Love my PinBot and did the red/blue theme with the LEDs. So far it has been running great but today I turned it on and got the Switch 40 error. I lifted it up and looked around the ramp solenoid. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Everything moves okay. What should I be looking for? The switch 40 is the micro switch behind the fixture that the ramp’s crossbar pushes when the ramp is up.

My PinBot has numerous switch issues upon startup. 10-16 all send up warnings, leading me
To believe the switch matrix second column is busted. Where would I start looking to fix it? Thanks in advance.

So it turns out the entire column is down. i tried every switch. I opened up the Backglass and there was a LOT of heat emanating from it. So much that my top left score display came unglued from the hotglue holding it in place. The column of ceramics were very hot to the touch as well as the transistors to the right. No fuse is out and I’m not sure what to do next. The heat issue is making me nervous.

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Referring to my earlier problem of the GRN-RED column being down, I did the jumper test and IJ8 Pin2 is dead. The wiki pointed to the transistors at Q42 to Q49. I pulled the bord out and I found some real worrisome things. There’s a discoloration over the area, some green foil is gone, and there is evident damage at Q49. I tested each transistor (NPN) and the usual voltage was 0.6 on the emitter and 0.7 on the collector. Except for Q49. This one read at 1.1 emitter and 3.5 collector. It also has the most visible scorch.

I mentioned in previous post that there was a lot of heat coming off of the ceramic from R82 to R89, enough to cause the hotglue holding the alphanumeric top left to come off.

I’m going to replace Q49 and resolder the burned areas of Q42 and Q46 but is there anything else recommended?

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So I replaced the Q49 with a working transistor and the column is working again. But I noticed the the R75 resistor right next to it has lost its color and looks melted. That’s the next thing to replace. I’m guessing this resistor failed and cooked the transistor?

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The four alphanumerics on my Backglass don’t line up with the artwork of the translite. Looking at the components, they don’t look even, but they line up with the holes in the wood. Is there something I can do to realign it?

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New issue of the day. Switch 55 error on the right sling. Visual inspection showed no wires out of place, leaf switches make contact easily but don’t register on the Switch Edges test. I did the jumper test with J10 and J8 and bingo, the right sling activates. I recently replaced all the transistors on the Q area above J8 so I wasn’t expecting the board to be the issue. Both sling top and bottom leaf switch aren't registering, so logic states that both switches can’t be bad at the same time? Anyone got another suggestion on where to look?

Finally got the chance to investigate my right sling issue. All the wires look connected, the only diode I see is the switch laying up against the PF that the coil activates. The top switch has nothing and the bottom switch has a resistor and a blue diode looking thing.
The diode on the PF switch reads 3.0 / OL so I’m thinking that works fine. The diode on the coil works as well.

I jumped the pins in the backbox and the switch does fire. Just not practically on the leaf switches. Anyone have an idea of where to look next?

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The right sling doesn’t fire during the game. I’ve pressed the two switches to fire it and nothing. When I did the jumper test the switches register on the display.

Update. Found something strange.

Between the two switches that fire the solenoid to kick the ball away from the sling, there is a single blue capacitor(?) soldered between two pegs on one of the switches. They exist on both sides of the PF.

While powered on, I measured the resistance and got something like 0.125 on both sides. But! On the dead sling nothing happened. On the left sling when I made contact on both sides of the blue capacitor, the solenoid fired. Scared the bejeezus out of me too. The game was on.

So when I make contact on the dead sling, the solenoid doesn’t fire but I get a reading on that blue capacitor. It’s lower than the the working one.

I may have found the culprit. What is this blue thing called?
Can anyone show me a photo of their right and left sling setup under the PF? I ask because the white wires with no marks are going to different switches on each side.

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Can anyone provide me with a good pic of under the playfield right sling area? Im thinking I wired something wrong, as I am getting a reset when the sling hits. I need to see where the wires connect on the switches specifically. Thanks!

Thanks for this. Can you clarify where these two white wires with no markings are attached to? This is the one anomaly on my setup.

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Previous issue was solved. Q42 was fried and there was a bad diode to boot. Got everything replaced and back in business.

Two days later, the entire column for Q42 is out again. Transistor is reading shorted with 0.0 and OL. I just replaced this two days ago with a brand new one.

Closer inspection shows a red wire unraveling around the drop target coil. (Pic)
Could this have been my issue? What could be frying the transistor?
I just had the board shopped, specifically the power board and MPU.

Thanks for all the help so far!

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I just realized I am missing the bottom plate to my bank target motor. Anyone know where I can source one?

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I am rebuilding my flippers and got the Williams kit from Marco. But I’ve run into a compatibility issue. The first photo shows the flipper switches as installed, with two leaf switches and a plastic triangle wedge. The kit only had one leaf switch per flipper. My intention is to rebuild the switch as shown in the second photo. But this doesn’t seem right. The new leaf switches have these finger blades that keep the switches tight, and I’m not sure if I have to add the wedge again? Can someone detail this out for me? Thanks!

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Thank you. This was very helpful!

I pulled the broken red vortex to replace it with a new one and the wire under the 5,000 point hole looked sheared, and there’s no switch at all. Just a floating wire. Is this like a dampener to slow down the ball? Do I replace it? Thanks!

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Just realized that it’s broken. The wire doesn’t extend enough through the hole. How would I replace it? I wouldn’t even know what part number it is lol. Thanks!

Marco doesn’t have it. Anyone know the wire gauge of this part? Manual is not forthcoming on this.

I am having an issue with my plunger. A full plunge won’t get me to the top of the vortex, and about 75% of the time it won’t even enter the vortex, just crap out onto the bumpers. The plunger does have a little wiggle in the plunge holder, and I’m not sure if that something that’s causing the issue. Any tips? Thanks!