Pinball missing problem

[RottyGuy]

I bought a pinball a couple weeks ago, but have only been using it for the last 5 days, but it has a bad
problem of missing pinballs after a game. Seems to happen on a regular basis now.
Is this a common fault at all ? The only way i can solve it is by a quick fix, that being
turning it on and off. Can anyone shed some light on this for me. Also a dot appears
after Free play. This only happens on and off, not everytime.

[ddstoys]

Im a bit confused firstly what Game is it?  And when you say its missing a ball after a game so it plays fine then once youve finished it doesnt start again or comes up with an error?

[RottyGuy]

Im a bit confused firstly what Game is it?  And when you say its missing a ball after a game so it plays fine then once youve finished it doesnt start again or comes up with an error?

Sorry, will give more info.

It's The Shadow. The game plays fine, but once it ends, it won't start again and says there's a pinball missing.
It tries to clear it, but that doesn't work. I've found the only way to play another game is to turn the power off
and on again. Also on some occasions it will have a dot after "Free Play.", which i've been told is another error. It's
just annoying having to turn it on and off again to play a new game.

[Rod71]

what is the error message given when there is a credit dot?

Sounds like a trough opto issue. Like the last ball isn't rolling down into the trough properly to break the opto beam.

When you go to start a new game and it says pinball missing. Give the game a bit of a shake sideways to see if the last ball rolls further down the trough. The rails in the trough can develop divots over time and might need to be filed smooth.

[ddstoys]

I agree with what rod has advised

[Marty Machine]

Does the game require more than 1 ball to be loaded?
Maybe there's only 1 fitted, but it needs 2 or 3?

Otherwise the sensors (as mentioned above) could be the go.

[ajlaird]

It's a 5 pinball game, but if they weren't all loaded, it wouldn't start at all, would it? Worth checking, I guess.

[pinball god]

trough opto is my guess.

[RottyGuy]

Thanks for the info.

The error tells me Chk. Switch/coil when the dot appears.

As for the pinballs, i put all five in that was supplied with the pinball.

[Rod71]

Is there anymore text before "Chk. switch/coil"?

I did a quick google search and came up with the following error messages that Shadow can display.

ER. LOCKUP IS BAD CHK. SWITCH/COIL
This is saying that the 3 ball lockup at the top of the playfield is not working correctly. Check to
see that the three lockup switches (lockup right #63, lockup middle #64, lockup left #65) are
working properly (check with balls sitting on switches) and that the lockup kickout coil (#02) is
working correctly. Also check for blown fuses.

ER. WALL TGT. BAD CHK. SWITCH/COIL
This is saying that the sanctum wall controlled target is not working correctly. Check to see that
the wall drop down switch (#51) is functioning correctly (it should trigger closed when the wall is
down) and coils #08 (wall target up) & #16 (wall target down) are functioning. Also check for
blown fuses.

ER. DROP BANK BAD CHK. SWITCH/COIL
This is saying the mini-playfield 4 bank drop targets are not functioning properly. Check the mini
drop bank coil (#24) and the four drop target switches (#85-#88), 12v power supply and the CPU
board. Also check for blown fuses.

ER. BAT. DROP BAD CHK. SWITCH/COIL
This is saying that the single drop target at the entrance to the popper (battlefield) is not
functioning correctly. Check to see that the battle drop down switch (#55) is functioning correctly
(it should trigger closed when the drop target is down) and coils #25 (single drop up) & #36
(single drop down) are functioning. Also check for blown fuses.

[RottyGuy]

Thanks Rod. It's the last error that you've listed. I'm not sure how to check it myself though.
I may have to get someone around to look at it.

[RottyGuy]

I've given up on it tonight, it's now telling me another new error.

"Check switch 58  mini exit tube"

and it's still telling me there's a pinball missing and the game won't start at all now......

I've only used the pinball for less than a week.

[markc]

give me a call and we should be able to help you over the phone with it

mark

[RottyGuy]

Is anytime weekdays ok ?

It might be a bit difficult for me. I'm new to this whole pinball hobby, so it might be hard
to explain to me how to sort it out. I may have to get someone to look at it if all else fails.

It's a great game though and overall i'm happy with it. Just need to sort out a few annoying
issue's with it.

[RottyGuy]

The old Shadow is going from bad to worse....

It now has the following problems and it's only had several hours use......

1/  Still missing the pinball during a game. Only way to solve the problem is to turn
     off the power and start over.

2/   The dot after FREE PLAY appears at times

3/   The left hand "PHURBA" divertor only moves when it wants

4/    The flippers now feel weak and lack power

5/    The kicker head feels weak

6/    and i now at times hear a loud knocking noise at the back of the game

Seems used pinballs are a bit like used cars, there's always something wrong.