On the PIN*BOT I have there is a delay when the game is started. Pressing Start, it takes about 15 seconds for the ball to eject to the shooter lane. There are no errors on test either. The pin does a quick ball search. The visor targets lower and reset, the ramp raises and lowers. Then the ball is ejected. If this helps, great. Lets see if any other owners chime in on this.

I had this happen once where the balls were magnetized but that is not likely in you case.

I have also had a switch "sometimes" work in the trough area where the switch was wired incorrectly (wrong lugs of the switch) from the factory! You could also have a bad/open diode OR, MOST likely, this...

There is a type of clear plastic "sheath" that goes over the switch connections and diodes in this area of most system 11's. I would gently tug at each wire/diode/wherever there's a "sheath" to confirm that at some point, a previously disconnected wire was not just "shoved back up in" the plastic sheath to attempt a "quick fix" and not actually soldered to the switch lug or diode connection.

Could be a flaky switch too. I had a similar issue in my HS....ended up being a flaky switch. (that I still need to replace!)

OK. I went down stairs and checked.
Turn on PinBot, there is a quick ball check. Raise and lower ramp and Visor Targets, no kick outs fire, about 10 seconds. Then it goes right into attraction mode.

Pressing Start, there is a delay of 2 or 3 seconds. It then says "PINBOT activated", then launches the ball into the lane.

Strange problem. Please report the fix when found.

Sounds normal to me. I am pretty sure ALL pinbots do that.

Why? "vibrations" is the short answer. I'm just suggesting crazy things I've seen over the years and you have to tug on wires sometimes to address the "barely working" circuits a lot of times.

It would be worth testing the diodes on the trough switches and also the shooter lane ball kicker diode as well. When checking that, also look at the "very small wires" on THAT coil to confirm they are soldered very well and not just "touching" the larger lug of the coil. (You may have to remove the coil to see this.) You can additionally check the coils ohms (resistance) at that time. Should be between 4 and 15 ohms depending on the coil type.

Have you checked the switches on the visor? I seem to remember when I had mine it did the same thing. One of the switches on the visor target was not always registering closed and it had to lift and close before it found the position.

+1 on vectordreams. Watch the visor. If it keeps delaying all the time it could be a visor switch. Those are really common to go bad for some reason. One of mine would take an extra spin every once in a while and delay things.

Yes, you could have a bad/shorted diode on any switch in the game causing this crazyness... Best to try and confirm that EVERY switch is working and that none are "stuck shut".

So, if i'm reading your notes correctly. You have an issue with both the GREENN-BROWN wire AND the GREEN-BLUE wires.

There are a few places this could have "come disconnected".

The coin and slam tilt ones aren't going to keep the game from working and may just be due to hacked up coin door wiring. I wouldn't worry so much about those right now...

I would focus on trying to find where the GREEN-BLUE wire is not making contact. First thing to check is a continuity test between one of the GREEN-BLUE wires under the playfield and make sure it's getting up to the driver BOARD in the head at (IJ8-PIN7).

If it is not, push the GREEN-BLUE wire into it's "punch down style" connector better with a small flat screwdriver (not TOO hard though).

For testing purposes, it's fine if you just run a "test wire" directly from this GREEN-BLUE pin to the corresponding GREEN-BLUE wires under the playfield, then switch test again to see if that gets those switches responding again.

Also keep in mind that a wire may have simply "fallen off" or desoldered itself from one of the GREEN-BLUE switch lugs in question. (They are all "daisy-chained" together). You may have to check every one on the GREEN-BLUE playfield switches for a disconnected wire somewhere.

sweet!

I know this is a very old thread but I wanted to add that if row 7 is open at 1J10-2 (see switch matrix table above) you will have the same trouble. Solenoids work correctly under test, ball ejects onto shooter lane correctly under test. Ball trough switches are good, shooter lane switch is good, visor switches are good, but ball will still not eject into shooter lane at start of the game! Found 1J10-2 bad crimp (bad type of stab-on Molex connector to use in these games!). Be especially careful to check that the crimp is good because these stab-on connections can LOOK good but not actually making solid reliable contact!

Also known as "IDC" connectors, short for "Insulation-displacement connector". One of the worst/cheapest decisions pinball manufacturers ever made.