(Topic ID: 278523)

Firepower pushes out ball on launch, won't start game

By Zami77

3 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 12 posts
  • 4 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 3 years ago by Zami77
  • No one calls this topic a favorite

You

Linked Games

Topic Gallery

View topic image gallery

20201001_202607 (resized).jpg
#1 3 years ago

Hey how's it going everyone. I'm having some issues with my Firepower. Essentially the issue I'm running into is when I start the machine up, it automatically pushes a ball out, as if a match has started. I however can't start it by pressing the play button. I'll use the plunger to drain the ball, but then nothing else happens and I still can't start a match. If I turn the machine off and on multiple times it'll keep sending balls to the plunger. It seems like there must be some connection loose or touching when it's not supposed to as it seems locked in this strange state. There's also a strange humming noise happening that unfortunately didn't seem to be capture by the video below. I want to try to resolve this myself before trying to call in a tech. Thanks in advance for any help!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DLIh3a8s78tl-kcsPAT7S-xujflPekRp/view?usp=sharing

Here's a link to the video of the issue occuring. Even my cat is sad that it's not working!

#2 3 years ago

Are there credits on the machine? Couldn't tell from the video. Go into the switch test and see what switches are registering.

#3 3 years ago

Check to see if that solenoid that kicks the ball into the shooter lane isn’t locked on. That might be the humming you’re hearing.
Also if that is the problem, the arm that hits the ball into the lane would be blocking the next ball from closing the switch after you plunge, so the game won’t start because all 3 trough switches wouldn’t be closed.

#4 3 years ago

I actually hear that humming. It has to be the shooter lane kick out coil locking on immediately when booting. I bet if you open the coin door and reach up over there that sucker is getting hot.
I’d guess that the transistor went out for that solenoid on the board or something is grounding it.

#5 3 years ago
Quoted from mrm_4:

I actually hear that humming. It has to be the shooter lane kick out coil locking on immediately when booting. I bet if you open the coin door and reach up over there that sucker is getting hot.
I’d guess that the transistor went out for that solenoid on the board or something is grounding it.

This solenoid was humming and stopped when I touched it. Should I be seeing where it connects to? It seems to be near the plunger.
20201001_202607 (resized).jpg20201001_202607 (resized).jpg

#6 3 years ago

Yeah that’s the one. When you turn the game on you’re probably seeing it pull the arm up into the ball trough and just holding in place.

#7 3 years ago
Quoted from mrm_4:

Yeah that’s the one. When you turn the game on you’re probably seeing it pull the arm up into the ball trough and just holding in place.

Sweet, so any suggestions on something I should be moving around or is it gonna be a replacement of a part? Thanks.

#8 3 years ago

Well...
If you check out page 9 of the manual it shows this coil is number 8 and gives some details about wire colors, what connector it hooks up to on the circuit boards and that it is transistor Q29.

https://www.ipdb.org/files/856/Williams_1980_Firepower_Instruction_Booklet.pdf

First thing would be to lift the playfield and check for the easy obvious things like a wire out of place or an object making a connection (screw fell on to a wire)
But beyond that you’re going to need to start checking components and measuring with a multimeter. First thing electronically I would check is that transistor after checking for foreign objects.

#9 3 years ago
Quoted from mrm_4:

Well...
If you check out page 9 of the manual it shows this coil is number 8 and gives some details about wire colors, what connector it hooks up to on the circuit boards and that it is transistor Q29.
https://www.ipdb.org/files/856/Williams_1980_Firepower_Instruction_Booklet.pdf
First thing would be to lift the playfield and check for the easy obvious things like a wire out of place or an object making a connection (screw fell on to a wire)
But beyond that you’re going to need to start checking components and measuring with a multimeter. First thing electronically I would check is that transistor after checking for foreign objects.

Thanks for all the help! I'm gonna give it a check tonight, but I need to get a new 9V for my multimeter, so here's hoping it's something basic.

3 weeks later
#10 3 years ago

What ever happened with this?

#11 3 years ago

I’m assuming the transistor needed to be replaced.

#12 3 years ago

Thanks for the help everyone! One of the transistors went bad on the board and needed to be replaced. In addition to that, the diode on the solenoid for the plunger area was broken, so it kept destroying transistors. I had to bring in my local pin tech for this as I'm not very experienced in repairing things. At least I know to keep an eye out for this in the future.

Promoted items from Pinside Marketplace and Pinside Shops!
From: $ 5.00
Cabinet - Other
UpKick Pinball
 
From: $ 11.00
$ 42.95
Eproms
Pinballrom
 
$ 170.00
Displays
Digipinball Shop
 
$ 12.50
Lighting - Led
RoyGBev Pinball
 
$ 11.00
Electronics
Yorktown Arcade Supply
 
From: $ 9.00
From: $ 90.00
Tools
Pincoder Store
 
From: $ 1.00
Playfield - Other
Rocket City Pinball
 
From: $ 399.95
Lighting - Led
Pin Stadium Pinball Mods
 
Trade
Machine - For Trade
Washington Court House, OH
$ 15.00
Playfield - Protection
UpKick Pinball
 
600 (OBO)
Machine - For Sale
Casper, WY
$ 27.95
Eproms
Pinballrom
 
1,400 (Firm)
Machine - For Sale
Benton, PA
2,900 (OBO)
Machine - For Sale
Hawesville, KY
Hey modders!
Your shop name here

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/firepower-pushes-out-ball-on-launch-won-t-start-game 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.