Knocker Coil Issue

[Brettski]

Almost finished Cleopatra but have a few little teething problems..
I have a new Pascal 4in1 board and when I boot up it says check coils, I disconnect the knocker and it boots up ok until it tries to fire then the check coil message appears again.
Checked the coil and all is good, diode OK too. checked double checked then tried it in Sinbad and it works fine.

All connectors except displays have been repinned (they are next) so I am at a loss here, could it be the board?

Any insight appreciated.

Cheers: Brettski... :)

[Slash]

That is exactly the same issue I was having with my board.

http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=14122.0

Pascal believes it's either a diode or transistor on the board that is the problem.  You should have got a spare one of each of those with the board.

Check the driver transistor Q1 on the board (just above A3J2).  Also check the diode just below Q1.

I still haven't fixed mine.  I tried desoldering the diode to start with and simply cannot get it out.  I think the fact I have a $15-20 dick smith soldering iron might be part of the problem.    I don't think it's getting hot enough.

So Im still waiting for a mate to come round with his Hollywood version and will try again then, since I don't want to screw up a nice new board.   I might have to finally upgrade to a decent one myself.

[Boots]

That is exactly the same issue I was having with my board.

http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=14122.0

Pascal believes it's either a diode or transistor on the board that is the problem.  You should have got a spare one of each of those with the board.

Check the driver transistor Q1 on the board (just above A3J2).  Also check the diode just below Q1.

I still haven't fixed mine.  I tried desoldering the diode to start with and simply cannot get it out.  I think the fact I have a $15-20 dick smith soldering iron might be part of the problem.    I don't think it's getting hot enough.

So Im still waiting for a mate to come round with his Hollywood version and will try again then, since I don't want to screw up a nice new board.   I might have to finally upgrade to a decent one myself.

Why wait, they are cheap enough:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/331271359481

Get yourself some spare tips some small and some larger ones too at the same time.

[Slash]

Ok so something like that one in the link is fine?

I wasn't sure since it still seemed too cheap.

[DSB]

Hey Brett

If it turns out to be the transistor or diode I might be able to drop by one arvo and do the soldering if you need. You should buy a couple of transistors and diodes if you need them. Nothing worse than putting a new one in and blowing it straight away.

Dan

[Brettski]

Hey Brett

If it turns out to be the transistor or diode I might be able to drop by one arvo and do the soldering if you need. You should buy a couple of transistors and diodes if you need them. Nothing worse than putting a new one in and blowing it straight away.

Dan

Thanks Dan I really appreciate that offer!
I don't trust myself with a brand new board. It came with a couple of spare components including a transistor, I am going to get in touch with Pascal Jamin as I can't really see where else it might be. There are plenty of instructions out there for testing an original board but not for the PI-1 X4.

Anyway we will keep at until an answer comes along.

I will keep you updated and may take you up on that offer.

Cheers: Brettski... :)

[Boots]

Ok so something like that one in the link is fine?

I wasn't sure since it still seemed too cheap.

I've been using one of these for over a year now, it does a great job.

[Brettski]

That is exactly the same issue I was having with my board.

http://aussiepinball.com/index.php?topic=14122.0

Pascal believes it's either a diode or transistor on the board that is the problem.  You should have got a spare one of each of those with the board.

Check the driver transistor Q1 on the board (just above A3J2).  Also check the diode just below Q1.

I still haven't fixed mine.  I tried desoldering the diode to start with and simply cannot get it out.  I think the fact I have a $15-20 dick smith soldering iron might be part of the problem.    I don't think it's getting hot enough.

So Im still waiting for a mate to come round with his Hollywood version and will try again then, since I don't want to screw up a nice new board.   I might have to finally upgrade to a decent one myself.

Hey thanks Slash, It is what I have been suspecting and you have pointed me in the right direction. I see I have a transistor in the spare bits that came with the board but I would like to get a few spares so does any one know what rating/type they are so I can ask for them at Jaycar?

Dan already knows what I can do to a board so I might take him up on his offer 

Thanks heaps for the reply and pointing me to your post.

Cheers: Brettski... :)

[Slash]

According to Pascal Q1 is a BDW93C transistor.

[DSB]

According to Pascal Q1 is a BDW93C transistor.

You can confirm this by reading the print on the transistor. This number should be printed on there.

If you have no luck finding them or an equivalent at Jaycar you can find them at RS online. Don't forget some diodes as well!

http://au.rs-online.com/web/c/semiconductors/discrete-semiconductors/darlington-transistors/?searchTerm=BDW93C&h=s&sra=oss&redirect-relevancy-data=636F3D3226696E3D4931384E4B6E6F776E41734D504E266C753D656E266D6D3D6D61746368616C6C7061727469616C26706D3D5E5B5C707B4C7D5C707B4E647D2D2C2F255C2E5D2B2426706F3D313326736E3D592673743D4D414E5F504152545F4E554D4245522677633D424F5448267573743D42445739334326

[Gemini2544]

Brettski before doing the Transistor have you confirmed no mistake was made when you re-pinned the plugs? One wire out of order or a bad connection is all it take.

[Slash]

Thought I would provide an update.  A couple of weeks ago I desoldered the diode, then transistor.  Turns out the transistor was faulty as suspected.

I replaced that and the knocker coil finally works BUT it knocks pathetically.  It seems to barely make it up to knock, it sounds more like a tap than a knock.  Plus the coil is getting really hot.

My next question is have I got the wrong knocker coil.  I replaced the one that was in there with a brand new Gottlieb one of the same type A-1496 but I am now wondering if it's the wrong coil.  A check of my Buck Rogers manual and it lists all the coils in the game except... the knocker coil.  The Gottlieb manual for that era doesn't list it either. Can anyone tell me what coil should be in a system 1 knocker?

After fixing the knocker (somewhat) I noticed about 4 different switches suddenly not working so next thing will be to track that friggin problem down. 

[Homepin]

My first thought is "have you used the correct transistor?"

BDW types are typically darlington transistors with MUCH higher gain than "ordinary" transistors and that could be why the coil doesn't thump like it should? There are also many different pinouts - don't assume a replacement will have the ECB in the same order that the PCB requires.

Also, if the coil is getting hot it suggests that there is a continuous current flowing through it it? Does the replacement transistor have the same pinout as the original? This could account for both issues if the pinout is different from the PCB - coil hot AND weak knock???

Thought I would provide an update.  A couple of weeks ago I desoldered the diode, then transistor.  Turns out the transistor was faulty as suspected.

I replaced that and the knocker coil finally works BUT it knocks pathetically.  It seems to barely make it up to knock, it sounds more like a tap than a knock.  Plus the coil is getting really hot.

My next question is have I got the wrong knocker coil.  I replaced the one that was in there with a brand new Gottlieb one of the same type A-1496 but I am now wondering if it's the wrong coil.  A check of my Buck Rogers manual and it lists all the coils in the game except... the knocker coil.  The Gottlieb manual for that era doesn't list it either. Can anyone tell me what coil should be in a system 1 knocker?

After fixing the knocker (somewhat) I noticed about 4 different switches suddenly not working so next thing will be to track that friggin problem down. 

[Slash]

The transistor should be fine as it was the spare one that came in the bag with the board from Pascal and he told me to use that one when I was troubleshooting the problem with him a couple of months ago.

[Boots]

Normally a knocker should be a A-5194, the same as a kicker coil or A-5195 the same as a chime coil but A-1496 should still be fine
It shouldn't get hot as it is not used very much