F-14 Tomcat
Williams, 1987Please help! This issue is driving me insane! During gameplay 1 locked ball will randomly be ejected into the playfield before multi ball is achieved. So far I’ve noticed the one ball that will be ejected is either from the right center or left center locks in the middle of the upper play field. I have run all switch and coil tests and everything checks out fine. Fuses seem to all be good. I’m stumped on this one. Thanks!
Quoted from Lpilot1:Please help! This issue is driving me insane! During gameplay 1 locked ball will randomly be ejected into the playfield before multi ball is achieved. So far I’ve noticed the one ball that will be ejected is either from the right center or left center locks in the middle of the upper play field. I have run all switch and coil tests and everything checks out fine. Fuses seem to all be good. I’m stumped on this one. Thanks!
I would pay extra special attention to the ball lock switches. I know you said you tested them but do it again, with the ball not your finger. Check switches closely for loose wires/diodes, shorts, etc.
Those switches can be prone to issues due to their heavy use and proximity to the kicking mechs.
CrazyLevi, I did all of that. Cleaned everything with electronic cleaner as well. All connections and diodes look secure and normal. Switches are activating normally. I tested with my fingers as well as the balls. Ran them down the lanes into the ejection ports. All tested normally. I play a game lock at least 1 to all 3 balls. Launch a ball to try for the multi ball and then boom, out of nowhere randomly 1 ball will get ejected into play for seemingly no reason. Scratching my head on this one.
Quoted from Tuukka:Try banging on the playfield with ball locked to see if it is vibration related (ball bouncing off the lock switch).
It’s definitely not that. It’s happened before with the cabinet perfectly still and the ball in play lightly moving around.
I suspect the game sees one of the switches on the ramp closing and thinks a ball is headed to the lock so it has to eject one. Does the diverter on the ramp happen to activate too? Test the ramp switches and make sure none are too sensitive.
Ditto the ramp switches - one of the only times I've dealt with a game where the microswitch actually wore out.
They're kind of a PITA to replace IIRC too.
Also, the diode on them can get mashed.
Quoted from Tuukka:OK, good! Leave ball(s) locked, go to switch test and try manually activating all other switches. If there is a shorted diode (or a bent diode lead touching switch connector) you will see a phantom switch activation.
I’ll try this. Do I lock them during a game and then go to the test or just go to switch test and put balls in locks? What does a phantom switch activation look like?
Quoted from bobukcat:I suspect the game sees one of the switches on the ramp closing and thinks a ball is headed to the lock so it has to eject one. Does the diverter on the ramp happen to activate too? Test the ramp switches and make sure none are too sensitive.
Haven’t thought of this. I have to take the cover off the diverter to observe. During switch test and switch edges test the game is not seeing any closed switches.
Quoted from slochar:Ditto the ramp switches - one of the only times I've dealt with a game where the microswitch actually wore out.
They're kind of a PITA to replace IIRC too.
Also, the diode on them can get mashed.
Will give these a look.
Well, now a Q42 transistor issue has seemed to have returned. My upper playfield TOMCAT targets and Yagov kicker are intermittently working if at all. This transistor was replaced about a month ago. Could this be causing my ball lock eject issue? I’m about ready to throw this thing in the trash. Lol
Did you check the connector for the PF switches. I cant recall the number, but when mine had switch issues I replaced the connector and things went to back to working.
Get a ball locked and then You can try gently wiggling the wires from that connector and see it causes it to pop..
Quoted from topkat:Did you check the connector for the PF switches. I cant recall the number, but when mine had switch issues I replaced the connector and things went to back to working.
Get a ball locked and then You can try gently wiggling the wires from that connector and see it causes it to pop..
Where is that located? So I played a couple of games. First game, the upper TOMCAT targets, Yagov Kicker, and left flyby gate were not working. No ball got ejected early. Second game, the upper TOMCAT targets, Yagov Kicker, and flyby gate were working. Just started working. All I did was start another game. With all balls locked during this game a ball got ejected before multi ball was achieved. Ughhhh! I have no idea what’s going on here.
You should also check out the MPU board. Check the battery holder and directly below for green acid damage. Causes all sorts of weird switch issues. Take a few pics and post.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:You should also check out the MPU board. Check the battery holder and directly below for green acid damage. Causes all sorts of weird switch issues. Take a few pics and post.
Batteries are not on the board. They are jumpered over to the side of the back box.
Quoted from frunch:Check that area of the board anyway. Like Levi said, post a few pics and we can help determine if it looks like there's any battery leakage screwing with the board.
Looks odd but was already there when I bought the game a couple of months ago. Was not having these issues until recently. I have no idea why there’s a screw in there or why there’s nothing in the middle. The game stores scores and settings just fine. No corrosion.
023CB47A-BB11-411C-828C-1E8D64118FFD (resized).jpeg0966AC6A-0095-4487-ABA1-3331FCB1D933 (resized).jpeg7E32A122-2D8D-4B3A-B264-CF0DDF6C6768 (resized).jpegB9BB3B77-F5AF-48F1-BCE1-3AEC9F25888E (resized).jpegD1D1CD17-BD8E-4312-89C2-E8210A4CA830 (resized).jpegDC685680-81B8-43CF-96AF-B69471D04A19 (resized).jpegYeah, doesn't look like any corrosion. That's good!
All the switches you are having trouble with share the same vertical "column" on the switch matrix. I would check all of the switches listed for that column on the chart I'll attach below. Make sure the wiring is securely attached to the switches, as well as the diodes. Also look out for wiring connections or diodes shorting to nearby metal or other lamps, switches, etc nearby.
It's possible there may be a connection there. You noted the game didn't randomly eject balls while those switches were out of commission, so maybe gettin to the bottom of the switch problem will also be the solution for the eject problem. Fingers crossed!
1166293534.pngQuoted from frunch:Yeah, doesn't look like any corrosion. That's good!
All the switches you are having trouble with share the same vertical "column" on the switch matrix. I would check all of the switches listed for that column on the chart I'll attach below. Make sure the wiring is securely attached to the switches, as well as the diodes. Also look out for wiring connections or diodes shorting to nearby metal or other lamps, switches, etc nearby.
It's possible there may be a connection there. You noted the game didn't randomly eject balls while those switches were out of commission, so maybe gettin to the bottom of the switch problem will also be the solution for the eject problem. Fingers crossed!
[quoted image]
Thanks frunch! Well look what I just found about an hour ago. Pic is attached. This solder had broken free from the snubber board. The coil connection yellow wire runs right to the upper right ball lock eject. Hmmmm. Well I resoldered it but with baby sleeping I cannot play to see if this fixes my gremlin. Fingers crossed! Will hopefully know tomorrow.
728CF3B4-C7F0-4F88-BE2A-4DE62FCA6DE9 (resized).jpeg7D668161-D65C-441D-80F8-6D3CE2140D6F (resized).jpegQuoted from Lpilot1:I’ll try this. Do I lock them during a game and then go to the test or just go to switch test and put balls in locks? What does a phantom switch activation look like?
Go to switch edges test and put balls in locks. Then activate other switches one by one and check that only one switch at a time is reported in test. Shorted diode may cause a "phantom" switch activation, and test then shows an extra switch .
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