My Alien was one of the Texas Pinball Festival prototype machines and I finally got around to swapping in the replacement parts, though I'm not sure where these items in the attached picture go (I have dozens more of the plastic caps not pictured):

Also, the new Xeno head seems to be active with its jaw moving (seemingly) as it should in test mode, but the tongue is not moving for me. It shows an error for a stuck switch--is it referring to the switch under the top half of its head? That switch appears to be fine.

Finally, would anyone have any ideas for a way to frame and protect the "in play" edges of the lower playfield LCD? Seems like the clearcoat in that area could chip/flake/crack.

20180514_165326 (resized).jpg

I just tried moving it while it's installed and it does freely move until it is pressed as far back as it will go, then it binds when it is pushed to its fullest in that direction. The metal rod for the tongue has a switch resting on it that I just double checked and it is open at resting position. I'm still getting a stuck switch error in the Xeno test section. Like I said earlier, the Xeno appears to do all of its taunting movements properly, but no tongue action

Would that gear feel loose? Mine doesn't move side to side or otherwise feel like it isn't securely in place.

Another item I haven't seen in anyone's machine who has updated is this board pictured below. I removed a few wires from it as Helmut instructed when installing the two new boards that were mounted behind the Xeno head. This board was mounted there originally and the only thing still plugged in from this board is a blue wire that runs to a black board near the back of the machine labeled "Ball Detect". In the picture, it is the blue wire at the bottom. Is that still needed or is that function now handled by the two new boards mounted behind the Xeno? There is also a blue wire plugged into this old board at the top of the picture in the terminal labeled "LED 1". Is this board no longer needed? I never saw an indication by Helmut to keep or remove the board.

20180515_100229 (resized).jpg

Yes, I've installed the two new boards and based on cfh's install guide in a thread he created, as well as a few other machine photos, plus the pictures Helmut supplied, my machine seems to be wired correctly but I never saw any mention of the older board being discarded or still in use.

Helmut's instructions were mainly text added to photos. Here's the bit that wasn't in a photo:

>>>>You should have a 12-volt Power cable (black/yellow) which gets hocked up to the 12-volt Power supply (small silver
box on the right-hand side in the cabinet) (see photo).

Mounting the mini PC unit. You need the spacers and the screw to fix the new PC in the bag of the cabinet (see photos).

Xenohead. The attached photo shows you how to take the Xenohead off from the game and how to wire everything
up to the Controller PCB's behind the backboard.<<<<

...then there are several photo links which didn't maintain their order when I tried to download them and add them to my own Google Photos album (sorry for the long list...no spoilers function on this site to hide walls of text?):

You can view "12volt power cable (2).jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/b61e359e-782f-4db4-ab33-effcf02ae9a0
You can view "12volt power cable.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/d1b09ff9-ae3d-40a4-8ad4-5bd88e020520

I'm using Adobe Send & Track.
You can view "Motherboard connectors.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/16a278a0-ac73-4b74-a80d-3f57e6c3c246
You can view "New PC setting.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/8ef8f277-5640-45c3-b803-382b84f96d54
You can view "PC assemble1.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/9c0d037b-5757-4a6f-9320-b6911a8c47f1
You can view "PC assemble2.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/28bc5c42-625d-42a2-99e4-6b453753b541
You can view "PC assemble3.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/d70d3b91-808e-4791-b55b-46e99eaa8507
You can view "PC assemble4.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/97db56c3-bcea-451f-ad6c-c718e169f0bb
You can view "PC assemble5.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/ab657b09-ca0c-445b-9d55-240127428dea
You can view "PC assemble6.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/dc5eaca5-dfb6-4f0a-9a8c-5338d77be09c
You can view "PC assemble7.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/38a680d8-ad06-4ac0-9449-4cecc11da381
You can view "PC fix1.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/4370ec1d-7ae9-4b85-b9b7-fe7a3d3866b6
You can view "PCfix2.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/3ca7eed3-ac00-46e4-bffa-bda092a53f4d

I'm using Adobe Send & Track.
You can view "IMG_0181.JPG" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/d8667ec1-3ee2-48d3-aa64-fa895c62a40a
You can view "IMG_0187.JPG" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/231fc16c-7d11-4ae4-a761-d6061e7dadaf
You can view "IMG_0188.JPG" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/1e598c6b-d300-443a-b56b-ac62b976ec24
You can view "IMG_0189.JPG" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/54153f98-3507-46bd-b998-39aa71dbe0df
You can view "IMG_0190.JPG" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/6ec9a1ab-0f8b-4bf9-b9a1-93ab24fc6704
You can view "IMG_0191.JPG" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/ee46ba0a-fb88-48ec-a81b-7e7375dc1632
You can view "IMG_0192.JPG" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/2e98698a-af20-4bee-949a-e7527f86b036
You can view "IMG_0195.JPG" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/369abc6d-4f0c-4e5a-9703-990657b3a17b
You can view "IMG_0198.JPG" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/d90cf7c8-3f99-4159-9933-4ac92df05844
You can view "Step1.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/ead2d7fb-2f88-4647-8076-458f6c1c190b
You can view "Step2.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/961de349-1846-4bac-a8ba-1654880b4bcd
You can view "Step3.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/3fb069b7-fcfc-47c8-9c97-419a613ee973
You can view "Step4.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/6d6f90c8-d667-41d6-ba4e-fe20a55f2750
You can view "Step5.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/cd0501b7-8750-4128-a7e7-3e95d34390f2
You can view "Step6.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/ef3f0bd4-f5c9-4e64-a921-5a5e58bd6345
You can view "Step7.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/6ff3539f-d1d9-4b15-9ee4-d966ed730584
You can view "Step8.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/4a930966-cb8b-45fe-9d07-ef406259e334
You can view "tongue motor power.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/79f5bd0a-1fbf-4151-8757-88a839239142
You can view "Xeno head assy01.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/132253e7-4e50-4b98-8e61-330ef1325148
You can view "Xeno head assy02.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/35322bc0-0811-4ca8-8c31-1fe8c87455a8
You can view "Xeno wire 01.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/dd5a88a7-93fc-400c-8b39-709cb94c1297
You can view "Xeno wire 02.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/ce0766b6-01ce-44c8-b8c5-0314bf2a5b00
You can view "Xeno wire 03.jpg" at: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/9894b676-37da-4327-a6e5-3a6d81c6dd0d

Also just discovered that all tests that activate the Xeno's mouth work except for "Breathe" which does nothing. I tried adjusting the small pot on one of the newly installed small boards that increases the tongue motor's power and that didn't have any noticeable affect.

I was having the same problem as RalphWiggum. After finding every old tower style LED and replacing it with the newer style LED's every LED now registers correctly and is properly labeled in the "Single Lamp" test mode. <<EDIT>> Forgot that there is one light in the test mode that doesn't show where it is on the map--"Top PF Lights" (C-X6) doesn't do anything on my game. What is that? Also, is it a known issue that the "Left Upper Sling, Left Lower Sling" lights are reversed in test mode? Mine are reversed, but the right side registers correctly--upper lights upper, lower lights lower. Only game play issue left is to figure out the Xeno tongue not working. I'm sure it's been covered before, but once again, how do I test the tongue's motor to see if it's dead?

Shot doesn't activate the tongue for me. It just gives a stuck switch error or retract error. The "Breathe" test also doesn't do anything. The rest of the tests look to be correct, aside from anything that would involve movement of the tongue.

An unrelated issue I've just rediscovered after it not popping up since I first got the game is that the upper right flipper will work fine on ball one but about a minute into ball #2 it will die. Finish the game and start another and it still doesn't work. Turn off the game, jiggle the EOS wire that connects to the large middle board and turn the game back on, it works fine again until ball #2. Strange. Edit: Played a few games trying to diagnose it and thought I had it working. Got to "How did they cut the power" quote and my flipper went out. Added realism there

Took apart my mechanism as well, down to just the jaw being attached. The tongue gear--will the motor still spin that gear with nothing attached or does it require the tension of the tongue bar pressing on it to move? My gear doesn't spin with nothing else attached. The old Xeno's larger gear doesn't spin freely--I can't move the tongue on it without using excessive force. When I put it all back together and activate "Shot" in test mode I can feel the motor activating which should turn the gear, but I can feel it locking up as if it's binding. With everything disassembled, I can place different amounts of tension on how it would all be mounted, but nothing is unbinding it and I'm not seeing anything that looks to be the cause other than the gear still isn't turning, so the binding would seem to be inside the black box.

I have the newer motor. I'll see if that part fixes this.

I just did that and I can feel the motor activate which should turn the gear, but nothing happens. After reading about stepper motors and judging by how the original mechanism's gear is locked into place while it is out of the machine and has nothing acting on it, I probably broke the motor's ability to lock the gear while it is at rest with nothing acting on it.

Would manually activating the jaw/tongue parts before it's installed break the motor's locking action? Isn't it supposed to be locked into place and the gear stuck in a fixed position when no power is applied to it? That's how my old mechanism is, so since the new one isn't like that, I would imagine something isn't right.

I understand. I've done it that way as well. When everything is connected and in test mode, I can activate "Shot" and feel the motor engage as if it should move the tongue, but it doesn't. The gear and the bar that the gear rests on doesn't spin unless I manually move the tongue. The motor never seems to activate a lock function to keep the tongue in place.

I was talking about how when both the old mechanism and new mechanism are disconnected from the machine the old mechanism's motor seems to be locked into place--the only way to move the tongue in and out of the old mechanism is to use pliers to turn the gear which seems to be forcefully grinding the gears of the motor. On the new mechanism, it can be moved freely, so I was assuming that the new motor's locking mechanism is now faulty.

Part ordered and for now, that issue will marinate for a bit. Any ideas as to why my upper right flipper would cut out after a game or two? Reboot the machine and the flipper will work fine again for a game or two. Doesn't sound like a connector issue, does it? I was hoping the update to 1.2 would reset any wonky stuff going on with my software or boards, but the issue persists.

It sounds like my machine is a mess of errors, but if the Xeno and this flipper issue are fixed, there isn't anything other than cosmetics and tidying up the wiring under the playfield. Game plays fine for me beyond the two items being discussed here.

I just tried it and as soon as it died, I hit the operator enter button. It scrolled through a few pages but the list of I/O boards all showed as being active--no "I/O board disconnected" error or anything to indicate they weren't all being seen. The lights near the upper right flipper looked normal too. Power off, reboot, and it'll play fine again for a few minutes without even adjusting the connectors or messing with anything else.

I/O boards and IOC are all HW: 1.4 and SW: 0.9 versions.

It fires fine in test mode when it works in game, but once it dies it no longer fires in test mode. It's like it just needs a reboot. It's strong and works as it always has until it ceases to work without any indication. All other flippers are normal and the game can still continue being played as if that flipper never existed.

I reduced the power of everything in the game by at least 5% slings, scoop kickouts, etc--but the troublesome flipper I put at 25% reduced power. I also put 25% lower on everything labeled "Not Used" and made sure beacon, shaker, and other features I don't have on my machine are disabled or reduced as low as possible. No change. If anything, the flipper is dying out sooner than before since now it's happening early in the first game, usually ball 2. Maybe the ball is activating a feature or contacting something on the playfield that is causing that flipper to shut down?

New motor came today. No change, same symptoms, so I'm out of ideas.

I've tried turning the screw a few times before, still no change there either. Is it possible that my flipper dying issue and this issue are due to me having original I/O boards? Are those incompatible with the newer computer or code?

Did that take out both the upper and lower flippers or just one of the left flippers? I'll see what happens, but the lower right flipper still works for me after the upper right goes out.

I've been going through each of the popular Alien-related topic photo galleries seeking good pictures of the proper wiring for each coil. It looks like the wiring from one machine to another is inconsistent for the shooter coil, drop target coil, and even some of the flipper coils. Can I get a few hi-resolution photos of how the coils are properly wired throughout the machine? I can usually only make out which lug has the purple wire then any decent photo gets muddy as I look at other coils pictured.

Not sure if this helps, but here's the pinprog.log from my machine when the upper right flipper dies.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/11JnOtw9zzo0qaLSJ4BcuHcbr96nNiCTB/view?usp=sharing

If it were flaky soldering on a connector, wouldn't the upper right flipper not work at all, or at least fail at a much less precise interval? It seems like something in-game is being activated that is spiking that flipper's line and causing it to shut down until a reboot. Since it seems isolated to my machine, my current theory is that the switch coming out of the scoop at the upper right flipper was contacting the metal ever so slightly. I just bent it a bit and actually finished a game with the upper right flipper still going. Although now after a few restarts the problem is back.