Hey everybody!
I am happy to report I have finally worked out all of the bugs that have plagued my JP pinball machine! I figured I would give a summary of the final problems and what I did to correct them. The problems included a T-Rex head that always went down but never came up during startup, a message stating "Too Many Balls" on the DMD, weird garbled sound during game play, balls feeding into the shooter lane out of order during game play. The game would play, but with these errors. It was not fun.
First off, whenever I would start up a game, the T-Rex head would go down. WTF??? All the T-Rex switches checked out in diagnostics, I was able to move the head around with ease using the flipper keys, start button, and trigger switches. This one had me very much stumped! I decided to hold off on it until I fixed the other problems.
Next, upon start-up, the DMD displayed "Too Many Balls" although I had the standard 6 balls installed. I started diagnostics and emptied all of the balls. I then lifted the playfield enough to expose the trough switches. I put the diagnostics feature on switch test. Then, using a pencil, I pressed each trough switch down. Immediately I noticed switches numbers 1 and 2 had bent levers that were rubbing against the side of the trough. I removed the screws that held them in place and gently straightened the levers with needle-nose pliers. I reinstalled the switches and they worked fine.
I also noticed that switch #7 was sort of bent up so that it was not making full contact when depressed. I removed it and straightened it with needle-nose pliers too. I tested it and all was good!
Next, I went back into the onboard computer and went into the Adjustments section and I decided to play with the T-Rex settings. I turned off the left to right movement settings. After that, I started up a game and viola! Everything now works! It sounds easy, but what a stinking frustrating adventure! I have been working on this machine for months and now finally everything works.
I have since played about a dozen games. I shopped the playfield and added a few custom features (several toy dinosaurs I bought at Walmart for a dollar and a toy man dressed in a safari outfit). I wanted to also add a red Jeep like the one in the movie, but I will do that at a later date.
This machine is now in better than new condition with a perfect playfield, new power supply and MCU, and custom add-ons. It is my least favorite game to work on and truly a confusing mess to figure out. But now it is a working machine in my collection of perfect pins!
Have a great day! Play pinball!
Mike
London, ON
Los Angeles, CA
