HELP - Calling all Pinball Wizards for some expert advice!!

[cheeky]

I have a Williams JACKBOT machine that literally POWERS DOWN and then up again immediately afterwards when being played. It tends to happen more often on multiball but not always. When I press the enter button it displays....

"Check Switch 56 Vortex Upper"

Help - What do you reckon is the problem?

[Yorkshire Pudding]

The switch error is unlikely to be related to the reset problem. The software will have reported that switch 56 hasn't been activated for a while and is advising you to check it. It could be a faulty or badly adjusted switch or simply that you have not made that particular shot for a long time. Not a critical fault but worth fixing to get the best out of the game.

The reset issue is common on WPC machines and could be an indication of a failing BR2 Bridge rectifier on the power board. If the +5 volts (which powers all the logic circuits) dips momentarily below 5 volts (from heavy voltage draw when the coils are activated), the "watchdog" circuit shuts the game down. It will then boot up again straight afterwards. It could happen more often during multiball as more power is being drawn.

There could be other reasons such as low voltage at the wall... sometimes switching off other appliances in the house can help. Whatever, an excellent and (relatively) easy to follow guide to fixing it can be found here: http://marvin3m.com/wpc/index2.htm#reset

Without wanting to offend the webmaster of this excellent resource, if you need more advice, 'ukpinball' may be a more appropriate forum: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/ukpinball/

Hope that helps & good luck!
Keith

[cheeky]

Wow. Super advice. I will let you know if it works. For UK wall voltages what should I have for the game to work efficiently?

Greg

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Not really my area of expertise this but IIRC most machines should be OK down to around 210 volts. Some machines are more sensitive than others though... I used to have a Twilight Zone that rebooted every time my wife turned on the washing machine! She did it first time I ever got to the wizard mode (Lost In The Zone) and I lost the whole game!

If you find you need to repair the power board, there are a few guys who can help. Places like http://www.pinballheaven.co.uk or http://www.pinballmania.co.uk offer a repair service or can supply the components if you are competent at board repairs yourself.

Hope that helps ........ Keith