Sympton : dead DMD (to start with)
Solution: power supply board was missing the 68V. after some digging many of the fuse holders had cracked and likely sent all sorts of wacky voltages to the power supply board. So I eventually found (after umpteen trips to sayal) BR1 was toast, D9 was toast, R15 was toast, TR1 was toast--replaced all that and got a DMD but then the laser kicker was locked on which blew the fuse. Turns out Q1 had shit the bed so after it was replaced, everything worked--except for the GI lights which flickered. I pulled the shitty molex they use and soldered in a new one and then wired the backbox lights (brown wire and green wire) directly to new molex (versus going through 2 others on the way).
Next thing: The death star spun continuously so I checked the transistors but they were fine--turns out the leaf spring on the death star door had lost its spring and was making permanent contact--pulled that assembly apart and re-spaced it so now it works
oh and now the drop targets stick half way down--lubed the shafts (cause every shaft needs lube..) and now they drop as they are supposed to.
Pinball machines are like high maintenance girlfriends--fun to look at but a bitch to keep happy.
