1974 Bally Night Rider EM problem

[biglsells]

OK I have the above machine. Had been working, for the most part, without issue. Just recently something wierd happened. When I turn the game on, all is fine. When I press player start button the score reels reset all to zero, ball kicks out, and I have 3 coils charging that should not be and it says Ball 2 is in play on game start. I don't want to leave the machine on long as the three coils are buzzing away.

One of the buzzing coils is a constant stepper which cycles through 5 different point bonuses. The other coil buzzing  is the 100 point reel coil on player 4, and the 3rd coil locked on is in the upper middle of the back board, not sure what this stepper does but its a constant stepper with what looks like two positions, leaf one and leaf two.

I didnt do anything to this since the last time I played it and have no clue what to do or where to start! If pictures would help let me know and I would be happy to post them, or a video to youtube of whats happening.

Thanks in advance if anyone has any advice. Since I have no idea what to do I was just going to take all the steppers apart and clean them.

[Strangeways]

  and  to AP 


Bally EMs - My favorite ! Sounds like the game has a stuck switch. Check all the playfield switches. The 100 point score is a dead giveaway. Usually, the other coils could be a 100 point chime coil. If you tilt the game, does the buzzing stop ?

Do you have schematics and can you read them ?

[goodolddays]

+1 to a likely stuck switch problem , most likely on the playfield somewhere .

1st step would be to remove the playfield plastics , then physically check for any switches beong closed, they should all be open .
Over time they can get out of adjustment.

[biglsells]

Ive got the schematics but I honestly don't know how to read them really. I've checked the playfield three times, no stuck switches anywhere, all open.

Upon starting a new game and making the game TILT the buzzing stops, it puts 10 points on the board and play ends.

[Strangeways]

OK - so the "start" sequence is working fine. If you cannot find a stuck switch, check under the playfield for any switches that are not gapped or are shorted.

On the schematics, you are looking for a "10 point relay" - this is obviously stuck on. I cannot recall where this is located in a Bally EM. I'll see if I can locate a schematic from a similar game.

Also have a quick read of this guide and see it that helps.

http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index.htm

[biglsells]

Thanks everyone! I cleaned a few steppers, no change. I went through and checked all the 10 point switches one at a time, for the fourth time, and found on on the playfield that looked fine but when I stuck paper between it and cycled power and start, all is well! Now I just need to fix the player three scoring wheels, they all seem to like to go off. For example, scoring 10 sometimes scores the 100 or 1000, etc.

Also, one last silly question on a couple things under the hood. There is an outlet in the board, what is this for? There are also a couple light bulbs along the relay rows. They are not burned out but never lit up, are they some sort of service light? I did notice while manually scoring the game that when I tripped 100,000 they lit up, but they are down in the belly of the machine, why would that be?

Thanks again for all the help, glad I found this forum!

Lawrence

[goodolddays]

Glad to hear you found the culprit Lawrence .  Yep, paper between the switch blades is often the easiest way

[oldpins]

Good to hear you sorted the problem after members help. The outlet on the main internal board is a service outlet used for plugging in a soldering iron for service work. The bulb socket and lamps on the relay banks are a visual sign of a 'delay relay' or 'tilt relay' operation etc (I have not seen these in Gottlieb Machines only Bally)

[Strangeways]

Good work Laurence. Enjoy playing your machine