Several switches in one area stop registering at once.
A string of switches all stopped working
Cause: A row or column wire has broken off a switch earlier in the chain; the matrix wires run from switch to switch, so everything after the break goes dead.
Checks
- In switch edge test, compare the dead switches with the matrix chart in the manual: do they share a row or column?
- Follow that wire on the playfield and check continuity between neighbouring switches.
Fix
- Resolder the broken wire.
Systems
Related tips
- A single switch does not register
- Switch only works now and then in switch test: reflow and clean it
- Whole switch column dead after working under the playfield
- False switch readings only when several switches are closed
- What a bad switch diode does
- Which switches are outside the switch matrix
- Use a real ball in the switch test
- Clearing a switch from the power-on switch report
Source: Repairing DataEast 1987 (Laser War) to Sega 1995 (Batman Forever), Part Three, Clay Harrell (pinrepair.com)