Hi All,

I have a project Gorgar that is 90% finished, except I have and odd issue with Gorgar's ball holding magnet. When I bought the game, the wires were clipped to the magnet, so this is an existing issue. Since I bought it:
- the 40-pin connectors have been replaced
- the driver board has been rebuilt
- power supply and sound boards recapped

With all of the above done the game is now running well, so I thought I would try and reconnect the magnet. With the magnet reconnected, all is fine until I hit the magnet switch. Then, I can hear a bunch of the solenoids fire, then the fuse connected to the magnet blows.

I would appreciate any advice regarding how to troubleshoot and fix this. Gorgar needs to be able to hold the ball when he says "Me got you!".

-Rob

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Hi VintageClub,

I have tried to ohm test the magnet, but I've never tested one this big before. I'm not sure what the proper readings should be. It does not read as a direct short, though. It does not look burned in any way either.

There is a diode in the circuit before the magnet. It tests as "good" as well.

I just don't understand what could be causing most of the solenoids to be firing with the magnet. A short somewhere? I've looked at all the wiring and can't find a short.

According to other Gorgar pictures I have seen- yes, the diode is in the right direction. The stripe is headed down to the base of the the machine, where the orange and black wires come together.

I wish they would have included some images in the bulletin. I have recreated what I wiring looked like before I snipped the wires. I'm assuming this what the bulletin wants changed.

Here is the relay coil. Let me know if there is a different picture you need.

Also, here is the diode. The stripe is pointing down. This is correct, right?

StratDoc - If you wouldn't mind, can you tell me the Ohms across your snake pit magnet? It would be nice to have something to compare mine to.

Thanks!

Relay (resized).jpg

Diode (resized).jpg

Thanks Travish. When I say I tested it, I mean that I removed the diode completely and tested it in "diode mode" on the meter. It tested perfectly and didn't allow any current to flow backwards.

Regarding the magnet relay, it is energizing properly both during test mode and gameplay mode.

So, I'm starting to wonder if the magnet is bad after all.

-Barky

That's my fault, wdennie. I had already clipped the wires to the magnet before I took that picture. I stuck the wires in place for the picture, but put one in the wrong place. Here is how the magnet wiring is supposed to look. I guess the diode prevents the short. Makes sense now?

CorrectWiring (resized).jpg

I pulled the magnet off, and in testing it again- now I'm not I'm not seeing ANY resistance across it. So, I guess it's toast.

Anyone know of a good replacement magnet for Gorgar?

OK. This case is officially solved. For a test, I wired up in parallel a couple relay coils that I had laying around. Then I triggered the snake pin, the coils energized and pulled a ball towards them just fine.

So, the original magnet was toast. THANKS all for your help.

Anyone know of a good replacement magnet?

Barky

Mag test 1 (resized).jpg

Mag Test 2 (resized).jpg

Awesome! Thank you!!!