Mistakes happen of course, but I wonder why this issue wasn’t caught during play testing at the factory.

Would someone with a recent build give me some guidance about where these connectors go (power input board and bowling alley mech)? The pictures in the manual don’t seem to correspond completely to my wiring and I want to make sure I don’t @&$! anything up. Thanks.

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Edit: Ok, I think I figured it out. What threw me on the main board (second pic) was the middle connector having fewer holes than pins on the board, but I found a picture that showed which ones are not plugged in. On the bowling alley mech, I just plugged in the connectors that correspond to the correct number of pins to the plugs on the board. If someone could confirm that that sounds correct, I'd appreciate it.
One other question: there was a loose, unconnected cable in the backbox labeled "CPU." I did not see where that would plug in, so I'm assuming it is there for auxiliary power if necessary. Does that sound right? Thanks.

Edit: deleted

After a few games with the new code, I started to get this error message every time I boot up. If I switch to the old code, the message disappears. A system reset seems to have solved the problem, but lost all my high scores. Bummer, man.

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Thanks! I missed that. Will give it a shot.

I’ve got a few loose posts, but unfortunately those nuts underneath the playfield are not accessible without removing a whole bunch of stuff. Maybe someday I’ll find the motivation…

Over the past few weeks, I’ve noticed screws/washers of various types in the bottom of the cabinet—maybe six or so in total. I can’t see anyplace on top of or under the playfield where these are missing. Any ideas where they may be coming from?

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I was able to access that area to tighten a plastic with a long needle nose pliers, but it was no easy feat.

Every few games I’ve noticed the sound becomes really scratchy, sometimes worse than others. It kind of sounds like a radio station that’s not quite in tune. When I reseat the cables on the sound card in the backbox the scratchiness generally goes away—at least for a while. Any idea what may be causing this?

No, definitely static coming from the speakers. Sometimes the game sound is barely audible with all the noise, sometimes the noise is less severe.

Dupe.

I'll try a new cable. Thanks. Re: OS, I'm not sure. I'm running software version .58 and the serial number is 578. I haven't updated any hardware.

So I think I figured out where this hardware came from. When I lifted the playfield the other day, the kickback coil assembly under the apron behind the left outlane fell out. It was just sitting there with nothing holding it in place.

I never found any locknuts in the cabinet with the loose screws, so I’m guessing they just placed the screws in the assembly at the factory but never secured it. Luckily I had the right hardware on hand to put it back together properly. Various other pieces were also loose when my game arrived a few months ago. Maybe mine was a fluke, but it’s probably a good idea to go over everything at first so stuff doesn’t end up flying around.

I tried a new audio cable as Rens suggested. It seemed to work great for the first few games, but then the sound issue came back. When I turn the machine off and on again the problem resolves—for a while. Is this a known issue with the old hard drive/OS?

Would you post a link to the hard drive we’d need to order for the installation?

I installed the Cliffy on the saucer, which seems to work well except for one thing: Ever since I installed it, I get stuck balls sometimes behind the saucer. I’m guessing the Cliffy can give the ball some lift on a hard shot which lodges it there. Any ideas how to close off that area to avoid the stuck balls?

It’s tough to get the camera in there, but the balls sometimes get stuck in the area behind the left saucer, underneath the blue plastic/flasher. A post in that area would solve the problem, but I’m not sure how to do that without drilling a hole which I don’t want to do.

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In case anyone else has this issue, I think I solved it by just putting an extra pinball back there and securing it to the metal side rails with 3M tape. It’s not visible and takes up the space where a ball in play can get stuck.

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

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?

I also had this issue. Bending the stop slightly so it sits a little higher helped, but the ball still passes through occasionally. If you find another fix, please share it.

For anyone else having the problem of the ball blowing past the release pin on the bowling mech after it's launched, I may have a fix. I first made sure all surrounding parts were tightened and in place and experimented with the software settings, but still had the issue periodically. What worked for me was to cut a piece of Lexan polycarbonate to the same size as the top flat part of the release pin and glue it on top with Gorilla clear grip (dries totally clear). I added a small piece of mylar directly on top of the release pin to make removal easier if necessary. The bit of extra height has totally stopped the ball from rolling over the pin when it is launched, and the mech seems to work perfectly--at least after the last five games or so. It is also barely noticeable.

Sure. Here it is. The tiny piece of clear Lexan sits on top of the flat rectangular part of the release pin.

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I'm open to ideas but am not sure what else to try. I can't see anything awry with the physical assembly. I tried to bend the pin so it sits higher but was not successful. You may be right that the solution is not durable. I guess we'll see.

Thanks for the explanation and detailed instructions of your fix. It does sound like that’s my issue. Unfortunately, getting the bushing in there sounds pretty time-consuming. If my ghetto fix fails at some point, I will go that route next.

Now if anyone has ideas of how to stop my Jesus ramp from rejecting balls on hard shots I’d be grateful. I tried adding dead drop foam and bending the bracket slightly, but those things didn’t help (foam made it worse).

I’m not sure but will check. Thanks for the info and pictures.

I tried this based on your advice (I used some self adhesive dead drop foam) and it has been a big improvement. Thanks! Occasionally, a hard direct shot will end up in the shooter lane, but rejects are now pretty rare.

I hear you. Unfortunately, I think it would be extremely difficult to do without removing the upper playfield, especially since you’d probably want to experiment with placement while rolling the ball up the ramp. I used it as an excuse to clean and wax those areas, but too bad it’s kind of a PIA.

Yes.

I have the same issue! It takes extra time to adjust the flipper without the bushing, but I basically got it to work fine. Would be nice to have the updated version when it’s available.

I want to give a shout-out to Flynnibus for this fix. My temp “solution” (gluing material on top of the release post to raise it higher) came undone, so I went with the bushing solution according to Flynn’s detailed and helpful instructions. It now works perfectly. Thank you. Rens: you may want to add this to the maintenance manual, or better yet—have the factory add the bushing to the release post to avoid this problem.

One of my nihilist stand-up targets is constantly getting stuck closed no matter how many times I adjust it. I think maybe the metal is fatigued from bending too much. I’d like to replace it. Could someone confirm that this is the correct replacement part?: https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsbally-oblong-stand-up-targets.html

Ahh, got it. Thank you!

Actually, my TBL targets are front mounted (broken TBL target on left). Guess I’ll have to send the new ones back.

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No worries. Mistakes happen. Should have double-checked myself. All the more reason we need a manual with a complete list of parts.

The shooter lane diverter stopped working consistently in my game. Most times now, the ball does not go around the orbit when starting a ball and eventually gets kicked up to the upper playfield (even when right flipper button is not pressed on launch). There seems to be a lot of play in that coil shaft and spring under the playfield, but I’m not sure how it is supposed to look (see pics). Is there something broken or not assembled properly? I didn’t see any mention of this issue in the service guide.

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Yes, now I see it. Thank you.

Are both of these silver pieces in place at each end of the rolling pin inside of the rug (keeping the pin/rug on track)? One of mine came off in shipping and I had the same issue.

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This happens to mine every so often. Now that I know what to do it’s not a big deal, but seems kind of odd. Has this glitch been fixed in later builds?

Check the diverter spring underneath
the playfield. I had a similar issue and it was broken. Others have also had this problem. PBL sells replacement springs.

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https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fixing-led-bulbs-flashers-that-fall-out-of-spotlights

I put a small piece of dead drop foam on the ball guide to direct the ball to the left flipper. It took a bit of trial and error but works fine.

See post #1594 in key posts. Maybe your issue is that broken spring?