Tower diverter stuck closed

[clavigne]

I'm having an issue with my MMR LE where the tower diverter will drop down to allow the ball to travel up to the tower, but sometimes it won't stay down.  It appears to be related to vibration because the diverter will pop back when the ball enters the pop bumpers or during multi ball when many solenoids are firing.  I've looked for a bad connection on the coil lugs.  All appears ok there but I re-soldered the joints just to make sure, but the problem persists.  I've read posts explaining this type of issue can be caused by a bad connection on the 10 pin connector between the solenoid driver board and the larger board.  I've pulled the solenoid board and reseated it, but this didn't clear up the issue either.  I've also checked for a bad joint on the surface mount components on the solenoid board under a magnifying glass but couldn't see any issues.  Really scratching my head on this one and hoping someone can offer some advice or maybe a better way to verify what's causing it.

[Lloyd Olson]

Those driver boards are interchangeable, I'd swap it with another one to see if the board is the problem.
Could be the coil too, where the hold windings are broken internally or where the thin wire goes to the lug. A break there can be hard to see.

[clavigne]

Thanks LTG, very helpful.  I have swapped solenoid boards and verified the issue still happens.  So it seems like it's likely the coil.  I have never fixed a coil where the hold windings are broken.  Is my best option to get a replacement coil at this point?

[clavigne]

Hi LTG.  I have replaced the coil and the issue still occurs.  It's intermittent and definitely related to vibration.  Since I've tried swapping solenoid boards and I've tried a new coil, my only thought at this point is that it must be a bad connection between the solenoid board and the larger board.  Is there a good way to test that or any trick to make sure it stays connected securely?  Are there any other things that could be causing the issue?

[Lloyd Olson]

Hello
This is the only thing I have on seating the driver board - People have had problems reseating the solenoid driver boards due to the huge board flexing away when they push in the pins.   A solution that worked was having them put a piece of foam or cardboard between the playfield wood and the socket on the huge board, to hold it from flexing.   They just have to be careful of nearby LEDs.

Assuming it isn't the connector from the coil to the driver board.