(Topic ID: 278123)

Claw machine troubleshooting

By seenev

3 years ago



Topic Stats

  • 9 posts
  • 2 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 3 years ago by Crash
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

You

Linked Games

No games have been linked to this topic.

    Topic Gallery

    View topic image gallery

    20200926_110245 (resized).jpg
    20200925_151741 (resized).jpg
    #1 3 years ago

    I got this DIY claw machine kit some years ago. Today the claw coil started firing as soon as the power comes on and never shuts off. I tested the serial port pins that lead to the claw coil on the board and they read 51 volts, so the problem must be on the board somewhere. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar enough with all of these components to guess with any more precision where it must be shorting or failing. Does anyone have any idea what I might need to do to fix it so that the claw coil only fires when it's supposed to?

    I really want to avoid buying a replacement board.

    20200925_151741 (resized).jpg20200925_151741 (resized).jpg
    #2 3 years ago

    I am assuming your claw solenoid driver MOSFET is the beefy looking component in the upper left of the photo. The one with the heatsink. I would test it for shorts. To do this:

    Put your meter into diode/continuity mode.
    On the component side of the board, put the black lead of your meter on the center leg of the driver transistor.
    Put the red lead of your meter on the center lead of the transistor. Your meter should read zero.
    Put the red lead of your meter on either outside lead of the transistor. Your meter should read in the .3 to .6 volt range.
    Put the red lead of your meter on the other outside lead of the transistor. Your meter should again read in the .3 to .6 volt range.
    If your meter reads anything outside the .3 to .6 range, replace that transistor.

    If it's shorted, you will get a reading of 0 between the center leg and one of the two outer legs. Reverse your meter probes and it will still read 0 if shorted.

    #3 3 years ago
    Quoted from Crash:

    I am assuming your claw solenoid driver MOSFET is the beefy looking component in the upper left of the photo. The one with the heatsink. I would test it for shorts. To do this:
    Put your meter into diode/continuity mode.
    On the component side of the board, put the black lead of your meter on the center leg of the driver transistor.
    Put the red lead of your meter on the center lead of the transistor. Your meter should read zero.
    Put the red lead of your meter on either outside lead of the transistor. Your meter should read in the .3 to .6 volt range.
    Put the red lead of your meter on the other outside lead of the transistor. Your meter should again read in the .3 to .6 volt range.
    If your meter reads anything outside the .3 to .6 range, replace that transistor.
    If it's shorted, you will get a reading of 0 between the center leg and one of the two outer legs. Reverse your meter probes and it will still read 0 if shorted.

    Thanks. It does look like it's shorted so I guess I'll try to replace it. I don't know what would have caused it to short. Do these things just give out sometimes?

    #4 3 years ago

    How old is the machine and how often is it used? Your claw coil could be damaged as well, depending on how long it was locked on before you turned the power off. Probably not, as the coils are designed to run several seconds at a time while the claw picks up the prize and brings it to the chute. I would still check your claw coil for signs of overheating and do a resistance test on it.

    #5 3 years ago

    Also, is there a diode connected to your claw coil? If so make sure it has not gone open or broken off. Without a damper diode voltage spikes can damage or short the driver transistor over time.

    #6 3 years ago
    Quoted from Crash:

    Also, is there a diode connected to your claw coil? If so make sure it has not gone open or broken off. Without a damper diode voltage spikes can damage or short the driver transistor over time.

    Thanks. That's a good question. I tried testing some of the diodes on the board and it looks like the two pictured here have the correct voltage going forward, but more voltage going the wrong way (0.6v VS a little over 1v on the meter). So that means these are shorted? How can I find out what kind of diode I need to replace them?

    20200926_110245 (resized).jpg20200926_110245 (resized).jpg
    #7 3 years ago

    If the diodes are shorted, your meter will read 0 in both directions. If they are open, it will read OL (open loop). They seem to be fine. A diode will conduct in one direction with the banded side connected to your black lead.

    #8 3 years ago

    I got a new transistor on ebay and swapped it in. It seems to be working OK now. Thanks for your help!

    #9 3 years ago

    That's great, you're welcome! It could have just been a poor quality component from the beginning. Glad you got it working. If it wasn't for pinball I would have more trouble tracking that one down.

    Reply

    Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

    Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

    Donate to Pinside

    Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


    This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/claw-machine-troubleshooting- and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

    Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.