DE Starwars deathstar and drop targets

[Crashramp]

Hi all, I brought my first pinball recently a DE Starwars, a game that 20 years ago sparked the interest in pinballs for me. It's abit of a step learning curve going from playing to owning but i'm enjoying it immensly.  Anyway I'm rambling, the reason for my post was that as of last night my deathstar door wont open and the three drop targets wont come back up. I don't know if these problems are related or not but both issues  seemed to happen at the same time. If any one has any insight or has had similar problems before, any advise would be welcome.
Cheers
 Adam

[Strangeways]

  Adam and  to AP

I don't have the schematics in front of me, but I would be checking the fuses first. you need to make sure that other coils are not firing.

Power Supply Board - F5 and F6 are the solenoid fuses. I suspect there would have to be more than just the coil on the Drop Target.

PPB board (lower left hand board) - F6 5S SloBlo

If it is not the fuses, then you have two faults that might be simple.

does the trop target register as a score ? Do the Drop Targets pop up at the start of each ball ? If so, there's a switch that is not working behind one of the drop targets. There's also a connector for the entire assembly. you can check that it has not come loose.

The Death Star is operated by a motor. From memory, the motor is powered by a relay which develops dry joints over time. I'd be following the the motor wiring to see which relay is responsible.

You can run the game in diagnostic mode - do you have the manual that would describe this process ?

[Crashramp]

Thanks for the quick response. The drop targets don't pop up at the start of a new ball however they will pop fractionally above the playfield surface when a ball is missing. Also before the deathstar door closed for good it was on occasion not closing properly and even remaining open when it should have been closed. I have the manual so I'll work through your suggestions and see how i go.
Thanks Again.

[ktm450]

  Adam

[Crashramp]

Thanks ktm450. I have another question though to anybody who can help. I've now run diagnostics with the following displayed; "Middle loop #18", "Bar motor up #41",  "Not used #49". The death star  started operating by itself again last night though not always correctly as some times it should have been up and it was down. I assume this is the "Bar motor up" issue but not quite sure as my manual is incomplete.
 I should also note the drop targets don't register a score. Anyway, off to the shop now for some fuses and I'll go from there.
Cheers

[andtan]

Howdy and  aboard -

The guys here will be able help you solve those niggling faults - I'm still learning so unfortunately I can't help you at all .

[Crashramp]

Thanks andtan, I hope so, still plugging away anyway. Every time I have a new theory I get back under the hood. No luck so far, though I'm narrowing the field down. Fuses replaced, wiring, soldering and connections checked (looks ok to me anyway)
 Just wondering with the drop targets if the hard browny golden resin (oil?) on the solder could be a problem? There's a small build up at the solder connection of the "Black Beast" driver ( sorry don't know technical name of the component). Same goes with a few of the other connections where Black Beast is also used, so maybe this is normal?

[Crashramp]

I almost forgot to add the death star progress. It's still doing its own thing. Opening and closing when it wants ( mostly closing). Maybe a short somewhere?
Thanks for all the feedback so far.

[Steevsee]

Hi Adam and welcome to the forum.

Not sure how far you got with the diagnostics but might pay to run them again. (Start at page 21 in the manual)

Make a note of anything that comes up under the "Tech Alert" step. (stuck switches or non working switches)

Next run the "Bar Motor Test" (page 23)  followed by the "SwitchTest" (p 24).  Check all switches and note any that do not respond.

Lastly run the "All Coils" test on page 28.

Let us know the results.

[Crashramp]

Thanks steevsee, test results as follows;
 Bar test : Bar motor up - off
                Bar motor down - off
Active Switch Test: Trough #1 left GRN - RED, WHT - ORN # 11
                             Trough #2 centre  GRN - RED , WHT - YEL #12
                             Trough #3 right GRN - RED, WHT - GRN #13
                             Shift down GRN-VIO, WHT -ORN #51
Coil test: I ran through this test several times and the drop targets came up every time. After they'd come up I'd knock them down again but they always reset. To bad they won't do it in a game!

[Steevsee]

Did the death star gate move up and down correctly during the test and did the up and down switch status change as it moved?

DT reset coil is obviously ok. Sounds like it might be a switch issue.

When you are in switch test, activate every switch by hand and see if any are not working besides the drop targets. (Especially the X-wing targets, which share the same switch column as the DTs)

[Crashramp]

Thanks Steevsee, I'll give it another go tonight and post results. How do i active the switches by hand?

[Steevsee]

Just remove the PF glass and then follow the switch chart on page 24 of the manual.

The diagram on page 25 shows the location of the switches, if you have trouble finding them.

You should be able to press on a target, for example, with your fingers and activate the associated switch.
Basically you're simulating the ball hitting the switch during a game. 

Some switches may not be easy to get at, but the main ones we're interested in at this stage are the drop targets and the xwing targets which you should have no problem getting to.

Probably should also mention not to go poking around beneath the playfield with the power turned on unless you are sure of what you are doing. 

[Crashramp]

I ran the test through several more times #11,#12 &#13 were the only consistent issues. Bar motor down #42 came up once.
Death Star door remained down through out all testing, including the Bar Motor test. Results were "Bar motor up - off & Bar Motor down - on" however this did change after further tests to "up - off & down - off" death star still didn't move though.

I hit the target switches and the X wing targets are also not working. I couldn't find reference to the target part number 180-5082-06 in the board. Is this where I should be looking?

[Steevsee]

I ran the test through several more times #11,#12 &#13 were the only consistent issues.

11, 12 and 13 are the trough switches and should be on as long as the balls are in the trough.  No problem there.

Bar motor down #42 came up once.
Death Star door remained down through out all testing, including the Bar Motor test. Results were "Bar motor up - off & Bar Motor down - on" however this did change after further tests to "up - off & down - off" death star still didn't move though.

When you are in Bar Motor Test, you should be able to move the gate up and down by holding down the game's start button.  If it doesn't move properly during the test then you have a problem, probably with the relay board mounted under the playfield. It is common for these boards to develop dry solder joints and will most likely need to be reflowed with a soldering iron.

I hit the target switches and the X wing targets are also not working. I couldn't find reference to the target part number 180-5082-06 in the board. Is this where I should be looking?

Unfortunately if the entire switch column is not working, it's usually the result of a blown transistor on the CPU board.  In your case it is Q52 (2N3904). You can test the transistor with a multimeter if you have access to one? 

If it is definately bad, this would require soldering work on your CPU board and is probably best done by someone with experience.

Where are you located?