Hey guys, I'll try to keep this short..

Recently, the rear up kicker and shooter lane kicker solenoids work very rarely during gameplay but always during test mode or when a ball gets stuck, triggering the solenoids after 15 seconds or so..

Both are set off by leaf switches which seem to be in good condition. I recently replaced the MOSFET for the shooter lane solneoid because that stopped working, it's used for multiball, worked like a charm after replacing the MOSFET but recently started acting up again along with the rear up kicker behind Freddy's head.

What do you recommend I check out next? I'm new to pinball so I'm not sure what would cause solenoid issues during gameplay but not in test mode other than a fauty switch, which im not sure how to test anyway, to see if that may be the issue. I should also note, it's not that they never work during gameplay, in fact, ill get a good run in when everything works like it should but then some games, they rarely, if at all, work.

Thanks

Just a fresh bump, back to trying to fix this. Bad coil diode maybe? Weird grounding issue? MOSFETs are good.

Thanks

I do have the manual, yes. I did check the diodes on each coil tonight and they seem fine. It's just super frustrating when the problem is intermittent.

So I just took a break from writing this and went to run those tests, I do have a couple of lamps out that I did not have last time and I also ran the switch test. The rear up kicker works fine but I also played with the switch earlier so that may have fixed it, the shooter Lane switch I swear wasn't working when I first tested it but then I lifted up the board to check the connections/contacts and then it worked. I then proceeded to play a few games and everything worked perfectly. Wtf man..

I have a feeling this is not the end though..

Thanks viper, I'll look into it more tonight. I do not have any LEDs installed and I'm not sure what "ghost on" means.

I'm not sure if it has magnets, seems like it by the way the balls act but I didn't know if it was because of magnets or the ball spinning, lol. I'll check it out

Ok, ran the lamp test and had to replace about 5 lamps, had no idea those were out! No lamps were on when they weren't supposed to be, even ghostly so that's good. Then ran the switch test again, the shooter lane seemed to be finicky for the first few times that I triggered it, but then became pretty responsive after a while. I then played a few games and it was spotty, sometimes it would kick out the balls like normal, other times it would delay, sometimes after a 2nd ball came into the lane, it would trigger, etc..

Since it's just a basic leaf switch, what else could be causing this issue? The rear up kicker seems to be working just fine since the other night, all I did there was adjust the switch lever that was sticking a little even though I didn't think that it would stick when a ball landed on it.

Anyway, any other thoughts would be great. Thanks.

And just played a few more games without a hiccup...

Can you see my frustration?

I tried cleaning it but never though to replace it as I don't see how it could even go bad.

I'm going to play a few games tonight to see how it acts.

Now that you mention that, I'm going to check something tonight with that switch and I'll report back..

Well, forget checking my switch issue, all of a sudden, the machine won't turn on for some reason!

Power switch ohmed out fine, I get power in the service outlet but not the other outlet (can't think of the name of it off the top of my head). No blown fuses either.. Any idea on THIS problem?

Thanks viperrwk.. I checked out the interlock switch. First of all, mine is not located near the door, but on the inside right wall of the machine, where there is nothing there to depress the button. So, I tested it by pulling it all the way out and the machine fired right up (phew). I suspect the switch has been "fully extended" ever since I bought the machine and it just happened to pop back "in" the other day for some reason.

Any thought on why the switch is mounted there in the first place? I'm guessing a previous owner moved it there so he/she could open and close the coin door without the machine turning off? That's my thought..

Also, played two games tonight and the shooter lane kicker worked like it should.. mystifying.