PXL_20230516_020442792 (resized).jpgBeen a long time in the works, but finally have my WCS playfield swap going back into the cab for some testing.

I feel like I always run into issues of unknown size when the swap first goes back in, so I thought it might be fun and maybe helpful for someone down the road to document my issues as they arise.

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Before I dropped it in, a few minor issues to address. I will number them as I go, this could get interesting.

#1) I cracked one of the ramp plastics pretty good. I'm guessing it had a small crack in it already, and I tightened the screw hard enough that it broke into a few little pieces. I used the ultra thin glue that kruzman gave me to repair it. Of course as I went to gently drop a small drip of it on there it oozed out all over and insta-cured into a tidy little mess. Oh well. Not pretty. But at least it's holding! Will work for now.
Cracked ramp
"Insta-Cure"
Curing

#2) I installed the Precision Flip flippers. When I finally got around to adding the flipper rubbers, they didn't seem to line up smoothly with the flipper return guides. So I had to unscrew a few screws and try to move them up a bit more. We'll see how it plays. I'm just trying to avoid any gross flipper hop.

Before
After

Playfield is in, and it starts up! No smoke, so I think we're good.

#3) After turning off an on a couple of times, I got a "Factory Settings Restored" message. So I guess I'll look at the batteries.

But in the meantime...

#4) The current issue I am troubleshooting is with the lamps. I am getting many instances of multiple inserts lighting simultaneously. Even in single lamp test. When I test insert lamp #11 (let's say), 11 and 18 and 41 are blinking. I wrote down what lamps were blinking together and thought I identified a pattern in a row/column that intersected at the Striker Billboard lamp (#48).

I unplugged that lamp and ran the test again, and this time, no issues! So, I thought maybe it was something with that piece that was shorted or doing something stupid. I pulled it out of the game and checked it, even put a new socket on there. Put it back in and still the issue persists.

Maybe it is a bad transistor? I tested some of the transistors and thought I might have found a dead one in the right spot (Q95). I replaced it with a new one. Q95 tests more normal now, but still the issue persists.

I haven't tried replacing the row transistor Q83 yet, but I'll try that next maybe.

It seems that if it were a transistor though, that the issue would persist even when the Striker Billboard lamp is disconnected. Is that logical?

Any thoughts welcome, will continue to troubleshoot it more later tonight.

I'll drop some images here. The under-playfield connection shown is the Striker Billboard lamp (#48). I also included an image of where those two wires go...to a single lamp socket (new socket and bulb).

This is the lamp that I can disconnect from the matrix and the problem goes away.

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I'm going to proceed with tracing those two wire strings around the playfield and see what I can find.

That would make sense. And it is clear. I will add a diode in the appropriate spot.

Now I'm scanning the matrix to see if there may be another I missed ... but I think that might be the only controlled top PF socket not attached to a PCB.

Thanks for pointing that out.

True. I decided to match how it would have been done originally then, on the socket. All fixed up and working better now.

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All of the pf microswitches should be good and diode'd properly. A quick run through the switches in test looked good, but I'll be going through it again.

After some play testing, most everything seems to be working well (knock wood).

# 5) One small issue with the lock switch. It was registering intermittently over the course of a few games, then stopped registering altogether.

Quick examination revealed that the microswitch arm had busted loose from the body, as the plastic nub on one side had been broken off. Replaced the microswitch and now it's working properly again.

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Problem #6) "Kick" plastic was insta-smashed. No surprise, I guess. Everything is playing very fast, and that soccer ball is crushing the pinball when it grabs it. I honestly don't know how that lower pop bumper will survive!

I fixed it for now with a mega-washer to protect what's left. I do have an extra plastic to put here, but I'll hold off for now.

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Intermittent issue #7) The ball bounces funny coming out of the Skill Shot mech, and sometimes drops into the shooter lane.

Here is a video. This is typically what happens...the ball exits the mech the bounces off of the wireform, but recovers and drops onto the pf as normal. Every once in a while though, the bounce off of the wireform is enough to push it into the outlane. Insta-drain!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2Bkv9nwwaLYzeVy49

Thinking on an easy fix, but if I can't come up with one might have to concoct some kind of rail or other blocker to wall off the outlane.

Other WCS owners...does yours do this too?