About three seconds after the game is switched on, the fuse for the lower left outlane kick save (ball save) blows, every time.

Kick save fuse blows seconds after power-up: shorted transistor on its aux board

Cause: One of the metal-can transistors on the small secondary board that drives the kick save had shorted from a pin to its case, even though it tested much like a new one.

Checks

• Use the schematic to find every board in the kick save circuit, including small add-on boards.
• Check each transistor for continuity from its pins to the metal case and for shorts to the mounting hardware, not just with a diode test.

Fix

• Replace the shorted transistor and clean up the board.

Systems

• Gottlieb System 80B

Games

• Hot Shots

Related tips

• How driver board coil transistors are switched

Source: Pinball Repair help group!! (Facebook group)