Couple of problems with Corvette. Bally.

[Shark]

Hi guys,

I have a couple of problems with my Corvette to troubleshoot and I hope you can offer some advice..

1) The flashers (large bulbs) do not seem to be working. They will not illuminate in test mode (I have been through -All Lamps Test, Flasher Test, Lamp and Flasher Test) and they do not flash at all during gameplay. However, they do flash during the gameover sequence while the music is playing. I think they also flash during attract mode but will have to check once again to confirm that.

2) The engine has an intermittent problem. (It is meant to rock left and right and vibrate) Sometimes it works, the next day it does not (I typically power up and play a few credits in the evenings), other days it will work when I begin playing and then stop working after a few mins or couple of credits, but it is more common for it not to work at all.. So it does/can actually work, but more often than not it does nothing. It does not work in Test mode either.
I have lifted the playfield and checked the wiring to the engine coils (not with a meter, eyesight and fingers only) and all appears to be well.

Thanks for any help!

Mark

 

[replicas]

Make sure you are pressing the button by the coin door when testing as having the coin door open kills the 50 v feed.

 

[Shark]

Make sure you are pressing the button by the coin door when testing as having the coin door open kills the 50 v feed.

Excellent, thank you, I never knew that, i'll give it a go later and report back. Hopefully, the flasher problem is a false alarm, though I have not seen them flash during gameplay- but maybe i'm not activating features that would involve them.. i'll try this evening. cheers.

Engine issue to overcome now, any ideas on that one?

 

[replicas]

See if the engine behaves in test and does what it should if not report back and let us know what its not doing in test mode.

 

[Shark]

Thanks for that.. I've been back on it this evening and can confirm the flashers are working when the button by the coin door is pressed when in test mode. Solved. Thanks.

The engine when in test mode fails the self test. When I tried again, it passed, then again after more testing, it failed the same self test. It works in autorun test, moves left to right and shakes. When doing the manual left/right test, it gets stuck in the right hand position and will not move to the left. it will not move back to the centre position. It always moves from left to right with very strained slow motion for a couple seconds, then a quick flip/snap over to far right- as if it was struggling then freed itself up, or was caught on something and came loose..

Upon power up, it initialises automatically along with the race track on the side of the playfield, it will move left to right and get stuck in the right hand position and will not move thereafter during gameplay.

Having checked underneath the playfield, the engine is operated by four coils. Could it be that one of them needs replacing?

 

[ronsplooter]

Could be that something is gummed up or catching in the coil mechs that move the engine. I'd try stripping each of them down, giving them a good clean and inspecting for any obvious damage.

 

[Shark]

Thanks Ron.. I just found a Corvette pinball wiki, it notes machine specific problems. Which to be fair, I hardly understand, the author is too technical for me... luckily I found a more layman guide specific to the Corvette engine and how to adjust it manually, in a language I can understand.. its far too late now, I'll try get back to it tomorrow evening. that guide will hopefully fix my problem. Thanks again, I will update further when I've tried..

 

[cooldan]

How come the flashers never flash in gameplay - is it just cos they only go off during a phase you've not yet been in?

Like Multiball

 

[Shark]

Flasher are working.. couple of them were out, I replaced the bulbs..

Just the engine problem to deal with now.. according to the info I have found, there are two opto's and a hall effect sensor in the engine. My two lines of investigation at this point is to dismantle the engine mechanism and clean (or replace if need be) the two opto's and/or the adjust the magnets on the sensor.

Taking the engine to bits to access the opto's and sensor looks like a bot of a job though.. weekend for that one I think..

 

[replicas]

Good luck with it and let us know how it goes.

 

[Shark]

All fixed.. Engine problem was caused by dirty opto's. After a strip down and clean, the engine now works perfectly consistently. Pic heavy resto thread here..

 

[Jay Walker]

The Corvette that I unpacked when new had a metal bracket among the assortment of spare fuses, bulbs, slingshot plastics, etc. I never saw anything written down about this, but took it to be intended for securing the engine centrally in the event of a problem. Another that I sorted during my five minutes at Deith Leisure had the engine ramming over to the left, and hauled back to somewhere near central by a fruit machine payout return spring (the old-fashioned type, with brass tags at each end) attached to a ramp securing screw. Still, at least I can claim to have "taken the engine out of a Corvette".

When it is working, though, the engine's a great gadget - especially the 'Rev Mode', keeping a ball bouncing inside the 'block' to build up the award for the following Rev Multiball.