Gold Wings kickers not working

[kvoxx]

Hello everyone, I ran into a problem with my Gold Wings. When you start a game the kicker doesn't kick the ball so then the ball can't go into the plunger lane. Funny enough the kicker in the multi ball capture hole doesn't work any more either. I can get a game to start if I manually push the ball where the kicker is suppose to kick.

Thank you,
Kevin

 

[sylvain]

This is what I would do to troubleshoot this:
- Are all the balls present in the through (2) ?
- get the manual if you do not already have it;
- identify if the issue is with the switches/matrix, or solenoids/drive;
- then, pinpoint and fix the issue.
Some guidance below.

Using the self-test button inside the cashdoor, go to switch test, step 18.
Confirm that the two switches in the through properly report individually when balls are present.
Confirm that the outhole switch properly report.
Check that the right flipper (button or flipper EOS) has an extra switch for lane change that is not shorting to the main flipper switch.
If the switch(es) do not report, make sure they are properly gapped, and connector J6 is properly secure onto the MPU.
If still not reporting, unplug connector J6 from the MPU and check if pin 16 into that connector is fine (e.g. not broken or corroded).
Check wiring at switches and make sure there are no broken wires under the playfield.
If the switches still do not report, then there is a good chance that the problem is on the MPU in the switch matrix section.
But, you also will need to make sure there is nothing wrong with the right flipper (button or flipper EOS) extra switch for lane change,
as a short of that switch to the solenoid voltage will blow Z14 TTL chip on the switch matrix section of the MPU and cause that column
of switches (through #1, through #2, outhole and right flipper) to stop working.

Using the self-test button inside the cashdoor, go to step 17.
Confirm if the Ball eject, ball release and hole kicker solenoids properly work.
If they do not, check the fuses F10 & F11 (they might be under the playfield).
Check wiring at coil lugs to make sure there are no broken wires .
Make sure the connectors J3 & J4 are secure in position onto the driver board.
With the machine powered off, make sure that the MPU to Driver harness is properly connected.
If fuse(s) are blown, there might be an issue with the associated drive transistor for the coil, on the driver board.
The machine might need its ground mod too, if not already done.

Good luck !
- Sylvain.

 

[kvoxx]

Thanks for the advice Sylvain! I'll check it out.

 

[kvoxx]

Ok checked the fuses and both f10 & f11 were blown. Previous owner put in a 4amp fast blo. I checked the manual and it says 1amp slow boo so I went with that and replaced them. Game works as it should but after a couple games f11 fuse blew I put in another fuse again played some games and then both f10 & f11 blew. I went into test mode it showed in the matrix test switch 44 closed. In the solenoid test sequence number 8 knocker assembly doesn't kick. I checked and secured all connectors to the mpu board. The previous owner did the ground mods. So now I need to check the coils?

Thank you,
Kevin

 

[Menace]

Are any coils locked on? Any switches stuck closed in switch test?

D

 

[kvoxx]

Hi Menace,
Nope no coils were locked or stuck during the test. The kicker worked when the ball drops in the gutter but the ball release solenoid to the shooter lane doesn't fire so no ball gets released. This was tested with the fuse blown. Once I put in the fuse it works as should but will blow again.

Thank you,
Kevin

 

[sylvain]

Hmmm, I guess these coils appear to lock for some reason now and then, blowing the fuse(s).
Unless the problem is mechanical with the ball unable to eject and the MPU/driver attempting
to kick the ball out at a high repetitive rate (any such noise before the game blows fuses?)

According to the manual, SW44 is the Vertical Loop Entrance Rollunder...
I believe it should have nothing to do with your current issue.

F10 is for both the Outhole and Hole Kicker coils, whereas F11 protects the Ball Release coil.
Indeed the manual indicates that those fuses are supposed to be 1A SB each.

This type of intermittent issue might be caused by bad/corroded pins in the MPU-Driver harness,
or possibly in the switch matrix connector on the MPU (A1J6).

With such intermittent issues, I have learned over the years to 'precipitate' the problem by starting the game,
and either forcing the ball(s) to be stuck in the outhole to be ejected repeatedly, and/or by gently tapping on the
suspect boards and connectors with a wooden-handle screwdriver until the problem occurs.
And immediately turning the machine OFF when coils lock or issue starts.
This helps pinpointing the issue.

Note - never disconnect and reconnect connectors or adjust switches with the power on.
Chips can be damaged.

- Sylvain.

 

[kvoxx]

Hi Sylvain,
The control board is original but the driver board has been changed to a rottendog and new power supply. Whenever the game starts the ball release coil makes a loud Growl like Eerrrrrr! But it's always done this since I had it for the past 6 months. If I leave the game running even without playing it or starting a game f11 fuse will burn up and get black.

Thank you,
Kevin

 

[sylvain]

I would still check the MPU to Driver boards Harness pins, along with the associated drive transistor
on the Driver board (even if it is a Rottendog). That coil may also need to be changed as well if partly
burned or partly shorted, been left on for too long. Make sure that these coils have a diode across the lugs,
otherwise a replacement driver transistor or board will short again.

- Sylvain.

 

[REVOLUTION]

is there any resistance in any of the coils? Maybe one of them is starting to swell as the game plays

 

[kvoxx]

Ok I changed out the coils for the out kicker and ball release in the drain. So I put in a 5194 and 5195 replaced the bad fuses in f10 f11. Ran attest first to make sure they operated which they did. Played a game and it ran smooth and no more noise to kick out and release the ball to the shooter. After a couple games f11 fuse blew again. I tried looking for loose connectors on all the coils and reattached all the cables on the mpu and driver board. I think I'm in over my head now...

 

[sylvain]

As indicated earlier, the issue appears to be a bad transistor on the Rottendog driver board or a bad MPU-Driver Harness/pin.
Or miswiring - something that was replaced incorrectly earlier.
At this stage, I can no longer help remotely, sorry.

Good luck!
- Sylvain.

 

[kvoxx]

As indicated earlier, the issue appears to be a bad transistor on the Rottendog driver board or a bad MPU-Driver Harness/pin.
Or miswiring - something that was replaced incorrectly earlier.
At this stage, I can no longer help remotely, sorry.

Good luck!
- Sylvain.

Thank you for the help Sylvain. I'll check that out if I can.

 

[kvoxx]

I checked the diver board and mpu. The only thing I could see that looked out of place was the mpu had some burn marks on two of the chips solder joints. I toke some pictures not sure if that would be enough to be the culprit. F11 continues to blow if I try to run the game.

Thank you,
Kevin

 

[sylvain]

Unfortunately, a defective drive transistor usually cannot be identified by a visual inspection only.

They need to be tested with a Digital multimeter - there are tons of info on how to do this on the web.
If you are lucky, the bad transistor will be warm or hot before the fuse blows (if it takes a while for the fuse to blow)...

Still not sure if a coil is always on partly, or if the MPU somehow locks-up and drives the transistor on all the time sporadically. Or, if you have a bad/corroded pin in the MPU-Driver harness.

Good luck !
- Sylvain.

 

[kvoxx]

Ah ok. Thank you for all the help and tips everyone and especially Sylvain.

 

[kvoxx]

Game is finally up and running again thanks to Menace who came over and got her up and running again! I'm so happy I couldn't sleep and had to play a couple rounds!

It seems that the previous larger fuses in F10 & F11 was there because they had the wrong coils in the ball release so to balance it out. A 5194 bumper coil was being used for the ball release kicker and after swapping it for a 5195 coil it now works and no more buzzing!

Thank you Menace!

 

[Menace]

It's always great getting to meet new collectors, and I appreciated the hospitality!

Glad I was able to *finally* get to the root cause before I left! At least we got a large portion of your connectors re-pinned too and hopefully that solves the sound cutting out problem.

Enjoy the game!

D