When I run the solenoid test on my Eight Ball Deluxe, the sol. expander board kicks appears to work since the last 3 coils in the test, namely the saucer, the 4 target reset and the outhole kicker, all fire.  However, as the 4 target reset fires, so too does drop target #2  ( these two coils share a transistor ).  Also, when the outhole kicker fires, so too does drop target #1  ( these two coils also share a transistor ).

So what I'm asking is, "When the exp. board relay activates, should there only be one coil firing, and if so, what would cause both coils to fire ?"


Note:   I have noticed that although the expander board makes a nice clicking noise, the 555 lamp does not flash off and on, even though I know the bulb is good.



Thanks.

Just getting my question to the top o' the heap...

, "When the exp. board relay activates, should there only be one coil firing, and if so, what would cause both coils to fire ?"
Oui, seulement 1 coil a la fois.
Il semble que ton relais solenoid expander est activé au mauvais moment ou travaille mal.

Joss

Glenn, by all accounts is sounds like the click does not necessarily mean the relay is doing its job, namely opening one circuit while closing the other.  Or there's a cross between both circuits.

Is it possible to jumper connections to duplicate both the open and closed relay? If so you can verify if the issue is the relay, or a short between the 2 circuits.

I recall this was your advice at Starburst and I forgot to try it.  I don't think I have the electrical/mechanical savvy that you have, but I'll jump anything !

Here goes nuthin'.

I got "down and dirty" with this issue.  Took out my Fathom expander board, compared it with my EBD, poured over the schematics.  Finally, I had a suspicion that I may have inadvertently soldered a hot wire incorrectly or something.  Found the culprit !  I had run the 6 volt lamp braid on the wrong side of a lamp and had run it to the expander board 555 lamp.   When the expander activated the relay, I guess the lamp wasn't drawing enough power to move the relay all the way to the other switch.  It would work ( barely ) during the sol test, but not during gameplay.  

Basically I just wasted 60 hours trying to solve a problem I caused by not taking 10 seconds during the playfield swap to ensure that I had the wiring correct.

Why do I do things like that ?


Anyway, thanks for the help.  It was one of those problems that I don't think anyone could have diagnosed without seeing it.

this that meen the target problem resolved????

Gino

Quoted from redketchup

this that meen the target problem resolved????

Gino

That's a big affirmative !   Definitely one of my top 3 most aggravating pin problems ever !    Now I can turn to the finer details...some smaller items leftover from the playfield swap.  I don't want to jinx it, but it should go smoothly from this point on.

good to know

You might want to put a 24 ohm resistor in paralell to the 555 bulb,should the 555 burn out there will not be enough current drawn to latch the SCR that turns on the relay.