T2 left flipper fixed

I was having some problems with the left flipper on T2, ever since I switched the power driver board from BoP. The flipper worked (as in, it was moving), but the machine didn't register that it was pressed. That lead to problems during video mode (the crosshatch could only move right) and when entering initials.

Clay's great guide had this advice:

Pre-Fliptronics WPC game's lane change doesn't work. This is almost
always driver board chips U7 (left flipper) or U8 (right flipper)
which are the 4n25 opto isolators.

My local supplier had two different 4N25 opto isolators. At least the part numbers were different, so I ordered two of each.
After removing the power driver board, I noticed much to my surprise that the resistor connected to U7 had come loose!



Even though inserting and removing the board is a strain on the molex connectors, I took a chance on just soldering the resistor back on and put the board back into the game without swapping out the opto isolator.
Success! Everything is working like it should now! At least that's what the switch test said. I never got to video mode, and got even less close to entering my initials...

Terminator 2 hiscore

I brought my wife with me to the game room on the way home from shopping. She got a couple of games on Hot Shots while I was playing Terminator 2.

I had a great first ball, with approximately 115 millions. But then it all went downhill, and I drained the two next ones very fast.

Anyway, I ended up with 120,380,800, which is my highest score since I got T2 up and running again.

I noticed a problem, though. I used to have an error with the left flipper not registering on Bride of Pinbot. Of course the flipper moved whenever I pushed the button, but the game wasn't noticing that I did. For example for the extra ball lane change, or when entering initials after a good game. Only the right flipper button worked.

As you may remember, I swapped the power driver board between these two games, and now the problem has moved to T2. Suddenly I can't go left in video mode or when entering my initials. I was convinced that the cause was on the cpu board up until now, but it's the power driver board. Seems I have some troubleshooting to do.

T2: Success!

Fixing J115 on Terminator 2 was easier than I thought, mostly because a friend let me borrow his molex tool.

I was afraid that especially making the cable loops would be difficult, but I just took my time and tried my best, and everything worked out fine.

New connector with some new red loops. Time to remove those labels!

Terminator 2 lives again! I had to test it, and although I didn't get a great score, I remembered why this is one of my absolute favourites. I wish I had fixed it before, and I didn't realize how much I had missed it until I was going for the skill shot and ramp combos. What a feeling!

It almost brings tears to my eyes

My terrible mobile camera (do you hear that, Nokia?) doesn't do the game justice. My translite is actually signed by Doug Watson himself, as he visited us a couple of years ago. What a great guy! 

This one will never be for sale

I'm very happy that everything seems to be working perfectly, and I'm looking forward to welcoming our visitors this wednesday.

Terminator 2 repair

My Terminator 2 pinball had some power problems. I couldn't start a game, and if I remember correctly, none of the coils worked in test mode.

With good help from my friends, we found out that a bridge rectifier on the power driver board was most probably the culprit. I had delayed fixing it until now, but the aforementioned out-of-towners are coming next week, and they are eager T2 fans, so I had to take a look at it.

First of all, when removing the power driver board, I found that the J115 connector was completely burned. This is a usual problem, especially on T2, and in this case they had solved it by soldering the wires directly to the board.

Burnt J115 connector

Hacked back side

I got this game from a container deal. It came with tens of other pins from Poland a couple of years ago, but it died quite quickly, and it has just been sitting in our gameroom ever since.

As they had completely removed the molex plug, I had to mark each wire carefully. I intend to replace the original IDT connector with a crimp, which should make it less prone to overheating and errors.

Somewhat readable markings on painter's tape

Removing the old cables was easy enough, but they sure used a lot of solder back then! Some of the solder pads were in such a bad condition that they just fell off.

See those black marks? They aren't dirt..

Even after fitting the new molex socket, some of the pins didn't have any contact with the components. I had to solder some jumper cables on the back side of the board. They won't be visible, and it was the quickest way to resolve the problem.

Ugly but functional

I just did one small mistake.. One of the pins isn't supposed to be there, as it's used as a key, ensuring that you connect the molex plug correctly. I just cut it after taking this picture.

New and fresh!

Of course I also replaced the faulty bridge rectifier. I couldn't test the power driver board in the T2 afterwards, as it didn't have a molex plug for J115. I therefore swapped it with the one in my Bride of Pinbot, and it worked perfectly!

Next time I'll be fitting a new molex plug on Terminator 2, using this tool.

Even though I will be studying this article beforehand, I think I need my share of luck to succeed. Jamming two cables into one terminal sure doesn't look easy...