Adding interlock switch to spike 2

[Jib]

Was having a great game on IMDN when the doorbell went off, forgot that it doesn’t have an interlock switch so coindoor ball saver didn’t work!

Is it possible to easily add an interlock switch?

 

[windoesnot]

Did Stern not add this from factory on JP2 onwards? If so must be possible somehow

 

[Jib]

Yeah they removed it from production for a while and then added back in, it’s in the code still and later imdns have them so assume it’s possible but I’m not sure how

 

[Sam C]

I'd be interested to know as well, got the same issue on my IMDN Pro also and it can be frustrating not to have the interlock when you have to remove stuck balls etc.

 

[Jib]

Anyone have any idea on this? Thanks

 

[Andydn]

Was having a great game on IMDN when the doorbell went off, forgot that it doesn’t have an interlock switch so coindoor ball saver didn’t work!

Is it possible to easily add an interlock switch?

What’s coin door ball saver?
Does yours auto launch after a period of time? - if it does that’s an option you can turn off.

 

[Jib]

What’s coin door ball saver?
Does yours auto launch after a period of time? - if it does that’s an option you can turn off.

When you open the coin door it gives you a ball save. Useful if you have a stuck ball, you can free it and drain it but get it back when you shut the coin door or use it as a pause button basically, if you have to get the door, take a phone call, cook dinner, get the dog to stop humping the cushions etc

 

[mufcmufc]

It has to be possible, otherwise this error wouldn’t be able to happen.

 

[Jib]

I don't get that on my maiden, just the games with interlock switches. You get that when you open the coindoor?

 

[Jib]

Now I'm confused how does yours know the coin door is open without an interlock switch? I see its an LE so assume it hasnt got one

 

[pinballtoys]

possibly switch input on cabinet node board?

 

[mufcmufc]

Now I'm confused how does yours know the coin door is open without an interlock switch? I see its an LE so assume it hasnt got one

Sorry for any confusion, the clue was in the word “error”. The game won’t fully boot currently because there is an issue.

I was just showing that somewhere buried in the code or the board it is obviously possible to have an interlock

 

[pinballtoys]

looks like connector CN6-8 on cabinet node board

is there no wire in that position?

 

[myPinballs]

I have the switches for this if you want to add it back in. The switches are probably wired NC so if there are missing the power is just on.

 

[Jib]

I'll have a look a bit later and maybe see if I can trace where it's wired on one of my ones that have one. Although I'm a bit reluctant to just add it and the wiring if no one else has done it successfully in case there's a difference in the node boards and I damage it.

 

[pinballtoys]

switch input is normally held logic high

if there is a wire maybe they permanently grounded it, so the coin door always 'appears' closed

 

[Jib]

looks like connector CN6-8 on cabinet node board

is there no wire in that position?

Thanks for this. Just had a look in tmnt which has a working interlock and maiden that doesn’t. Both have the same wiring in cn6 and both with no wire in cn6-8.

The 2 wires from the interlock switch go into the backbox somewhere, I need to trace better to see exactly where.

I was hoping it would be a simple add the switch, add wiring to cabinet node board and software would do the rest but if it’s more complicated I think I’ll just do without rather than mess with stuff in the back and maybe the psu directly and risk damaging something. It’s not a huge deal, just nice to have to be able pause those great games if interrupted.

 

[Fubar]

It goes to CN4 on the power distribution board in the backbox. That board may be populated differently in which case you would need to change it. Show us a photo of the board it's next to the power supply.

 

[Jib]

Boards appear to be the same. Turtles has wires in cn4-1&4 and maiden doesn’t so that makes sense. It’s just whether it’s a risk to wire it up and try I guess.

 

[Fubar]

Hard to tell from those pictures, but are some components missing on the second PCB? U2/U3/U4, the black chips between the connectors and the big caps.

If those are missing, then the interlock circuitry is absent and it won't work. You'll need to either populate them on the board, or replace the board with one that's got the extra components.

If you're not sure send some pics with everything disconnected so we can see the board.

 

[Jib]

They seem to be the same. They are different in the manuals but not in my machines. I think I’ll just leave it, seems like I could damage power supply, distribution and node boards if done wrong, not really worth it to try. Thanks for the help investigating.

 

[mufcmufc]

They seem to be the same, just the chips aren’t black on one so don’t stand out as much. They are different in the manuals but not in my machines. I think I’ll just leave it, seems like I could damage power supply, distribution and node boards if done wrong, not really worth it to try. Thanks for the help investigating.

They are the same, from memory, the PD board was only different for 2 games (the 1st 2 I think) and it was only missing the interlock circuit on those games

 

[Jib]

Info for anyone thinking of trying this. I took the harness and switch out of turtles to try on maiden, thinking if it worked then I’d make up a new harness.

All wired up the same. Doesn’t work. Maybe need a different PDB or something, no idea, but just adding the switch and wiring to PDB doesn’t work on my machine anyway. I could try swapping the PDBs too but think I’ll leave it there as not that important.

 

[Jib]

I was bored so attempted this again, got it to work. To get it set up I needed, new PDB, interlock switch and bracket, 6m ish 18awg wire , 2 spade connectors, 2 molex pins.

@mufcmufc I don't know if the machine in your photo is yours or not but I'd guess it's had a new PDB, when I swapped in the new PDB but hadn't yet added the switch it acted as though the coin door was open. I think you should be able to fix it by either adding a switch or putting in one of the older style PDB

 

[Fubar]

Thanks for sharing. Do you have a side by side photo of the 2 PDBs? I'd be curious to know the difference...

 

[Jib]

Thanks for sharing. Do you have a side by side photo of the 2 PDBs? I'd be curious to know the difference...

I should have done that but I didn’t think to! I’ll get a pic of the one I took out and unplug stuff from the replacement in a bit, just finishing off by running the wires through the cab

 

[Jib]

Same connectors but they are slightly different. Someone smarter might be able to adapt the older style ones but for $75 I just ordered a new one.

 

[Fubar]

Yeah there's a bunch of components missing in the second one, as I suggested in a previous post.

It should be possible to populate them although a bit cramped between the caps and connectors...