So I have another post on this game trying to figure out why some lights under the playfield are not lit. Tested bulbs and not an issue. Don't think it's the sockets either, yet. Started this thread separately because I am concerned about what I found doing a test on continuity in the lower cabinet. Hoping I'm just not understanding something here.

Was doing a rudimentary test to see if I could figure out where the wires are going from a couple of the sockets where the light is not on when it should be. When trying to do this via a continuity test with my multimeter I couldn't find where the wires are running. The reason, maybe I'm dumb or something, but when I clamp or touch the wire at the socket and then to where I think the wire runs to it shows good continuity, but then I touched a couple of other switches and they also showed continuity with the lamp socket. Tried another multimeter and same thing. For fun, I tested a fuse installed in the lower cabinet fuse block. It shows continuity, which is good. Then I touch one end of the fuse with one probe and a couple of the other fuses with the other probe and they shows continuity as well. So, maybe I have found the other end of the wire coming from the lamp socket, but now I'm concerned. I can touch a blade on most switches with a probe and another blade on a switch on the other side of the cabinet with the other probe and same thing. Again, tried this with a different multimeter and same thing as well. Game is off during the test, unplugged too. No, not testing on the ground wires either, at lest I don't think I am.

Now I am a little tired and hoping I'm just being silly, but what the heck?? Is there something dangerous going on? The game actually works pretty well, save a number of lights and maybe the Advance Bonus. Maybe some other things too, but nothing seems REALLY wrong.

Thanks, David

Hi Rolf, thanks for jumping in here!

"Continuity" - interesting, never have seen this wacky behavior, but haven't been doing this long. I did try separating switch blades and it seemed like I was still getting positive continuity. Let me poke around this again and check out the GOL and PUL as you suggest and report back.

"Some lights under the playfield are not lit" - so the first set of lights I am debugging are in the same area in the lower playfield, the bonus section 1 - 10. The sockets have a bare wires connected to all of them at the base and then "different" insulated wires to each at the top. The way I understand this is that general illumination lights sometimes are connected the way you describe and what shows in the picture you pointed to. For "feature" lights though (think I am using the right terms here) like the bonus lights have a bare wire which I believe is the ground braid and another wire specific to that feature light so that when you do "something" while playing you hit that feature and the light comes on. Again, I may be way off-base here and not using the right terms. With SS games each of those insulated wires would end up on a lamp board I think. On the EMs, not sure. Assuming they end up at a switch or stepper unit or ??

Sorry for the rudimentary questions, trying to find my way.

Cheers, D

Not sure I follow this very well. First, what is a wall wart? Then if I use it to power a bulb, do you mean separate from the socket under the playfield? Some troubleshooting techniques still elude me, lead me to the "well" please

Thanks, D

"So... get you a 5-6 volt wall wart, and use it to supply power to a bulb, then use the other end to trace backwards to its switch.
This is a MUCH better way to test EM machines.
The same goes for a coil, use a 12-30 volt wall wart, "assuming of course, you cannot use the transformer" for power.
clip one end to the BLACK/common return of a coil, and use the other end to trace backwards through the switches."