Do the coil and switch diags. If the drain switch is working, but the coil isn't kicking out the ball, check fuses and see if any other non-flipper coils are firing.

Ah ok. I'll have to try that. I assume it is a similar menu like BK? so super confusing unless you have the manual handy

Here is the post where I found the coil lug. I forgot to look if that screw is "oem" or was added for some reason
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/1979-williams-stellar-wars-clubmembers-and-fans-only#post-6126928

For the diagnostics:
Turn it off and open coin door.
Set "auto up / manual down" (AU/MD) switch down.
Keep coin door open.
Turn on game.
Should be in attract mode.
With AU/MD down, press "Advance" (right button)
Displays should.go blank.
Press Advance again.
You should be in display digits test.
Switch AU/MD up and press Advance.
You should be in Lamp Test 01
Keep AU/MD up and press Advance.
You should be in Solenoid Test 2 and they will cycle. 1-7, 14, and 17-22 should fire a coil.
Keep AU/MD up and press Advance.
You should be in Switch Test 03.
On the credit/ball display, is there anything to the right of "03"? If so, you have a bum switch that needs to be adjusted. Note: make sure you reset all 3 drop target banks before getting here.

Thank you! Don't remember if the owner has the manual on hand. I'll keep this on hand for when I go out!

nice. that should help narrow down the issue. i looked at your old post about the kickout coil. I haven't had the need to pull the apron off of mine yet, but i assume the lug shouldn't be grounding out on the screw. if the connections look anywhere close to how they did in your old picture, i'd de-solder those connections and tighten everything up, then cut off the tips of the wires, strip the ends, and re-solder so it's cleaner. you might consider putting some electrical tape or masking tape over the screw as well if they're still touching or close to touching. and you might as well test the diode while you're there.

since your client told you it happens intermittently, i'm betting the trough switch isn't recognizing the ball and therefore never ending ball 1. if the kickout coil was *never* firing (due to a blown fuse, for example) i'd think this comment wouldn't apply: "After a couple days it worked again." FYI the trough switch will be "9" in the Switch Test. take a look at it and run a business card through the contacts to clean even if it looks ok and checks out.

it could also be that the kickout coil is loose and moving around and only sometimes shorting out and not working. tightening it up and putting tape over the screw might help. if the fuse is good, and the connections are solid, and you know that screw isn't giving you any more trouble, you'll want to check and make sure you're getting signal to the coil. using appropriate safety precautions, check the voltage with your multimeter.

side note: someone else mentioned their game fires the shooter lane kickout twice, and mine does that as well. at the beginning of every ball it seems to fire a bunch of coils, i assume primarily to reset the drop targets, but probably also to make sure no balls are stuck in the saucer kickout and trough? then, after the mass of coils all fire, it intentionally fires only the shooter lane kickout, which of course does nothing because the ball was just sent to the shooter lane. it's redundant and kinda dumb, but i think it was designed that way and ultimately harmless. I'm curious if your client's game does the same thing?

Yes I did! Powered sub.

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i'll check! We haven't been able to sync schedules.

I may be by myself on this one, but I love the sweeping sound on Stellar Wars. (Option 35 in adjustments)

Throughout the 33 different sounds to choose from Ive found a handful that I like. But Ive also found something I dont.

For whatever reason, the sweeping sound is louder than the rest of the sounds in the game. Is there a way to make the volume for the regular game sounds match volume for the sweeping sound?

Thanks

The coil lug for the trough kick out was really close to the score head for the pf bracket hanger.

I am massively frustrated with my Stellar Wars right now. I am averaging around 40,000 points per game. The ball drains within seconds most of the time before I ever get a chance to hit it. Somehow, it can bounce off the pop bumper ( which has an infinite number of directions the ball can come off ) and go all the way across the pf and drain the outhole without even touching the rubber bumpers, and it does it time and time and time and time again.

I'm thinking of trying to change the pitch, its currently at 5.1 degrees, What do you guys use for your pitch?

Mine is pretty close to 6 degrees. Im using the Pinball leveller app.

Just finished restoring and recoding Stellar Wars.
New features include:
* Skill Shot
* Ball Save
* Digital Music & Voice Callouts
* Scrolling Scores (up to 999M)
* Battle Mode (start battle with saucer, lights one letter to finish)
* Invasion (if top lanes are dark for 25 seconds of active play, invasion starts)
* 6 combos
* Wizard Mode
Lots of other stuff.
The code is on GitHub. Requires you to wire a Arduino into the M680X socket.

Love this game. Great shots. Seems way underrated.

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Please update HERE as well when you get it squared away! I am not a big fan of 2.0 upgrades and such to these classic games. They have their own charm and I love them for that. REALLY went into your vid with that mindset. Just a few minutes in, i was all:"gotta admit, the sound is badass. SO glad the old sounds are still there, but the music fits really well. I wonder if I could just run the music."

It took me a while to get into the modes, again pretty much dead set against. The callout voice had that old-school charm...was glad it wasn't all shiny and personalized. As I watched longer I found myself really loving the light show and integration, and by invasion I was convinced. This is awesome, I'm gonna add this to-do list. Might be a few years, but I'm in - I'll put it in a box and save it! I play my Stellar Wars daily. It needs nothing to be great. BUT THIS IS ALSO GREAT. I'm IN.

Thank you for doing this!

Glad you enjoyed the new concept. From the onset of this project, I've been striving to make it as non-destructive as possible. I don't replace anything, and my mods can easily be removed, leaving the machine in the original condition. In addition, since early on, I've made the mod dual-bootable. In fact, with this one, you can hold the credit button in while you turn on the machine and the Arduino will notice that and boot to the old processor. You don't even have to open the machine to dual boot.

For the callouts, I took my inspiration from Alan McNeil (I think he was the programmer who did the vocoder work for Berzerk -- Rob Quinn said he did the sound for Galaxy, and I think I read somewhere that the vocoder was his work). I strove to reproduce that sound with my own voice, making the robots the protagonists of this version. Like Berzerk, it's difficult to understand the robots at first but you quickly get an ear for it.

The invasion mode takes inspiration from Defender pinball. The Defender in my shop is not working yet, but I'm saving that one for a rainy day.

I've never played Stellar Wars, but Dick's programming looks fantastic. I would consider buying a Stellar Wars to give it a try.

I have a lead on a cosmetically good looking, but non-functional Stellar Wars. Is this worth the effort to get up and running again? I'm not real familiar with the circuit boards on this machine. It looks like there is some strange 20 pin header connector for two boards to link together. So, I'm not real sure how expensive or difficult this will be to get working? Also, what exactly are the dimensions of the machine? I have a slider door that walks out my basement, but not sure if it can open wide enough? I've seen the YouTube video of Dick Hammel's reprogramming of the software, and it looks like a fun update to the machine.

I really enjoy the game, the wide body is a lot of fun to play. Trying to make STELLAR WARS gives a lot of different things to do, though I have to say mine is quite brutal, it toys with me and then when I am down to one letter left to go it drains - I am pretty sure its laughing when it does...

the main body is 51.5 inches deep by 29 inches wide by 20 high without the head. the removable head is 30 wide x 27.5 high x 11.5 deep

The board thing is a strange beast but I can't help you with it - I purchased new ones. I do know the connector is a common failure point and is usually replaced when people are doing the board work.

Vid has an entire thread on repairing and bulletproofing the board so there is quite a bit if help if it has problems and you want to tackle it.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-bulletproofing-williams-system-6

Yep, follow Vids thread. It will help you get it running. My Stellar Wars is cosmetically the worst game in my collection. But I kid you not, it gets more plays than my others. I think it's because the objectives are simple but the machine can be pretty tough to master.

I have a question, the big bulbs in the center, under the plastic. Are those #89 (12v) bulbs?
Amazingly, I can't find anywhere in the manuals that mentions it other than a reference to #89's being used for "flashers"

I was thinking it would be pretty cool to add a string of LED's on the guard behind the flippers that are wired to the big flashers so they would give an additional bright flash when STELLAR WARS is completed. I just need to make sure I get the right voltage LED's!

Mine are LEDs but they're on all the time. Not sure if that's how it's supposed to be, but it's always been that way and i don't mind it. I'll have to check mine in the next day or two.

They are on all the time? Strange, the whole point is to have the big flash when you finally spell stellar wars. I appreciate you looking in to it. I will post my mod when I get it finished.

It seems like the bottom of the of is pretty dim, that could be intentional to make the flash that much more impressive, but I will see how I like the extra lights

Yep, these are #89 bulbs. Indicated by the grey/black wire here in the manual.

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Mine are 13v comet red flashers. They're on dim and flash much brighter when the sequence is completed. I could probably clip the resistors and they would work as intended but I like it the way it is. You rarely ever see the crosshairs image otherwise.

Opinions, to each their own.

If you don’t want your LED flashers to stay partially on all the time, cut or unsolder one leg of the circled warming resistor.

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Did a Topside teardown and cleaned the playfield on my Stellar Wars this weekend, and finally installed the flipper rebuilt kit I had purchased. She's playing really nicely again.

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anyone have a nice condition center drop target plastic ?

Reaching out in the club in regards to a issue I’m having with a friend’s game.

The W lane and A lane issue….. so no matter which lane the ball goes through, it lights up both W and A. In switch test, the switches check as working correctly when pressed so I’m starting to think it might be an issue with the lights associated with the two switches….?

Wondering if any of you have had this problem?

Thank you for any help/assistance.

Does anyone make reproduction drop target and spinner decals for Stellar Wars?

Classic Arcades on Ebay

ebay.com link: itm

ebay.com link: itm

I would message them and see if you can bundle them both together.

Decided I'm ready to do my first playfield swap, got a pretty fair deal on a used, but pretty good playfield on eBay. I've done a few touch ups and I'm going to have a local friend do an automotive clearcoat on it.

Wish me luck!

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good luck! please post how it went. Your playfield looks about like mine and its next on my list to do.

In attract mode are the amber arrows pointing to the drops that spell stellar supposed to be on solid or do they cycle on and off like the other lamps.

Just got the game running this evening and sorting out what issues remain. Have at least two burned coils to replace and probably need to rebuild the drop target assemblies.

The S-T-E-L-L-A-R amber arrows are all GI.
Are the burned up coils "switch triggered" or logic triggered? I've run across a few of these where a 7402 (IC8 or IC9 -- I can't remember) was making the switch triggered solenoids (slings, and 4 out of 5 of the pops) stick on and burning up coils.

Im not home so I can't recall on the insert lights.
But if you have a fiberglass pencil, they work wonders on the sliding target boards. Don't forget to clean the horseshoe contacts too.

Thanks for the confirmation about the amber arrows!

I’ve rebuilt a lot of these early Williams board sets and went through this set of boards right when I got the game. Found lots of issues on the driver. Incorrect parts, bad TIP’s, bad pre-driver transistors, and a bad 7408 that locked a TIP on. Boards were all washed and are all good now. Also had to go through the Master display.

Before I connect any of the coils need to check all the rest in case others are shorted. Two are definitely melted. One on a lower pop bumper and one on the left drop assembly. Should be able to play it by the weekend if all goes well.

Was able to work on this during lunch. The pop bumper coil shorted since the switches were closed. Fixed that and the new coils work. Just need to look at one pop bumper that isn’t responding but that may be a switch issue too.

A wire was clipped to the coil on the right sling. Connected that and noticed that when you start a game it would energize and stay on. If I disconnected the upper left connector on the driver for the special switch inputs then it wouldn’t so it was a switch issue. The leaf switches were ok. The culprit was the capacitor across the switches for the right sling. Unsoldered one end and all is well!

Anyone have some pictures of the top right drop target ("R" targets)? All down not registering not sure the bank was wired correctly. Pulled it out and starting over. I think I know how it should go, but confirmation pic would help.

Was playing around with the background sound settings (adjustment 35) and I like #17 as a selection but it continues to play after ball 3 drains and your in game over mode. Other selection numbers, like factory recommended #30 act as normal and shut of once the game is over.

Can anybody do a test and see if their #17 continues to play at game over? I'm just curious as it seems very strange. thanks

PS: does anybody have a sound board volume pot replacement source? I can only find 3 in line leg lead pots on the parts suppliers sites but these are a 4 leg box style.

Message Todd at Www.bigdaddy-enterprises.com and see if he has them specifically. I seem to remember him having the kit.

I'll check my Stellar Wars sound #17 later.

**edit** looks like he has his site down right now.

Maybe check in a week or so.

Do you still need this? I did not see it when you posted.

mine does, its the only one that keeps going after game over...strange

Thanks for the tip!

Yup, only one for me too, so strange! thanks for the confirmation

What's your favorite of all of these sounds? Ive picked a handful but I know I have not been through all of them.

For the most part all I've heard is that several people prefer it to be off. I kinda like it to have a sound myself.

I prefer selection #17, it is similar to Flash. I'm not a fan of the radar beep style ones, as most people I think. There are some really out there ones too if you try them all.

number 16 is a great example, I turned it on and my wife came running in from the other room wondering what had happened. I don't think I could play it like that.

Nope. All set. Newly acquired machine was wired wrong. I worked it out from dropdown pics and diagrams of similar era. Not a huge fan of that design, but it works. Thanks for asking.

Playfield is finished with the clearcoat. Can't wait to start the swap soon!

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looks really sharp!

How does the graphic inside the big lighted center look? that's a tricky one to get right.

I wish I had remembered to check that before the clearcoat. Because I have a decal that I could have applied. Hopefully it's in good condition.

Just installed new add on Stellar Wars 2022 (aka SpaceBattle 2022). It is an additional board to add on to your game. Not hard at all. What you get is a whole new game with music, callouts, new sounds, new rules, modes, and a wizard mode. Link below for the store to purchase. Great support even for non-tech guys like me.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1304-roygbev-pinball/09092-retropinupgrade-rev-102-arduino-board-assembled-programmed