Quoted from Nokoro:I need help. In the middle of a game, one of the coils started acting up and seemed to fire on its own. The game screen then went dark. I shut down the game and restarted it. When it started up, the game seemed ok but very quickly into my first plunge, multiple coils started firing. I heard a pop and smelled burning. I turned off the game again quickly. I looked inside the box, and the only thing I saw out of the ordinary was this burnt looking chip on the I/O board (see picture below).
Note that I recently converted the game to the 2.0 lighting system. However, I played multiple games since doing that and everything played well. More recently, I waxed the game, and this was my first game after waxing. Not that waxing would do anything, but I did pull out the playfield a bit to get everywhere.
Any ideas? Is this just bad luck, and my I/O board went? Do I have some other issue that caused the I/O board to go? I'm really bummed out as I just spent all that time on the 2.0 upgrade only to have this happen a week later. Thanks in advance for the help.
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I wanted to follow-up on this story. I think my WOZ is finally back up and running thanks to the tremendous support of the JJP team, including Steve, Butch, Frank, Shannan and others.
I sent the pictures of my fried chip on the I/O board to JJP, and they were able to look at it and say that it was most likely caused by a 70v surge into the switch matrix at column 7. That really helped me narrow down where the problem came from. The current theory is that the tab on my skill shot switch got bent by the cabinet rail and was resting against it.
WOZ -- bent skill shot switch (resized).JPG
Then, when the left bumper fired, the nut on the bracket likely touched the rail briefly sending the voltage into the switch matrix and frying my chip.
WOZ -- left bumper (resized).JPG
I straightened the switch and tried to bend the tabs further away from the side of the cabinet where the rail is. I also wrapped the skill shot switch, the left winged monkey switch, and the nut on the bumper in electrical tape, just in case accidental contact is made again.
WOZ Switches -- electrical tape (resized).JPG
I sent the I/O board back to JJP, and they very promptly repaired it and sent it back. Unfortunately, when I installed it, one of the optos was acting funny, triggering a whole row on the matrix. I contacted JJP again, and they suggested that I try to switch the opto I/O board with the other one in the game. The other one worked, proving that I had a faulty board. I'm not sure what caused that, but perhaps it was the same voltage surge. They sent me a new board, and now everything appears to be working after playing two games. I still feel like I'm walking on egg shells, but I really hope my problems are behind me.
I can't emphasize enough how helpful the JJP team was with this. I really think I would have been lost without them. Thanks guys!
Now for a Public Service Announcement: The next time you lift your playfield, check both your skill shot switch and the left winged monkey target switch. Both are so close to the rail when the playfield is down that they are almost touching. I've had problems with that skill shot switch before getting bent. Make sure it is not getting crushed by the rail.