Scared Stiff keeps going into ball search.

[Soluzar]

I'm relatively new to the exciting world of owning a pinball table, and as such , I don't really know anything much about the maintenance so far. I was hoping that someone would be able to give me some hints as to what to look for to find the problem with this table.

Our Scared Stiff was in pretty good shape when we bought it, and for the most part it still is. It has two problems, and one thing that might be a problem, but I'm not sure. The biggest problem is that during the course of a game, it frequently seems to lose track of the ball, and then all the solenoids fire off. My first thought was that it might be a simple faulty switch, but there seems to be no single shot that causes the problem, leading me to wonder if there could be deeper problems. I really hope not.

We haven't noticed any specific feature that no longer registers, so I'm confused.

The other (minor) problem is that recently a small black plastic tube seems to have come loose from somewhere. I can't figure out where it came from. The piece is made of semi-flexible, extremely thin black plastic. It is about 6 or 7cm long and maybe 1cm diameter. Not sure if it could be important.

The final problem, and I'm not sure if this really is a problem or not, is that the auto-plunge seems a bit too strong. To the point where it hits the support for the Bony Beast ramp with a little more force than I'd prefer. Concerned it might cause damage. It seems like it has got stronger since we bought the machine.

We'd really like some advice, since we really want to protect our investment.

 

[cooldan]

Hey Soluzar [emoji2]

I'm not very good either but I'll have a go. The machine is firing the solenoids as it's looking for a ball. That means probably it doesn't know it already has them all (as it was fine before). I expect that one of the switches in the ball trough isn't working, or maybe the balls aren't settling down properly, and that it should be an easy fix. Are you up for trying it yourself? Do you know how to get into the diagnostic menu?

The black thing sounds like a rubber post sleeve. I wouldn't worry too much about it, but one day you may find where it came from!

As for the auto plunge being too strong, that can also be adjusted if you want. I never heard of one getting stronger, it's usually they get weaker, so maybe it wasn't aligned properly.

Where are you? A local pinhead could sort out the lot in 20 minutes and give you some confidence for next time.

 

[Jay Walker]

Hi,

If the piece of tubing is definitely plastic, it could be the sleeve meant to fit inside a solenoid coil. Did it get loose on the playfield? It may belong in the launcher, where you've noticed a change in power, though I'd have expected it to show a loss rather than a gain.

 

[johnwhitfield]

post a pic of the plastic. the width sounds like it should fit inside a coil. Surprised it's black rather than white-ish. Is it knackered at one end? I'm just wondering if it was inside the laucer coil and was previously catching on the solenoid and now it's running more smoothly. Did you find it in the shooter lane?

With the ball search it's always good to start with a switch test. If you're not sure how to do it then press the buttons on the inside of the door and go to test - switch check. Are they all stable or is one flashing on or off? If all stable then give the table a bit of a shove or two and see if anything flickers on or off (with the exception of the tilt!)

It might sound daft but have you also checked the number of balls in the game. Have you got enough in it. I think SS takes four bballs but check under the lock bar for the right number.

Might also be worth checking in case the balls are magnatised or if there are any bumps in the ball trough that stops the ball going down.

 

[johnwhitfield]

oh and the auto fire shouldn't hit the ramp support, it should go round to the crate. When you plunge normally an you hit the skill shot rather than the spider hole?

Have a look under the playfield and check if the shooter coil is at all loose. It might be mis-aligned or missing the coil sleeve inside if it is tied into the mystery plastic

 

[Soluzar]

A visit from a local pinhead would of course be a great way to solve this problem. We're in Sheffield, only a couple of minutes walk from the city center. If there's anyone who regularly finds their way around here, maybe we could arrange something.

The plastic is almost certainly plastic and not rubber - it just appeared on the playfield during the course of a game, but I wasn't the one playing so I can't be 100% sure where it came from. I'll post a picture when I'm home. It could easily be from the shooter since that's been a problem area. I can easily hit the skill shot from a manual plunge, but the auto-plunge almost invariably hits the ramp supports with great force. It then immediately rolls down the right flipper. Not the ideal behaviour, though not disastrous. Maybe this odd behaviour is actually because of a loss in power, and I'm just misinterpreting.

The number of balls in the trough is correct. There's a clear instruction to "install 4 balls" under the lockdown bar, and we can account for all of them. It was definitely worth asking though.

As for a switch test, we're gonna do that, but I admit that I find the display for it a bit cryptic. I've been reading the wiki that is linked from this forum though, and probably can work it out. I'll report back on my findings ASAP.

 

[Soluzar]

I hope double-posts are not frowned upon here, but I have some further information if anyone can help.

I fiddled about with the switch test at great length, and all the switches I could find worked well enough. There are a few I can't quite figure out how to trip though. The crate sensors, the coffin ones, and the one for the skill shot hole. The skill shot kicks the ball out well enough, so I don't know if it could be that.

I've attached two pictures. One is of the mysterious plastic tube, while the others is a bracket attached to the Boney Beast ramp. It is apparently an aftermarket reinforcing piece. Very nice to have, but I think it has come loose during play. The side that isn't screwed down kind of dangles around without being attached to anything. I popped it off, but I can't figure out (even after looking at some instructions) how to make it better.

All help will be most gratefully received. We love this table, and want it to be well again.

 

[Carl Spiby]

Black thing looks distinctly like a coil sleeve but hard to tell without something for scale.