I've already sent a PM to a pinside member but thought I'd also toss this out to see what kind of help I can get. I'm going to do all the standard transistor testing and all, though I can tell from the MPU that some transistors have already been replaced.

I finally got my Rollergames yesterday. The Outlane, Lower, Lock, Upper kickbacks are all weak and don't work during the coil test unless I hold the relay on the Aux Pwr Board closed manually. That seems weird as they don't look as though they should be switched by that A/C relay. The A/C relay shows as stuck during the switch test as well. When I tested for voltages on the solenoids, they were all around 28 V instead of the 75 they should have since, according to the schematics they are run at 50V. I noticed the 2 1/2 slo-blo under the PF was burnt and when I replaced it, bam burnt again only now the Outhole Kicker (1A) is holding on (was really weak before, now comes on immediately). I'm going to test all the transistors and that one has obviously been replaced before which worries me that some PIA chip is fouled. At any rate, any ideas anyone has on this.

What I really need are backbox pics of the guts. Whoever worked on this thing has hacked it to keep it running something fierce. Wires run in new trailer light connectors, and instead of replacing headers on pcbs (including the interconnect) they wired directly to the ICB. I'd like to go back and fix all of this but strangely there is no set of wires connected to J11 on the ICB. I wonder if you could snap some pics of your ICB and backbox stuff in general so I could get an idea of what should be connected where.

I'm still trying to make sense of the wiring diagrams and schematics as they sometimes refer to things like 5J12-% or 2P8 and I can't figure what that always refers to, especially 2P8 as none of the connectors on the ICB or any other PCb in the backbox are labeled as such.

Pics of the backbox, especially the ICB would be great! Thanks to anyone who can help.

UPDATE:
5/19/2013
So I've been digging through the schematics, looking everywhere and wondering why the coils had power at all if their fuse was blown. Made no sense, except for the magnet which comes before the fuse and it alone was working. And the outhole kicker was stuck on. So perhaps a few transistors I replaced didn't need to be, but those connectors I took pics of sure did, and they look great.

How'd I find it. I kept going through diagnostics and just happened to notice that when I ran two of those controlled coils (not all four of the ones that were out, just two) two of the flashers also pulsed, that was the key. I had already been fishing through wires to see where things could possibly be messed. I found nothing but by chance decided to unplug a 9 pin connector near the furthest back of the playfield, the one those flashers were connected to. Something had to be feeding the reduced 25V to those four coils. Can't believe what I saw. At some point when someone put some connectors back together, one of the flasher power pins got bent inside the connector shorting out to two or three other connectors. What idiot missed the fact that the game stopped working at that point? I guess we are all idiots at some point. Plugged it in, replaced the fuse, things work great. Except of course two blown relay boards and those I can fix. One thing I can't figure out is where the second control voltage wire for the Insert relay is connected. I had to redo those connectors and just can't figure out where the brown wire goes, any help on that would be appreciated. Time to clean this thing up, rebuild the flippers and play.

I did notice some damage to the wall ramp, shoulda figured, it takes a beating and is hard to get up!

Thanks, strange that J11 has so few connectors. I assume all your flashers 2C-7C test fine? They are 'supposed' to be connected there according to the manual but... The GI power wiring on mine is completely redone and a bit F'd. I am ordering all new Molex connectors to redo that stuff and get it worked out as IDC was such a crappy choice. Probably won't redo all the IDC but I think someone crossed some connections at some point.

Here's what I'm up against (for starters).

2013-05-11_17.50.02.jpg 2013-05-11_17.50.41.jpg 2013-05-11_17.51.06.jpg

And...

2013-05-11_18.27.28.jpg 2013-05-11_18.27.40.jpg 2013-05-11_18.28.30.jpg

I'm going to put new headers in and restore the wiring to what it should be, only using Molex crimp connectors. Seems that something somewhere is wired wrong so I have to get to the bottom of it. The wiring to the interconnect was really f*****d up. Solders to header pins, soldered trailer wiring connectors. Etc etc etc...

I've started to figure some of this out, very slowly and appreciate any and all help. I've started picking up things from the manual as well, though 'via 2p5-2p8' is still throwing me. I assume it refers to a playfield harness group but they aren't labeled or anything.

The ICB is pretty toasty and I think wasn't treated very well previously. I can fix most of this though and use connectors again, it just won't be pretty (but it'll be prettier, neater, and better than I found it). I also plan on replacing the resistors and fuse holders. I'm inclined to actually order one relay snubber board, though they are $25 for a repro. The one for GI under the PF and on the backbox are both crapped.

One quick question, in the manual, when it refers to Insert I assume it means the PF inserts right?

So I assume the P sets are connectors from the ICB to the PF, they makes sense. Bunch of things on order for this: connectors, 2n4401s, a couple 7408s just in case...

I can only imagine they used a blowtorch to solder

Once I started into this I realized immediately that I would have to repair the really crappy hacks that have been done to this board. The machine has some really weird quirks and I think these are contributing to the power issues. As far as I can see from the schematics, the 23-800 and 24-900 kickback coils are supposed to be supplied by 50VDC and not off the A/C select relay. However, when I run the diagnostics (coil test) when it gets to those (13, 14, 18, 20), they don't kick. When I pulled the A/C select relay cover (it was already cracked suggesting someone else had opened it) and physically held the relay shut those went off. If I read the schematics right, this should not be the case. Additionally, the fact that the outhole kicker barely plunged was concerning. Once I replaced the burnt PF fuse (2 1/2 amp) the outhole kicker started buzzing and was held open. The 4401 transistor was open. I've replaced the TIP122 there with a 102 and am awaiting 4401 replacements from Mouser. I really believe some of the wires were misplaced.

I plan to repair this pin to 100% working. The PF has very little wear and the ramps appear to be in good shape. Even the diverter seems to work right (when it's tripped). I hope I don't need to replace coils. The plungers feel very smooth and the sleeves are pretty clean so it's not that.

Strangely, there are also three CPU controlled lights that stay on normally, but during diagnostics work properly. Once I get all the wiring redone where it needs it, and verify that all wires are connected as they should be, then I'll worry about other things.

While the theme sucks (though my wife vaguely remembered the show my sons and wife immediately noticed all the ads - she stated "PEPSI?" as if it was a personal insult) the design is Steve Ritchie and I can tell there can be some flow to this, save the VUK. I can't wait to have a table with proper multiball. If I don't decide to sell in the next year or so I may completely retheme the game. It's doubtful but first steps are just to get it working properly!

I'll be waiting for a bit to find out about this though. Anyone done the spring mod on their flippers from this era?

Okay, so I've replaced the header pins and connectors on the ICB, though I am having some issues figuring out where the relay switching brown wire goes (from the insert bundle). I think it goes to somewhere on J11, perhaps pin 3 or 6.

So here's what happens when I power up. The bonus flashers come on and stay lit. Boy do they get hot. The magnet will work when it is supposed to, but the kickbacks are practically non-existent and the outhole kicker stays on (I cut it's supply to try and work my way through the other issues. When I disconnect the three wire bundle with power to the high current plate under the playfield, the bonus lights don't come on all the time. With everything plugged in the 2 1/2 amp slo-blo fuse, connected to the 50V power for the kickbacks and magnet blows. Nice bright light kind of blow. This thing has some kind of weird weird problem. Thing is, the kickbacks are NOT switched on the A/C select (or they aren't supposed to be at least). Doing the diagnostic coil test, they will not go off when they are cycled. However, if I hold the relay to the C side, they will. They are weak (probably because they aren't getting their full power) but they snap. Now it seems to me that if that fuse is blown they should not be getting any power. But they get about 28V. This seems like it might be the problem, somewhere and I have no idea where, they are getting 28V they shouldn't be.

Could someone with a Rollergames pull the 2 1/2 amp fuse under the playfield and test to see if the coils have power. 2013-05-17_17.59.13.jpg 2013-05-17_17.59.28.jpg 2013-05-17_18.29.35.jpg

Clip from the solenoid table showing that the kickbacks are not switched: Williams_1990_Rollergames_Manual.jpg

Connector pin on 9-pin flasher connector jammed in, shorting power, corrected and the game works as expected now!