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Trouble with my first Pin, Bally Party Zone, (Now Solved)

N

neilljj

Site Supporter
Joined
Nov 3, 2023
Messages
58
Location
North wales
Ok so I hired a van and went to collect my first Pin yesterday, the Party Zone, after putting it in its place yesterday i finally got round to leveling it all up this afternoon and powering it up.
On powering it up and pressing the start game button the captain bazar head in the middle of the table started rotating clockwise until it had wound up all the slack in the wire and couldn't move anymore.

At the same time the hole underneath him where the ball drops in to request a song just kept firing the solenoid, as if a ball was in there and the request a song with the flippers came up in the DMD. i turned the machine straight off and removed the balls to lift the table up, on inspection i could see the wires were wound tight around the mechanism. Luckily i was able to unwind the wires by turning the head with my hand, I then lowered the table and tried powering it up again without the balls inside the game, the head moved about left and right and then came to rest facing the upper left corner so i reloaded the balls and pressed the start button again this tie the head stayed where it was but the hole underneath him kept firing the solenoid until i pulled the plunger at the same time the song request was on the dmd again, i could cycle through the songs with the left flipper but the right flipper wouldn't select the song, it just timed out and the game carried on as it should i played a couple of games and everytime the ball drained and then loaded the next ball into the shooter lane the solenoid would start firing again and the song request back up on the DMD again.

I am completely new to owning a pinball table so i'm very lost with all this and not sure what to do i did manage to get it into test mode and tested the switch in that hole and it goes on and off as you press it and release so i don't think that is the problem the only one that came up with an error was check switch 71 cosmic cottage.

While writing this i have tried to turn the machine on a few times and if i try to turn it on with the balls in the machine the head will just keep rotating until it has wound itself up tight with the wires!
any help would be very much appreciated or if you are anywhere near North wales I am more than happy to pay you for your time if you know how to fix this issue once Christmas is over
 
Sounds like quite a few switch issues you have there.
Although you may have some issues with your power driver board.

Pictures tell a million words. You should take pictures of the backbox boards and underneath the playfield.

Old games like this are prone to problems. I'm surprised you took on an old game with no prior knowledge.
 
s000m said:
Sounds like quite a few switch issues you have there.
Although you may have some issues with your power driver board.

Pictures tell a million words. You should take pictures of the backbox boards and underneath the playfield.

Old games like this are prone to problems. I'm surprised you took on an old game with no prior knowledge.
Click to expand...
Well i'm sure Mfresh wouldn't have sold me a dud, maybe something became a bit unhappy from the trip back up here to north wales as it powered up and ran when i had a go on it at his yesterday, but like anything it's one of those things i guess.
anyway one of the very kind members on here has offered to take a look at it for me and see what's up with it so for that i am very grateful to them.
 
If it's from Paul you should reach out to him first.

Had you checked all connections prior to turning it on?
 
I have already been chatting with Paul yes through the day, and yes i went through it all before powering it up and everything felt snug, might be something silly that i just missed, i'm sure i'll get it sorted. I don't mind if I look stupid, I just wanted to ask for help in the hope that someone near me that knows what they are doing could point me in the right direction.
 
Thanks, and that's pretty much why i went for an older machine as i'm not afraid of stripping stuff down and getting dirty and learning as i go, the same as i have done with everything else.
I also didn't want to shell out thousands and thousands on a new machine and then have my **** handed to me trying to sell it for a loss if I decided i didn't really like or want one!

And the main reason was because i really like this machine, Whether it's turned on or off i think it's a really nice machine, especially under the blacklight. Anyway i have a very nice member on here who contacted me and said they will pop round to mine later this week and get me up and running again. And for that i am truly thankful to them.
 
Sounds like it isn't seeing all the balls in the trough. First up, is there the right amount of balls in it? After that switch test
 
Sven Normansson said:
Sounds like it isn't seeing all the balls in the trough. First up, is there the right amount of balls in it? After that switch test
Click to expand...
Massive thanks to Nick for popping round today and finding and fixing the problem. Turned out to be a wire up inside the cosmic cottage that was shorting and causing all the mayhem, bloody thing. Anyway thanks to Nick finding the fault and getting me up and running.
 
Yes, thanks Nick for fixing this. I was very embarrassed to sell a first machine to Neill and have it not work on arrival. It was working when Neill played the game at my house before driving off with it, apart from a flasher not working in the Cosmic Cottage (which he pointed out to me when he came to try the machine). So I am relieved that it was nothing serious, although it must have been hard to diagnose.

Neill, welcome to the world of pinball. If it ain't broke, it ain't pinball. You learn to fix things very quickly in this hobby, as there is always something to practice on....

Enjoy the game!
 
The Cosmic cottage fault - I have had it - many years ago.

It literally messes up things nowhere near to it.

Now the first place I look but I only just saw this post.

@Mfresh is a good guy on this forum, but be aware - you need to learn how to service and fix things on these darn machines.

Plenty of advice on here. Most of it is good.

I love Party Zone. Fun game.
 
Thanks Pick Holder, i'll probably be on to you in the new year as i like the look of one of those digital jukeboxes you have.
So next question, i replaced an incandescent flasher bulb in the backbox yesterday afternoon, and when i did none of the flashers were working anymore including the rocket and cosmic cottage on the playfield. I thought it might be the fuse so i replaced that just now and still the same, the game plays perfectly no problems just no flashers anymore, although when you play the game and it gets to a point where the flashers should flash you can see all the other bulbs in the backbox flicker for a moment.
So any ideas what to check next?
 
Yes already tried that, no difference, would they come back to life if I was to remove them in the backbox one by one? Or would that make no difference as well? I have tried it powered on with that bulb removed but still none of the other flashers work.
 
Some pictures around the fuse area if you can.
 
I tried 3 fuses just to make sure, I have a 12 volt tester in the garage i'll have a look for it tomorrow, the bulb holder did come out of the hole it was in in the backbox when i went to insert it so i had to go behind and push it back through the hole and hold it so i wonder if it broke a wire or came loose as they are extremely thin and just push into the connecto, they all look to be daisy chained aren't they, so if there is a break in the wire or it's loose so would that knock them all out?
I was going to spend some time looking at it tonight but my Father isn't doing to good so i am off to look after him tonight now but i'll check again in the morning.
Happy New year everyone.
 
Well after i pulled every fuse on the board and tested them, they all came back as working, and then after digging into this problem from hours of searching google i came to the conclusion it may well be one of the Bridges or a break somewhere in the solder joints as i remember many years ago fixing lots xbox 360s and PS3 consoles with dry solder joints. Luckily Nick was able to pop round again and after some testing and then pulling the main power driver board out and checking the back of it, there were a few areas that looked a bit suss where the solder could do with a reflow.
After a few minutes of making it all look nice again Nick plugged it all back into the backbox we powered up the machine and everything came back to life! Yay.

So Fingers crossed, touch wood and all that blah blah, it is now behaving itself and i have have spent a lot of time taking the playfield parts off and cleaning everything and fitting all new Titan rubbers everywhere, and now it is gleaming and playing beautifully. I am really happy with my first machine and really glad it's a Party Zone, i know it's not everyone's cup of tea but i think it's a real fun Pin.
SO the next question is........ which Pin do i get next to sit beside it. :D
 
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