Don't know about the T-Rex, i had an JP and mine had a broken wire and didn;t pick up the ball either. Could be the same issue.

Control room is very common, mine had the same problem, the diode gets broken very eassily, change it for a bigger diode wich is a bit stronger so it won't break anymore.

There is a setting in the adjustments to disable Left/Right movement of the T-Rex.

Make sure the wiring on that Control Room switch is nicey-nice. That component takes a hell of a beating on that game, and often the solder joints deteriorate causing problems, typically so much so that you'll have a wire come completely loose.

When I had my JP, I ended up encasing the solder joints in hot glue and never had a problem after that.

For your T-Rex, you likely have a bad connection in the wiring from him. Follow all of his wiring and look for something loose, crimped really badly, or broken.

Yes. If you're new to soldering see the following.

http://pinballrehab.com/1-articles/solid-state-repair/tutorials/161-basic-soldering-tutorial

http://pinballrehab.com/1-articles/solid-state-repair/tutorials/164-basic-desoldering-tutorial

My Rex is doing the same thing. He was fine, and now he's on a diet. I'm going to hopefully get around to checking him out soon, but if you figure out what is wrong with yours please let us know.

And don't worry, I asked a billion questions when I first got my JP and had issues. I'd get the "Oh, it's easy, just replace the switch" and be all "You don't understand, I have no clue what I'm doing, talk to me like I'm 4 years old and know nothing." When we replaced the switch, we replaced the diode also. I don't honestly know about diode sizes, I just ordered the one that said it would work. Then you fit the diode into the switch, then solder the switch/wires together, then screw the switch into the machine. If I can, I'll take a picture of mine when I get home to show you a little better, of if anyone on here has pictures available to show that would be great too.

With the control room switch, definitely check that the switch is good, and the wiring/solder points are good, like everyone else has recommended. However, also check how the switch is resting in the subway. If it is bent to far towards the back of the playfield, then the ball can roll through the subway without depressing the switch.

Also, if it wasn't clear, that diode needs to be in place too, the switch won't register without it. Trust me, JP is no fun without that switch active.

Hey Anthony, I guarantee you that the reason the t-rex isn't eating the ball while bent down is because the wire in his neck is broken.

Think about how you would break off a piece of ordinary wire without cutters. You bend it and un-bend it at one location over and over until the wire snaps at that point. The same thing happens to the jaw coil wire in the t-rex.

You should be able to immediately tell that this is the case by having a look at it. Just do the following to check it out:

In diagnostic mode go to the t-rex control settings. Here the start button will raise/lower t-rex. Lower him right down then turn the game off.

While t-rex is lowered down you will see one or two screws on the back of his head. Undo those and you'll remove the main plastic housing for his head. You'll see the coil in there that powers the jaw.

Follow the wire with your eyes from this coil. There is a point where the wire runs through some clips around the base of his assembly and then under the playfield. You should be able to easily see where the wire bends and it will likely be visibly broken.

Here is an example of where to look (t-rex is upright in this photo). Actually seeing this photo reminds me that you could check for this fault simply by removing the front piece of his neck with the two screws accessible while he is upright. You'll need to lower him to repair it though.

If you see that it is broken, then we can give you advice on how to repair it

t-rex-wire.jpg

The best solution that will never break is to buy or salvage a length of cabling with two wires (see example below) and replace the entire wire from your t-rex.

Can you do basic soldering? Now is a good time to learn if not

To remove the wire you'll need to unsolder the existing one at each end and remove the u-shaped plastic bracket and the clips that allow the cable to run around the base of the t-rex. Make a note of which wires match the terminals at each end. Run the new cable through the same route as the old one, reusing the existing clips if you can.

An alternate solution is to cut the wire at the point that is has broken and splice it. It's probably just as tough of a job because you don't have any spare wire length to play with so you can't wrap the wire to splice it. You could solder it to itself but then you might as well be doing the same solder job at each end to replace the wire.

cable.jpg

You'll love the game that much more when Rex moves and eats and you're the one who fixed him

Your switch diode:

I use these pics to check my work.

RussMyers

Microswitch_Wired_CORRECTLY.jpg Microswitch_Wired_INCORRECTLY.jpg

On my JP, a previous tech remote-mounted the diode and put quick disconnects on the wires ala arcade buttons, which is what DE should have done at the factory IMO. That way the switch isn't affected by all the banging on the scoop, and there's no solder joint to break - simply slide the connectors back on.

For diode, you should be able to get by with something that handles 6V or more. A 1N4148 from radio shack should work too, I think.

The manual pdf shows how to mount the diode. Put the band on the appropriate side.

_{Post edited by jpolfer : Wrong diode type.}

You can get 1N4004 diodes at any electronic supply for $.07 or less per diode.

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=173

It is best to have a bag of these if you work on pinball machines.

They are used all over - on switches, on solenoids, and they have to be there.

Good to have some spare microswitch bodies as well.

DB3: $1.50/each
http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=830

RussMyers

The switch, replace it.

If you think the switch is good, then check continuity to the board.

Otherwise, just replace the switch.

Good luck! It would have been smart of the programmers to allow the bunker to start modes if the control room switch is faulty.

didn't WMS have a patent on stuff like that back then?

Your switch might be 'going' bad, mine did the same thing. Sometimes it would work, sometimes not.

But looking at your pics, I would suggest trying to adjust the switch arm so it sticks further up into the trough first. You'd have to make the very end tab more straight, then bend the 'v' part closer together. Press down on the blade and see how far the arm has to move before it 'clicks'. If a ball goes in there fast enough it might not trigger the switch. That's the problem I was having even after replacing the switch.

It might take several tries to get it right, but it's great when you finally figure it out! (then something else will need adjustment!)

The control room only starts modes when it is lit. You light it by shooting the power shed scoop or temporarily with an inlane rollover switch (for example after shooting the ramp). You would probably have been hitting the switch without first lighting the control room

I'd say you could have a short somewhere on that switch matrix. Do other switches in that row or column as the control room switch work fine?

If they work fine, the next step would be to short the switch with a piece of wire, essentially testing the switch or the wire run. If the switch registers when you short the wires together, then it's a switch issue, if not then start tracing the switch matrix paths and see if you can find a short.

DE sort of did this - in later runs of the game, the diode was remote-mounted. Mine is, and it's factory. The switch didn't have disconnects though because it was meant to go on route, not in a basement. It's easier for disconnects to slip off.

How are you joining the wire? If you are doing this where it was broken, then that point will be getting a lot of stress as the T-Rex bends. as accidental suggested, you should trace the wire and replace the entire run.

Mine came with the disconnects, and I bought it from a family fun center that had their own tech (a family run business). *shrugs* I guess its anyone's guess when the disconnects were added.

I noticed on mine there's a small board mounted on the underside of the pf, with a diode attached to it but no wires connected. Maybe that's what it's meant for but was never hooked up. Guess I could use it for that.

I had the Control Room issue as well and just replaced the switch and diode last night. After installing and booting up it still did not work. I followed the wires and saw the green wire going from switch-to-switch had a severe bend. I straightened it out and bent the connectors on both switches just a hair and wallah ... Bob's you're Uncle!