Taxi
Williams, 1988kporter, sorry, i'm not really "schooled" in the lingo just yet. i thought "crimping" was pushing the wires into the socket so that the contacts cut into the wire - but I think "crimping" means putting the metal ends onto the wires.
Anyone know what molex connector I need to use? Or are they just sold by number of pins? Guess i'll get one of those "shover inners" you posted a pic of also (now how's THAT for lingo?).
Man, went to see Star Wars today - NOPE sold out!!!
-N
Haha. I didn't mean it as a slight. Just you say Potatoe I Say tomato.
Take a photo of the suspect molex and post it. Ill find it for you and post what to buy including the "Crimper" LOL
Thanks kporter, will shoot a photo today while putzing around in my basement - no offense taken - you are my pinball protective angel!!! hahaha!
Take it easy - check back.
-Nate
My wiring looks the same as yours. Are they both going bad? The opto's need a solid +12v to work properly. Have you tested your +12v line? Also what is up with picture 2, on the right connecter, the green wire is taped?
Your connectors don't look that bad.
This or a tool like this is all you need. http://www.pin-logic.com/Image12.gif
To me the ends of the wires going into the connectors look hard and inflexible meaning they're probably hampering the current flow. (Toasty)
I would just reuse those connectors but cut the wires off like an 1/8 inch and tuck the wires back in with the tool porter pictured.
Quoted from kporter946286:Also what is up with picture 2, on the right connecter, the green wire is taped?
It also looks like the green wire is not fully seated in the back of the connector.
Yes, that is temporarily taped, I soldered the wire back together, it had actually snapped-off at that point (the wires are "dry rotted" I'd guess from being so old?.......). I have shrink tubing to put around the wire to do it correctly, I just haven't done everything necessary since I'm still fiddling around with the wires........
I did notice that that same green wire doesn't look fully seated into the connector after posting that picture. I will get that tool so I can get those little buggers in there tightly.
Now, when you say cut the wires off about an 1/8th of an inch, do you mean expose the wires (cut the insulation away) and then re-install the exposed wire portion, or........?
Another order to Pinball Life, some of my switches are "wonky" also, the spinout switch keeps giving an error......
Thanks again for the input. Anybody know how to change the post title of this thread???
-Nate
What I mean is this: the ends of those wires (the ends that are connected into the connectors) look brittle and unflexible. Pull each wire out of it's slot, cut it off (cut off the brittle ends, like an 1/8 of an inch), and restuff them into their slots using the punch tool.
Be careful using that tool. I'm anticipating you having trouble punching the wiring back tight as you won't have a good hard surface to use. You'll have to use the palm of your hand to hold the connector. WHen done correctly, the wire will sorta pop down into place. Problem is is that those connectors are sometimes brittle. Try to be careful.
Hey nerdygrrl, say "Hi" to Ben next time you see him! Heard your Swords of Fury pf looks grrreat!
Anyway, ok, I see what you mean. In my second photo, those are the ends of the wires placed into the connector slots (on the left-hand side connector). I snip the ends off, and "re-stuff" them using the handy tool I am ordering.
There is another connector, one where the wires are a continuous loop (see right-hand connector), I was getting those confused with the other wires on the left-hand side. For those looped wires (ie: there is no "end" I should probably remove them and "re-stuff" them in a new spot for a "fresh" connection?
Blackbeard - I hear you, those connectors will be brittle, I will take extra care with them............
-Nate
For the looped ones, I generally just reloop in a different spot.
Hopefully this ends the issue! Keep us posted.
Gotcha Blackbeard, haven't been able to fiddle with this yet, but will report back.
As usual, thanks everyone!
Okaaaay, I tried re-seating the wires, and I'm STILL getting no response now from the Marilyn drop targets. I ordered that plastic punchy thingy and took out the wires, re-seated them in a different spot.
The Marilyn drops "pulse" (machine keeps trying to put them into "Up" position although they are already up). The targets don't registered once hit.
Hmmm, should I buy new connectors and try that? I'm thinking some of the metal inside is corroded so it's not making a good connection. Or is there a way to clean them?
-nate
Do these work in test mode? I would try re-soldering the header pins and if that doesn't work maybe try swapping the target assemblies. This could tell you if the issue was the line to the target or something on the target itself. I would take the Pin*bot Target assembly out and install it on Marilyn. If the PinBot target assembly works on Marilyn then you know the issue is more than likely something on the other target. If it doesn't work then you can start looking at the line in.
This is prob an issue problem. Did you clean the Optos on the drop target with qtips dipped in windex?
Test those drop targets in switch test and see what results you get. You have to prop up pf to test as you'll have to reset the targets by hand. Test each many times. See if they register each time etx.
I agree and it is easy enough to tell as he has an identical bank on the game that he can swap into the line. I think swapping in the unit would save a ton of time in tail chasing, etc. He could even just swap out the opto boards form the two as they are identical.
Thanks nerdygrrl and Blackbeard, I will run the switch test with the pf propped up and see what happens.. I can also swap the boards and see what happens. Will report back.
These are brand new boards, and I wasn't getting this problem once upon a time, so I am leaning towards some type of connector/wiring problem. I recall wiggling the wires on the connectors initially after putting in the new boards, and the problem did go away for a time.......urrrgh!
Good gloomy, rainy day to do this, finally have some time.
Thanks for your help - hoping to get this friggin' thing up and running as I love Taxi!!
-Nate
Nate, no no, I meant the opto boards on the drop targets. Both drop target assemblies in that machine are the same. You can swap the working assembly or board over to the non working marilyn set and it will help you narrow down your issues.
If the other assembly works in the marilyn line you know it's not the line in, but rather something on the assembly like a cracked solder joint which they are notorious for or the opt PCB attached to the unit.
Okay, ran the switch test and manually dropped the Marilyn targets, and they all registered. Hmmmm, then I moved the wires by hand in the connectors, lo and behold I was getting readings on the targets from wiggling the two wires attached to the smaller socket. soooo, I removed those wires again, re-seated them again, and the problem stopped! Wow.
Thanks for everyone's help, I always forget about running those diagnostic tests.
Now if I can only figure out why I'm getting a "Check spinout switch" every time I turn on the machine.......that and fix my tilt mech and my bell.....and.....at least I can play it now!!!
Oh yeah, my GoldenEye magnet on the satellite is no longer working - now to start another thread....geeez............
Quoted from boscokid:You should probably just plan on redoing the connector. Wiggling it back into place didn't fix the problem, it just made it temporarily go away.
+1 the problem is still there. Redo the connector and reflow the male pins.
Will do, I am probably going to purchase new connectors, boscokid, I actually removed the wires and reinserted them at a different location, now they are nice and tight (for now anyway!!). 
Thanks for all the help!!!
Check spin out switch. When U plunge the ball and the ball goes whirling around spin out does the lights move in correspondence with the # of spins?
Quoted from kporter946286:Check spin out switch. When U plunge the ball and the ball goes whirling around spin out does the lights move in correspondence with the # of spins?
Yes, they do. That's why I'm stumped. It works.........also working correctly is the catapult from after the ball exits the spinout.
If the spinout switch was wired normally closed, then the game would report it as an error. It would still score points, because when the ball hits it, it will open then close again. The switch should be wired normally open. You can check this easily via the switch tests.
Vector, thank you - I will run the test and see what I get. If it is "wired normally closed" does that mean the wires are soldered on "backwards" and should be reversed?
-Nate
Quoted from Pinball_Nate:Vector, thank you - I will run the test and see what I get. If it is "wired normally closed" does that mean the wires are soldered on "backwards" and should be reversed?
-Nate
No, it means that the switch has a wire on the wrong tab. You want one on common and one on the tab that should be marked as NC - or if not marked, you can check the tabs with a meter and look for the one that has continuity to another tab and goes open when you depress the switch
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