(Topic ID: 265424)

Switch Troubleshooting Tips?

By bbddpp

4 years ago



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  • 6 posts
  • 4 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 4 years ago by arolden
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#1 4 years ago

Appreciate the amount of help I have received in this forum last couple weeks. I'm sort of rediscovering my pins in quarantine and fixing things wrong with them, which may actually have been wrong for over 15 years.

Latest find is the drop targets on my Tee'd Off. There's 4 in the middle, and it's looking like (if I am reading the switch edges test right) that the leftmost 2 targets do not register (the right 2 targets in the bank, however, register quite fine).

Wiring looks good and I've never troubleshot a switch before so just wondering what my starting point is. I did the obvious and checked the alignment and cleaned them, that all looks good as well, so I'm not quite sure what the next step is. The fact that 2 aren't working worries me a bit as we often know it's just 1 malfunctioning device when multiples go bad, and a chain reaction, that said if buying 2 new Gottlieb $8 switches will resolve the issue it may be worth doing. Haven't looked into what wiring or soldering would be needed. Sucker is pretty dirty anyway so it may do me good to take it out all the same.

TL;DR - Anyone got any tips on how to troubleshoot 2/4 drop target switches that aren't registering?

#2 4 years ago

First rule of switch trouble shooting - don't throw money at it until you are sure it's necessary.

Second rule of switch trouble shooting - Inspect for broken wire at the switch.

Third rule of switch trouble shooting - Turn game off. Put a meter on it. Close it with your finger. Does it register on the meter ?

Fourth rule of switch trouble shooting. Study the switch matrix in your manual. Find the row or column the switch or switches are on. Look at other switches on the same row or column for a broken wire killing every switch after it. Especially if they have a common color wire.

Fifth rule of switch trouble shooting club - you do not talk about switch trouble shooting club.

LTG : )

#3 4 years ago

I joined the club tonight.

Turns out there's a jumper wire running across the back of the drop targets that came loose in the middle. Explains why last 2 targets not registering. Love it. Just need to learn to solder and then how to get in there to fix, assume a temporary fix like alligator clip can test my theory.

Thanks for the courage LTG.

#4 4 years ago
Quoted from bbddpp:

assume a temporary fix like alligator clip can test my theory.

Yes. But don't let that become the permanent solution. The clip might fall off and touch coil power and poof! Driver board repair.

If the jumper is still long enough, clip the end so that you have a good clean end of the wire. Strip 1/4" off. Twist the wires together as best as you can. Tim the wire end (add solder to it). Assuming the location the wire needs to be soldered to still has solder, simply touch the wire end to the old solder and use your iron to melt them together. Boom!
--
Chris Hibler - CARGPB #31
http://www.ChrisHiblerPinball.com/Contact
http://www.PinWiki.com - The Place to go for Pinball Repair Info

#5 4 years ago
Quoted from bbddpp:

Just need to learn to solder

Quoted from ChrisHibler:

If the jumper is still long enough, clip the end so that you have a good clean end of the wire. Strip 1/4" off. Twist the wires together as best as you can. Tim the wire end (add solder to it). Assuming the location the wire needs to be soldered to still has solder, simply touch the wire end to the old solder and use your iron to melt them together. Boom!

What Chris said.

Also Youtube is littered with short how to videos. Practice at a table with solder and scrap wire. When you learn to flow solder, then move to the machine.

LTG : )

#6 4 years ago

Very common issue. Had the same thing happen on my Tee'd Off, except it was just one drop target affected.

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