MMR LE - Check Drawbridge Up SW Broken ERROR

[Damien]

Got my MMR LE today and as stoked as I am, I'm also a bit saddened by this test error I get when I boot the game:

CHECK DRAWBRIDGE UP SW BROKEN

Seems the Drawbridge is going to a down (open) position when the game starts, and it seems to not completely go up during gameplay. It goes up about 90% of the way.

Does anyone know what this is, or how it can be fixed?

Game still seems to play fine otherwise, but kind of sucks that the drawbridge is in a down position once a game starts.

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[Chris Bardon]

I don't really know the mech at all, but I'm assuming that for something like this, there's a motor with two position switches-drawbridge open and closed. If the game came with a manual, I'm sure the details are in there (Looks like you can find the manual online here: http://www.chicago-gaming.com/Brochures/MMR_Manual_Rev_1_2.pdf. ). I'd check those in the switch test (or the drawbridge test) to see if they actually work. Might just be something like a wire that came loose in shipping. If you can close the switches manually, then it could just be that something needs to be bent so that the mechanism makes contact.

Not sure how support is on these games-if it was Stern or JJP I'd suggest calling for support and the techs could walk you through a fix, but for MMR, is support going through Stern? Anything that came with the game to suggest who to contact for support?

Good luck troubleshooting, and welcome to pinball ownership!

 

[Damien]

Thanks for the reply.

Drawbridge goes up and down in test, but it seems to check off closed when it's open.

 

[Chris Bardon]

So the switch is doing the opposite of what it's supposed to? Is it possible it was just wired wrong? I think those microswitches usually have 2 tabs on them-one for NC (Normally Closed) and one for NO (Normally Open). Can't imagine how that could have been wired backwards and made it through factory testing, but I suppose it's possible?

Are there 2 switches on that assembly (one for drawbrige all the way open, and one for all the way closed), or is there just the one? If there are 2 of them, what does the second one do in test?

 

[Menace]

Sean,

Unless you're comfortable getting your hands dirty and working on the game yourself, this will require a service call either by a Playdium tech (which could take weeks and they will likely charge you even though it *should* be covered by warranty) or have me come out.

I'd start by contacting your sales rep to see what they say. If they want to charge you for the repair call, tell them to shove it and I'll come down.

D

 

[Bigbossfan]

What I'd recommend is submitting a trouble ticket with PPS (the folks who make the pin). Go here. http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTUS

From what I understand, Lloyd (LTG on Pinside) is one of their "techs" and he has a good reputation for reaching out right away and trying to work out any issues that way.

As Doug mentions above, if that fails, have him come out. He's the best in the Biz!

 

[Damien]

So I went under the play field, and pushed in every switch and connector I could find.

Might have hit something right, because it's now working.

I tried to look at the schematic in the manual to see where SW56 and SW57 were, but I still couldn't find it under the playfield. If any has the game and is able to take a quick photo and point out where these switches are, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you all for chiming in

 

[luch]

glad you figured it out

 

[Bigbossfan]

So I went under the play field, and pushed in every switch and connector I could find.

Might have hit something right, because it's now working.

I tried to look at the schematic in the manual to see where SW56 and SW57 were, but I still couldn't find it under the playfield. If any has the game and is able to take a quick photo and point out where these switches are, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you all for chiming in

Welcome to the hobby!! LOL

 

[Damien]

Maybe I spoke to soon... Drawbridge seems a bit finicky.

I thought that the drawbridge would come down after hitting it?

Can anyone confirm if the drawbridge is supposed to come down anytime you hit it?

Or does something have to be triggered first, or any other requirements.

Thanks

 

[Damien]

Disregard my last post. I realized that there are optical sensors one the moat that trigger the drawbridge to open. The problem is, the sensors are not detecting the ball. I have tried realigning them, ran tests and it does not work.

It seems if I pushed down on one of the sensors, and pass the ball through, it will trigger it. But otherwise, it does not detect it at all, and the game is pretty much rendered useless without this feature.

Guess I have to put in a service call with Playdium. I hope this gets dealt with quick because it really is a shame to have this game here and not be able to play it

 

[Damien]

So the machine is back up and working, but there's a hilarious story that goes along with it!

A tech from Playdium came by (btw very impressed with their timely service) and he started diagnosing the problem. He tried everything I had. Realigning, checking connection, loose soldering, etc.

He was scratching his head. He said he was baffled. Then by chance he just happened to have his hand above the sensor and noticed it changed from "open" to "closed".

He waved his ha d back and force over it in the air and said, "this is some voodoo s#!+".

He looked up, turned to me and said, can you turn off the light.

And thenit was! The stupid light was interfering with the sensor. It was not making it think it was "open" and balls were not registering. My fingers would usually work because I'd cover the light as I tried.

The two of us laughed hysterically when we realized this.

Anyhow, super nice guy (Bobby) and all is working now!

 

[Menace]

Interesting story. This isn't the first time I've heard of this issue, and the Shadow pinball specifically had a "repair kit" released by WMS back in the day to combat this exact issue on the upper PF kicker opto's.

Glad you got it all sorted out.

D

 

[Chris Bardon]

That's a new one to me, but it makes sense when you think about it. Could have been even worse if it was a window, and different light at different times of day would make the issue even more intermittent. Glad it worked out though, and glad that Playdium was able to service it for you!

 

[Damien]

Really happy to have the game up and running! Such a fun game to play!

 

[luch]

so you got to play in the dark ?

 

[Damien]

And now another problem...

Right flipper is getting stuck in the up position.

Error message is: Right flipper EOS stuck closed.

I've just about had it with this thing!!!

 

[luch]

it might be too tight to the playfield ? is there any vertical up and down play . if not you will have to loose the nut the holds the flipper in place and give it some more play up and down then retighten

 

[Damien]

http://www.pinballrevolution.com/threads/mmr-flipper-issue.5650/

 

[Menace]

Replied to your PM. Check all of the things I listed...

D