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TAF lamp matrix

LordBucketHead

LordBucketHead

Registered
Joined
Aug 12, 2017
Messages
92
Location
Durham
Hi All,
Could some kind expert guide me in the right direction with this (novice) head scratcher please.

In Test Menu: Single Lamps (with no balls in);

Every lamp in column 6 activates the next lamp in it's row in column 7.
And then in reverse:
Every lamp in column 7 activates the previous lamp in it's row in column 6.

Therefore for example;

'Left Special' illuminates + 'Lite Advance X'
'Lite Thing Flips' illuminates + 'Right Special'
etc etc and vice versa

Also.. both electric chair yellow and electric chair red don't illuminate.

Thank you for reading this. Much obliged.
 
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Sounds to me like you have a short. To get lights in the same rows firing together you have a short between those two columns. Any short or defective diode in the lamp matrix can cause all manner of chaos

You may have one fault, it may be more.

I would start by looking at the 2 faulty chair light bulbs. Get them working first. As you know that there is a specific problem here. Some clown may well have messed up a repair to these chair lights and that is the source of all this

If that does not clear it, you need to go deeper. This tells you what to do ...


https://pinballrehab.com/1-articles...atrix-theory-and-troubleshooting#double-lamps
 
DRD said:
Sounds to me like you have a short. To get lights in the same rows firing together you have a short between those two columns. Any short or defective diode in the lamp matrix can cause all manner of chaos

You may have one fault, it may be more.

I would start by looking at the 2 faulty chair light bulbs. Get them working first. As you know that there is a specific problem here. Some clown may well have messed up a repair to these chair lights and that is the source of all this

If that does not clear it, you need to go deeper. This tells you what to do ...


https://pinballrehab.com/1-articles...atrix-theory-and-troubleshooting#double-lamps
Click to expand...
Thanks for your advice. Much appreciated. I'll follow it up later on tonight. I'll let you know how I get on.
 
Also check which connectors are fitted to the driver board with those listed in the manual. It's not unknown for an extra connector to cause a short like you describe.
 
Moonraker said:
It's not unknown for an extra connector to cause a short like you describe
Click to expand...

Even when new - a Bally Harley-Davidson showed something like this out of the box. There was a solder short between the affected connecting pins under the plastic of the pcb connector, cleared by applying an iron to each
 
DRD said:
I would start by looking at the 2 faulty chair light bulbs. Get them working first. As you know that there is a specific problem here. Some clown may well have messed up a repair to these chair lights and that is the source
Click to expand...

If the two lamps are on the affected columns, then that's quite likely. A lamp-matrix problem I saw once on Terminator 2 vanished with the Skull Eyes disconnected, as the short circuit was created by the wire insulation being damaged by a metal guide rail
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. Very educational. Just an update, I got the chair lamps working last night as advised. A leg had snapped off a diode, fiendishly hidden under sleeving. The 'single lamps test' still shows the same behaviour as described. I'll work my way thru the suggestions later in the week. Thanks again.
 
Before I go any further, is this right (or ok) as shown in the pic below.
The manual has;
All the red wires going to J133.
Seven yellow wires going to J137.
One yellow wire going to J138

I've got;
Seven red wires going to J133
One red wire going to J134
One yellow wire going to J137
Seven yellow wires going to J138

Also I'm puzzled (doesn't take much) by why the PCB has the last connection on the plug marked as '9' when the lamp matrix has the end of row or column as '8' ?
I can see there's a blank connection in the plug to make 9 but why not label the last connection on the PCB as '8' to go with the manual ?

J133J137.JPG
 
They're the same supply and they are fine J133 = J134 = J135 & J137 = J138.

That means they can be connected in a different order like they have been. It's more a case of a connector that is not listed in the manual as having a connection that then has something connected to it. For example if J136 was showing no connection and you find that there is a connector on it...
 
Moonraker said:
They're the same supply and they are fine J133 = J134 = J135 & J137 = J138.

That means they can be connected in a different order like they have been. It's more a case of a connector that is not listed in the manual as having a connection that then has something connected to it. For example if J136 was showing no connection and you find that there is a connector on it...
Click to expand...
Did not know that :thumbs:
 
J133J137.JPG I've pulled the column connector and put a multimeter across the male terminals for the rogue columns (6 and 7) on the board and the multimeter peeps continuity. I did the same (out of interest) between other columns and there are no peeps. I'll take it therefore that my problem is somewhere on the board rather than the playfield wiring ? Could some kind expert point me in the direction of how to test the board components if indeed I'm on the right track. Thanks again for reading this.
Edit: please don't be confused by the unplugged row plug.. I just used a previous picture that I already had on this computer.
 
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Addams Family Pinball Lamp Matrix Board Playfield Column Short Fix [search help]

Thanks everyone.. I've found the short on the board. Special thanks to DRD for the link. Problem solved.gotcha.JPG
 
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This is where my mild ocd is an advantage. I HAVE to have all the transistors lined up correctly and equally spaced if I have to go in the backbox.
So if anybody ever buys a machine off me and the transistors are wonky, then you know I have never been in the backbox. :)
 
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. NO

If you bend the things they may snap. Ain't broke, don't fix it IMHO
 
DRD said:
NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. NO

If you bend the things they may snap. Ain't broke, don't fix it IMHO
Click to expand...
You got that wrong David. If it ain’t broke, fix it until it is. :)
 
Out of curiosity if you were worried about bending it, could you put something in between like a bit of cardboard it that would break the contact? Or would that be a fire risk?

(I assume the OP has already fixed this)
 
You sometimes need to bend stuff. But I had a component on a sound board snap off when I did this so I now do it as a matter of necessity only
 
This has got me wondering why that transistor casing type has the exposed terminal on the top - is it for cooling?
 
stoptap said:
This is where my mild ocd is an advantage. I HAVE to have all the transistors lined up correctly and equally spaced if I have to go in the backbox.
So if anybody ever buys a machine off me and the transistors are wonky, then you know I have never been in the backbox. :)
Click to expand...
My mild ocd is slightly less interesting (and of no use to electronics either). Clothes pegs have to be completely identical across one garment. Absolutely identical.
On the subject of lamps.. if I have a stock of #44, #906 & #555 bulbs, have I pretty much got it covered for the A Family ??
I don't want to sicken Pinball Mania or Heaven off by making tiny orders for bulbs. I'd rather just buy a lot in one go
 
LordBucketHead said:
My mild ocd is slightly less interesting (and of no use to electronics either). Clothes pegs have to be completely identical across one garment. Absolutely identical.
On the subject of lamps.. if I have a stock of #44, #906 & #555 bulbs, have I pretty much got it covered for the A Family ??
I don't want to sicken Pinball Mania or Heaven off by making tiny orders for bulbs. I'd rather just buy a lot in one go
Click to expand...
Buy #47 instead of #44. They are ever so slightly dimmer (you won’t be able to tell) but they consume less power and generate less heat.
 
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