(Topic ID: 173123)

Fixing broken switch on Metallica

By roddog

7 years ago

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Latest reply 7 years ago by roddog
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Metallica (Premium) Stern, 2013

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Hello friends,

This is a x-post from the Metallica owner's thread (no reply to my question):

I am having issues with the SNAKE EJECT switch. I ran the switch test and threw a ball in the snakes jaw and the SNAKE EJECT did not show.

I fiddled under the playfield and concluded that it is not an issue with the button not being suppressed. I was able to press the button and the switch would still not show up on the switch test.

So I opened the manual and can see the switch on the SWITCH MATRIX GRID. Not sure what it tells me though. No idea how these things work. It says it is switch #54, and something about a GRN-YEL and WHT-BLU wire...

Not sure how to troubleshoot this or what to do from here. Any help or tips or references would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Quoted from xTheBlackKnightx:
The snake assembly use a sim roller micro switch (Part #180-5209-00).
I am going to make the assumption you own a Metallica Pro, as the Premium and LE snake assemblies are slightly different with the moveable locking jaw.
See manual page #151 for the details of the assembly.
It is part #3.
You need to further test the switch, before you worry about game wiring.
Remove the balls, and lift the playfield into maintenance position.
Inspect the switch and wires (wiggle them carefully).
Test the micro switch manually with a small piece of wood such as a toothpick in switch test mode.
Do not use things like metal screwdrivers under the playfield when the game is powered on.
The micro switch is likely it is bent out of contact from use.
This is a very common problem that can occur even out of the box.
If it triggers immediately with full pressure, continue below.
Use a micro hex driver set to remove the switch from the assembly.
If you are very careful you may be able to do the procedure below without removing the switch.
There are two screws and small locking plate that secure the switch to the snake mouth bracket assembly.
Use a leaf switch adjustment tool to carefully bend the roller contact upwards, keeping the rear portion of the leaf closest to the switch unchanged.
DO NOT use your fingers to bend the switch.
Reinstall the switch.
This will allow more sensitivity for the switch to properly activate when the ball lands in the snake assembly.
Ensure you do not power down the game with the coin door open, as I do not know if you have an upgraded "Sparky magnet fix" board which corrected a high voltage design problem.
Earlier games can cause the Sparky coil to burn or transistor failure with the coin door open if the game is powered down first.
If you must power the game down, due so with the coin door closed first, even if the playfield is still in maintenance position, to ensure no damage occurs.
In the advent the switch does not work on testing, and the wires are intact, the cause is most likely a failed micro switch or diode, especially if all other switches in the game are working.

Hiya BlackKnight.

So I was actually able to manually test the switch with the machine in maintenance mode. I was able to press the button that the switch activates with my finger. On top of that, the wires seem to be intact just fine. Also, I own a Premium version of the game. Based on what you say, I'm thinking this is a failed micro switch or diode (since every other switch works fine). Any information about what to do from here?

Thank you. This was extremely helpful. I gotta buy a multimeter but am now very hopeful!

Update:

So after buying a cheapo miltimeter, a soldering iron, solder, a switch and some diodes, I went to work.

Took xTheBlackKnightx's advice and wiggled around the wires connecting to the switch. After doing this pretty forcefully, the switch started working again. I put back the playfield and then the switch stopped. This led me to the conclusion that the wires had to be re-soldered on (specifically the white-blue wire). Being lazy, I re-soldered the wire back on without removing the switch (because i didnt want to remove the entire snake apparatus).

The switch now works! ..but I melted 2 wires together in the process. Well ezpz enough I just cut the two wires apart using a box-cutter and re-taped them with electrical tape. Now everything works (and has a little character to boot).

I did notice that the switch does not have a diode attached to it. Not sure why that is? Because it is the last switch in the column on the matrix? Also, not sure how to utilize the cheapo multimeter.

I am glad I was able to do this on my own. Felt really good. And now I have the tools for the next time this happens. Could not have done it without all your help. Thanks all!

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