Gottlieb Surfer 2 player EM ball advance issues

[JRK1971]

Hi guys, after 5 years I finally decided to get my Gottlieb Surfer EM 2 player going...

Been slowly working through issues (very slowly - been 4 weeks off and on).
I've got schematics and have been working though them.

Latest issue to solve - machine resets and starts fine - either single or 2 player. Problem is the first ball light stays on when the player unit advances - so that when ball 2 or 3 is served (both as single player & 2 player), both the ball 2 or 3 light and the ball 1 light are lit (ie ball 1 light never goes off). Also machine doesn't go into game over.

I can't work out where to look for this, I can see the player unit advances to change the ball in play, but cannot understand why ball 1 light can stay on.

Anybody able to put me out of my misery or give me some guidance ?





I've read and re-read the EM guide at www.pinrepair.com/

[Retropin]

Nearly always down to the stepper motor for this. With it in position you can see which set of wipers control the lights by lifting the sprung arm so the bulb goes off. chances are that it is slightly out of alignment and across 2 buttons at the same time. The wiper wheel over the years will gradually shift its position and needs slight adjusting

[goodolddays]

Yep .. what Nick said !

[JRK1971]

Thanks guys, went back and checked alignement, looked ok.

Ended up wiping off the silicon gel from the bakelite (electronics based product), and 1st player light isn't coming on anymore (scratching my head).

Anyway ignoring that strange effect, the machine still won't go into game over. Im having trouble understanding how it triggers game over (looking at the schematic) - are you guys able to give me some guidance on how it works, where to look.

Thanks. John...

[JRK1971]

Studied the schematic, studied the schematic and well studied it again...

Ended up finding a bad contact on O relay that locks BX relay. A bad contact on BX relay that feeds power to 4C on switch unit (spinning motor in bottom board) and guess what - 4C was bad as well. 4C feeds the Game Over relay...

And guess what - Game ends now 

I can't believe how temperamental these switches are. I avoided going through and cleaning all the switches as I initially started cleaning as was getting more issues.

Thanks for the help guys, got me moving again.

[Boots]

Nice work, now you just have to keep playing it to keep it in tune

[Brettski]

Nice work, now you just have to keep playing it to keep it in tune

LOL I like that Chris, tell the wife next time she gets cranky at me playing Pinball that if I don't they will go out of tune!! 

Brettski... :)