Great, Thanks Guys. Red wire with mine has been disconnected as well and yellow wire reconnected to the correct lug on the coin switch.

Unfortuantly the machine will still not start puching the credit (start) button, I have to hit the Reset Relay to start a game.

This game has had more problems popping up even after a full shopout then any other Mulitplayer I have worked on before, which to say is not making me merry before Christmas.

So fixed the coin door deal, then a wire broke off the Score Motor mid way down in the middle stack so I had to take that apart and solder it.

A Kickout Hole switch was jammed closed because a looped wire got in the way and I did not see that right off so that was not fun as it seems like something is always in the way of something else as there is just too much stuff crammed together under the Playfield. Even changing a light bulb is a PITA.

Had to flip flop the right flipper wires as 2 were soldered backwards.. my fault there but both Flippers work fine now.

I still seem to have a short somewhere. The Playfield right pop bumper does not work neither do the spinners or the kickout holes. Rollovers work and stand up targets so the mystery continues.

Well tomorrow is another day to try again.................Not sure now if this will be up and running for Christmas as the clock is ticking down fast.

Ken

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Had another favor Mk1Mod0.

Can you take a picture of your Credit unit and the wires that go to the switches on it. A couple of mine were disconnected and may have got mixed uo getting put back on.

Here's what mine look like.

Ken

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Thanks yet once gain Mk1Mod0.

My wires and switches are all OK on the Credit unit comparing to your pictures.

So here is the deal, the game will not start -push the start button and zero.

*Coin door switches are good and wiring
*Credit Unit is good
*All score wheels reset to 0 - tested a few times
*Lock coil pulls in when machine is turned on and no other coils are engaged
*Player Unit and Coin Unit were rebuilt.

There is no power to the coin door coil which in the past experimenting I found out that when it was getting power the start button would come alive and a game would start, and yes there are credits on the machine.

When I manually hit the rollovers for the lit bonuses accordingly both Silver and Gold score like they should.

You can start a game manually with the Reset Relay and that's when more weirdness begins. No Kickout Holes or Spinners are active yet all Rollovers and Targets work. The right pop bumper is dead. Flippers work. When the 1st ball drains it does nothing, just sits in the Outhole.

Note: I also checked the new power cord to make sure it was installed correctly and it was.

Ken

Ken

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Merry Christmas everyone. Still not giving up yet to play this thing today.

Some progress. got all the Pop bumpers working, just a switch on the right side pop.

Ball Count Unit seems to have weirdness. I move it manually and no balls changing on the backglass and once activated the Score Motor hums like it wants to do something.

I manually start a game I can move through the Player Unit fine 1-4 so at least I know that is good.

Pulled the Silver Bonus Unit and had to readjust that as it went a little out of whack for no reason.

So right now I cannot start a game normally, I use the Reset Relay. All kickout holes dead and spinners, ball count not advancing.

Ken

OK, more progress.

Blew a fuse for the second time on the Silver Bonus Unit and checked out the inside (White) wires that are in between the PCB and the metal body that attach to the backside of the rivets and it turned out that 2 wires were shorting against each other. Luckily I did not have to pull the unit apart again and simply pulled the 2 away from each other. No way they will touch again unless physically pushed back.

My 2nd bonus light now works (that set off the short) and it turns out that the 4th one has a bad lamp socket and I replaced that as well. All Gold and Silver Bonus lights now work as they should.

Getting closer...............

Note: A few days after I posted this I had to tear the whole Silver Unit apart as I was still having problems with the countdown. After taking out the shaft, cleaning, lubing, and re-tension the springs it works like a charm. Working on this unit it is a good thing to have your tetanus shot up to date as mine was not. I had to wind the clock spring tight and it got away from me and went about an inch into my finger, like a big fish hook with no barbs, and stayed there for about 5 minutes as I fought the tension in the spring to not rip through the other side of my finger before I got it out. Walgreen's has tetanus shots for about $65.00, cheaper than going to my doctor. Guess It just needed a little blood to get it to work properly. My finger is completely healed now, so it is all good for another 10 years until my next booster shot.

Additional Note for the Gold Bonus Unit: I ended up having to take this unit apart as well because of grease issues and still could not figure out why the count down of the bonus was acting erratic sometimes jumping up and down on the count. Thought is was mainly a switch and spring issue but it turned out to be a bent metal armature that actuates against the main gear and was rubbing against another armature that controls the release and countdown of said gear. Bent that back a tiny bit and it now works like a charm and no longer rubs against the other armature. It should be noted that the unit must have been damaged as there is no way that metal piece got bent on its own from regular use as it is super tough and my fix should be permanent as long as the machine is not allowed to fall into absolute disrepair again.

Ken

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Found the last 4 problems today, the big ones. After going through everything at least twice I looked at the Owners Manual of what relays were ties to the Kickout holes, Coin door, and Spinners and it all came back to the Score Motor. Finally I knew I would get this thing licked!

All I had to do was pull out the Schematic, reset the score motor to the home position, and go through all the switch stacks and all the switches to see which ones were faulty. Well, I found 4 switches total that were not set right at all so out came the old switch adjuster tool.

In the first picture on Cam 5, the top 2 switches were both open when they needed to be closed. The top one controlled the eject and canyon relay and the the Outhole Relay and 25/10 cent Relays

The second picture is of Cam 4, which was in the middle switch in the stack that was out of adjustment which controlled the Center and Canyon Hole eject relays.

The third picture shows Cam 1, the second switch down pulse the Coin Setup Relay, out of adjustment as well.

The forth picture shows how I had the Schematic right next to the Score Motor so I could easily identify each switch and compare the two. I got very lucky that it was just switch issues and not more wire issues with the Score Motor as my next step if needed was to identify each and every wire going to the switches on the Score Motor using the Schematic to make sure wires had not been soldered to wrong blades from a previous owner.

The last picture is that of the machine all nicely lit up and ready to play, just hit the start button.

Hope this thread helps other Sonic owners get their machines working 100% as well as it is a game well worth saving and very fun. Just some minor issues for me to adjust like a couple more bad lamp sockets, replace the pop bumper coil sleeves as they are not acting like DC Pop Bumpers, sluggish most likely from oil (as was everything else), and clean a couple sticky roll over stars.

We did not get to play it for Christmas but it will certainly be ready for New Years Eve

My wife played it and she says it is now her favorite pin, so I guess that I can safely sell my CC Casino, her old favorite, to make room for yet another project down the road, my 1975 Williams Triple Strike - A Single Player!

A big thanks to all that donated parts, pictures, and/or their time as it is all these things that help make it possible for me to fix these machines. Pinsiders are the best

Ken

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Common (hot) wire goes to black wire to machine
Neutral wire from new plug wire goes to yellow wire to machine
Green to Green (Ground wire)

Tested with my DMM to make sure this was the correct way

I soldered the ends of the new cord wires just like they did on the original so when you tighten down the screws connecting the wires together on the plastic connector piece so it will get full current and not break the strands of wire.

Ken

Been playing this machine quite a bit over the holidays and have come to the conclusion it is indeed super fun to play and a keeper with its very unique Silver and Gold Bonus system. I love the Spinning Targets and how you build up the Silver Bonus , then collect it from one of two Kickout Holes, only to work on building it up again. The Spinning targets really rip on this game and reminded me of my Williams Space Odyssey and how much fun it was to have Spinning Targets.

I wish I could have kept Prospector as it is now in great shape all around but space (The Final Frontier) dictates what I can have in the end.

This machine and my CC Casino have been sold to my friend and his wife who visited us for the holidays and are first time pinball owners and really enjoyed playing both machines. I am giving both machines a super service and hopefully they will not have any major problems for years to come. The cool thing is all I have to do is take an 11 hour drive to Colorado anytime to play them as they will be in good hands.

Seeing I only have room for single players machines now I thought I would buy a Gottlieb Atlantis next as I want an asymmetrical game but I also really want a good game with at least one Spinning Target. After researching on the IPDB I decided on yet another Williams for my collection, a 1977 Williams Wild Card. It doesn't have the cool Silver Bonus like Prospector that you can run up and collect again during the ball in play, but it does have some similarities with the Playfield and has very cool artwork too IMO. I needed a card themed pin for my collection anyhow and this fits the bill.

As far as Prospector, all I can say is that if you see this game for sale and have the room but are on the fence about buying it, don't be, just buy it.

Now anyone know where a Williams Wild Card is for sale

Ken

You bet.

Ken

Some great news from the boys down under.

I have been in communication with Lee at Pinball Rescue it looks like they will be selling the Prospector Spinning Target Decals very soon which is awesome as mine are shot. They will be nice and simple, just clean the spinner surface, peel, and stick. Should last another 30 years once applied as they have a Mylar face.

I'll let you guys know when they are available.

Ken

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They're here!

Thanks to the guys from down under yet once again. Great job, Bravo, and Thank You!

Contact www.pinballrescue.net for details.

Ken

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