All new brainache fault

[jez]

have found and killed another fault that even one of AMF UK's senior technicians couldnt cure, it has vexed 3 of our regional techs and several other centres cheif techs for 2 years. and my chief charged me with the job of finding the fault at all costs! (took me a good day)

here is the scenario:
If the mask cable is connected to the chassis, the mechine cocks-up and starts to do strange things like going thru strike cycle on every throw and cycling on its own, unplug the mask cable and bridge the switch pins, fault dissapears, the fault stays with the machine, dosent follow chassies about at all and does it with every chassis installed on the offending machines.

heres some info:
we have MENDES masks with ball 1 and 2 lights and a mask switch only, no other electrics on them whatsoever.

we have c series '70s with MP chassies and Qubica

we have NO managment control box

we are in the UK and on 240v (3 seperate phases to neutral across machines)

100 points for the person that figures it out!

i GUARANTEE its not the first thing people say!

enjoy, ill post the problem shortly.

[Marty Murphy]

Re: All new brainache fault

Shorted out light bulb socket.

[Clutch Plate]

Re: All new brainache fault

Short in mask cable??

[KLH]

Re: All new brainache fault

box of C4 will cure that problem

[JimDorsin]

Re: All new brainache fault

Bowland or BES?? I am not familiar with Bowl land, but with BES if both reflectors are not in place and functioning correctly, you get wierd stuff. (cant cycle from desk, contunious cycle sometimes....etc) and BES needs the 1st and 2nd ball info.....if it does not recieve both correctly, wierd things happen. (at least with us...lol) Our balls jumping out of gutter problem has shatered a lot of front reflectors, and created a lot of wierd problems that are supposed to go away once we get all the bumpers lowered so the balls stop 'spring boarding' odd them and killing reflectors.

This related in any way??

[Dutch]

Re: All new brainache fault

Well, It sounds like something making intermittent contact in the mask plug, cable or the mask switch itself but that's too obvious to have given you so much trouble.

My guess is that Jim is on to something. Maybe it has something to do with the 1st & 2nd ball signal?

[partnumber]

Re: All new brainache fault

Something wrong connected in f-box? i.e. second ball lightbulb wires connected to foot fault input?

[JJP]

Re: All new brainache fault

The terminals for the mask switch grounding against the back of the metal box that holds the switch.We had this problem with our mendes masks causing intermittent cycle problems.maybe with mp chassis it also caused other problems.

[JimDorsin]

Re: All new brainache fault

The more I think about it, the more I have another (more specific) theory. Does it actually go through a STRIKE cycle (scoring the strike) or can the scoring system simply be perceiving the machine being in 2nd ball cycle due to a shorted 2nd ball light causing consistent 2 ball signal to the scoring?? Add in a burnt out bulb, and you would never notice it from watching.

[jez]

Re: All new brainache fault

all offending lanes are erattic, they dont specifically have one fault, there isnt a fault in the cable itself, JJP has identified ONE of the factors that was causing the problem but only ONE switch was earthing to its case

ill give it a little while longer then post the solution