Visually nothing looks out of place or wrong. I have traced the wires around and don't see anything that looks like it would be "crossing". Thinking there may be something more on the Rdog MPU 327-1 that may have been toasted when I hurt the U17 chip which I have replaced.

The rottendog mpu doesn't seem to get along well with Black Knight for some reason. I've read numerous threads where folks were having trouble using that mpu with bk, though the board seems to work ok for other compatible system 3-7 games.

Do you have the original mpu and driver boards? May be worth fixing them up instead...

I'm pretty sure the 327-1's have been working but the 327-2's definitely have the issue.

Even though I have not really played my BK, I have a video right before I bought it that it played fine. I don't have the score in the video to know that it was scoring, but it started a game and played it well. I have the original MPU and a second one that came with the game, but I am missing the system 7 driver board (I already thought about putting the original board back in after I know it is good and finding a driver). I'm thinking I messed something up when I grounded something and blew the switch matrix chip, which I have replaced. I just don't know where to look on the Rdog to troubleshoot.

So... long time since my last post with any progress here. My mom passed away and that's shaken my up pretty hard.
In looking for a little distraction here and there, I am nosing back into my Black Knight.
So... SOCKETS! I am on Amazon looking at a variety of sockets. I do see the round pin, but also more of the wafer type. I know that we all loath the scanby sockets, but is the issue waferish type sockets, or the choice of really bad ones? Are the ones made in recent years better than the ones 40 years ago?
I use fairly cheap sockets when I am making my own DIY Arduinos n such and have not had any issues there. But I don't want to put something in the machine I am trying to give a future to that will be it's downfall too. Thoughts?

Link to the sockets I am looking at... https://amzn.to/2PvSr2Q

I personally prefer the dual wipe sockets to machine pin. The problem with scanby is that it gripped sideways iirc.

@SpaceAce, very sorry to hear about your mom. A little distraction isn't always a bad thing.

Than I anticipated, I order to printed my "Black Knight Custom Rules Pinball Card" in chrome vinyl:
a6fc4c335c59d9b1a798ffb4338c84b9fee682ce.jpg

I love result, it is a true back letter from the Back Knight! Look at the mirror effects!

This was result:

"Black Knight Custom Pinball Card - Rules" (WILLIAMS) printed in chrome vinyl with gloss protective lamination (photo 1).
http://www.zonaarcade.com/fotos/artes/Black%20Knight%20Custom%20Pinball%20Card%20Rules%20print1.jpg

"Black Knight Custom Pinball Card - Rules" (WILLIAMS) printed in chrome vinyl with gloss protective lamination (photo 2).
http://www.zonaarcade.com/fotos/artes/Black%20Knight%20Custom%20Pinball%20Card%20Rules%20print2.jpg

"Black Knight Custom Pinball Card - Rules" (WILLIAMS) printed in chrome vinyl with gloss protective lamination (photo 3).
http://www.zonaarcade.com/fotos/artes/Black%20Knight%20Custom%20Pinball%20Card%20Rules%20print3.jpg

Black Knight Custom Pinball Card Rules print1.JPGBlack Knight Custom Pinball Card Rules print2.JPGBlack Knight Custom Pinball Card Rules print3.JPG

*I take bigger screenshots and photos, click to enlarge images (and click again on display image mode if it is necessary) for avoid blur effect of pinside´s miniatures.

I hope you like!

If you want to check my original design for "Black Knight Rules Pinball Card", details here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/black-knight-clubmembers-only/page/26#post-4562131

Regards

Mikonos Holy smokes. That's VERY cool. What kind of printer did you use? I saw the original posting of the design, and it got me inspired to hop into photoshop and play with some designs, but I really like your design. The foil makes it 'pop' for sure.

I actually have a wax stamping kit. I think it would be really slick to finish it with a true wax seal. I am not sure how it would hold up with all the vibration, but it would be a killer touch with that design.

Are these cards something you are selling, or do you provide a download somewhere?

Cool. Would it be totally silly just to buy a set of 40's and cut (Dremel) a few down to 28's?

For a black knight I think you want 24s. I keep a pile of all three around

Sorry about you loss.

I wouldn't get sockets from Amazon, Mouser is much better if you want to stock ($25 minimum order) up or Great Plains Electronics if you want just a few.

Agree with Zacaz and prefer the dual wipe type over machine pin. Much easier to install chips in dual wipes and they have more contact surface area. Plus, they are cheaper.

Just revisiting this thread and noticed the first thread has a resource section. I documented quite a bit of my repair to a downtrodden Black Knight machine at https://troxelrepair.com.

This troubleshooting makes me feel like I'm running in circles. I have replaced the U17 switch matrix chip on the Rdog board. BK still won't start a game. Trying to go through testing. When I start into test mode, as soon as I press the advance to go into the display test, my left kicker is energizing and sticking on. It won't release until either the 2.5A solenoid fuse blows, or I shut the machine off. I just removed one leg of the left kicker solenoid diode and it tests fine so I have resoldered it back together. Any thoughts on areas of the Rdog 327-1 board to troubleshoot?

Why not send it back to rdog for repair? He’s fixed my boards for free in the past.

Check the playfield level switches for that sling. Make sure they are not closed. Make sure the terminals on those switches are not touching each other.

Check the wiring for that sling, make sure it isn't shorted. The 2 switches are wired in parallel and there are short jumper wires between the 2 sets of switches, make sure all that is solid.

Check the capacitor on the sling switch. Make sure it is not shorted. Remove it and try again as a troubleshooting step.

Away for a family overnight. Will try to check these later tomorrow. Doing my best not to send the board back. Just didn't know what I could check on the board to determine if something was bad.

You know, for all your struggles, if this is an option, you might just consider it. This thing has had you pinned for long enough. I know that there's the satisfaction of fixing it yourself, but it's also possible that it could be a defective unit. If they can look at it and know in an hour what would take you...

I know. I'm almost there. So far with any of my machines, I've been able to diagnose and fix the issue with the assistance of great Pinsiders. I'm also considering (since I have the original mpu, but missing the driver board) of getting a driver board and bulletproofing them both. Then eliminating the Rdog altogether. But I'm still not positive I haven't missed something in wiring that might have gotten "tweaked" during clearcoating, etc.

Keep an eye out for an "untested driver board" on eBay or the marketplace here. Stay away from boards with overly burned up circuit board in the lamp matrix area. Burned up resistors are common and easy to replace, but if the board shows signs of burning, stay away. Also look closely for any signs of green (corrosion) solder joints or chip pins or excessively oxidized (incorrect storage) solder joints or chip pins.

These boards are not that complicated and easy to troubleshoot with a logic probe if you can read a schematic or with help from Pinside. Lots of information on common failure points (connectors, sockets, etc) and lots of people willing to help with troubleshooting tips.

Good idea to resolve all the issues with the game using the RD board in the game. That will make testing your original MPU and driver board easier!

Playfield level switches are not closed and no terminals or wires are touching each other. Don't find any shorts in the wiring, and all wiring is solid and not loose or sketchy. I pulled off one end of the capacitor and retried the switch test but it still locks on. I think it is time to contact Rottendog about sending in the board. In the mean time I will keep my eye out for a system 7 MPU. I misspoke before and just realized I have the original driver board and a "spare" not the MPU. The original is in rough shape with some burn to it and a hack on the back. The "spare" looks initially to be in better shape and possibly a better candidate for bulletproofing.

BK original driver board back (resized).jpg

BK original driver board front (resized).jpg

BK spare driver board back (resized).jpg

BK spare driver board front (resized).jpg

Looks for some technical guidance on my BK....not sure where to start. The first two two drop targets in the left bank of the upper playfield are not scoring or starting the drop target timer but the third target in that bank is working ok. All other drop targets in the other three banks are all working ok. The two targets in question work mechanically and the leaf springs are making contact. The scoring/timer doesn't start when I forcibly engage the leaf springs, either.

The problem must be electrical somewhere. If there was something electrically common between the those first two targets, I'd think other targets would also not be working? Is this just a coincidence that those first two targets are failing the exact same way?

I'm rather new at ownership, so I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction. I have a multimeter, but not exactly sure what I'm looking for. Red arrows in the pix point to the two suspect targets.

Thanx!
Kris

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Do you have a yellow jumper wire on the 2 bad switches that connects to the tab that is not connected to the diode? The green wire on the good switch needs to be jumpered to the other two switches with a single wire (typically a solid yellow wire)

It might be there, but its hard to see the wires in the photos.

Just curious if anyone is familiar with the Swemmer Electronics S7MPU006 replacement MPU. It looks like it is a new version of the original board with pretty much everything in the same layout as the original. Not finding much out there for a used system 7 MPU for sale.

Aha!! Can't believe I didn't see that before....the yellow wire is indeed there, and it's become disconnected from the good switch. I just need to re-solder that yellow wire to the tab on the good switch that has the two green wires then? Can't thank you enough....

IMG_5849.jpg

Badabing, you got it - reconnect the jumper to the green wires

I love a happy ending. Oh wait, wrong thread....

Solution confirmed! I wound up replacing the enter jumper wire from the middle switch to the working one as the original wire was stretched pretty tight...probably why it eventually became disconnected after me lifting the playfield a few dozen times replacing bulbs and fixing other things after I picked up this pin a few months ago. Thanx again, @gutz!

Kris

Before you send it off, try disconnecting 2J13 from the board and seeing if the sling still locks on. 2J13 is where the special switches (slings, pops, etc) enter the board. If it still locks on with this connector removed, you certainly have a board issue. If it no longer locks on, you have a wiring/switch problem.

If you have a board problem, might be worth testing the driver transistor for that solenoid to see if it failed. That is an easy replacement.

Both those boards are in workable shape. Your backup will end up being a cleaner board but neither is too far gone!

Okay. So lets recap. I spoke to Jim at Rottendog today numerous times troubleshooting over the phone. In the long run he doesn't feel it is the board and the issue is somewhere on (under) the playfield. Again, nothing is looking out of place to me but I'm figuring I am overlooking something. I just installed four new kicker upright switches which I hadn't installed yet. Now, once I was able to get through switch test without the left kicker sticking and all the switches are open. During solenoid test the left kicker did not stick, but at some point during the test, the fuse blew. The machine turns on, lights up, no sound. Add balls and now the ball launch does not send them to the right ball ramp. Just tried test again and the left kicker is sticking upon pushing advance.

I just removed 2J13 from the board and the sling did not lock up. The left kicker did not fire, the right kicker did not fire and the pop bumper did not fire. So I think I've confirmed it is not the board. But I can not find what the hell the problem is. And like most things it is probably staring me in the face.

New personal best and high score set tonight!

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Damn!

Is that set to 3 or 5 balls?

5 balls, but one player with no timed bonus ball.

Here's mine...I did this a few weeks ago. 3 balls, single player (no bonus ball). I got two extra balls along the way for a total of 5 for that game. Took a little more than a half hour...I was actually getting tired and wondering when it would end! Ironically, when I snapped this photo, it also caught the high score on my Eight Ball Deluxe. My 16 year old son did that a few weeks ago (5 ball setting) beating me by 300K and ever since then I've been playing EBD 3 to 5 times a day trying to get my high score back!

High Score.jpg

None of the special solenoids will fire with that connector removed so what you saw is what is expected. The good news is the solenoid switch wiring is as simple as it gets. The wire runs from the sling switch to 2J13. Reconnect 2J13, desolder the wire from the switch, test again. If it still locks on, you have a short in the wire somewhere. If it does not, the problem is in your switches.

If it's in the wire, you need to trace it back and look for it to be pinched under a screw, frayed against a metal bracket or something. It won't be easy since the wire starts on sling, around the harness to the connector to the upper playfield, around the harness to the connector to the backbox. I would try disconnecting the backbox to cabinet connector, test, reconnect, disconnect the connector between the upper and lower playfields, retest. This will help you see in which area the short lies.

Nice! My BK hi score took me a few weeks after my best friend came over and, after never having played the game before that night, beat my hi score on our last game of the night.

"It's more fun to compete."

I have several missing screws throughout the playfield. Is there a standard size / thread? It looks like there might be a couple different sizes.
Also, some screws are topped with a little rubber nubby thing, and others just have a nut. rhyme or reason?

Lastly, and off topic from the first couple questions. I am thinking about re-rubbering with black. For those who have done this, does it still strike you as cool, or... just dull? Is there a nostalga missing with black vs. white? Does anyone really even care, or is modding to taste acceptable?

I know that with my arcade machines, if you start to make permanent mods to things (things that cannot be put back) people tend to get bent out of shape. I get it, there's fewer and fewer of these things in existence. So...

Do you mean the post screws?

Posts can be topped with a rubber nubbin, nut, or acorn nut. Depends on personal preference, not sure what's original. Mine has all white rubber nubs.

I prefer white rubber personally. They make the game pop more, and are more bouncy. But there's also colored synthetic in all kinds of varieties. Clear often looks pretty cool, but it all depends on game and personal preference again. Rubbers aren't permanent, it's easy enough to try stuff and swap

My posts are topped with the rubber nubbin (which I prefer) except for one post - the bottom post over the trough in the upper playfield. I had to use an acorn nut there to secure the plastic. I found that if I use a rubber nubbin there and I hit a particularly hard/fast shot into the trough, the ball will kick up and hit the plastic sending that particular rubber nubbin somewhere on (or under) the playfield. The acorn nut secures it down better, at least on my game.

I prefer the white rubber in this game but as zacaj said, it's easy to swap out if you find you don't like the black or you sell your machine to someone who'd prefer it be white.

I think playfield rubbers are a personal preference unless you are restoring to original. On mine I actually did orange for something different.

20180926_204536 (resized).jpg

Perhaps that's why your machine is getting goofy. You made the Knight mad with the orange. ;0)
Seriously though, the orange over the clear plastic posts is outstanding.

I took off the rubber caps and used polished stainless acorn nuts.

Rubbers are different. I personally like white. They have more bounce than black and it seems like black make a bigger mess. I guess the only good thing to me about black would be you couldn't see how dirty they are.

Those nuts are 6-32

I have done this to all the games i've owned (with the exception of my 300 which already had them). Gives them that classic EM look.

Looks good. I think I like the clear posts more than I like the orange rubbers. I would have considered sprinkling around some red and blue. I definitely like the pop bumper. Can you post a close up of that?

I'll try to take some close-ups when I get home. Power on and power off. I picked up the cap and led portion from pinball life. And the clear bumper body from pinball-mods.com

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I like the artwork on those drops!

Some pix of the pop bumper set up.

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I like it. I went with a clear red top and LED disk inside as well. I think for the majority of the time, the light is solid other than in attract mode or at the start of multiball which kinda sucks.

It is the original play field. I pulled all the Plastics and alcohol and Magic Erasered it. Did a light coat of spraymax 2K clear, did some touch-ups with an airbrush which came out Fair because I'm a novice. Then coats of clear spraymax 2K. Pic of the original playfield when I got it a few months ago below.

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