Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man SlingShot Issue

[mhbr549]

I just picked up a Mr. & Mrs. Pacman Pinball and can't for the life of me figure out what is wrong with the left slingshot.  When I run the solenoid test mode, the thing fires just fine, but during gameplay I get nothing.  I tried jumping the contacts manually and it still won't fire during gameplay.   Am I missing something easy here? 

[Steevsee]

Sounds like a switch issue.

Check for loose wires and /or faulty switch diode at the slingshot switches.

Might pay to run full switch test to see if any others are not working also.

[mhbr549]

Thanks for the reply.  I ran the switch test as you suggested.  I don't really notice anything happening and the display just shows "0".  I'm not sure if it's supposed to scroll through switch numbers or anything, but from what I can gather, if it shows "0" that should mean there are no stuck switches?  I thought about a diode on the solenoid too, but I don't have another solenoid or diodes to replace this one right now.  I did try grounding out the solenoid and it does fire when I do that.  Would that rule out the diodes at all?  I do have a solenoid from my Stern Meteor machine that is for flippers.  I guess I could solder it in place for testing purposes?   Also according to the schematics, the left slingshot is ran through the Q9 transistor on the driver board.  I tested the transistor and it appears to be good, but do you suppose it might not be?

[goodolddays]

Try reflowing the solder on the coil lugs .. maybe a dry joint or loose connection ??

[mhbr549]

OK, I might be making some progress.  I re-flowed the solder on the lugs, but that didn't change anything.  I put the machine back into switch test mode and instead of looking for stuck switches, I manually closed every switch by hand.  Low and behold the only one that did not register as being closed was that left slingshot.  Since it does fire in the solenoid test mode, does that pretty much rule out everything but the diodes on the coil?   

[rads]

It means the coil is working but the switch isn't telling it to fire.  Check that there isn't a wire missing from the switch and that the diode is connected.

[goodolddays]

No doubt you've already cleaned the switch contacts ?

[Steevsee]

.....  Since it does fire in the solenoid test mode, does that pretty much rule out everything but the diodes on the coil?   

Check the diode and wires on the switch itself, not on the coil.  The coil already tested good, so leave it alone for now.

It's just the switch not registering properly.  Might just need adjustment or a clean as stated.

Did you remove the slingshot rubber when you tested the switch?

[mhbr549]

  Got it!  I checked all of the wires on the switches and everything was hooked up and "appeared" to be solid.  Just to be certain, I re-flowed  all of the solder connections on the switches and they are now working.  Apparently one or more of the solder joints was bad after all.  You guys are geniuses!  Thanks for all of your responses and help!

[Steevsee]

Nice work

[goodolddays]

Glad to hear its fixed . Good job