Jurassic park Meltdown

[RaptorLawyer]

Hey guys, apologies if im freaking out here but im at wits end as to what to do.

So anywho i boot up my JP tonight and rather than performing the normal T-rex tests, the power room coil keeps constantly kicking over and over, the machine tells me there is too many balls when the correct amount is present and the screen says to check the trex switches.

Upon shooting a ball out, the game shoots a second ball out and all the switches constantly activate and the sound goes crazy.

I'd love any help anyone could provide as the machine is only 2 weeks old and has been absolutely faultless till today and even diagnosing an issue like this is way way way beyond my level of knowledge.

If anyone is located near Balwyn, in melbourne i'd gladly reimburse you with a slab of beer/wine etc but i cant afford to call a tech out as im still jobless.

Panick stations are manned!

[Caveoftreasures]

sometimes some of my machines do the same things for no reason.

i usually turn the machine on and off and it fixes itself.

if it doesnt, i am sure one of the local guys will pop past. might just be a dirty contact on one of the switches.

there is always ya warranty if you bought the machine from a reputable dealer. 

[RaptorLawyer]

Hey Brett, tried restarting it and now its doing even weirder things.

Now when i pull the trigger to shoot the ball, the pop bumpers and slingshots activate/kick and the ball does not.

I tried running all the tests on the Trex and it operates flawlessly in the test menu, hopefully its something simple like a dirty connector but i tend to have awful luck.

I would really really really really appreciate any help on this one, as i really dont want to have to rent a ute to take it back to the dealer to run the chance of them maybe looking at it.

Cheers,
Steve

[Caveoftreasures]

Lift up the playfield and count the amount of balls in the ball trough.

It sounds like there is a ball stuck somewhere.
The machine will keep throwing switches in the attempt to dislodge the ball because it is not counting the correct amount of balls in the trough.

Take the glass off and look for the ball hiding behind something etc, as well in the ball trough.

[RaptorLawyer]

Yeh had a look, there are supposed to be six balls and all six are in the trough.

I even took two out and it still said there was too many.

Would a factory reset help at all?

[Caveoftreasures]

yeh, reset wouldnt hurt. just remember to set freeplay ofcourse. lol

pinballs are like wives, fun sometimes, and a pain in the ass other times !

could you imagine having a collection of wives in the garage.    no reset button on them that would ever help either. lol

[RaptorLawyer]

haha yeh well i have about as much understanding about pinballs as i do women so it leaves me in the dark pretty much!   

Hopefully there is a local 'marriage counselor' that takes pity on me!

[beaky]

you may have a faulty opto, switch or a bad power connection to several optos.
what it sounds like is the machine is getting a false reading telling it there are balls where there are no balls, so the pin says there are to many balls.

i have not worked on a jp before but you said the power room coil keeps kicking, i would be checking the optos or switches in the power room first as it sounds like it is trying to clear a ball or balls out of there. if the optos in that area have lost power to them or are out of alignment ( if it has optos), or if there is a switch stuck on the pinball machine will just keep trying to clear that area by kicking its coil over and over again.

let me know how it all goes

i would have to look at the schematic and the trex to see what could be causing the switch errors.

[robm]

As Beaky said, go to the switch test in the menu and check EVERY switch that it works.  (There are no optos on JP so you don't need to worry about them).  As he said, pay particular attention to the power shed and trough switches as it may be something there.  If you find something that looks a bit funny, let me know or take a photo and i can test the same component on my JP and let you know

[Pintoxicated]

First thing to check, as Beaky mentioned, would be the switch in the power shed - make sure it isn't stuck down.  If it is stuck down, this would make the kicker go off as well as probably make the machine think there is an extra ball sitting on the switch if all 6 other balls are sitting in the trough.  You would have to access the switch from under the playfield, it may even be slightly bent from years of use and might just need a bit of a tweak to get it sitting right again.  

I assume that the CPU is good and there is no battery damage on the board anywhere?

[ajlaird]

Where do you live again?

[MartyJ]

Alrighty..

Firstly a systematic approach needs to be done to eliminate a couple of things.  Unplug power (from the wall) and remove.
Remove all 6 balls (before or after) and lift playfield to its upright position.

As Blair and Andrew have suggested, a check of the switch in shed would be my first area to look at.  If no issues identified then....

There is a note in Clay's guide about the loom rubbing against the upper right flipper coil stop.  I would carefully inspect this area to ensure the loom isn't shorting.

I would also do a visual inspection of the diodes on the coils to ensure none have broken.

See how you go.  We'll get it sorted.

[Strangeways]

If you bought it from a reputable dealer, it should be covered under a "return to base" warranty. Just check before you go to the trouble of transporting it.

Sounds like a switch matrix problem - as others have mentioned. Will most likely be a stuck switch in the "Power Room".

A second ball being served - I had a similar issue - it was the diode on the VUK that serves the ball, but that was the only issue I was experiencing. I'd look at the "Power Room" switch first.

[RaptorLawyer]

Ok, thanks so very much for all the help so far.

I will go check the switch now and see how i go, and report back soon.

Cant wait till ive had enough experience where i dont have to come running to you guys everytime something goes haywire in a way i havent seen before.

Thanks,
Steve

[Pintoxicated]

Ok, thanks so very much for all the help so far.

I will go check the switch now and see how i go, and report back soon.

Cant wait till ive had enough experience where i dont have to come running to you guys everytime something goes haywire in a way i havent seen before.

Thanks,
Steve

I may just be speaking for myself but the vast majority of us will be back asking questions again and again with new problems that we haven't experienced before........there's plenty to know and I don't think you ever really stop learning.  The best thing is that there is a place to ask the questions and get answers - end result, the hobby thrives.