OK Right on, I'll start digging, thank you!

So I just got a Pinbot with all original everything...It's in really great shape, but I'm thinking I should start going through this thread and trying to make all of these updates/modifications to protect this gem. It's a bit overwhelming, though. Soldering is kind of fun, so it's not as much that...It's more all the little stuff that has to be done and keeping track of it all.

just a few steps at a time man, go slow and check your work, you will sleep better at night knowing your game will continue to live well

Good eye and I replaced my cement resistors twice.

I learned a lesson on using a bad photocopy manual to order parts. I rebuilt all my boards with new bridges, pin headers, cement resistors, etc. The manual I used was a BAD photocopy and I ended up with the wrong value resistors. I put my pictured board in my WW and I had no lights. The photo copy had a lot of specs and blotched and I ordered the wrong resistor values and installed them.

I figured it out and learned to double check before ordering parts.
My Hakko 808 got a little more use this time and its still and easy job.

The cement resistors run hot so space them off the board a tad more for better cooling.

Nope, my mistake from using a crappy photo copied manual.

Big difference between 4 & .4 LOL!

Bad idea.

I still believe sys11s don't require bulletproofing like sys 3-7. They are solid as is. If you have any doubt about your soldering skills, this is not the place to learn! These CPU boards are expensive and are drying up!

Haven't read through the whole thread yet. I've got a High Speed that randomly stopped booting. Checked fuses everything is okay and reseated connectors etc. No resolve. Not getting a read out on the display error. It's blank. It's possible the board isn't getting 5+ 12+ v

Something I'm reading...
To "go around" the POR section of the board, you can do a simple test. After attempting to boot the CPU board, ground the /RESET line on the CPU chip (pin 40 of U15) momentarily with a test clip. If the board boots up consistently without a problem (correct flashes or "0" in the LED), then the POR section is definately at fault.

How do you determine which pin is 40?

Or It can possibly be a bridge rectifier. Let's check on that first.

Well I might have answered my own question. Looks like the bridge on the power supply board went bad. The positive leg is not reading out. Everything else checked out okay. I will replace and see what happens.

Looks like I don't have one with flat legs. Is there a suitable replacement? Current one is labeled MP 1510.

So , does anybody have a way to bullet proof the special solenoids section? This is the #1 failure that I see on system 11 games and have not seen any sort of aftermarket improvements to fix it.

All it takes is the mechanical switch to lock on for too long and bam there goes the coil, then the transistor, and then usually the buffer chip. Even after repairing this I have seen these go out again sometimes rather quickly if someone adjusts the slingshot or pop bumper switches too tight (to get the best action).

Maybe modified roms to change the control switches from direct control to the scoring switches in the switch matrix and let the CPU fire the coils like later system 11B and 11C games?
Or easier yet, some sort of aftermarket add on one-shot board that limits the timing of the 6 signals coming out of the MPU connector

Isn´t it a way, to simply desolder the positive wire of the special solenoid and put an e.g. 1A fuse between with a fuse holder like this?

http://www.hiwtc.com/photo/products/8/02/92/29216.jpg

I just put this Auxilary driver http://www.pinballpcb.com/AuxDriver.htm in my whirlwind with a new power supply and it has been performing wonderful.

AuxDriverBoard-small.jpg

With all the work you guys doing in repairing these boards is it not better in some cases to just buy a new board as there readily available now so all parts are new?

Anyone have a solution for this yet?

I bought a one shot board from a pinsider in Belgium but never found the time to test it out. I think I gave it to a buddy of mine to try out in a game (F-14 maybe) I'll double check with him. But now that I think about it, it might be a problem in F-14 since the 2 diverters (which constantly burn up) need to be held on longer than half a second. Also I think I found out why so many F-14s burn up the diverter coils. Some games have those wired up to 25V and some have them wired to 50V. The ones with 50V are not running through a relay or a TIP36 transistor but rather through the small TIP122 in the special solenoid section and that is probably why they burn up so often.

In the meantime buy a gang of 6 fuse holders and simply patch that into the special coil outputs next to the MPU board and load it with 1 amp fuses.

I've read that people have used this board inline with special solenoids on a system 11 board.

https://nvram.weebly.com/repair--conversion-kits.html

Solenoid Saver Board is the simplest way to go.

I have a solenoid saver board in all my system 11s (pinbot, f-14,space station)

works great on pinbot

Yup. Works good.

Oh I love those boards, they're in all my system 6/7 games. I had no idea they would work in system 11.

So this and an Inkochnito board takes care of the fire problem(s) in System 11s?

Might anyone know of a similar product to the solenoid saver board in Europe?
Thanks
-sf

Yes. The numbers for the special solenoids do not line up. I made a little table in Excel, printed it and laminated it and then stuck it in the cab to know which solenoids the fuses go to. Here is a link to the post with system 11's and solenoid saver:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/special-solenoid-saver-board-for-wms-3-7#post-3574129

Yes, they work for system 11 but you have to be careful that you understand the wiring differences, as Chris outlines in his link above.

If I have time this weekend, I will post installed pics on Sorcerer (system 9), and system 11: Pinbot, High Speed, and F-14.

Here are my Solenoid Saver diagrams for Pinbot, F-14 and Space Station.

Diagram2 (resized).png

Solenoid Diagram (resized).png

That would be awesome.

It was from a pinsider from Holland

Too bad

That is a board I designed for the first range of Data East games like Time Machine. It is working perfectly in those but I never tried this board in Williams games.

There was a Spanish manufacturer Unidesa building system 11 games and they did something similar with the special solenoids.

I would be very interested to see your set up in High Speed. I wasn't sure if this was compatible or necessary.

My first system 11 install was on f14 tomcat. I didn't think there was enough room for that board next to the mpu so I used a z-connector and a longer harness to reach the sidewall. I also prefer to use larger wire for the flipper power wires.

20180824_180110 (resized).jpg

I decided I didn't like the extra connector and longer harness, so for the rest of the system 11 installs I crammed the little board next to the mpu. Its tight, but it works. Here is a high speed (the mpu is currently on the bench)

20180824_180507 (resized).jpg

Here is pinbot

20180824_180732 (resized).jpg

Here is sorcerer (system 9)

20180824_183331 (resized).jpg

Thanks gutz

Just found it this morning. I should install it into my Road Kings and see if it works.

Special Solenoid Saver board duly ordered for my F-14. Small outlay to protect, especially as I'll be doing some work on the items it protects.
I'll take a look at the Inkochitno board also, thank you to the members for this tips.

-sf

So, other than gutz's note above, I don't see much about this being needed on System 9 games. Worth it? Is it just plug and play for Sorcerer?

I just sold a bunch of SSS so i figured I should look for a thread or youtube video =D.

I don't officially support system 11 games... yet? I think the connector is labeled different and there is mounting concerns as the board placement changes between games some. In a few cases like f-14 special solenoids are used for things besides pops and slings (diverters). Really would be most needed in games where the solenoid trigger is not CPU controlled (big guns and earlier???) but would add extra protection to all games. The premade wiring harness is only 6 inches in length. So it might not reach in all sys 11 games.

Besides all that they ~~~ Should ~~~ work in system 11 games.

I’ve put your SSS boards into all of my system 6/7 games - thank you for such a great product!

I for one would /really/ appreciate longer cables that are properly set up for system 9 and 11/A/B/C games.

Fuses have been suggested for the F-14 diverters since they are triggered when the ball is launched. Short launches have burnt up coils! I put the solenoid saver into F-14 mostly for that reason. I used 1 Amp fuses instead of the 1.25 that are standard in the solenoid saver. (learned from GRUMPY

Yeah might need to measure the current of a diverter or do some trial and error to get a good fuse value. Want it to be able to hold for a second or two as they engage when the switch closes on the launch ramp... but it burns up if it holds too long. I had one go in my f-14 and it killed two transistors and two TTL chips if I remember right.

A while back grumpy gave me a good idea to put the system 11 silk screen info on one side of the board and sys 3-7 on the other side of the board. The PCB is mirrored top and bottom layered and pretty much left to right too, so that should work. I will look into adding that on the next round of PCBs.

Do you have a general sense of the timeline? Trying to figure if I should buy now or wait...

These are not required on any game, but they are damn good insurance against the special solenoids getting locked on and burning up your mpu or driver board (depending on the system). Unless you planted a mpu tree or money tree in the backyard, I suggest you protect your very hard to find working system 9 mpu with a $30 fuse board.

Thanks for posting the pic. I wasn’t familiar with this board at all before reading this thread. What spot on the HS MPU do you plug it into? I installed the bridge rectifier fuse board (highly recommend), but I’m not sure if I need this one?

HS pic is harder to see, but it's the same as the pinbot pic.

Gotcha, thanks!

Thanks and agreed. Seems justified to me too. Just thought I'd double check on system 9 compatability since the website it silent on it.