After resoldering the J3 header on the solenoid driver board, sparks jump between two neighbouring J3 pins on the solder side, the display high-voltage fuse blows and the displays go out. With that fuse out, only the flippers and knocker work.
Arcing between J3 pins on the solenoid driver board and displays out
Cause: The display high voltage was tracking across burnt board material between the pins onto the solenoid supply pin, so the solenoid driver board itself was damaged.
Checks
- Pull the display high-voltage fuse on the rectifier board and leave it out while troubleshooting; high voltage is reaching a circuit built for about 48 V.
- Check the header area for solder splashes or charring between pins, and meter pin to pin for shorts.
- Check the fuse under the playfield that feeds the remaining solenoids.
Fix
- Replace (or professionally rebuild) the solenoid driver board.
- Replace the under-playfield solenoid fuse with the correct slow-blow value.
The display supply is high voltage (over 200 V). Do not power the game while arcing is present, and keep the display fuse out while working.
Systems
Games
Related tips
- Bally -35: momentary solenoids all dead but fire when grounded: solenoid driver U3
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- Kickout coil burns up in attract mode: driver transistor, resistor and the CA3081 at U3
- Pop bumpers fire nonstop after a solenoid expander swap: board jumper set wrong
- F2 blown, no display high voltage at TP2
- No +5V on any board and no MPU LED: bad return pin in the solenoid driver board J3 plug
- Main solenoid fuse F4 blows (hard short)
- Pop bumpers and slings die minutes after a driver board swap: playfield fuse
Source: Pinball Repair help group!! (Facebook group)