Capacitors on Switches Problem

[Brettski]

I have a bally strikes and Spares, on the right hand side of the playfield is a series of targets that spell out S P A R E, these targets were extremely hard to register on a direct ball hit but activate easy on on a ricochet from around the playfield.
I added capacitors to these switches and this worked extremely well except one of them started to phantom activate randomly so I removed the capacitor on that switch and the phantom activity stopped but that target became hard to register compared to the others so I added a new capacitor, same problem keeps reoccurring.

It seems that the capacitor is not at fault because I have changed it 3 times now..

Does anyone know what might be causing this and any recommendations on how to solve it as I would like to keep the capacitor connected for consistent game play.

Cheers: Brettski... :)

[Ballywannabe]

Two things to try:

Is the switch set too close and being set of by vibration?
Is the switch being set off by the years of accumulated crap on the switch stack becoming conductive, particularly in humid weather?

The second can be solved by a thorough clean, but if you use water make sure it is bone dry before you put it back in.

cheers
Ian

[Brettski]

Thanks Ian,

It's not vibration as it will happen even when the machine is left alone, so I will remove the switch and clean it..

Cheers: Brettski... :)

[DSB]

As above but also are the switch contacts clean? Try getting a clean white piece of paper and pull it through the switch contacts while gently squeezing it together. See if you get black lines on the paper. Maybe you won't need capacitors at all if they are clean.

[Brettski]

Good point Dan!

I will give them all a clean and see how it plays.. :)

Cheers: Brettski... :)