I have been having various issues with lamps and solenoids but seem to have fixed them. Then all of the sudden the bookcase goes wacky and Thing hand will not work.

At start up the test tells me to check opto's 84 and 85 for Thing. Put it in test mode for switches and stick a piece of paper into Thing opto's and they work. Wen i continue to the bookcase test it goes back and forth and the switches register open/closed. The really strange part is when I go to test Thing the bookcase runs?? It's not like you can just switch the plugs under the playfield because they are physically different. And I believe they are both connected to J122 on the power driver board.

Anyone experienced this before? Anyone have an idea where to go from here?

I have spent hours trying to understand this... I don't get it. Does anyone have an idea?

Hello, anyone out there?

Update: When I turn on the game the bookcase still runs for as long as I let it. But if I pull J122 off the driver board three times it will stop (where ever it happens to be) and I can start a game. Now in game mode the bookcase acts just fine, after hitting it a few times the opens up to the vault.

In test mode for Thing the bookcase still runs for some reason and you can see the Thing hand nudge up just a little each time you stop/start.

Anyone, ideas??

The Thing hand has those u shaped opto’s. In single switch mode the Thing opto’s do register.

I’m still trying to figure this out. Turn the pin on and the bookcase runs and never stops. If I pull Thing opto or power connector (not both at the same time) everything works fine (minus Thing). Or if I leave Thing fully connected and I go into feature adjustments and disable Thing. I can start the game and everything is fine (minus Thing). I thought I narrowed it down to the EMI board but after replacing both Thing and bookcase EMI boards nothing changed. What I do know is that thing has 12-14 volts when not in use and when activated in test mode it barely moves and is registering about 1-3 volts while the bookcase just runs.

Maybe the drop in volts on the lame Thing and bookcase are two different problems but why would Thing drop in volts?

Thanks, I looked into the switch matrix already and switches work.

Here is some new information I have found. The bookcase has 12V when not operating and 10-12v when operating. Thing on the other hand (lol) has 12v when not operating and it drops to 2-3v when activated and barely moves. Why is the voltage dropping??? I have replaced the EMI boards for both Thing and the bookcase with no change.

I have found a 12v wire that have come off a connector somewhere around the bottom center to bottom left (when the playfield is tilted up). That's where the EMI board for Thing is located but it has it's two incoming and two out going wires (1 each on + and -). But is it a broken pass through wire? I traced the wire; there is a connector up by the swamp, there is a single 12v wire coming from J3 #1 on the 7-opto board that is one half of the connector. The other half of the connector has a 12v wire going directly to the + side of the bookcase EMI. Then there is a second 12v that goes down by the Thing EMI board that is the loose 12v wire. Where does it go?

Can someone with a TAF take a picture of the Thing EMI board so I can see the connections? It's located almost dead center at the bottom of the PF (when tilted up).

Thanks for the picture. That's the EMI board for the bookcase. The Thing EMI is about another 6" or so lower, hidden behind the wiring harness.

You’re right I’ll post a picture tomorrow. I have an owners manual but it doesn’t show where the wires are going or coming from in this case.

Here is the Thing EMI board located below and just to the left of Thing motor, behind the wire harness. Can someone who has a TAF send me a picture. My picture is a little off because I had it off the board and just stuck it back for the picture.

thing_emi_board (resized).jpg

Thanks for the picture. Can you confirm there is two grey/yellow wires (or pass through) on the same connector terminal? That would solve my broken wire question.I’ve checked and double checked the ribbon cable. I’ve even swapped the MPU and power driver boards with no luck. I’ve also replaced the opto’s on the bookcase as well.

Connectors, always check and double check the connectors. Pull on them a little to see if a wire pops off!