Couple weeks into it and I'm absolutely loving this machine. I've always thought the left side of this game was kind of dark and that there should be a little more of a pop Factor around the exit gate. So here's my offering, hope to get a chance to tweak some more of the lighting on that left side

New Xenon owner here, loving the game. I keep trying her again!

Questions on a couple of glitches, (I hope it is ok to post here and not in the tech forum?)

1) sometimes a slow roller ball will hang at the top of the ramp just prior to entering the tube and then the only way to free it is to tilt the game, anyone else experience this? Any suggestions or fixes?

2) sometimes after going through the tube the ball will roll right through the kickout and out the gate without even registering, anyone else experience this? Any suggestions or fixes?

Thank you

on #1 , I discovered my grey posts under the ramp were improperly installed & my ball would hang-up at the top of the ramp as you described.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/xenon-gray-posts#post-4346256

on #2
do you have a pic of the exit chamber area? a similar question was asked here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/xenon-clubmembers-onlytry-xeeeenon/page/26#post-6540462

there are 3 things that slows the ball down before it hits the side saucer after it comes out of the tube.

Add an extra 7/16" ring...

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Let there be light. In the back box I added the chase light mod to the tubes and a pop bumper ring light in the center. On the playfield, I added some additional lighting under the exit chamber and the upper right pop as well as under the upper plastics. I have some plans for the pop bumper bodies, drop targets and stand up target replacements coming soon. Such a great game!

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Quite possibly the sexiest upskirt images you'll find on the internet! Lighting the drop targets is next.

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Looks great, where did you find those?

Pinball-mods.com has the clear bodies, skirts and bases as well as a full line of colored transparent stand up targets and translucent drop targets.I've added these to my space shuttle and to the pop in Godzilla.

Drop targets are lit! I wasn't sure if this was going to work but at the end of the day I'm really happy with the results.

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Sexy AF. Are these drop targets only lit from the bulbs behind them?

Thanks, I'm really digging the way these came out. I used comet's blue star post lights attached directly to the back of the translucent drop targets. I originally wanted to use their blue fire star post lights but the chips and components are on the back side of those and I was concerned about them hanging up. They're a tight fit but certainly doable, with a few tweaks.

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You connected them to the GI? Why didnt you connect them to the switched lamps that indicate which target can be scored by the rollovers?

I considered it, but at the end of the day I thought it would look cool if they were lit up when they were down as well. Provides a nice blue strip of light when you have three drops down.

Please help if you can. I thought I had this problem fixed, but it just happened again.

I am getting an occasional false switch closure on the outhole switch, as well as a false closure of a slam switch. I have changed the caps and diodes on all the drop target switches as well as on the outhole, slam, and tilt switches.

Any idea where I should be checking to solve this issue? Thanks, mk

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Spend 10 minutes to test *every* diode on *every* switch. Put your mulit-meter in diode mode and check if they test ok conducting in one direction but not the other by swapping the meter leads around.

If all diodes test ok then you may have a problem upstream on the MPU board. Does/did the MPU board suffer with battery corrosion?

When the problem happens take note of which drop targets are down and if there's any balls in the saucers.

"Spend 10 minutes to test *every* diode on *every* switch."

Thanks Quench! I'll dig in and test them all. I'll report the results.

"If all diodes test ok then you may have a problem upstream on the MPU board. Does/did the MPU board suffer with battery corrosion?"

This original -35 MPU is totally clean, never had corrosion, NV ram installed. MPU has been reliable..

""Spend 10 minutes to test *every* diode on *every* switch."

Thanks Quench! I'll dig in and test them all. I'll report the results."

Tested every diode on every switch, except, Where are the doide(s) located for the coin switches?

Also, pulled and checked the MPU, as I said, totally clean, but not NV ram, memory cap installed. Reseated the PIA's and the CPU on the mpu.

Played aabout 10 games, no false switch closures yet, but it's so random..

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They didn't exist until Bally (maybe it was @bigal56) worked out how to add them somewhere in '81 or '82.

If you want to retrofit diodes on the coin chute micro-switches, solder a diode from the N.C switch lug to the COM switch lug. Banded side of the diode on the COM lug. Solder the switch strobe red-green wire to the N.C lug. Solder the switch return wire to the N.O lug of the micro-switch.

Wow that is an exceptional looking MPU board..

The next hard part is examining every switch for any way a leaf/lug could be touching something else it shouldn't.

To re-iterate, when you next see the problem it's important to take note of which drop targets are down and if there's any balls in the saucers. Knowing which switches were closed at the time will help.

Thanks Quench! Switch 01 was a bit wonky and its diode and cap was a bit too tight to the bracket and hardware for the side saucer kicker. I straightened the leads of the diode & cap for switch 01. Many games have been played with no phantom outhole or slam issues.

ALSO, I was having a rare double ball serve issue. When I really dug into this issue, I found that switch 28's actuator wire was getting occasionally hung up on the slot where it sticks through the trough wall. I broke the sw 28 actuator wire trying to bend it. Now, with SW 28 disabled, I have no double ball serve issues.

I vaguely remember sw 28 being discussed before. What exactly is the purpose of SW 28? Thank again, mk

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All common issues with Xenon. Coils and switches close to the edge are the most vulnerable to being mangled by hands and trim.

Fingers crossed you found the issue.

See here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/xenon-clubmembers-onlytry-xeeeenon/page/22#post-6256824

Damn it! Just had a phantom SLAM switch closure. NO drop targets were down, and I had a ball locked in the side saucer. When the slam went off, the ball in play was not touching anything and was rolling across the middle of the playfield. The machine was not being nudged or shaken at all when the slam happened.

Looking at the matrix, slam is diagonally opposite the side saucer, and the other switches that make up the square are the left thumper bumper and Coin chute #3 (right coin chute).

Also, I have been replacing some of the switch diodes with 1n4004 and 1n4007's. Could this be causing a problem?

What should I be checking to fix this? Please help if you can, Thanks, mk

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Came to Pinfest to pick up a Firewpower... left with a Xenon. I stand by my decision.

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Post some clear high res pictures of the side saucer switch side on and face on.

Using 1N4007 over 1N4004 makes no difference. 1N4007 is electrically capable of handling higher voltages and that's it.

Well the issue points at the side saucer switch being diagonally opposite to the slam switch. Test across the two switch lugs the diode is attached to with your multi-meter in resistance mode to check for a short in the switch assembly.
The left pop bumper may have phantom activated by the flippers meanwhile there was likely an issue with the coin chute #3 switch. If the coin switches have three lugs then rewire them with diodes to prevent them allowing shorts in the matrix.
Red-Green wire and non-banded side of the diode on the N.C (normally closed) switch lug, banded side of the diode on the COM (common) switch lug and Red-White wire on the N.O (normally open) switch lug.

Quench, Thanks again. I had replaced the cap and diode on the side saucer, and I made sure there was no interference from the switch, cap, and diode leads to the saucer mechanism.

I installed 1n4004 diodes on the coin switches just as you explained. I played many games trying to replicate the phantom slam switch. So far, I have no issues.

I'm curious - what causes the noise in the matrix from the coin switch?

Could a ferrite beads be used on the left bumper switch lines to eliminate the phantom activations from the flippers?

Quench, Thanks so much for the help. I'm thinking your advice has cured this troublesome issue in my Xenon.

The saucer switch shouldn't have a capacitor. Or are you confusing the left side entry switch with capacitor you pictured a few posts up?

Nothing. I was suspecting intermittent issues with that coin switch closing. The diode on it will stop it causing havoc if it was playing up.

Doubt it. The phantom activations have been discussed many times. Basically switch return wires pick up back EMF noise from flipper activity because the wires are run together in the loom long distance. Bally even recognises this in their Theory of Operation. Don't get too hung up on this as it's not the cause of your intermittent slam resets.

I mentioned to test if there was a short across the diode which could indicate an improperly stacked switch. I still suggest to test for a short across the saucer switch diode.

I did have it confused with SW 1, end of tube lane. My side saucer just has a new diode, 1n4004. No Cap. No short on this switch, it reads 4.7 meg ohms one direction, an no reading the other direction.

I noticed that the machine is playing "snappier" since I installed the diodes on the coin switches. Bumpers seem to react quicker as do the slings. I have played many games since installing the coin switch diodes. I have no issues. Thanks again Quench!!

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Slam shares the same strobe as the coin switches which rarely have diodes, although there is a way to modify the coin wiring to easily include a diode.
So if you had a stuck coin switch, reversed or shorted diodes on one of the rollover buttons, and the #1 DT was knocked down, the signal would travel up through the stuck coin switch, pass over through a rollover button, then down &up through the #1 drop target, causing a slam.

Damn, every time I think I have this fixed, it gets me again. Targets 1, 2, and 3 were down. 2 balls in play. I don't think any ball was hitting anything, but I could be wrong. SLAM tilt again, machine was not being nuged or tilted.

I'm going to check all the button diodes. I don't think any coin switch is stuck (I have checked these multiple times, and installed diodes as per Quench).

My original -35 mpu is in prestine condition and boots without errors (see previous pictures). However, what PIA controls the switches? I was wondering if this could be a wonky PIA that is passing the boot test.

The PIA at U10 is solely responsible for interfacing the switches. I don't think it's your issue but swap it if you want.

At this point you probably need to check the diode at each switch for a short with your meter.
Note, a short may not necessarily be a diode fault, it could be a switch where the leafs are incorrectly stacked and are shorting across the diode.
Note2, take the opportunity to examine each switch for potential shorts to other playfield items. Pay attention to the spinner because the switch leaf connects all metal parts of the spinner including the frame and post screws that may protrude on the bottom of the playfield touching some other mech.

Just to refresh our memory, you are getting the alarm sound when your slam reset happens? Also have you disconnected the two weighted slam switches at the coin door and tilt board in the cabinet?

I am getting the alarm sound. I did not disconnect the weighted slam switches yet.

I will go through the diodes and test again for a short, and I will check all the switches for contact with anything.

I will report back with what I find. Thanks so much for the help!

I tested all the diodes, no shorts. I checked all switches for contact with anything they shouldn't be touching. I haven't found any issues. Played about 10 games with no problems.

THEN, while I had one ball in play and I think the #1 and # 2 targets were down, I got a phantom closure on the outhole while the ball was rolling across the playfield. It counted up the bonus while the other ball was still in play and served the next ball into the shooter lane.

I am noticing the outhole is on the same line as the slam.... Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

Raise all the drop targets. Remove all balls from the game.
Grab your multi-meter and put it on resistance mode - if it's not auto-ranging then set it to the 200 kilo ohms scale.
Black meter probe on ground, what resistance reading do you get at the white-red wire of the outhole with the meters red probe?
What resistance reading do you get at the brown-white wire of the weighted tilt switch next to the flipper assemblies with the meters red probe?

BTW on your coin door slam switch, do you have the usual mylar stuck to the door so the weighted slam switch leaf isn't making metal to metal contact with the door (i.e. ground) ?

I get 56k ohms +/- from both switches.

There is mylar on the back of the coin door slam leaf, and there is no short or low resistance between the coin door and the slam switch leaf.

I know this probably isn't causing the problem, but I'm going to see what happens when I change the PIA at U10 on the original mpu. I also wanted to see what happens when I install a spare working Weebly mpu that I have. It might make me feel like I'm eliminating something to see the same problem with a different MPU.

Thanks again for the help!

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Those are good readings and don't suggest any MPU board problems but try your PIA / Weebly board swaps just incase.

Post pictures of all the switches on the I7 return line including the two weighted slam switches in the cabinet and front coin door. The more pictures from different angles the better.

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I will get pictures as you said and post them.

Last night with the new MPU (new altek), I did get a phantom outhole closure, one ball in play, no ball locked. I think targets 1, 2, and 4 were down.

WoW, this machine is kicking my rear! Latest development is Q52 SCR (credit lamp) on lamp driver burned up like an oil refinery.

Shortly after this, I was hearing a slight buzz in the speakers. Then F3 blows. I pull all the plugs except the transformer inputs to the transformer board. All voltages check out ok after replacing F3 (4 amp fast blow).

Something tells me that this is soundboard related; so I replace the vocalizer and sounds plus boards with a working set of spares. F3 is no longer blowing. I will dig into the non-working sounds plus and vocalizer after I get this machine running properly.

I replaced the Q52 on the lamp driver, after checking its socket and wiring to see if anything is wonky. It looks good, so I install a new SCR Q52 on the lamp driver. The newly replaced Q52 blows, stinking up my downstairs again.

The left side (especially upper left side) GI looks dim compared to the right-side GI. I am thinking something is shorting somewhere our touching something, but I don't see it, and I'm not sure where to start.

AND, I still have the damn phantom slam tilt & phantom outhole problem! ALSO, I noticed that I'm getting phantom closings on the the button switches. During play sometimes unhit targets will just trip.

I'm hoping this stuff is all related to my lamp & GI issues. Thanks so much for the help!

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Your outhole switch looks suspiciously stacked like it's missing the two inner isolating tubes because the fibre spacers aren't all sitting perfectly aligned.

I can't see on the drop target switch where the lug that has the non-banded side of the diode is sitting within the stack. Can you post more pictures of it including the top side where the lugs are?

For Q52 to burn like that usually means the lamp/socket has a dead short.

I was also looking at that outhole switch and thought it didn't look too good. Obviously rebuilt.

I did replace the outhole switch with a new one and added a new insulator to the actuator. See pic.

I looked much closer at the credit lamp. The left (blue) side had a tiny bit of solder that got into the side of the socket. Cleaned this up, no more blown Q52 SCR on the lamp driver.

Here are some pictures of the #1 target switch. Quench wanted some more views of this.

I played about 7 games with no phantom closures and the new outhole switch installed. Then, SLAM. The slam occurred with targets 3 & 4 down during multiball, with no nudging. I don't think any switch was being touched, but there is a very slight chance one of the slings was hit.

I don't know if this is related to the phantom slams, but the amount random firing of the left pop bumper seems to increase more as more games are played, and the machine is recognizing some of the random left pops and scoring them, as well as alternating the return lane lights / feature. It's weird, I can almost feel when the left pop bumper is going to randomly fire... The pop switch is new. It has a new 1n4004 diode and a new cap. It is properly gapped.

To make matters worse, and more frustrating, F3 blew AGAIN (this happened before when I was hearing a buzz about a week ago and I replaced the sounds plus and vocalizer with working spares). This recently happened while I was checking some things with the playfield up. CR5 through CR8 were replaced on the transformer board a while back with upgraded components (MR 754's see picture). None of them read shorts, and they read about .488+/- and .760 +/- on diode test. These are the only diodes related to F3, correct? BR2 is solenoids, and BR1 is controlled lamps, correct? To be accurate, the replaced f3 that just blew was a used part and it had a bit of a curl in it, but it still tested good. I am now putting in a brand new f3.

Should I be looking to the 5v regulator and possible components on the solenoid driver to solve this f3 problem?

I really appreciate the help on this! This machine is making me goofier than I am already! I can't wait to get my Xenon working properly.. Thanks again!

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What Can I replace the Q20 (labeled E7108004) with?

I still can't see where the lug holding the braid and non-banded side of the diode are in the stack. This lug has no leaf, it's there simply as a connection point for the braid/diode. If it's in the stack along with one of the leafs then this is a problem.

The picture of your outhole switch clearly shows this standalone lug at the bottom with the white-red wire and diode.

Might be time to physically start disconnecting switches obviously starting with the two slam switches in the cabinet/door. Disconnect the wire not attached to the diode and isolate it so it can't short to anything.
Do the same on that left pop bumper switch.

Yes, CR5-CR8 make up a discrete bridge rectifier for the 12 volt circuit fused by F3.
BR2 is for solenoids only.
BR1 is for controlled lamps only.

How violently is the fuse blowing? Post a picture if you still have it.

It's just a LM323 5 volt regulator. It has internal current limiting and thermal protection that will cause it to shutdown in these events. It would not be on my radar as suspect.

I was once working on a Xenon with a reproduction playfield. There's some screwed lugs on the front bottom area that has wires/diodes leading to the trough switches. Someone had screwed one of those lugs where a topside screw was holding the metal trough (which connects to ground via the playfield hangers and lockdown bar receiver). The two screws were touching causing a switch matrix issue. I'm not suggesting you've done the same but playfield swaps can create these unusual scenarios.

The lug on the target sw #1 is not connected to any leaf and this is where the braid and non-banded side of the diode are going. I checked several other switches to make sure they are proper. i also checked for shorts in the diodes and made sure that the switches were not touching anything that they shouldn't.

Something else that seems weird. In switch test mode, if I close the slam on the tilt panel with my right hand and put my left hand on the side rail, the left pop bumper occasionally fires. I can send a video to your PM if you want.

Here is a picture of the blown f3. I think this fuse did not blow violently; I think it was just tired. no fuse blown after 10 games. I really appreciate your help! Thanks, mk

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Ok.

That's normal. The side rails are connected to ground so you're effectively creating a noisy path on that switch signal to ground causing ghosting in the switch matrix. Avoid touching any metal grounded object when performing manual switch tests.

The fuse wire was wavy from being heat stressed. But I think you mentioned it was a second hand fuse.

Your drop target switch looks correct. The lug for the diode IS a leaf blade on this type of switch. The only thing I don't like is that I see some oxidation on the blade stiffener and leaf blades. Not that it's a big deal. On Xenon, the 4 upper roll over buttons knock down the drop targets. The roll over switches have capacitors. It's just a guess but maybe the cap is cause a phantom closure on your #1 target?

Orrrrrrr the roll over is sticking?

The 1-4 buttons are not sticking and are all working properly They have new caps installed and new diodes. I just spent a bunch of time going through the buttons & their switches. I have been cleaning the oxidation out of the switches as I go with 91% alcohol & a toothbrush.

When I finished doing this, I played 3 games. First 2 games, no phantom switches.

3rd game, no ball in lock, only # 4 target down, ball rolling across middle of PF, SLAM

What is the best cleaner and way to get the oxidation out?

I'm going to be working on the target switches next.

I'm wondering if this is sound board related

As game-play continues the background music gets faster in tempo , a tube-shot will reset the background music to the slowest tempo. I don't know how many switch-hits increases the tempo or how many times it increases to its max value.

I imagine in bookkeeping you can turn off the background music to see if there is any affect.

A couple of things I would try. First check cap at the tilt Bob. Clip it as it's not needed in home use usually. If tilt happens when ball rolling down pf, check the tilt under pf. Maybe vibration is setting it off. It may be gapped too close. I would definitely start with the number 4 drop switch first. Maybe it has a flaky diode.

This may sound silly but also check the ball roll tilt. Sometimes after standing a game upright the ball falls and stays there. Maybe the ball roll track is bent and the ball is in limbo.

What mpu do have in her?

Forgot this one, tap on the pf while you have a game up. This may reveal a awitch adjustment issue.