Hi everyone,

So I took to doing some repairs and upgrades on my FP. I replaced the flipper bats, bushings, and the majority of the mechanism of the left flipper. I also have been progressively cleaning out areas of the PF, including the ball locks. Last night, I cleaned the leftmost one. It has worked with no issue since I got the game.

Tonight, I noticed that after I replaced the flipper parts that lane change was not working. I tracked it down to a wire that had become dislodged from the lane change switch (likely while replacing flipper parts), so I re-soldered it. Lane change works fine now. When I went to try out the new flippers, the first time I shot the ball into the left lock, it became lodged in there, but did not kick out (the lane was not lit at the time). I attempted to trip the switch manually, to no avail. So, I put the machine into diagnostic mode, and the solenoid for the kicker itself works with no issue. So, I assume that the switch itself is the issue. I cleaned the contacts, checked the wires and the diode for the switch, and nothing seems to be amiss at least to the naked eye.

Could I have done something while re-soldering the wire in a seemingly unrelated part of the board? Could my cleaning of the lock have inadvertently done something last night? I can see nothing wrong with it, and nothing else on the machine is not working to my knowledge. I tested the other two locks, and they function normally.

I am very new to this and attempting to get my feet wet with electronics, so bear with me. Suggestions?

I will check all of this when I get home tonight. Understood with the proximity to the flipper switch, as this could cause a much more serious short. I did clean the contacts and attempt to activate the switch manually from under the play field, and none of that worked. I'll also run a switch test as well and let you guys know the results.

What is the best way to check the diode? Again, I am very slowly learning about electronics (something I always wanted to do).

EDIT: I managed to get down this morning before work. It does in fact seem that switches 13, 29, and 53 are all out. 21 and 45 work correctly, and i'm not sure what 37 "Lower Top Right Standup" is to test it. So it does seem that at least some of the switches in that row are indeed out.

Thank you. In thinking about it, I was wondering if I inadvertently soldered the wire to the incorrect terminal on the switch. Could this cause some to be open and others not?

Yes only resoldered one wire, I'll snap a picture tonight to illustrate.

So I think I have the culprit: I incorrectly soldered the wire on the wrong side of the diode. This would explain why only some of the switches work. I'll show you the picture, tell me if I'm right. I think both green-dash-white wires need to be on the same side to relay the signal without the diode interrupting:

IMG_3344_(resized).jpg

Thanks to everyone here, I re-soldered the wire in the correct place, and all works correctly. This has, at the least, been a great learning experience about how these circuits work. Much appreciated!