Attached is a picture where you can clearly see the opto pair. In this build the wires for the opto’s go below playfield and have a connector there.

I think in yours already they go to the MPF and from there inside the flatcable to the bottom. Otherwise you should see a green and blue wire running through the same hole as the flatcable.

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Is there a way to test the optos? Maybe a bad opto?

That's what I'm thinking and really would love to avoid taking the upper playfield out if I don't have to. Not sure how to test it. If it's a bad opto, is this a part I'd need from DP or something more easily obtainable?

Following up on this after some excellent tech support via email from Rensh. It ended up being a bad opto and DP is sending me out a new pair. For what it's worth, I did remove the upper playfield and it wasn't too bad...took me about 10-15 mins as previously quoted. I do have a newer build so YMMV.

I seem to be have the common freezing issue. I thought it was resolved when I reseated the Usb cable on the PCB but it came back after 10 games. Now it happens so often even after I reseat the connector the game is not playable. I did notice my PCB looks different than other recently posted photos. Mine seems to have some wires hard wired to the board. Has the design changed and why?

wonder if I should tape the connector the board or perhaps ask for the entire board to replaced? The game is only about a month old.

update : I wedged a small piece of velcro under the connector. the connector is not moving at all now I am pretty confident and the game still freezes. It can freeze anywhere but normally happens after the 3 ball lock dude multimode is started. sometimes you can get through the multiball mode and other times it will freeze with in a min or two of that mode ending.
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I was having freezing issues...flippers would die randomly and other odd things. Put a new board in and still had the issue. My game is in a line with 4 other games. Suspected some power issue, so just powered on TBL by itself (usually have all games on) and we played a dozen games last night with no issue.

Interesting theory. With a switched power supply like TBL has this is unexpected. Old BW games have a transformer and this can than be expected but with a switched power supply ??

Can you check the voltage VAC with all flippers turned on?

And let’s await some more days of uninterrupted playing befor we bring out the White Russians.

This also means the new Proc didn’t help?

I replaced the USB cable for freezing issues no problems since.

if the PS has a switch for 240v and 120V. make sure it's in the correct position. I had a game that i had for years, never reset. Then brought it to the new house and would get random resets. Found out, the PS was switched to 240, so all those years, it was running at half voltage and still working. But the wiring in the new house, would have more draw, and would dip just a hair too low and cause resets and lockups. So check that out and make sure.

My first issue: dead switch behind the car when it closes. Causes the car to shutter or jitter. Test mode shows it does not work.

I assume just replace the switch, but a switch dying is super rare, especially in new games. That’s why I’m posting. I’ll keep this updated.

Or trying bending it out some first.

It doesn't register at all in switch test.

I did bend it out first.

This same exact scenario happened to me just now.

The upper playfield garage switch didn't work, then it did work, then the entire thing didn't work.... also says MPF Scoop (stuck closed).

Maybe I'm going through the same thing.

The whole story: The car / garage started vibrating. I went into switch test and the switch that controls the door closing wasn't in operation. I disabled the car so I could work on it later and continued to play. The rest of the game worked fine.

The day I'm working on the game, I took the garage lid off to get to the switch, put it in switch test and OMG IT WORKS NOW! Why? What!? OK so I put everything back together and went to test the game. I turned it off and turned it back on, and the garage door immediately started vibrating again.

I went into switch test and the switch was dead....... again..... but this time ALL switches on the upper playfield are dead.

I checked for a loose ribbon cable, thinking that was the problem. When things die and work and die etc, something loose is usually the culprit. Not this time.

Below in a separate post are pictures of the game in switch test. Notice the upper playfield with some lights on? That's weird. No other part of the game had lights partially on.

Gonna need help on this one.

And for the record, I re-seated the ribbon several times and tested the F10 and F11 fuses with a multimeter.

No sure what to do next.

omg, now it doesn't even start up! hahaha!

Whole thing is bricked. I turn it on, all I get are 4 lights on the upper playfield that you see in the picture, the backlighting in the backbox, and the LCD screen turns on but doesn't get a signal.

That's it.

I love how this whole thing started with a switch that didn't work.

make sure there isn't a wire pinched and cut, shorting against a metal bracket. I had a TZ crash this way, where someone screwed down the mini playfield with the wires pinched in the U bracket in the back. Everything was all polywampus

Thank you for the suggestion. Everything is along wood, no pinched wires.

3D printed and installed the bowling pin spacers installed. Will see how it goes! Thanks, Rensh for the 3d files
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Are these made out of PLA?

I just received a package from Dutch and they were kind enough to throw in a set of spacers as well. Never even asked for them. Way to go Dutch/Rens!

Your speaking of the ribbon on the upper playfield correct? I’ve had to reseat that several times and it causes many of the problems you started out with. Hope it’s a quick fix for you.

Yeah it’s not that.

All the 48 V fuses are out. Fuse numbers one, two, three, and eight.

No solutions yet, I just emailed the company.

And you got a reply a few hours ago

Hopefully my suggestions will get you up and running again.

Oh thanks. I saw the reply but I had a function at my home so I couldn't get over there to look at it yet. I'll do that shortly and report back.

It sucks to see people walk into The Pinball Co-op for the sole purpose to play TBL and then I have to tell them it won't start.... "that's a bummer, man"

Just in case anyone else like me needs help starting the game (possible search words: won't boot, won't start, dead, cpu died). This is in the manual, page 120 and it worked for me:

Big thanks to Rens for helping me out.

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Yup, that also happened to me a few months ago and that fix worked. Luckily it hasn’t happened again.

Right all PCs have this. Jump start PC.

What did you do from there to correct the problem?

The game started, that was one problem (wouldn't start).

The upper playfield still doesn't work even though the ribbon is securely fastened. They are sending me a new flatcable, suspecting that to be the problem.

It’s so odd that some people have a bunch of issues and others have none. Mine out of the box had the scoop switch that needed a little tweaking and the upper playfield rollover was a bit tight and needed adjustment. Other then that it’s played flawlessly. To anyone that’s having issues keep in mind it’s a machine that’s been on a long journey to get to you. Everything is fixable. Have patience ! Dutch’s customer service is second to none. They will get you up and running no matter the issue. !!

First all Thanks for your kind words , they are highly appreciated

Than the switches are main problem direct after delivery. I find it really puzzling why switches work fine at the factory are so mis aligned after transport.

NIB stern is also not flawless but these switch issues are much more rare with them speaking of own and friends experience.

What I also recommend all new owners is to reseat (so take out and plug in again) all USB connector, especially the one connected to the PROC below the playfield !!

If we take these 2 above mentioned out of the equations major issues are rare honestly speaking. And yes, rare is something else and not at all. But I try to take care of everybody asap.

Next week I am on holiday, trying to take a break and spent some time with the family, see if I am successful in this .

My Donny lane has never returned to the left flipper on fast shots that come around that orbit like the rug skill shot, and for months I've had a small piece of 3m tape and the end of the metal guide so it would get bumped over to the right flipper instead of going SDTM. It has always bugged me because the guide alignment is good. After taking a closer look I found that there was a very small, almost invisible, imperfection right in the middle at the end of the metal guide that would bump the ball out enough to cause the issue. After filing it down the ball goes to the left flipper now. So something to check for people having that issue with the guides on either side.

Definitely good advice! I just wanted to share the solution I went with. Found this post w/ pics from a while back by TomDK with advice from Rensh: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-big-lebowski-official-club-thread/page/30#post-5872316

I did what he did--slightly shave/cut/create a "flat" side to the post rubber. This allowed my ball guide to naturally move just so slightly to the left at the end. Ever since, I've had zero SDTM shots coming down from the Donny lane / around then down the left orbit. BTW I haven't had to do anything on the right side, I've only had SDTM issues from the left. Read his post above and the few before it. Just be careful not to cut too far into the rubber or slice your finger! You definitely need a very sharp blade and a steady hold on the rubber (or maybe others know of a creative way to hold the rubber in place while you cut it). Also, I know there are other solutions to redirecting the ball. Just wanted to share that this was 100% the solution for me.

Thanks, plan B was to either shave down that post rubber or finding something thinner to go around the post to get the guide in farther. It was surprising how much of an effect a very slight imperfection at the end of the guide had on deflecting the ball towards the center of the table. I could barely even feel it when rubbing my finger over it. I guess when the metal guide was originally cut it wasn't 100% clean.

Regarding the switch issues some people are having, in my experience some of them just plain don't work my game is on location I spent 10 minutes adjusting the coin switch and a quarter would always get stuck I gave up and replaced it and worked first try, the scoop switch is another common problem replacing it helped but in my experience its not mounted in the correct position bending the arm worked for awhile but it bent back over time my fix was to oval out the holes and that gave enough adjustment to be in the correct spot without bending the arm.

the software freeze up today. Was doing female form mode. Finished it in the pops. Hit the rug to finish it out. Game was stuck on the points for the mode and froze up.

I had a freeze up yesterday as well. I had started one of the car modes & scoring, callouts, etc. stopped. Upper flipper didn't work when going to the upper playfield. Main flippers & pops still worked. When the ball drained nothing happened. Wasn't able to enter test mode. Had to power off the game.

i had to power off as well.

I was having a lot of freeze ups and the only thing that got the game back on track was replacing the USB cable from the Proc pcb to the backbox, about 9 feet long, I bought Amazon stock one and no more issues. Hope this helps.

No these are TPU - Is a flexible rubbery compound, very tough yet flexible.

In regard to the freezing issue. DP has just changed supplier and type of USB cable. Hopefully this will improve this matter

Used now is amazon.com link »

Also a dot of hot glue is used to keep the connector more firmly in place at the PROC. Also the right angle puts less stress on the connection is expected. Most issues occur after transport of the TBL. This should hopefully prevent this from now on. I think this change started like 2 weeks ago roughly.

My service faq will also reflect this change.

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Posted new version 064 of Service FAQ at

https://www.dutchpinball.com/the_big_lebowski_pinball_support

Hello and Good Day Everyone

I received my NIB TBL roughly two weeks ago and here are the issues I am encountering.

1) Subwoofer works for short period and then shuts down, both of the upper speakers work just fine all the time.
2) When hitting the rug with the right flipper, it never actuates the rug, only the left flipper (Angle of the dangle?)
3) I have one error code of "(Light) Lock Target (stuck closed)"

Thanks for your insight on this one, look forward to hearing back

1) There's a very tiny button on one of the boards in the backbox with a slot in it. That's the sub power or something. You need to turn it down. It's over-heating and shutting off. There's a post in this thread that points it out, search it.

2) Same with most/all other users. I think I'm going to make it so the rug only needs one hit to unroll. I think that'll make the process less painful.

3) Just gotta adjust the switch manually.

I agree with the above for #1 and #3, but I can hit the rug with either flipper as long as it's a direct hit. You may need to up the sensitivity on the rug switch. I think Rens has a write up of the rug mech in the manual.

Yup there is. See for link service faq few posts up

For the rest I agree with the previous comments as solution. Eg you need to adjust your lock switch and turn the bass down (how to is in the servicefaq)

Does anyone else have an issue where the mystery scoop shoots it SDTM sometimes? Seems like 1 out of 5 times. Is the solution just to increase the power there? If so, what do you all set it to?

I don't remember exactly what I did, but there's a bit of left/right adjustment in the scoop itself. Check the screws/nuts that secure the scoop coil to the playfield and see if you can twist it slightly so it goes to the right flipper every time.

I’m getting mostly rejects on the Jesus ramp—especially on hard direct shots. I removed the upper playfield and added some target foam to the steel wall behind the ramp, but that seems to have made it worse. Any tips to correct the problem?

My issue with the scoop don't seem to be the switch (the game knows the switch is closed in the test menu) - but the fact it frequently gets into a state where the game simply refuses to kick the ball out or do a ball search with scoop kickout.

Latest was someone was in nilist mode, got two balls in the scoop... and game is unplayable because in multiball it won't ball search, and it wouldn't fire the scoop either. In test menu, it say scoop switch (stuck) - well.. it had two balls in it! Fired the coil from the menu, cleared immediately, and switch message cleared too.

I'm still trying to find the other scenarios that lead up to it.. but 'ball in scoop and won't kick' is the #1 complaint we have with the game right now. In every example, power cycling the game clears it as it happily clears the scoop at game startup. But won't do the scoop firing in ball search in the failure state :/