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Fireing up a pin advice....

Paul

Paul

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So Whitewater is nearly ready to rock and roll. Haven't attached the Bigfoot playfield onto the main one yet, as not sure what the best way to approach this is, having had to rewire the bottom half of the playfield.

So - Is there any best way people have worked out to check a machine from scratch, or in this case after a rebuild??
Connect up the power first with no boards connected and make sure that all measures out ok before switching off, and connecting it to the boards, and then checking this again before connecting the connections to the playfield??

Any advice gratefully received. Whilst I'm confident in my work, there's lots of wires and it only takes one to be miss-read or miss-traced....
 
Yep, pretty much connect the driver board up first and check all the voltage test points before plugging in the rest of the boards.

MAKE SURE ALL FUSES ARE CORRECT ON THE DRIVER BOARD. If the machine has been operated ever, then some twunt will have fitted all the wrong fuses all over the board for no good reason other than laziness.

If the driver board is in an unknown condition you should probably test the transistors out first, but as long as you have the right fuses in there should not be too much damage if a coil is shorted on
 
I generally ensure fuses are correct and then fire up with the door open. If I'm unsure of my work, I'll leave solenoids disconnected and then hit the power button.

Your biggest potential issue is always going to be shorts so check, double check then triple check for any
 
So, What happened ?
I didn't hear a big bang so I am thinking its ok ?. ish.
 
If anyone hears a loud bang tonight - it's probably me switching it on!!
 
I'm always pleasantly surprised when a backbox is reconnected and everything works. Can only imagine the miracle needed to ensure everything works off the bat for an entire playfield swap ! Good luck with the big switch on ...have you got a Z list celebrity to do it ? ;)
 
lukewells said:
MAKE SURE ALL FUSES ARE CORRECT ON THE DRIVER BOARD. If the machine has been operated ever, then some twunt will have fitted all the wrong fuses all over the board for no good reason other than laziness.
Click to expand...

Bloody hell - aint that the truth...!!!!!

So F101-F105 should all be 3A SB according to the Fuse "guide" in the backbox....

In reality??

F101 - 5A
F102 - 6.3A
F103 - 6.3A
F104 - 4A
F105 - 3A

Finally one in the right place in the end :D

Next 5 on the driver board... all supposed to be 5A SB

F106 - 5A
F107 - 5A
F108 - 5A
F109 - 10A
F110 - 3A

Oh lordy....

Last 4 on the driver board... (correct values in Brackets..)

F111 - 5A (5A)
F112 - 20A!! (7A)
F113 - 3.15A (5A)
F114 - 7A (8A)

The 20A Looks like a thick pencil lead in the middle of a glass fuse!!!!
 
Last edited:
Paul said:
Bloody hell - aint that the truth...!!!!!

So F101-F105 should all be 3A SB according to the Fuse "guide" in the backbox....

In reality??

F101 - 5A
F102 - 6.3A
F103 - 6.3A
F104 - 4A
F105 - 3A

Finally one in the right place in the end :D

Next 5 on the driver board... all supposed to be 5A SB

F106 - 5A
F107 - 5A
F108 - 5A
F109 - 10A
F110 - 3A

Oh lordy....

Last 4 on the driver board... (correct values in Brackets..)

F111 - 5A (5A)
F112 - 20A!! (7A)
F113 - 3.15A (5A)
F114 - 7A (8A)

The 20A Looks like a thick pencil lead in the middle of a glass fuse!!!!
Click to expand...

That is a warning to us all - how many of us have really checked every fuse in our games ??? You'll only know when it all goes horribly wrong. 10 mins checking fuses ....or £££'s and a world of pain for new parts/repair/.....fire !?!? :eek:
 
one of the few things I do-checking a new pins fuses.Had umpteen games with severly wrong fuses -8amp instead of 1/8 amp,10a instead of 3a etc etc
As was seen on Daves "erupting"Volcano at a show,it aint pretty when some numpty fuses it wrong.
Have seen fuse wire,silver foil,even 20mm fuses soldered on top of 32mm fuses.Also 2.5mm wire wedged across a fuses=theres is no end to a confused persons stupidity.:eek:
Same with bare conductors showing on power cables-lost track of how many times I have had to remove pins or re wire ones with fooked power cables-this shoddy **** can kill peope l-even had a 230v belt cos of this once

Mind you,on old Gottliebs all there is between you and 230v on the start button is insulating fish paper-factory default!
 
GrizZ said:
That is a warning to us all - how many of us have really checked every fuse in our games ??? You'll only know when it all goes horribly wrong. 10 mins checking fuses ....or £££'s and a world of pain for new parts/repair/.....fire !?!? :eek:
Click to expand...

I gave Eddie Mole some serious stick for not checking his fuses after one of his machines went in to meltdown at a league meet. However, I've had so many machines come and go that I rarely check them these days... :eek: Although it helps if you know the history of the machines a bit and you can spot tin foiled fuses... :cool:
 
4 things are certain when you buy a pin with unknown history :-

1) All the fuses will be wrong
2) The machines power cable will be chewed up and covered in electrical tape
3) The flipper coil sleeves will be disintegrating
4) The plunger spring will be the wrong strength making skill shots impossible or pointless :)
 
Nahh - Have been off my feet as much as possible thanks to an achilles problem, meaning i'm in agony every time i stand up. Will give it a go when i'm up on my feet again properly :(
 
lukewells said:
4 things are certain when you buy a pin with unknown history :-

1) All the fuses will be wrong
2) The machines power cable will be chewed up and covered in electrical tape
3) The flipper coil sleeves will be disintegrating
4) The plunger spring will be the wrong strength making skill shots impossible or pointless :)
Click to expand...


Ok doing some pre-power up checks on a Data East Time Machine.

1) All fuses are wrong including these beauties :-

IMG_20140223_190006 (Medium).jpg
 
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