Hey guys. Have a GOTE that was booting fine and then I turned it on yesterday and it cam up with updating Node Board with three boxes 1, 8, 9. Then it says node update failed, cycle power. I do and have the same issue. I thought maybe it was corrupt r something so I updated to the latest version of the firmware (from Stern's website). It did that and seemed to work. I played a few games and then turned it off. Went to turn it on today and get the same crap again. Updating node boards, 1,8,9 - and then it fails.

Any idea where to start?

Thanks. Based on the three boxes, is there a likelihood of which node would be bad/have a connection issue? again, it said 1 - 8 - 9. Thanks.

Thanks - I didn't change any node boards though. Hoping it's a loose cable as the pin was moved recently, but it worked after the move for a few games before it started to do this. Going to check all connections tonight and see if I can get her back up and running. appreciate all of the insight. I just don't know if the fact that it says 1-8-9 means I should be looking at those connections or others.

I do have the topper and triple checked it was plugged back in properly. It worked when I first turned it on. It wasn't until the next day I started having issues. Going to check for a loose wire this evening.

Already quadruple checked these - they are connected the way they are supposed to - again - game played great for several games before it started having the issue.

Don't know which board has failed. That's the issue right now.

Disconnected topper completely and reconnected stock. Same issue. When I go into tech alerts I get - Node 1 not initialized, Node 10 not initialized, Node 11 not Initialized. Node 1 is the cabinet Node Board so not sure how to test these nodes. Any ideas? Is there a process? Manual doesn't indicate a method for checking them.

Thanks guys. Contacted distributor this morning and they are getting with Stern for a replacement Node 1 board (Cabinet Node Board). Will post updates when I receive the board and OPTEST. Thanks again for the help.

Hey guys, update - still not working. Replaced Node 1 board today. That has removed the Node 1 failed to initialize error. Now I am getting two more errors:
1 - Node 10 not responding
2 - Node 11 not initialized

What I've done:
1 - Check fuses in all node boards, twice in boards 10 and 11
2 - completely disconnected the topper to remove that from the equation at all. The two original node cables are in the MPU board as they should be
3 - Verified the two cables are in the correct location in the MPU. I traced them properly.
4 - Used a spare RJ45 (CAT 5) cable to replace connection at node boards 10, 11, and then between MPU and Node 1 and Node 10. Did these one at a time. No change to symptoms.

It comes up with "Updating Node Board 1-8-9" and then "Update Failed, please cycle power" each time. Not sure where to go now. Thoughts?

Bump - any thoughts?

While I do appreciate the thought - that's not the help I'm looking for. Where and what can I troubleshoot next? Is there a way to switch nodes and test them individually? Are there other tests I haven't tried yet, etc?

Thanks for the replies guys - a few answers:
1 - Yes I have contacted the distributor - that's how I got the new Node 1 board. That said, it literally took a month to get and was only received last weekend. Installed same day. Removed Node 1 Error, but not Node 10 and Node 11 error.
2 - While I am certainly not a pinball repair whiz, I have a basically working knowledge and several machines. I can do quite a bit with a little bit of direction
3 - Node 1 boards do not have any dip switches.
4 - I have not tried turning off the topper in the menu, but will try that.
5 - I can call both the distributor and Stern - and will - as soon as I can. I am West coast, they are mid west and with time zones and work, I just haven't been able to get a hold of them since I installed Node 1.

I have generally found this forum excellent for helping troubleshooting and that's what I was hoping for in this instance, until I can actually get a hold of Stern/distributor.

Thank You. You hit the nail on the head!

Looks like I have a bad Node 11 Board as well. Swapped 11 and 8 and error has moved to 8.