Nugent Issue

[Extra Ball]

My Nugent has today developed a weird issue. Sometimes instead of  a pop bumper activating after being hit, the left slingshot fires. Any ideas? Seems to be my week for crazy issues lol

[AskJacob]

My Nugent has today developed a weird issue. Sometimes instead of  a pop bumper activating after being hit, the left slingshot fires. Any ideas? Seems to be my week for crazy issues lol

Common problem!

Remove and replug the wires on the MPU and PDB. If they get dirty, the signals will get confused.

Pretty sure that will sort it for you.

If it is not fixed that simply, then it may be one of a few common issues -flakey diodes on the PDB (if they have not been replaced, they are so old that they fall apart when you desolder them!), or a dry/cracked solder joint on one of the pdb/mpu pins...

Cheers
Jacob

[Strangeways]

In addition to Jacob's comments, there could be a problem within the switch matrix.

Is the left sling in the same row/column as the pop bumper  ?

you will need to check with the schematic

Other problem(s) - PIAs on the MPU. Swap them over. Could be a faulty PIA (U10/U11).

[Rod71]

Yep. First try reseating J5 on the sol driver board.

[Extra Ball]

I have cleaned the power connectors on both boards (the pins), they were really dirty. However the problem remains, and the machine is reseting sometimes. I activate the pop bumper by itself, and it will work fine, the sling shot will not fire. But if I knock some targets down and activate the pop bumper, the slingshot will fire instead of the pop bumper. Up until now I have been talking about the right slingshot. But I can also get the left slingshot to fire whilst activating the pop-bumper, by flicking the spinner at the same time. The little power board above the transformer (its a bally board actually), has rust near some solder areas, and I reckon it needs an overhaul.

I didnt clean the smaller connector pins on the MPU board, it that worth a shot? ( I did reseat them though). Now that its reseting I will not play it 
 

[Rod71]

Mate, i feel ya pain.

I have a couple of "Well regarded pinball gentlemen"  visiting tomorrow, and of course my KISS which has been pretty much rock solid for years decides to throw a sound board wobbly at me.

Instead of playing "Shout it out loud" at the end. I'm getting a wacky Egyptian tune 

So in trying to figure out if it's the board or connectors, i ended up creating displays that strobe, and a flaky ball return gate.

Fixed the above probs, but the sound is still rooted. Will have to convince the boys that it's "Custom" heh

[AskJacob]

I have cleaned the power connectors on both boards (the pins), they were really dirty. However the problem remains, and the machine is reseting sometimes. I activate the pop bumper by itself, and it will work fine, the sling shot will not fire. But if I knock some targets down and activate the pop bumper, the slingshot will fire instead of the pop bumper. Up until now I have been talking about the right slingshot. But I can also get the left slingshot to fire whilst activating the pop-bumper, by flicking the spinner at the same time. The little power board above the transformer (its a bally board actually), has rust near some solder areas, and I reckon it needs an overhaul.

I didnt clean the smaller connector pins on the MPU board, it that worth a shot? ( I did reseat them though). Now that its reseting I will not play it 
 

It's the smaller pins that may be causing the problems... it is a quick and easy thing to do, before you get stuck in the gory details of switch matrixes and other hell...

Double check the "rust" on the rectifier board. If it is like many I have seen, it may be brown crap from flux rather than rust - unsightly but not harmful. That said, it is the "most hacked" board on these machines by far and might need an overhaul, but at this stage it is not causing any of the problems you are currently having!

Cheers
Jacob

[dj10555]

I would check the diodes on all coils and switches, have not come loose and that they measure OK. Would also check the capacitors on the bumper switches and targets switches.  I have seen the capacitors cause random triggers even if the caps look and measure correct. You could try cutting one leg of each cap and see if the problem disappears.  If it does, then the caps need replacing otherwise just resolder them back on.

The game restarting could be due the either the caps on the regulator board being faulty or bad sockets on the MPU board.

[Extra Ball]

Thanks for the tips!

[Extra Ball]

Pinballs drive me nuts sometimes........

I have checked everything under the PF, cleaned all the pins on the boards (some were filthy), and no luck finding the problem.

Then Robert comes over and within a few mins discovers one of the credit switch wires was stuck down. Problem solved, the issue is gone!
 

[AskJacob]

Heh, switch matrices are buggers of things aren't they!

Cheers
Jacob

[Extra Ball]

Its amazing just how much good all that cleaning of connector pins has done for Nugent. All the soleniods have more punch, which has considerably speed-up the game. This week my pins love me