SOMETIMES NOT CHANGING CYCLES

[Tablejam]

We have 70's, solid state chassis w/ omega-tek conversions. This happened before on a different lane but that was so long ago and for the life of me I can't remember what the solution was. On this particular lane, maybe two or three times in about 3 games, the machine after going through a second ball cycle does not change over to first ball. I actually saw it do that. It also rapidly changed from 2nd ball to 1st then back to second again at the end of the cycle. I think the answer to this has to do with one of the sweep and table cam adjustments but I cannot remember which it is. Any help with this is much appreciated. Thank You in advance.

[Rep]

Re: SOMETIMES NOT CHANGING CYCLES

Check your cam adjustments, could be a flakey ta2 micro, ta2 and sa control the ball lights. If it was a flakey sa switch odds are you'd notice it as the sweep would run all jumpy (to say the least lol). Check them switches and gaps! [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[TheGMan143]

Re: SOMETIMES NOT CHANGING CYCLES

Rep's on it... The T- and S- switches and cams are excellent for creating flaky, intermittent problems. Usually, grease gets into the switch casing, travels on to the contacts, and starts causing trouble. Since all the switches handle is 'signal' voltage, there is no arc at the contacts to burn contaminants and oxidation away.

With omega-tek boards, adjustment and switch operation is more critical than with the old SS boards. The OT boards run at even lower voltages and higher tolerances than the 5-boards did... a small misadjustment or switch malfunction that an SS would operate with can cause havoc with omniboards.

I'll say it again... do yourself a favor... if you're going to pull one switch in the pack out, replace all 3. They're usually around the same age, and if one starts failing, the others may not be far behind. They're inexpensive enough to replace in 3s, and for the amount of work it takes to pull them out, you're better off just doing them all.

[Rep]

Re: SOMETIMES NOT CHANGING CYCLES

Once again G giving great advice. We ALWAYS change all micros when we pull a cam bank, saves tons of time and trouble later on. They aint the most convienient things to get out anyway, may as well make it worth it when ya pull the cam bank [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[AmfPro]

Re: SOMETIMES NOT CHANGING CYCLES

Yeah, Gman's right. Isolate the problem lane, change all the micros and see what gives. I have seen the problem still exist after changing all 6. Me and the boss came up with spraying some contact cleaner on the wire connections. Some lubrication seems to improve conductivity as these switches open and close hundreds of times every week. We sprayed them all at one point and cut the respot calls by about 10 a day. We still spray them every 3 months or so.

[TheGMan143]

Re: SOMETIMES NOT CHANGING CYCLES

If you're looking for a good contact-cleaning spray, see if you can find a local supplier for CAIG Deoxit D5... good stuff. I use quite a bit of it, and I can honestly say it works. Not only for cleaning contacts, but for preventing oxide buildup as well.