Maybe the ring opto or spinner isn't registering?

Are your software settings stock besides the 2 ball DTR enabled?

There are some other threads on this, quite a frustrating issue, having the upgraded flipper coils helps if the balls are sticking together, make sure the switch behind the playfield backboard is registering properly. Good luck! search those other threads, will give you some good troubleshooting tips.

Try changing the setting to one ball destroy the ring. I had to do it on mine. Wasn't real happy about it but it worked.

Guys he said Gollum falls, doesn't sound like a weak flipper issue unless I misunderstood him

Which is possible of course.

Yeah. This is what happened with mine too. Mine wasnt a flipper issue either, and it still fixed it by changing it to one ball. It was awhile ago, but that's how I remember it.

It's at least worth a try. Easier than messing with stuff.

its most likely the switch behind the ring needs to be adjusted.
or the spinner switch is not working properly. its a common issue and an easy fix.
let us know if you need more help.

It's in feature adjustments, # 35 (last one). You'll find it on page 46 of the manual, half way down on the left hand side.

I also had to change mine to #1, was having some problems when set to #2 (always worked fine on # 1).

There is a small micro switch behind the back board. It reads when the ball goes along the trough.
It is #48. It is mounted to the top of the trough. It probably just needs bent down a little. This switch's only purpose is for "Destroy the Ring" to tell when the first ball has been knocked through.
Good Luck

^^^ this ^^^

that helped me...
just took about 30 minutes or so to adjust it, but it works like a champ now, thanks for the tip.
the switch sits in one slot, the arm sits in another, in between is a piece of the metal frame... I guess the arm was hitting the frame and wasn't making the switch.

was quit a trick to get it adjusted so it wasn't hitting that metal tab between the two.

Yeah that was me. CPU and display boards are now with a tech. Should get them back in a few weeks. Problem has not been diagnosed yet. I will update my thread once this is resolved.

As was mentioned in my thread, read this bulletin thoroughly before you start switching chips. Use a small flathead screwdriver to unseat them.

http://www.sternpinball.com/downloads/sb150.pdf

I had this exact same problem and adjusting the switch behind the ring fixed it. I also cleaned the switch with a little deoxit. Once you get to your switch test menu you can see if it's closing by pushing the ball past it on the rail behind the ring.

DID YOU TEST THE SWITCH BEHIND THE BACKBOARD that everyone keeps mentioning? I haven't seen you say that you did.

Switching to one ball DTR isnt going to fix anything if that switch is the problem.

Don't know how many times people have to say it...it's your switch back there. 99.9% sure that's your problem.

FORGET THE SWITCH...
It has to be the Flux Capacitor!

Didn't sound very definitive to me. He says it was "worth a try".

Now go test that switch.

Definitely! Two ball DTR is one of the greatest shots in pinball imo, and should always be enabled and worked on until it is fixed in a home environment! It's so much more rewarding than setting it to one ball.

It's for sure the switch, it's sole function is to sense that particular mode's shot. Everything else working = that switch.

Thank you all for the help in this thread. I just picked up LOTR last week and ran in to the same issue with the second shot not registering.

The game came with the metal arm on the spinner switch broken off so spinner spins never actually register. Didn't think it was a big deal (besides for scoring) and I bought a replacement switch with the intention to install it soon. It turns out the spinner switch activating as well as the backbox switch are both necessary to register the second DTR shot. When I manually triggered the spinner switch and then the backbox switch, the game advanced to Gollum falling for good.

I've seen this before, and often the switch will flake out again, and you don't find out u till you are destroying the ring. Or rather NOT destroying the ring.
I would highly recommend just replacing the switch, I think there was a flakey batch or something with these.

I am having this exact same issue and have tried fiddling with switch 48 and then going to the switch test menu and seeing if it's closing by pushing the ball past it on the rail behind the ring and it is (with the playfield down). Then when I get to the last shot on DTR it still doesn't register.

A post above mentions it 'Just sucks my first experience with DTR was in test mode' - does anyone know how i could test this without actually getting to the last shot on DTR to see if the DTR show will activate - obviously if this is possible it would save a lot of time!

Cheers

Not sure how to test if DTR mode works without advancing the game there (which you can obviously do with the glass off and just manually activating switches).

Is the switch associated with your spinner working (don't have the manual handy to provide the number)? I believe both the spinner switch and switch 48 have to activate one after another to register the second DTR shot. Switch 48 by itself will not register as the second DTR shot and advance the mode.

Thanks matt it was the spinner switch that wasn't registering consistently - all sorted now

I finally got to the destroy the ring, and must of hit the ring shot 5 times. Mine did not attempt to hold a ball in the ring. Still need to see if it is set to 1 or 2 shot DTR. After reading this thread, I attempted to bend the switch. I played with it for quite a while. It seemed it would either not have enough travel distance and the switch would stay "on", or was not sensitive enough. I finally took the switch off moved the hinge of the metal part to the end hinge on the switch (see pic). I had to move the first bend in the metal about a quarter inch to compensate for me moving the hinge. After I reinstalled it worked perfectly. This game has some finicky switches. I had to to play with the balrog ones quite a bit to get it working right too.

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This is whats happening to me. Did I miss something in this thread?

All switches definitely work until you get into the last shot in destroy the ring mode. The switches all register points while Gollum hangs off the cliff so I know that #47 and #48 are working. However, when I poke my finger in the ring that sensor doesn’t seem to trigger. When I lose the ball and DTR mode stops I poke my finger in again and magnet clicks on and everything works again. So now I’m wondering if it’s a programming glitch? I have the latest roms from marco and the DTR mode is set to one ball.

Any ideas anybody? This is literally the last thing that needs to be fixed on this table. So desperate please help.

Thank you everybody for any suggestions.

I wouldn't expect the magnet to turn on for the second shot in one ball DTR since the ball just passes through the ring and triggers switch 48 to finish the mode. Have you gone into the menu and verified switch 48 works in test mode? Try triggering it with your finger and a ball passing by. Sometimes a ball can pass by it without actually actuaing the switch, thst is when the arm of the switch needs to be bent down some.I think switch 48 is only required for the final shot of DTR, so you are able to advance all the way through the mode even if it isn't working/getting triggered by the ball. Also check that switch 52 (the spinner switch) is working in the switch test mode.

If you want to check DTR in an actual game with the glass off, once you get to the final shot, manually trigger switch 52 quickly followed by switch 48. If both switches are working, that should finish the mode.

Yes, I have done all of this that's why I'm so confused. Tested both switches in dr. mode and they're registering. Also, tested #48 with a ball not just my finger and yes it triggers. I bent the arm down even more just to be extra sure and yes its triggers. I've been manually getting to the DTR mode with the glass off to test this. Not gonna work so hard again and get another fail. I'll spin the spinner and trigger the trough switch and it still doesn't trigger the cut scene. He just hangs there. Both the spinner and the back trough switch add points on the screen while I test them so I know they're working and again tested both in Dr. mode with the ball and my hand and all trigger. I'm at a loss. The magnet sensor not firing makes sense now that it's turned to one ball for sure.

Well, I just bought all new switches, the back trough switch and the spinner switch. Even though they're both triggering I'm just gonna replace them and see if it works. Also, gonna call Stern today and see if they can shed some light on the situation. We'll see.

There may be a timing requirement in the code, too, requiring the spinner and the magnet to trip within microseconds of each other. So if you're testing manually with the glass off, make sure to trip both switches as close together as possible. For example, flip the spinner with your left hand and feed the ball to the ring with your right hand at approximately the same time.

That's good advice. I'll try it again tonight and see before I go ahead with replacing the switch's.

Ok Pinsider's, I've done everything at this point. I even called Stern and I still cant "DESTROY THIS RING". I've attached images below. I did have video but the post wont upload video's just pictures. So, all switches are very much working (see attached) #42 #47 and #48. Also they all register points when the DTR mode is active (see attached). Called Stern and talked with their technician Chaze and he also said it is usually always switch #48. However, knowing I told him it was triggering he told me "do a factory reset if all else fails, sometimes the new roms don't take if you don't" Ok, so I did all of the above and still the ring cannot be destroyed.

I feel like Boromir in the movie. So I even created my own meme (see attached). So needless to say I'm out of ideas and options. Any other advice at this point would be a blessing. Thank you Pinsiders for your ongoing support and I really hope I'll be able to destroy that precious ring someday.

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Upload the video to YouTube and post the link here.

Very strange. Maybe the machine knows you have the glass off and are using your hands. Strange indeed.

You may need to spin the ramp spinner triggering that switch as well as put the ball through the ring for it to destroy the ring.

Yeah maybe when you're testing with the glass off, get one shot away, cradle the ball on the flipper and make the shot. Seems like the switches have to be hit just so to get the job done.

Switch #42 (Inner Loop) doesn't have anything to do with the final shot on DTR. Switch #42 registers a successful Gandolf shot above the playfield at the very end (top) of the inner orbit, just above and to the left of the O-R-C rollover switches.

The only switches that matter for the final shot on DTR are #52 (Spinner), #47 (Ring Made), and #48 (Back Trough), so if Switch #47 and Switch #48 are working, you need to focus on Switch #52 (Spinner).

LOTR_Switch_Matrix_Grid_(resized).jpg

Ok, here are the video's to give you a more clear look.

Looks like the spinner is causing some inner loop switch to activate. I would expect to see a spinner switch to show up in the test.

Your Spinner switch isn't wired correctly. If the machine is in Switch Test mode, when you spin the Spinner by hand, the DMD should confirm that Switch #52 (Spinner) is activated, NOT Switch #42 (Inner Loop).

Reach down and pull up on the Inner Loop switch, and see if the DMD shows Switch #42 (Inner Loop) is activating? If it's another switch (e.g., #52), then something probably got cross-wired during prior maintenance.