Twilight Zone problem

[felixthadog]

I am experiencing a problem on my TZ machine that I hope somebody here can assist me to fix.

When I press the Start button to start a new game, 00 appears on the display but the ball is not ejected in to the shooter lane and the flippers do not work. I have tried running the Solenoid Test in the Diagnostics menu but nothing fires. One thing I have noticed is that the sound is not the normal TZ music at the start of a game, but rather just a "whoosh" sound that plays over and over, however I cannot find the sound sample in the Sound menu so I cannot determine which sample is playing. I thought it might have been the Interlock switch so I bypassed the switch by connecting the 2 wires on the back of the Interlock switch together but the problem isn't fixed. Everything is working except for the Solenoids (flippers, kickers etc) so I can't play a game. Can anybody offer some guidance? 

Matthew

[Strangeways]

Interesting - it certainly sounds like an interlock switch problem. You are bypassing the top interlock switch ?

Do switches on the playfield score ?

I'd check the solenoid fuses indicated on a placard in the headbox.

I did see a similar problem once and it was the ribbon cable from the CPU to the driver board. Reseat the connector.

[felixthadog]

Interesting - it certainly sounds like an interlock switch problem. You are bypassing the top interlock switch ?

Do switches on the playfield score ?

I'd check the solenoid fuses indicated on a placard in the headbox.

I did see a similar problem once and it was the ribbon cable from the CPU to the driver board. Reseat the connector.

There is only one Interlock switch on my machine, I have disconnected the wires to it and then connected those 2 wires together. When I start a game and try to use the buttons inside the coin door to enter the Diagnostics menu, the message "To use buttons, open coin door" is displayed on the DMD which seems to indicate that the Interlock switch has been bypassed successfully.

Yes, switches on the playfield score.

What do you mean by "check the solenoid fuses"? 

I'll reseat the connector tonight and see if that makes any difference.

Matthew

[Strangeways]

F103-105 and F112 would be the fuses I'd be looking at. These are all on the driver board.

[felixthadog]

F103-105 and F112 would be the fuses I'd be looking at. These are all on the driver board.

Do I just need to visually check that the fuses are not blown, or does it require further investigation? 

Matthew

[ktm450]

The only way to test fuses is pop them out (or at least one end) and test with multimeter.
They may look fine visually but still have blown one end inside the cap

[felixthadog]

The only way to test fuses is pop them out (or at least one end) and test with multimeter.
They may look fine visually but still have blown one end inside the cap

Do I just pop one end of the fuse out, leaving the other end in the fuse holder, and put the multimeter on the exposed end? 

What do I need to set the Multimeter to? 

What values should I expect to see for a good fuse and a blown fuse? 

Matthew

[ddstoys]

Hey Matthew
                      To test a fuse you can either set your multi meter to Continuance (BUZZER if it has one)  And put a lead on each end of the fuse and it should give a buzz.  Or set it on ohms and you should get a 0 reading

[felixthadog]

Hey Matthew
                      To test a fuse you can either set your multi meter to Continuance (BUZZER if it has one)  And put a lead on each end of the fuse and it should give a buzz.  Or set it on ohms and you should get a 0 reading

Sorry for my n00biness Daniel, but does one end of the fuse need to still be in the fuse holder or can I pull the fuse out and test it in isolation? 

Matthew

[ddstoys]

You can test it out of the machine thats no problem

[felixthadog]

You can test it out of the machine thats no problem

OK, so if I set my MM to Ohms and put a lead on each end of the fuse, what value should I expect to see for a good fuse? 

Matthew

[ddstoys]

on ohms it should be 0 ohms depending on your multi meter what does it say when you have nothing connected?

[pinball god]

My MM when the leads are apart shows 1 and when touching each other there will be some kind of value reading including zero. So check what reading you have while lead apart that will indicate non continuity or in this your example, a blown fuse and also touch your leads together to get an idea of waht to expect when a circuit is complete or 'continuity'. I'm no sparky but hope this helps explain what you need to look for.

[felixthadog]

F103-105 and F112 would be the fuses I'd be looking at. These are all on the driver board.

Thanks Nino, problem sorted! It was the 7A fuse at F112 (Solenoid Secondary). It looked fine until I tested it with a MM, I removed the blown fuse and replaced it with one from my JD machine and everything works again  I just need to buy some 7A SB fuses now.

Matthew

[Strangeways]

F103-105 and F112 would be the fuses I'd be looking at. These are all on the driver board.

Thanks Nino, problem sorted! It was the 7A fuse at F112 (Solenoid Secondary). It looked fine until I tested it with a MM, I removed the blown fuse and replaced it with one from my JD machine and everything works again  I just need to buy some 7A SB fuses now.

Matthew

Well done, Matt - "Looks can be deceiving" - and this includes fuses !

you are becoming a well seasoned Tech by now