

Is there no way to use capacitors or some kind of capacitor circuit to solve these kinds of problems?

Quoted from Boise_D:

The coin door position is always the same. The symptoms are very consistent now. The game will reset over and over, and if I simply lift the playfield up, the boot sequence will finish. It's a great clue, if I can figure out what it means. I thought maybe it was putting tension on the wire bundle to the backbox, but I don't see it doing that. Would a short on the playfield cause this kind of behavior? I'll look...

Quoted from mr2xbass:

Am I having a Switch Matrix issue? Game is Centaur.
Issue: The "O" of the O-R-B-S and the "2" of the 1-2-3-4 drop targets do not register if they are the last one hit in each of their banks.
All eight target switches can be seen in Self Test, and in play, the "O" and the "2" register fine as long as they are hit first, second, or third of their respective 4-bank (issue is only when they are the last to fall). Also, though very seldom, the "1" of the 1-2-3-4 will not register even if it is dropped first.
One thing I observed, maybe helpful(?) : when the "2" is the last target down in the 1-2-3-4 and the switch has failed to register, if the "Spot 1-2-3-4" standup switch is hit, it will fire the plunger for the "2" drop, as it would if it thought the "2" was the next target to drop (but the "2" is already down so nothing happens).
The switches are definitely making contact when targets are dropped, verified w/ DMM. Also replaced the diodes on the "O" and "2" switches.
All eight switches are on the same strobe line.
Where should I look next? U10 6821 PIA?

Quoted from steve-o:

Follow up to my Future Spa sound issue.
--Success!--
I was looking closer to game schematics and noticed that the listed 6820 chip located at U2 was incorrectly populated. I swapped in a 6820 (pulled the 620-29) and we're finally back in business.
~Steveo
Crank the volume. Game on:
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Quoted from mrm_4:

Audio question for the gang:
After reassembling my xenon I seemed to have lost volume. It’s about half as loud as before.
I thought it was because of the replacement speakers so I swapped the originals.
I tried adjusting the 1k pot on the board to see if I might have lowered the volume there by accident but all that did is made things sound worse.
I changed the volume pot on the board and now that adjusts smoothly but there’s no improvement. The pot in the coin door is new as well.
Where should I start on trouble shooting low volume? Any thing I should measure or consider replacing?

Quoted from Mathazar:

So what can be done about intermittent "lazy pops"? And I don't mean a father who sits around watching TV. Lazy Pops is the best short description I can come up with for how the pop bumpers occassionally behave in my '84 EBD.
I've had this behavior on my EBD since I bought it a few years ago. I've since done a restoration on it which included, of course, a rebuild of the pop bumpers with all new parts (rings, bodies, plastic caps, springs, skirts, coil stops, yokes, lamp sockets, plungers, and spoons). The only things original are the funky Bally/Midway bases and the leaf switches, which have been cleaned. For fun, I've also put in new coils but no change in behavior. All board-side connectors were re-pinned. The schematic does not call for caps on the pop switch stacks, but I added some anyway (100v, 0.047uF) which eliminated instances of dead pops where the ball moved the skirt stick in the spoon, closed the switch, but the coil did not fire.
Despite the fact that all voltage test points on the rectifier and SDB boards are at the expected values (as is the voltage at all the coil tabs on each pop bumper), this "lazy pops" syndrome rears its ugly head a couple of times during each 3-ball game. Most times, the pops are pretty zippy and active. But sometimes the bottom pop bumper gets so lazy, the weak pop action isn't even enough to send the ball up top to and actually reach the rollover lanes.
The slings don't seem to exhibit this, but then again they don't get as much of a workout as the pops.
One thing I haven't done yet is figure out a way to test/record the voltage levels DURING gameplay and see what they look like at the times the pops are "lazy". This feels like a power-related issue but not sure what to look at next. While I've swapped out the SDB as a test for that board (no change in pops behavior), I do not have a spare rectifier board to try and swap out. The one in there now is an aftermarket one that was in the pin when I bought it - a very clean looking Gulf Pinball power module board that measures properly at all test points.
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Check out this 50 second video. First half is "normal" behavior and the second half is the "lazy pops". Am I just being too picky on a 38 year old pin and this is all normal behavior, or is there something I could do here to address what sometimes appears to be weak thumper action?

Quoted from Bonk:

Thank you both for the helpful info, gives me a good place to start. I do wonder if it's a switch matrix issue, I've found several cut capacitors on stand up targets that I'll replace. Went through the tests again and here's what I found- The solenoid test runs from 01 to 25. 09-16 are activated in test. The manual lists 9 coils 01-09 and all solenoids listed except for the lockout coil will activate. When the coils fire they are out of order compared to the manual.
Instead of this order listed in the manual [quoted image]I get this order of coils firing-
Outhole
Top bumper
Right bumper
Left bumper
Drop target reset
Saucer
Flippers
Knocker
In switch test I found one playfield rollover switch that isn't registering and I also couldn't get the ball tilt to register but I'm not sure if it's supposed to in the switch test. Every switch except the non working one displays the correct number when activated. Would replacing all capacitors be the next best step to take? Thanks again.
Edit: If I activate the slam tilt switch by the tilt bob it causes the top pop bumper to fire so this is definitely a switch matrix issue? Any tips for figuring out how to fix this? Also of note, on power up the bottom pop bumper does a weak pulse, not a full pull down of the rod and ring but a very weak one.

Quoted from pinster68:

Awesome! Amazing work you’ve done. Really looking forward to it. Incidentally, Any others in the works?

Added yesterday: EDIT: received and installed the arduino. Easy install, works flawless, and your programming on this is very impressive. Can't wait to try the others.

Quoted from pinster68:

Great work! Wish I didn’t sell my Future Spa. Would love to see a rewrite/sound package for Paragon.

Quoted from steve-o:

FS+…. Now that sounds very interesting.

Quoted from pb456:

Anyone have trouble with a Silverball Mania, Alltek MPU, and the RoyGBev Arduino board + Wav trigger board?
Where does the jumper go to - it shows in the docs that it goes to the top of R134 I believe, but that doesn't exist with my Alltek MPU.
Lights on the Arduino and WAV trigger board seem to indicate proper operation.
I can force it to boot to the Arduino, which does start the game from the Arduino, but coils don't work, doesn't recognize switches, etc...
No sounds. No sounds from WAV trigger board test either.
Have micro stereo plug to RCA cables to a small amp to a pair of nice (too big for cab) speakers.
I did follow along and write the sound files to the root of the micro SD card in the Wav trigger board, they seemed to play fine on my PC.
Bought the kit from Pinside, $169 I believe it was. Pre-done boards, connectors, the works.
TIA

Quoted from pb456:

Ok, unplug the serial connector, don't worry about the IRQ jumper, and set the "switch" jumper (2-pin) on so it boots to the Arduino?

Quoted from tatman9999:

I have a Bally Rolling Stones. When playing the ball looks like it is strobing . Doesn’t matter if you flipper or the ball is just rolling around on the playfield. It is at the point that it makes you dizzy. I replaced the reflector board , led board, MPU , solenoid board. I tried warm white led and then I switched to cool white LED. I alway use the same leds and have them in all
My old Bally and sterns. What would cause this?

Quoted from tatman9999:

I redid the crimps. What would make the 8000 insert stay lite all the time?

Quoted from statictrance:

Does anyone have a size/part that'll work well for reattaching this guide to the side rail? I tried grabbing .15" x 1/2" spiral nails from Marco, but those are still too large. I haven't been able to find a specific answer anywhere, and given it's a full PF swap I'd like it to look as solid as possible.
Thanks all
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