I have a question that is probably obvious to you all but I can't figure it out.

How do I identify which snubber drives which solenoid? I'm having trouble with both the A and C side of Solenoid 6 and I don't hear clicking or anything between them. It seems to be the only one where everything is dead. I've already removed, tested and rebuilt all of the resistance boards so I think it's either a Snubber or one of the transistors on the CPU.

The other problem I'm having is the slings and pop are real weak. Not snappy at all like they are in other games I've owned.

Thanks in advance for any advice/training you can give.

I'm not sure how to ground/test the transistor. From reading the wiring diagram Q19 (2N4401) and Q23 (TIP 122) are the two that are in line for solenoid 6.

I haven't looked at the board yet, hopefully they are marked on there because the manual map/diagram is quite blurred when looking at transistors.

Sorry it took me a couple of days to get to this. I grounded it and got nothing. Just to be sure I was doing it correctly, I did a couple of others and it worked on them. I tried it with the game on and in attract mode (which the knocker should have fired) and after starting a game (which a flasher should have lit) Didn't get anything.

So, I'm thinking, as you said, it's down in the playfield. I'd like to check the relay snubber board as I read there are problems with those but I just can't figure out which one is for #6.

That looks great. It's on my list this winter for my F-14. How hard was it to install with the targets and such still sticking up? I was under the impression you needed to remove it all.

Grumpy,

After being out of town for the better part of a week I finally had some time to go further on this. Pulling 1J-11 and looking at the grey/blue wire revealed that it had slid out of the connector just enough so contact was not being made.

I fully removed it and grounded it and the knocker fired as advertised.

I'm going to look for and/or order an IDC insertion tool and permanently fix it. I appreciate all the help!!!

So, I'm pulling apart the playfield for some cleaning and probably a hard top and I ran across this hack-tastic surprise. I'd had some flashers not working in the area and figured I'd see the problem as I pulled things apart. Well, nothing like 2 pieces of wire soldered together running nowhere.

Big question for you smart guys is, I know the yellow wire isn't doing anything. The orange wire(s) on the center fixture are a ground and attached to all the flasher fixtures elsewhere on the playfield. My assumption is I need to "daisy chain" from that orange lug to the ground lug on the other two. My only question is the red wires on the ground lug of the left. I believe those red ones go up to the back box flashers as their ground is red. Not sure if I need to chain to that one along with the orange or if those red wires are a sufficient ground from the backbox or somewhere else
IMG_5895 (resized).jpg

Duplicate post.... sorry

Thanks for setting me straight. The white wire is connected (it doesn't look like it but it is) and it has a cut/solder about half way down it similar to the yellow wires.

Thanks for the service bulletin. I obviously misinterpreted which was ground and which was power. Looking at my wiring, the bulletin was never implemented. I may implement the change as I was having issues. The "hack" I was referring to was the 2 wires that were cut and then soldered back together and left open vice putting shrink on it or using a proper wire splice.

If you get ahold of him, send him my way, I'd like to get a set as well

Got my hardtop done and everything put back together. Aside from some switch adjustments needed I have an issue with a couple of flashers. The blue and red 2 flashers at the top of the playfield aren't firing. Looking at the solenoid table I believe they should be flashing with the back box flashers (9 and 10 respectively) which are working as advertised

I have DC power at the flashers at all times and like I said the back box flashers are working (although I did disconnect the short resistors as I put LED flashers in the backbox only). All the flashers at the top of the playfield are wired as original both at the flasher and at the resistor board. (Service Bulletin SS41 not implemented and it all looks like the "before" picture)

Anyone have any ideas? Other than possibly re-soldering the short resistors on the resistor board in the backbox and replacing the LED's back to regular flashers I'm at a loss. I don't see how it would help as the playfield and the backbox flashers are on different resistor boards but maybe one of you can set me straight.

Thanks in advance.,

Don't want to completely resurrect a thread from the dead but when researching weak pop and slings I came across this thread where trueno92 added a .33 uF 50v capacitor to the 22 uF 25v capacitor already on the switch for improved pop.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/f14-tomcat-owners-club-fans-also-welcome/page/61#post-4159731

Just wondering if there has been any updates or "better ideas" before I replace my 22's and add .33's. (Like using a 22 uF 50v vice a 25v or bumping the capacitor up to a bigger cap vice the combination)

My slings and pop are very weak, almost slow motion when they pop and I'm just looking to punch it up.