(Topic ID: 14463)

DW problems!

By chocky909

11 years ago


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  • 28 posts
  • 9 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 11 years ago by Atomicboy
  • Topic is favorited by 2 Pinsiders

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#1 11 years ago

So I just got my DW working after removing and reassembling the head for transport, something which I'll have to do again in a month or so...

Anyway, I've noticed a few problems, some minor (I hope) and some major (I hope not).

1) The Time Expander seems to be malfunctioning at the countdown phase. It keeps counting down a lot after one hit and even a few times before it had raised. Also three of the inserts aren't lit.

2) The right flipper doesn't come up as far as the left. It's strong and seems to be in the right starting position but it comes up a bit short about 1cm maybe.

3) The lower bumper is a little unreactive. It does work but takes more of a prod than the others which are twitchy and strong.

4) Several lights are out including, the three Time Expander inserts, the first and last Doctors under the DMD (Hartnell and McCoy), the "C" and the "A" of "ESCAPE" and also there is one bulb missing on behind the backglass but when I swapped it with a working one it still didn't seem to work.

5) The open/close door sensor/switch seems to be glitchy, not recognising when the door is open and ehen it is closed. I usually tap it with my finger until it works.

6) Last one, a biggy and it's different because it was fine until we'd had a few games but now the plunger has lost power and struggles to fire it into play. It actually seems to be getting weaker each time it attempts it.

So that's it so far I reckon and I still had some fun games until the plunger problems. I'm wondering how many of these problems were existing before and how many have developed since the dismantle. I'm going to ring the seller and see if he remembers. It'll also be a good way to let him know how it isn't perfect and I might get some money back... I doubt it.

So, any advice appreciated. I'm going to have a look at some resources too in the mean time and hopefully figure some stuff out myself - I don't want to have to come running to the forum for every little thing...

#3 11 years ago

Private. It's my first buy so I'm still green. I also don't have a car so can't go looking at tables before I buy really. I did play on it briefly a couple of weeks ago but I wasn't really paying attention to it and I only found it was for sale the next day. I remembered it playing well and looking OK so I made an offer. I think I paid too much and he thinks I paid too little compared to some past ebay auctions. Probably means it was fair. I was hoping for a couple of little things to work on but hopefully these won't cost me much money or take too long to fix.

Thanks for the advice too! I'll try those out. Cheers.

#5 11 years ago

The 'factors' are the main problem right now. I've had a good root around under the playfield and managed to fix the plunger problem which was just a loose screw and housing.

So the main problem now is the time expander 5 targets. Only two of them seem to work, the 2nd and 4th. Also when you hit either it counts down from 14 to 3 by itself. Does this sound familar to anyone? Is it possible that it is linked to a connection on the backboard? I'm sure this wasn't a problem when I played the game 2 weeks ago at a tournament. Is it possible that transporting it caused the problem?

I've also looked at the flippers and it all looks fine and I think the reason for the height difference is the left and right flippers are differently numbered coils. Also the top flipper is the same as the right. Part number FL 11630 for the left and FL 15411 for the right and top. Does it sound like someone reassembled incorrectly at some point. The table does have standard flippers ATM which suggests some fiddling was undertaken although it would make more sense if it was the left and top that were the same.

The C and A of ESCAPE don't seem to be simple bulb replacements as swapping with their neighbours didn't help as didn't wiggling nearby connections. I guess there is a test I can do in the service menu?

The red inserts beneath the time expander look like it'll be a huge job to change the bulbs being as there is a huge subway tray in the way.

The lower bumper is still a bit unresponsive and it's not that obvious what's causing the problem but I'll have a further explore.

I was also wondering where the best place to get spare parts from in the UK is?

#9 11 years ago

Thanks for the replies. I'm starting to realise that asking for advice is only useful if you can understand it when it is given. There are quite a few terms that I don't really understand such as 'caps', I don't know what those are. I'm not really sure what optos are either.

What I really need is a bit more specific advice. Should I be poking around under the playfield and the time expander unit or checking connections in the head? I think I may have a electrical testing kit somewhere but I'd need to buy a soldering kit.

Can someone recommend some tests I should run in the operators menu that might pinpoint the cause of the malfunctions?

Did anyone recognise a problem with my flipper setup? I've loosened a retightened the right flipper but it just doesn't seem to have the same arc distance as the left.

Sorry for all the questions, I'm really coming face to face with the realisation that I don't know a lot of the basics. I am having fun rooting around under the hood though. I need some proper tools too.

#11 11 years ago

Cheers faz. I do need to do some basic research but I also want to get the machine running fully ASAP.

Anyway I think I've found the problem as there is a wire that looks like it has broken near the time expander under the playfield. Looks like it was soldered into a connector and the solder broke so I'm going to get a soldering iron and fix it and we'll see where that leaves us.

Can someone quickly tell me how to adjust the outlane posts on this game though. I thought it would be simple but I honestly can't see how. Please don't tell me I need to remove everything above them.

#13 11 years ago

Ah I got it. Once I knew I had to move or remove the plastics I just did it. PITA though, especially the left side because there is a huge plastic ramp that goes all the way up and round the other side so removing that was not an option right now. I managed to get it eventually just bending a little. Thanks.

1 week later
#14 11 years ago

I've hit a big problem trying to diagnose what the problem is with my DW. The Tim Expander is simply all over the place. How can I figure out what the issue is withough taking it apart?

#16 11 years ago

Hi c3trey and thanks for your reply. Sorry I haven't got back til now but I've been really busy.

Anyway, I'd actually tried everything you suggested already but I just went through the switch test again. Basically only the 2nd and 4th targets activate the switch test and the other 3 are totally dead, no flickering or anything. Also, banging the surrounding area doesn't make anything flicker either. This makes me think the problem is not with the actul unit but with some connections when I reassembled the head. I checked some pictures from before I disassembled and I notice that at least one of the dead lights was working. The game was also played in a league meeting just a week before I bought it and as far as I could tell it was working perfectly maybe just some GI out.

That loose wire didn't make a difference when I soldered it so either that's not the problem or it's not making a connection.

I'm pretty sure I connected something wrongly because as well as the Time Expander being weird, there are several bulbs out that simply aren't powered as I've swapped them with working bulbs.

So the problem is, how do I identify the connection issue?

#23 11 years ago

I know of that white paper and if I thought that would help then I would do it but I'm quite sure that there is a wrong connection somewhere and it would actually be a waste of time.

I removed the head when I bought it and the guy who sold it to me helped label up the connections and did a half arsed job so a few of the connections had illegible labels. After reassembling we got it working but these few issues won't go away.

Quoted from c3trey:

Switches and lamps use different wiring in the game, so it's probably best to focus on the issues one at a time. If you haven't yet downloaded the operations manual for the game from ipdb.org, do so and take a look at page 3-3. That's the switch matrix.
Back in switch edge test, walk through each of the switches in the game and make sure each works and displays the correct number on the DMD. This will help isolate any connection or switch matrix issues.

All the switches work. Checking all the playfield switches correspond to the numbers in the manual too.

Quoted from c3trey:

When you say only the second and fourth targets activate in the test, the screen shows them as activating switches 72 and 74, is that right? Are the other three targets (71, 73, 75) always dots or squares?

That's right. The other three targets are always dots. I occasionally get some action from 73 which I think is why it counts down itself but nothing for 71 and 75.

Quoted from c3trey:

What connector was the wire you soldered loose from (and are you sure it's making a connection now)?

It's in a bundle of connections near the Time Expander unit under the playfield. It's a connector block with 4x2 wires one side and 2x1 wire the other one of which is the broken connection. Nothing changed when I soldered it and I've tried a few times redoing it. Not sure if it's my soldering that is the problem. I have a multi meter so maybe I could check the connection somehow?

Quoted from c3trey:

To trace the connection in question, the first place you are going to want to look is at the 10-opto board. This is located under the playfield, mounted right next to your upper flipper mech. J1 and J2 on that board connect to the mini playfield target optos. Trace those. J3 connects back to the cpu board in the backbox at J206 and J208. Check those places for loose connections/wires/cracked solder joints, etc.

I'm struggling to trace the wires back as they merge with the huge bundles.

#26 11 years ago

OK well thanks for trying to help me. I think I'm going to get a guy to come look anyway considering the other problems with the lights.

2 weeks later
#27 11 years ago

BUMP

OK, I got my DW working with a lot of help from Andy Netherwood. It turns out each element was a seperate problem which means it wasn't a misconnection like I suspected. Luckily the optos were fixable without having to remove the Time Expander and everything else was a matter of broken connections and solder. Looks like it's just an old piece of junk and has been patched up a lot. Ah well you live and learn. At least it's working well and plays well. The only remaining problems are the switch for the ball trough is wrong so the ball sometimes doesn't push it all the way down. Hopefully I'll source a lighter switch and swap it out. Also, the Time Expander is a little wonky being higher on the left and a bit low on the right. It's not a huge problem and I think it only causes the ball to get stuck on the right ridge very occasionally. Top left bumper bulb needs changing but it's a big job to move the ramp so I'm happy with it now if I can just sort out that trough switch.

I did a factory reset. What are the basic recommended settings? Also, I've got the outlane posts in the lowest positions but they don't seem to help side drains. Would it actually be better higher up so I have more room to bounce off the side because the lane doesn't have a rubber post? Also, playfield angles... I'm not sure the best playfield angle but I get a lot of outlane drains and also I'd like to stop the ball from going SDTM after bouncing back out from the bumpers top left. It's quite steep right now but I haven't got a proper measure. I could download an app..

Anyway, this is so much better with the Time Expander working properly. Thanks again for everyone that gave me advice. I really appreciate it. I'll post a gameplay video soon.

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