Just got my TBL this week and of course I have some questions about the code. Hopefully this is the right topic to post in. I'm on the latest 0.55 version.

1) Balls getting stuck/ball finder not releasing them: Every so often the ball won't surface out onto the parking lot when shot through the Jesus lane. The ball finder feature never pops it out. However if I power off and back on it will get popped out.

Additionally the ball will sometimes get stuck behind the lot's flipper. For the latter I can usually get it out by flipping it and nudging the machine. However if the game disables that flipper at the same time then I have to remove the glass and grab it. The finder feature doesn't flip that flipper.

2) On 0.55 (not sure if it's different on earlier versions), the callout "Let's go bowling" from mode ready repeats again when you get into the mode. It's kinda annoying. It seems there should be a different callout to mix it up a little.

Anyone know if either of these behaviors are ntentional or maybe will get fixed/improved in a later version?

Thanks both! I'll address your other helpful suggestions later.

Yes this is what I'm speaking to. If you choose the bowling skill shot, hit the loop then enter bowling, or if you spell bowling and enter you're guaranteed to hear "let's go bowling, let's go bowling" in quick succession. Why this decision instead of different callouts since this is an extremely common scenario? So many other movie quote options could be used here instead of repeating the same callout. Is there a way to request/suggest variation for future code releases? I can't be the only one who finds this too repetitive.

Thanks for the advice! I decided to ever so carefully bend the rail like you mentioned and it hasn't happened again for a few plays. I already have the machine super pitched it feels. Tried my best to measure it to 6.5 degrees but it could be even closer to 7 already so I don't want to go higher. Will respond if this issue resurfaces.

This is beginning to happen super often and is driving me insane. It just happened now and this time both the ball search didn't pop it out nor did simply powering on/off. I powered it off again, lifted the playfield and put it back down. Then and only then did the start up ball search pop it out. I did look at the switch test and for a split second saw some VUK active on the screen but didn't take a photo in time. I will say that always, no matter if the issue has occurred just then or not, this is always on screen if I go to switch test: "MMB - J17 - Pin 8 Bowling Return" Is that normal? How do I get to this VUK or that switch in question? I am not trying to pull this machine apart. I just got it NIB!

New "Sound" Issues that keep happening randomly:

1. Not always but most of the time when the machine is idle, there is a low volume but high pitched "whirling" sound coming from the backbox, not the speakers. Kind of sounds like alien ships circling around if that makes sense. Is this normal? Is it the fan or perhaps just the sound of the system?

2. A couple of times while idle I heard an apparent, low hum from the right speaker. Last time it happened I powered the machine off, waited about 5 min. then powered it back on and it went away. Is this a known issue?

Related question about how to output the audio to an external system:
3. How can I output the game's line or other level signal via mini stereo to RCA? I own 2 powered monitors and a powered sub. Kind of like how the PinSUB boards work for Stern games, I would like to a) Keep the audio coming through the TBL cabinet as usual but then b) Output its stereo signal to my powered monitors and sub. When first setting the TBL up I did notice a mini stereo audio out from the display but after a quick test it appears to not be enabled. I have not looked too closely into the game's audio board but I don't see an output jack. While I am audio-inclined I don't want to go splicing the speaker connections if there is an easier, known solution or mod that can be installed.

Thanks man, that's a solution but I'm not trying to "feed off" of those connections if possible. Via a USB keyboard and mouse I can get into the Ubuntu Sound settings. And within there I can get both a Test audio signal through the default USB connected audio board/system speakers AND a stereo signal via the mini green audio out jack from the backbox motherboard (the Analog Stereo output option in Ubuntu). However once I get both working in the Sound settings Tests and go back to the game, the mini jack no longer outputs a signal. If I unplug the USB audio from the audio board I get nothing from it either. It's as if in practice the game insists on only using the USB out port for audio through the board regardless of what's been done in the system settings. I really don't want to splice off of those audio board terminals. Ideally I want to be able to activate and balance both the USB audio output (that the game leverages) and the Analog mini jack via the settings available in the Ubuntu menus.

I have a thread with DP support about this issue but since I can't seem to find anyone else who's posted about this yet and maybe my findings will help others, I wanted to ask here. If you know a lot about rollover switches, please read! Sorry for the lengthy post.

Since day one I've had an issue with the rollover switch: "Right Ramp Made". This is the switch that is triggered when making the right ramp up and into the parking lot (aka the Min-Playfield or MPF). When triggered you receive a WALTER letter. It intermittently doesn't register during game or in the switch test. At first, thinking it just needed a little tweaking of the wire lead I started down that path. I thought I had fixed it but the issue returned again. Then after tweaking again it fell out of its harness underneath the MPF . So I had to go the route of removing the MPF to investigate more.

Upon physical investigation of the switch, it's solder joints, related wiring and connectors I saw nothing wrong. So I "reformed" the wire and made sure it took little to no pressure to trigger/"click". I reseated all MPF connections too for good measure. I then re-assembled and put the MPF back in. With the Main PF lowered resting on the front of the cabinet, all tests passed successfully... Well except for the Right Ramp Made switch in question! :/. However, once lowering the PF back to it's flat, horizontal placement the Right Ramp Made switch registered 100% in test. I then played about 8-10 games and the switch was registering every time I got up the ramp. But then seemingly out of nowhere it stopped again, ironically during a game where I hit the ramp probably 10-15 times. Nothing. So I went back to switch test again and again it wouldn't register. Note that when I say wouldn't register, it doesn't appear on the test menu. I am not getting a "switch stuck" message or anything like that. And when it does register, it does so as expected like any other switch, appearing and disappearing as I carefully roll my finger or a ball over it.

Now here's the super odd thing: Since in previous tests it would register when the main PF was at various angles but not others, I ran the tests with the Main PF completely vertical, resting against the backbox. The switch registered 100% as I lightly tapped it with my finger. I then ever so slowly started lowering the PF while still tapping the switch. Once I got just maybe 1/4 of the way back down, bam the switch stopped registering. As I then raised the PF slowly back up, as soon as I got near and then at the fully vertical position, the switch again started registering 100%. I can now reproduce this odd behavior over and over again. But with the PF back down the switch will no longer register at all in test or in game (even though it was for a good 8-10 games before).

I'm kicking myself for not just installing a new switch when I had the MPF removed (since that was not fun to do) but unfortunately I don't own any extras. I was able to find another post saying this is the same switch (SP-SW-002 Rollover Switch With Mounting Brackets) so I've ordered a few of them. However, they will not be here for a while.

Given all I've mentioned though, do you think it's actually the switch itself that is the issue? If so, what would explain the behavior in my latest tests (the raising and lowering of the PF changing whether the switch registers or not based on angle). Is there a "gravity" component of rollover switches meaning can their inner components start/stop working based on their own vertical/horizontal position? Before I go the route of removing the MPF once again to replace the switch, I would like to know if this description leads anyone to believing it is a bad switch or something else causing this. As I raise and lower the PF I don't see any connections / wiring getting stressed or caught or bothered at all. While vertical, I can jiggle any wiring I see coming from this area to the main PF while triggering the switch and it registers 100% of the time. Could something be "shorting" the switch based on its position? If it helps I don't get any other anomalies/bad switch stuck messages or anything like that from other switches. It's currently only this Right Ramp Made switch that is having issues.

Please let me know if there's anything else I can try or info I can provide. Thanks for reading!

The switch stuck test report was something I noticed intermittently before all I did above. But physically the switch never seemed to have any issues. Is yours actually getting stuck physically? Me thinking that physically the switch was stuck is was what started the tweaking of the wire at first with the MPF still attached. Terrible idea in retrospect, so I don't suggest doing that. Also, why this switch -- the most difficult one to get to? The game has tons of rollover switches which all have not had any issues. I'm feeling pessimistic that replacing the switch is going to resolve the issue but I'm also still waiting for DP support to reply with any other advice / things that could be conflicting or causing this besides the switch itself (and of course I will have to await the delivery of the new switches I ordered as well). I'm at a loss at this point and hope a resolution comes soon without too much more dismantling. I will report back but I also hope someone else can chime in with an epiphany between now and then.

Reporting back on this Right Ramp Made switch issue. Short story: It was never an issue with the switch itself but actually the MPF PCB board.
Long story (reference the attached photos): I got new switches but decided to use a known working switch from the game from one of the outlanes to replace the MPF one just to rule out that the given new switch I install could be faulty. It made no difference so further down the rabbit hole I went. I removed the main PF backboard so I could more easily troubleshoot with the ribbon cable connected. The problem switch's connector for Right Ramp Made is labeled SW54, the one next to it is SW45. If I swap he two's connections SW54 works again and SW45 is non-responsive. So It's the SW54 PCB connector that is the issue (or something in the board related to that connection). I removed the PCB and closely inspected all solder, nothing looked awry, nothing was "floating" beneath the board or anything. The SW45 connector was not loose, the wiring on the harness and the connection had expected continuity.

I then started putting things back together. As I put each mounting screw for the MPF back in place I powered off/back on into switch test multiple times throughout. All of a sudden the switch would register, then another time it would not. Dumbfounding... Once it was nearly all back together I inspected what was going on on the underside of the MPF when mounted. I noticed that the problem SW54 and 45 PCB connections "hug" very closely to the metal of the jesus lane/the "scoop" that pops the ball up into the MPF (see attached photo--you'll also notice my ball stuck in the lane as that is another issue I'm having which may be a mounting issue or wiring holding the ball up, it's very difficult to tell). It seemed like "pressure" against the board in someway when mounted was a factor in the intermittence. Now, when in switch test if I ever so carefully press on the side of the SW54 connector, the switch comes back to life. Then within one ball or two it stops registering again, rinse and repeat. So something about how the assembly is mounted and how other parts can interfere/damage the PCB or its connectors seems to be the underlying issue. I also tried many things too before I figure this out such as putting electrical tape around the related wires, screws, metal pieces that may come in contact with the PCB when mounted, etc.

I also noticed that my switch mount is on the opposite side of how it is in the MPF OPERATIONS FAQ photo. So I also tried swapping the mount placement but that made no difference. Actually it made the switch physically stick way easier than with the placement mine came. Does anyone know what the recommended placement/direction is today?

Anyway, I'm awaiting a new PCB from DP. However, I fear that I may run into the same issue if that connector/board gets "bullied" again by the metal in question once I install it.

MPF PCB (resized).jpg
MPF Mounted Under View (resized).jpg
MPF Switch Mount (resized).jpg

This is driving me insane. I'm now not even sure if it's the connector on the PCB. I can barely lift the MPF like I'm talking *millimeters* of lift and the switch registers again. I lightly tap the MPF and it stops registering. Then I slightly lift and it registers again. Then in gameplay it works for a few balls then stops working again. I've looked under a million times and cannot see what exact piece besides the switch connector that could be getting pressure or coming in contact with something else, shorting things out. I've taped off any possible main PF metal and PCB metal. I can't be the only one who's witnessed this behavior.

Yes I visually inspected the ribbon cable, its connector, its connection to the board and the underside pin soldering. Nothing looks bad. I also checked the wire harness for any looseness and continuity. Did the same for the 3 pin board connector. Again continuity from top to bottom no suspicious solder points. I almost considered resoldering but was afraid I'd damage the board.

Did that and all was well.

When the MPF is mounted and the switch has stopped registering again it "seems like" wiggling the connector makes a difference but that doesn't always bring the switch back to life. That slight lift of the MPF does 100% of the time. I now strongly believe this area/part of the main PF is where the pressure is coming from. See attached photo Note how the factory put black electrical tape here? The Orange arrow is where I'm pretty sure I see the connecter getting "bullied" but also there's that screw under the tape that could be pressing the board itself. After this photo I put a layer of electric tape over the entire metal just in case.

I feel like overall the MPF is supposed to be mounted higher. If a pressing of the board or pushing of the connectors can cause a failure, why would DP allow the board to touch anything or be stressed out like this? My other idea is that this same metal partis pinching the wiring. I noticed last time I removed the MPF that the wire harness was very much squashed against the connection itself. There isn't enough wire length to really route it any other way though to ensure that doesn't happen. :/

Metal under MPF (resized).jpg

Rensh Is there a way to adjust the MPF standoff's height per cpr9999 's question? I see where they attach to the underside of the main PF but am not sure how to adjust them. I would like to try both removing that screw and lifting all standoff's slightly while I have the MPF off yet again.

So I thought I had it fixed with removing that screw but no, as soon as I slowly put the MPF screws back in and test, the issue keeps occuring. For me, the PCB "rests" on that metal piece (which for me is now completely covered in one thin layer of tape so it's not a metal on metal thing). Is that normal? Shouldn't there be clearance so the board, it's connectors, and wiring never get pressure against anything? I don't even have extra washers to raise all 3 standoffs. Plus to your point who knows what other issues that could cause. Can you please post an underside picture of a working, already mounted assembly or look at my earlier pic to compare with one of yours? As I mentioned before even the switch harness wiring gets pinched due to that metal.

Also remember when I posted the pic of the ball stuck in the Jesus lane? That was never a wire problem, it still gets stuck. I think the metal assembly mounting itself is off. Otherwise it wouldn't put pressure on the switch connector either.

This is definitely a design issue, perhaps specific to my build.

Yes all are installed there and under the playfield where the locking nuts attach. All 3 of them have both.

I also see from your photo that you don't even have a screw or hole on the opposite side of that metal guard in question or it's just not in the photo? Do you only have 2 screws+holes on the right side of yours? Mine has all 4. And I noticed that the one under the tape on mine that I removed just now is a flathead whereas all of the other 3 is a round head.

Regardless of everything I've pinpointed above, in the end a) the PCB needs to be replaced in full and b) someone needs to provide a solution to keep a new one from failing due to pressure or contact. I am still waiting for DP to ship the PCB I asked for multiple days ago.

I can hook everything up as in the the attached photo with the MPF laid down. It's not the connector. It's the inner workings of the PCB that for some reason are incredibly sensitive to "bending." I can hold the connector in place then just ever so slightly push on the areas I've arrowed and the switch stops registering. Do some lifting and it registers again.

PXL_20210501_010633123~2 (resized).jpg

I reluctantly but carefully resoldered the switch connector's 3 solder points just now. I thought Id seen improvement all the way through testing as I again pieced everything back together. But nope. Back to square one as soon as everything was back in place. I even ensured this time that the wires weren't getting pinched upon remount of the MPF. I can now only get the switch to trigger by reaching under and pushing/pulling just like before. But even when I get it registering, if I lightly knock on the MPF it goes out again. The connector is not coming loose, it is something sensitive with the board.. I'm at a loss until DP finally sends a new PCB and harnesses. I can't take this thing off and on anymore.

Here's a pic of the solder joints if it helps. Nothing looks wrong to me. This is just before I applied new solder to the top problem switch connector. If you think you see a gap anywhere, I've already filled it since.

PXL_20210428_230028651 (resized).jpg

I've updated my PCB issue post with new details: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-lotta-ins-a-lotta-outs-tbl-maintenance-thread/page/11#post-6257532

Need help sourcing upper flipper parts. The upper flipper assembly is busted from my constant removal and reconnecting while troubleshooting my Right Ramp Made switch and PCB board issue (you have to take the upper flipper out to remove the MPF). The pin that holds the "pawl" has broken in that it just spins at the bottom of the shaft. I tried a different similar screw that I have but it won't hold the flipper in place with enough strength. So the game really isn't playable until I get that replaced. I'll try these steps and report back.

The flipper parts at least I may be able to order from the U.S. and receive next week. Does anyone know which exact type of "pawl" and assembly parts are used here? Looks like a flavor of Williams/Bally that Pinball Life has? Something on this page https://www.pinballlife.com/plungers-cranks-and-pawls.html or one of these kits? https://www.pinballlife.com/flipper-rebuild-kits.html

TBL Pawl (resized).jpg
TBL Pawl Screw (resized).jpg

So all switches in the MPF have continued to work since the PCB fix so that's good. I also have the MPF upper flipper working with a new screw as I wait for the replacement parts.

However just today I've now faced two new game frozen / freezing issues, unrelated to anything I've mentioned prior. I have added both of these to the bug list spreadsheet:

1) Just now after I would say maybe 15 games b/t yesterday and today, this game only being the 3rd since I powered the machine on today), the game locked up / froze entirely, the screen went black, and the majority but not all PF LEDs stayed statically lit (photo attached). I had just triggered car mode in the MPF, but then the ball dropped down the wire ramp. I had ZERO ready so I went for the saucer with the right flipper. When I hit it, the freeze occurred.

I just powered the machine off, waited about 30 seconds and powered it back on. The game then loaded as expected and popped the ball out of the saucer. There was a test issue alert but as soon as I went to the menu nothing was there (I've seen the test issue alert and vanish thing before but I think it's normal when there's a ball in the playfield, not yet in the trough?).

With my description, has anyone else witnessed this?

This description from a while ago sounds like it could be the exact same issue as mine but I didn't see a reply about root cause or resolution: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-lotta-ins-a-lotta-outs-tbl-maintenance-thread/page/11#post-6257532

When the game locks / freezes like this is it likely a software bug/glitch or could something physical or electrical be going bad? I will say that the game did lock up in a similar fashion one other time, literally the day I got it about 2.5 weeks ago (so before all the troubleshooting and stuff that I've been posting about recently). I didn't think much of it at the time but since it's happened again I am getting worried.

If it helps to know where I was at in progression: I was on my 2nd ball with 4 of 5 characters completed, completed a char multiball, the normal multiball, one rug mode, a car mode, a couple bowling games. I'll keep playing and see if this happens again. Appreciate any insight.

2) During Rug Mode - Ransom Note, the game froze again in a different way. This time the ball was somewhere I'm not sure. But in any case it stayed on the rug mode accomplishments screen and never returned nor even tried to find the ball. I had to power off and back on again. This was probably my 10th play today. Is this a software or hardware issue? Video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ve_47XIZm2W1mGKAEAlQVWSH0j-DJFsP/view?usp=sharing
I also got "vanishing" test alerts when this happened, just like number 1.
See pic of 1 and video of 2 below.

Game Freeze Issue 1:
TBL Locked Up (resized).jpg

Game Freeze Issue 2 (link to video): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ve_47XIZm2W1mGKAEAlQVWSH0j-DJFsP/view?usp=sharing
Photo:
TBL Frozen During Rug Mode Ransom Note Pic (resized).jpg

Rensh After 3 plays today the game froze again. This time it happened early on when I hit the Jesus ramp. The screen went black and the game locked up like I mentioned before. I just looked at all of the USB connections you mentioned. Everything is as secure as it has been. No switches are stuck. I've only owned this machine for 2 weeks, so why would you recommend I swap USB ports and replace cables? Not to mention this is an intermittent issue. How exactly do I "export a log file in the software menu"? I have no idea what you mean by "If you see problems to initialize Proc items 1 and 3 should get extra attention." Please clarify...

Does anyone have this intermittent right speaker hiss and sizzle? Right speaker only. It seems to show up randomly after the game has been powered up for a little while. If I power off and back on it goes away (until it returns again within an hour or so of being powered back up). It's been suggested that its a wrong wiring issue or a cabling issue which it is not. If it were, it wouldn't be intermittent nor just go away after power off/back on. I just happened to be able to take a decent video of it happening today while in sound settings and just testing the launch audio. If music were playing it would be constant. In this example you can hear the hiss/sizzle when the sound effect plays then trails off. Note this was an issue right out of the box NIB just a few weeks ago, before the speaker lights you see in the video were installed. I fear that its a board/capacitor problem. Appreciate any advice or other things to check.

Now to my Jesus lane / VUK issues. I get both rejects often when its shot at any given velocity and the ball stuck when it's a lightly hit shot up the lane. Are these wires supposed to be lead through here? I think they are from the MPF PCB since I see no lead from the main PF to them/a way to move them. As you may have seen from my earlier MPF problems posts I am not taking the MPF off again until I receive a new PCB. If these wires do not belong being lead here, that would very much help to know. What's crazy if it is the wires and not some defect with the metal parts of the assembly, you'd think the ball finder plus nudging and such would drop it down to the left. But it doesn't. When it gets stuck I can even see the ball finder jumping the ball ever so slightly. Also I can tip the machine in any direction or nudge it and the ball still will not come loose. It has to be manually removed by way of my magnet tool.

The offending wires are for 2 of the MPF PCB switches. They are routed in a way that they become obstacles in the Jesus lane. The stress put on them also puts tension on their connectors. There's not enough wire length to route them behind this part pictured below. They are wedged...

Can someone take a pic like what I have to show whether or not the wiring is supposed to be here or instead behind everything?

PXL_20210511_034303408~3 (resized).jpg

Regardless, I'm willing to bet it's not the wiring as much as it's really sitting there with no way to budge because of the metal guide that Rensh recommends removing. This is from his earlier post about that. I'm guessing that the red circle I added is where the ball has settled when stuck:

Rensh VUK pic with circle (resized).jpg

BALL STUCK:
VUK Ball stuck (resized).jpg

WIRING JUST AFTER PULLING BALL OUT:
VUK wires right after ball removed (resized).jpg

WIRING AFTER TRYING TO PULL IT BACK (not much difference since there's little to no leeway here to pull them back):
VUK Wires pushed back (resized).jpg

Rensh I now have yet another new problem. All of a sudden NONE of the stepper motors are functioning: Rug, Bowling, or Car . For all 3, *nothing* happens in any of the 3 respective stepper motor tests (yes, with the 48V switch enabled) and all 3 *don't move at all* during gameplay. The rug doesn't even do its normal calibration movement when the game starts. During gameplay shots are not registered either, however the rug hit, car hit, and bowling switches *do* register in the switch test. For bowling, I can get bowling to start, the game places the ball in the arm but the arm does not even try to rotate L/R. There are no issue alerts in the menu except for the EOS Bowling Left switch stuck but that's because it's currently all the way to the left. I can manually move it to make that alert disappear. I hope this indicates that some wiring has simply gone loose but I don't see anything disconnected. Can you please advise areas to check and if you need pictures of anything specific? Thank you.

YUP! Right before I read your reply I noticed F06 has blown. I will have to order some new fuses. Any idea why this would have happened? Thank you so much! I'll report back.

Rensh I'm sorry but I have to disagree. From all I've troubleshot, the wires + the metal part can create this ball stuck issue and likely the rejects issue as well. It's not one or the other. There is no extra length in the wires to put them in any other position, so they will *always* obstruct the ball path. Mine are already as close to the bottom of the MPF as possible. Removal of the metal piece just reduces the chance that the ball will get stuck when the wires are in play because doing so gives more room for the ball to drop. IMO, this is clearly a design problem. The MPF PCB wires both shown in my pics and yours lead in front of that metal square piece on the MPF (which is the stepper motor I assume?). This leaves them not only as a potential catch for the ball in the Jesus lane but also they get smashed against the main PF metal parts, causing crimping, indents in the rubber of them, and stress on the MPF PCB connectors (which I now believe is a likely cause of the break in the PCB trace I had initially, right where the pins connect to it). No matter what, they also get hit by the ball anytime you make the Jesus lane. Why are the wires not longer and lead behind all of these parts, perhaps through some wooden recess in the rear of the MPF in order to prevent all of the resulting issues their current placement causes?

Bumping this post about the right speaker, intermittent audio hiss: https://beta.pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-lotta-ins-a-lotta-outs-tbl-maintenance-thread/page/11#post-6273335

I'm now certain it's the audio board and likely a capacitor or component within which is the root cause. After the machine is on for about an hour it occurs. I know it's not the speakers or a connection because literally it occurs after the machine has been on and not played at all. Aka I can just try going to sound test and any sound I test has the hiss. If I power down and wait a min then back up it's gone. Also, when it occurs I can route the right output from the board to an external speaker and I hear the hiss from it. Therefore I have requested a new audio board from DP.

Thanks cpr9999 ! Here's a photo for ya.

TBL audio board (resized).jpg

Crap that was an old photo taken after troubleshooting the issue originally and I obviously put them back in the wrong place. They are correct currently yet the issue persists. Sorry for the misinformation. Also that's the subwoofer out so why would that have any affect on an intermittent hiss in only the right speaker?

Hooray, every day a new issue. Here's the one that started tonight: When the ball comes out of the scoop and I try to catch/calm it with the right flipper, the flipper drops. This only happens when the ball is being ejected from the scoop thus far. Other times the right flipper holds just fine. What do I need to check to resolve this?

Any ideas on this Rensh ?

Yes 0.55 and yes I tried both hold settings. In solenoid test it does not drop if I push it when up but also I doesn't look like you can test the flipper hold as the test just pops it up then back down doesn't do a hold.

The issue only happens when the ball is being popped out of the scoop. During other times even when the ball is coming incredibly fast down to the flipper, the issue does not occur. Only from the scoop eject 100% of the time.

I've tried:
a. Swapping the L & R flipper connections to the board the issue still occurs with the right flipper (but being controlled by the left flipper button of course).
b. Swapping the L & R Coils completely. The issue still happens with the right flipper (even though now its using the previous Left flipper's coil). So it's not a coil issue. While swapping the coils I also used contact cleaner to clean the insides and even put in brand new coil sleeves.
c. Checking all connections, fuses, physical signs of any bad components.
d. Changing different solenoid and hold strengths with the flippers and the scoop.
e. Looked for any test errors, stuck switches, and there are none.
f. Disconnecting any mods (the only one that has been connected is the speaker lights to the recommended backbox connector that is shared with the translite).
g. Running any solenoid tests I can think of -- all are functioning as expected.
h. Replacing the F03 5A Solenoids fuse.
i. Reverting to 0.53 and back to 0.55.

What else controls the hold in this specific scenario that I can check? Is it possible that the scoop eject could somehow be causing the flipper coil/hold to lose voltage temporarily or something? Is there a switch or opto or anything else that could be in play? I've read something about similar hold issues on other machines (not TBL) like bad diodes or bad EOS switches but there is no EOS here right?

Also I guess worth mentioning is when the machine gets powered on I almost always here "ding da ding da ding da ding" coming from the backbox somewhere. It then goes away once I start the game. Is this normal?

So far yes the fuse has been holding and the stepper motors have been working again. Checked just now and all fuses are showing their red led indicator = ok. As a test I tried replacing the F03 5A Solenoids fuse but that didn't change anything for the flipper hold issue.

Right but that's about the upper flipper and like I said the hold is just fine in every scenario except right after the ball is ejected from the scoop. Wouldn't I experience weak holds in all other scenarios from day one if I had a similar wiring issue? This only started occuring last night.

Here's how mine look. When I compare my upper flipper wiring it's definitely different vs. both of my L&R flippers.. Although my wire colors on the upper are different from the photos in that post, they are in the recommended positions. Should it be the same for the L&R flippers?

While trying to find the latest photos anyone has taken of the L&R wiring, I found this from and EA owner who only posted 62 days ago: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-big-lebowski-official-club-thread/page/37#post-6185086
His post was not about any issues and his wiring is the same as mine. So the question is -- should the L&R flipper wiring match that of the Upper flipper? I'm not going to go soldering the connections differently unless it's recommended that I do so. I still don't think this is a wiring issue anyway.

My L&R
PXL_20210515_035641221 (resized).jpg

My upper
PXL_20210515_225802028 (resized).jpg
PXL_20210515_225756092 (resized).jpg

Changed the one and only difference Dip switch 5 and not only did it make the game more boomy sounding, the hiss happened again. I need a new audio board.

Can anyone actually help me with this right flipper issue? I've provided tons of information in both of these posts about it:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-lotta-ins-a-lotta-outs-tbl-maintenance-thread/page/12#post-6282941

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-lotta-ins-a-lotta-outs-tbl-maintenance-thread/page/12#post-6283278

New issue that came out of nowhere tonight: Now the bowling arm's little pin / coil that holds at first, then drops the ball when you bowl appears to not be dropping enough to let the ball go. Upon hitting the launch button it seems to drop a tiny bit but the ball stays in the arm. Then the all the pins "fall" as if I got a strike and one second after, the ball actually drops out of the arm. Just like the right flipper issue, I have not touched that area nor this bowling area of the machine whatsoever before either issue arose.

In all the test bowling options in the menu, it looks like things are working right, the arm's little pin seems to drop just fine. Then just like the flipper issue, during gameplay this is what happens 100% of the time. This just started happening an hour ago. The above posts regarding the flipper issue started out of nowhere last night. This one started an hour ago.:

This issue after issue scenario from my NIB less than a month ago has gotten completely out of hand. I really hope someone can help me.

Thank you for your continued help, TomDK , Rensh and cpr9999 .

I have now requested a technician specially because I can't even lift the playfield anymore (EDIT- Not reliably but was able to finally get it to lock today). I've asked my dealer to schedule an appointment with someone soon after I receive the parts from DP. I believe the visit will be covered. A new machine doesn't appear to be a viable option. I'm told I would have to wait at the back of the pre-order line if I went that route and it took me almost 1.5 years since pre-ordering to receive the one I have. So I'm very apprehensive to do so.

I've consulted the FAQ but like I mentioned in test I see the coil pin moving up and down freely with or without the ball and always dropping to the same position. It is not rubbing or getting caught on the playfield whatsoever. I will also say that the coil pin has quite an amount of "give" though. It doesn't always go up in a perfectly straight direction but also I *never* see it get stuck or rubbing the PF. Also bending the bracket doesn't help.

EDIT: I was able to get the playfield up thankfully and took a closer look in test. I can get the issue to occur in test now. After close inspection to pictures in the FAQ vs my alley, it appears that the real cause is the level at which the bowling arm is mounted. It's mounted too low or has somehow "sunken" since I got the game. I can clearly tell that the plastic of the arm is below the threshold of the alley's circular cutout. Therefore, regardless if the coil pin is all the way down, the ball will rest within that circular cutout. I must have been getting lucky while it was working before, maybe the pin was going down just ever so low enough to encourage/lift the ball out of the hole. Maybe now it goes too far down. The stepper motor/arm bracket is tight and not sinking at all BTW.

How do I adjust the height of the arm plastic? I see mention of using a 2.5mm alan wrench to adjust the arm's inner screw but no matter what size I tried I could not get in there to loosen it. I also don't know if that screw will even allow the plastic to be lifted up/down at all or if it only allows L/R adjustment.

Here's a new video from a different angle:

Thank you for confirming the wiring is correct. As I mentioned in my post, I already tried manually making the flipper fail in this manner. It does not. ONLY when the ball is ejected from the scoop. If I hold the R flipper as the ball ejects, the hold is lost. During the loss of hold power I can manually move the flipper up and down with ease as I hold the flipper button. Release and press the button again and the flipper is back to life without any hold issue. Also only the right flipper has the issue. I can eject the ball from the scoop, hold the left flipper and try to push it down and it holds just fine. Also as I mentioned I have completely swapped the L&R coils, aka the L coil is now on the R flipper and the issue persists. So if it is something about the assembly, what else could it be besides the coil? I've already ruled out the coils themselves by swapping it out with the L one (specifically -- putting the L flipper's coil and coil stop on the R flipper and vice versa). I'm doubtful a new assembly is going to resolve the issue but I will try that when it arrives.

One other interesting thing I noticed is it seems like the strength setting for the scoop eject has no effect. I can put it all the way to the lowest or highest setting and to me the ball ejects at the same velocity. I'm mentioning this because back to my suspicion about voltage going to the scoop vs. the flipper when the issue occurs. I am apprehensive to use my multimeter with the machine on, especially with 48V enabled otherwise I may be able to get some readings. This will have to be done by the technician.

Rensh Can you please work with your technician to see about a possible voltage drop in this scoop eject vs. right flipper hold scenario? I wonder if this could be another PCB issue.

Here's an in depth, general all things flipper troubleshooting guide I found. Any of these issues ring a bell? https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jurassic-park-flipper-hold-issue#post-2150726

Thanks again for all your guys' help. I'm trying to remain as positive as possible it's just getting more difficult day to day.

Thank you. Yes I already tried reverting the software. Last item in the what I tried list from my earlier post. Here's the entire list again.

I've tried:
a. Swapping the L & R flipper connections to the board the issue still occurs with the right flipper (but being controlled by the left flipper button of course).
b. Swapping the L & R Coils completely. The issue still happens with the right flipper (even though now its using the previous Left flipper's coil). So it's not a coil issue. While swapping the coils I also used contact cleaner to clean the insides and even put in brand new coil sleeves.
c. Checking all connections, fuses, physical signs of any bad components.
d. Changing different solenoid and hold strengths with the flippers and the scoop.
e. Looked for any test errors, stuck switches, and there are none.
f. Disconnecting any mods (the only one that has been connected is the speaker lights to the recommended backbox connector that is shared with the translite).
g. Running any solenoid tests I can think of -- all are functioning as expected.
h. Replacing the F03 5A Solenoids fuse.
i. Reverting to 0.53 and back to 0.55

For the bowling issue, already checked that and tried messing with it. Mounts are / were completely tight. And I don't see a way to lift the mount bracket. It's set in the position it wants to be. It can kind of go forward/backwards a bit so I tried forward to decrease the gap which didn't help. That's why I asked if the screw/pin in the arm assembly itself would allow the arm to be raised or not? I've tried multiple size Alan wrenches and cannot get a hold of it to even try. Also I don't know how to get the arm up and out of the stepper motor to even remove the bracket to perhaps try slightly bending the bracket arms to give it just a little more lift. I also tried increasing the forward pitch of the machine to see if more gravity would allow the ball to overcome this hurdle. Didn't help either.

Ugh... thank you for correcting that Rensh . No wonder what I've tried wasn't working. I have T10 bits (I'm still unclear what the difference is b/t TX10 and T10) but given the bracket, even my tiniest bit driver will not fit in that gap. The driver I have is too large in diameter to fit. What is the exact name of the tool you are using in the FAQ photo?
The best I have been able to find as far as getting a new kit goes are these three listings on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZB7FMLB
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081R3Y9PL
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TNS3D4X

The same bit driver width is a problem with trying to remove the MPF by the way. The hole in the plastic ramp is incredibly small. I've been able to get it unscrewed with one of my tiny allen wrenches. This screw in the bowling arm is unimaginably more difficult than that. I'm at least glad to now know that it will allow me to lift the arm since that is definitely the issue here.

Also speaking of tiny places. If I need to remove or adjust the bowling post coil bracket, I cannot. Two of the nuts are so close to the bend in the bracket that it's nearly impossible to remove them with standard tools. The one pictured here seems completely torqued and cannot be removed. Unsure what I would need to buy to loosen it. I am most definitely not trying to remove the entire bowling alley assembly in order to make minor tweaks like this.

TBL bowling post coil bracket (resized).jpg

This ignorant fool (aka me) needs links if you don't mind pulling some up.

Rensh I am utterly dumfounded at this point. I was able to obtain the right T10 screwdriver and start adjusting the height of the plastic arm.

I have:
- Gone higher, lower, somewhere in between with the arm.
- Gone slightly forward, slightly backward with its bracket.
- Bent the release post coil bracket forward, backwards, somewhere in between.
- Watched the release post coil in test over and over again. I will say that it does have some forward/backward give in its arm itself (that should be normal right?) but again it always drops and raises to the same heights and never gets stuck on the PF.
- Tried every L/R position of the arm and its inconsistent. I can have it centered in test, ball slowly gets encouraged to drop, try again and it sticks. I will say that it most consistently fails when the arm is in a far L or R position though.
- Increased pitch, decreased pitch of the machine at every step.
- Tried all 6 balls in case it's a ball size issue.
- Wiped off the balls and the plastic arm to make sure there's no gunk or residue.
- Tested to make sure none of the balls are magnetized (perhaps getting stuck to the release post).

I cannot get consistent results no matter what. I am now starting to think that the real issue is the molding of the arm plastic. When I had the arm up above the threshold of the PF cutout and the bracket in the most forward position (mitigating it getting stuck between the arm plastic and the PF cutout), I realized that the ball appears to need to somehow get "lifted up" from its resting place in order for it to meet the arm leads just enough to get it to roll forward through the downside of them. Is this normal? If so, how in the heck is that supposed to happen with any matter of consistency with all the moving parts here? Does the release post have to be at an incredibly precise position both up/down and forwards/backwards to create some tiny ramp to push the ball up and into the arms while it is completely down? Or is the post supposed to lift just a bit after you push the button to then push it up and over the arm? If its the latter mine doesn't during gameplay. The post goes down the ball doesn't move then the post goes up and by then the game code has assumed its stuck so the pins just fall before the ball even drops. I thought it was as simple as the post goes down then the ball has enough clearance to roll through the arm via gravity. However that does not appear to be the case at all.

I will reiterate that from day one this was working just fine. The issue only began a few days ago. I had never touched this area of the machine before nor even gone into test because it was working 100% of the time. I even had the game at a super slow pitch at first and it was fine. I since increased the pitch and it was fine all before the other day.

So if it is the mold of the arm or the position of the post coil, then you would think I'd always have had this issue. I am also now concerned because the parts shipment sent to me this week does not include any of these parts. I have a technician scheduled for this weekend. I seriously think he'll be as clueless as I am at the moment. Here are some videos after I tried my best to match the position of everything I can see in the FAQ photos. Please read through the above bullets, see the videos and let me know if anything stands out. I have 2 videos during Test, 2 during gameplay. I turned the volume down for the latter. Is the grinding of the arm and beeeeeep expected?

It would also help to see a video of someone doing the same tests on their machine that is working 100%. If anyone is willing to do so I'd be very grateful. There's got to be something obvious going on that I haven't realized.

Video 1 (During Test) - Noticed how the first try, the ball releases. Any subsequent tries it does not, even when I later put the arm back into that initial position:

Video 2 (During Test):

Video 4 (During Gameplay - hear the grinding of the arm and the whirling/beeeeeep when the button is clicked):

Video 5 (During Gameplay - hear the grinding of the arm and the whirling/beeeeeep when the button is clicked):

Thank you but ugh. It IS dropping deep enough. I already mentioned that and that the post itself when dropped to it's lowest position is not a factor. Also I mentioned that the overall pitch makes no difference. They key in my post is that, given the mold of the plastic arm, the ball HAS to be somewhat lifted once the button is pressed in order to get it into the position where it can drop from the rest of the arm. I thought my last reply and multiple videos made that clear. At this point I need someone to take a video of their working machine, during gameplay and test just as I did in those videos I posted. I don't see any other way to figure this out since DP support seems to have no clue either.

Again I'll copy and paste the details that I've tried and noted, just like I did with the flipper issue which is still an issue. I feel like people who are responding aren't actually reading carefully into each step I'm meticulously noting:

I have:
- Gone higher, lower, somewhere in between with the arm.
- Gone slightly forward, slightly backward with its bracket.
- Bent the release post coil bracket forward, backwards, somewhere in between.
- Watched the release post coil in test over and over again. I will say that it does have some forward/backward give in its arm itself (that should be normal right?) but again it always drops and raises to the same heights and never gets stuck on the PF.
- Tried every L/R position of the arm and its inconsistent. I can have it centered in test, ball slowly gets encouraged to drop, try again and it sticks. I will say that it most consistently fails when the arm is in a far L or R position though.
- Increased pitch, decreased pitch of the machine at every step.
- Tried all 6 balls in case it's a ball size issue.
- Wiped off the balls and the plastic arm to make sure there's no gunk or residue.
- Tested to make sure none of the balls are magnetized (perhaps getting stuck to the release post).

Yes it appears that way and may be the case in certain parts of those videos but most of the time it's either stuck in the gap or literally nothing is holding it but the "up-angle" of the arm plastic.

Yes I believe so. If the pin/post is not supposed to go past the threshold of the PF hole, it most definitely is 100% of the time. And in that case, yes ball is stuck on the edge.

Yes this makes sense. In order to get the pin/post in the position describe, the coil bracket must be bent as far back (toward the back of the game) as possible. This I have tried to no avail. I've also tried as far as possible the other direction and somewhere in between without success.

See this photo (before I was able to get to the arm screw to change the height) where I had the arm bracket moved toward the back of the PF as much as possible and the coil bracket bent as far back as possible to decrease the gap (Note my earlier post where I still cannot get one of the nuts loose from the coil bracket in order to shift it like I can with the arm bracket, so bending is my only option at the moment). This was almost to the point where the arm circle was rubbing against the PF hole cutout. Issue persisted. (Disregard the "greasiness" on the plastic, that's from my fingers (or my tears LOL) and I have wiped down the plastic many times with a dry paper towel).

TBL Bowling Arm and Pin as close to each other as possible (resized).jpg

Now here's a photo where I had the arm lifted up as high as possible giving plenty of clearance from the PF hole. It was so high that it wasn't triggering the switches so not a viable height anyway. In this scenario is when I noticed the ball literally getting stuck in the "up-slope" of the arm itself. It just doesn't have enough forward momentum when the pin/post drops to roll forward and clear that tiny slope in the arm plastic.

I think the arm needs to somehow be angled forward enough to a) not make that up-slope an issue but also b) not so angled that it creates a "wedged" area for the ball to get stuck on the PF hole. No clue how to accomplish that.

TBL Bowling Arm and Pin - arm as high as possible (resized).jpg

WINNER WINNER mac2444 deserves all the chicken dinners!!! Except the solution was the opposite (or more likely that I read his advice/direction wrong). I put one washer on each L & R arm/stepper motor bracket screw on the other side (away from the coil/release pin) and all of a sudden noticed more success with the ball dropping in test. This has tilted the arm enough forward to overcome the terrible design of it having to go up the upslope and over to get past the arm itself. However, if the arm was at it's furthest L or R position, the ball would still get stuck in the arm even with that single set of washers. So I then added a second washer on each side. Currently the ball is consistently dropping now, but still kind of struggles at the far L or R points (video below).

What I will say is that there's still an alignment problem. If you look closely in this video you'll see that the arm is "tilted" in that all the way Right, the gap b/t the arm plastic and PF hole closes up, then all the way to the Left it's more open. Also the arm sinks one position or the other. Regardless it is working now. Pics and videos showing the overall current positions and the washers I added to ultimately get things working:

PXL_20210520_010133313 (resized).jpg

PXL_20210520_010140417 (resized).jpg

PXL_20210520_010145888 (resized).jpg

In TEST:

In Gameplay:

Good eye cpr9999 . Yes I just recently noticed as well. The "hole" in the orange arm is chipped. That may have been part of the issue all along. After I get advice from the technician I have coming this weekend to assess, I will likely be requesting an entirely new assembly in this area for the sake of everything holding up in the long run. I am still beyond clueless how this started out of nowhere.

Yes, if you scroll up you'll see all of the adjustment possibilities I tried. The adjustments you can or cannot make to this are not documented. What's possible or recommended would be a question for @rensh.

So after closer inspection to all the photos I took throughout this bowling arm issue troubleshooting the arm plastic is most definitely cracked.

I can't imagine anyone in the US has a replacement they could sell me?

I just got a ton of parts from DP but of course not this one and I'm trying not to have them ship a replacement if I can find one in the states. Thanks!

They don't have any in stock I checked. This has to be replaced because I am nearly certain even with my "shim hack" the plastic is going to completely separate / break at some point. I wish someone in the US had one but I'll likely have to get it from DP.

That's definitely a crack, not an illusion! Dunno how you saw that... amazing. The pics I was reviewing were from the underside but it's probably the same "fracture" as you showed from the top. Here's the photo that lead me to the conclusion. It's weird b/c it almost looks like a divot/gouge but if you follow it down you can see that it is in fact a "hairline fracture." The photo I've attached is before I even started messing with it much. I had only started rotating the arm at this point as I tried to figure out the position needed to access the screw as well as what the heck type it was (which I obviously know now T10, not 2.5mm allen). I was so focused on finding that hole/screw that I completely missed the fact that the plastic's been cracked this whole time. :/ Now I can review all the pics I took over time and see it.

I'm not touching anything until the tech comes tomorrow but I'll make sure to get some better pics to share.

TBL Blowling Arm Plastic Crack Underside (resized).jpg

Here are a bunch of photos of the arm during today's tech visit. While some areas look like molding seams, the right arm of it is clearly cracking/separating. We didn't want to stress it too much but the one time we did ever so slightly we could see the separation. While I imagine this could be patched and strengthened with some epoxy, the tech figured that could introduce more issues so I should just get a new one. There are also scrapes and divots around the mold. Is this contributing to the issue? Not sure, but it's only going to keep separating over time so I am asking for a replacement. Also during attempts to align (not pictured) when the arm is at it's furthermost Left position it is we can see that the entire thing dips / tilts down to the left and up on the right. At the furthermost Right position it is more "level" with the PF hole. Therefore the ball has more of a chance of not making it over the arms when L and more of a chance when centered or R. Wasn't much the tech could do here. I did receive a new stepper motor assembly from DP but since we now know I need a new arm plastic too, we left things basically as is, along with the shims that I have in the bracket until I receive that replacement part.
TBL Arm 1 (resized).jpgTBL Arm 2 (resized).jpgTBL Arm 4 (resized).jpgTBL Arm 5 (resized).jpgTBL Arm 6 (resized).jpg

Update on the right flipper losing its hold strength when the ball hits it from eject out of the scoop (too many posts above to quote everything):

After further testing with the tech today, he was able to reproduce the issue on both L & R flippers without the scoop eject in play. If the ball strikes either at the right velocity, if that force is enough to move the coil arm / flipper down enough the magnetism is lost and the flipper(s) go lose until the button(s) are released and pressed again. It appears the scoop eject is just the most likely culprit to provide the amount of velocity and angle on the flipper to cause the issue. Changing the coil strength on the scoop eject has no effect. At the lowest it's just as forceful as at the highest. Unsure if this is a software bug or physical. We tried raising an lowering the flipper resting spots to mitigate but that didn't help. We tried all flipper strength settings as well. This means I cannot adjust the strength of the scoop eject nor the position of the flippers to avoid this from happening. The pitch of the machine is now at the recommended 6.5 degrees as well.

The tech suggests a design problem and that perhaps a longer flipper arm would not allow it to happen. But that's still very puzzling because this issue was not from day one, perhaps I was getting lucky but it only started happening about 2 weeks into owning the machine. It's mind-boggling that no one else has reported this issue. Looking for any advice still on this one.

Here's a video showing how easily this can be reproduced on both flippers:

Yes the setting is and has always been on Strong. Setting it to medium makes the issue even easier to reproduce. Why isn't the Scoop coil setting making any difference in the velocity of the eject? If that were just softer then the issue with the flipper might rarely occur. I have it at its lowest setting and it's the same velocity as its highest setting or anywhere in between. It looks like the fact that this setting does nothing was reported 10 months ago by someone who had the opposite issue of the scoop being too weak: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-lotta-ins-a-lotta-outs-tbl-maintenance-thread/page/6#post-5759917

Can anyone else please verify if their Scoop setting changes the velocity at all?

Rensh If not, is DP aware that the Scoop strength setting doesn't do anything? And if so, is this something that can be addressed in the code anytime soon? If you're saying there's no way to make the flipper hold stronger, then I can only imagine at this point that making the adjustment work for making the scoop weaker is the only way to mitigate chances of the flipper hold failing.

Awesome! Thanks so much for addressing this KoenHeltzel . I've added this as well as a few other bugs and feature suggestions to the bug spreadsheet. If you could address any of those for the next release that would be equally amazing. Thank you for allowing the community to contribute!

KoenHeltzel and Rensh - Why is it that during Solenoid Fipper Test, my Left Flipper "holds" yet the problematic Right Flipper "doesn't hold" (just goes up and down)? Also when in the Right Flipper test as I hold the button there is no "hold" on the Right Flipper itself. I can move the Right Flipper up and down with my fingers with ease.

Is this a software problem or is this yet another PCB issue? At this point I feel that it cannot be a coil, assembly, etc. root cause. I already ruled all of that out earlier by swapping the L&R coils and installing an entirely new R assembly sent by DP. I think that in this video, I've proven that its not a "physical/mechanical" issue but something else entirely.

EDIT: Video link removed as this is simply a bug in 0.55.

KoenHeltzel Aaah ok yeah it was set to MEDIUM, thank you! I think I had changed that during troubleshooting. Correct, when the Left flipper is set back to STRONG, it doesn't hold in test either. I didn't realize there was a difference in behavior in test depending on that setting, my apologies. Do you happen to have an ETA on the next code release?

I asked this a while ago but don't think I got an answer. Once the machine is powered on, with the coin door closed, I almost always hear a constant "ding da ding da ding da ding" coming from the backbox. It then goes away if I either start a game or if I open the coin door. But will sometimes come back if I do any switching into test mode and back to gameplay. Is this normal? Let me know if my description isn't clear and I'll make another video. Thanks!

Video of the behavior. It's coming from the RSP-500-48 in the backbox This is happening more consistently now. Like almost every time I power the machine on. Then often in between games. Thoughts?

The fun doesn't stop with my machine. Two new issues popped up today out of nowhere:
1. Shooter Lane Diverter not working: The ball is not going around to Maude letters since the diverter is not lifting out of the way. It looks like there's a secondary spring that's supposed to be attached to an arm underneath the coil but it's just flailing about. Notice how in the second picture it's turned sideways. The little pin mechanism is loose and I don't know but it seems like the spring is supposed to be looped around the hole in the arm below but there is no lead from the spring to do so as far as I can tell.
EDIT: After further research it appears this type of spring is supposed to have a loop lead on both ends. Mine only has the top one and/or the bottom one somehow snapped off. I was able to create my own loop with a pair of pliers but I'll still need to replace this. Part referenced at Marco's: https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/10-389

Photo of what it should look like I believe:
Marcos diverter spring (resized).png

PXL_20210529_033931808 (resized).jpg
PXL_20210529_033921194 (resized).jpg

2. I realized one of the bowling pins has snapped off. I had to take the entire assembly off in order to retrieve it. Fortunately I had stocked up on mods far before purchasing the machine so I was able to after about an hour's work replace the snapped pin with one from the mod couple. The downsides are that a) their logo is terrible in comparison to the stock pins, b) the pin is larger than stock, c) it doesn't sit flush like the rest of the stock pins. The good thing is that its mold seems far more durable. As you can see in the attached photos, not only did the pin snap off right at its arm, but the cylindrical part of the arm was already chipping due to being so thin/brittle. Even as I carefully removed it from its rod, plastic was flaking off. I also noticed the same deterioration on multiple other pins as I was replacing just this one for now. I've now added a new set of pins to my parts request from DP. Unless the new set DP sends is of higher quality, I'm guessing I'll have to replace them all with the mod couple pins and settle for the poor logos and placement in order to avoid breakage again. This was a beast to take apart and document as I went along in order to not break anything or miss a reconnection afterwards. Anyone else face this issue after owning the machine for a month? (BTW I have no idea why there's seemingly a burn mark on the snapped stock pin.)

EDIT 5/29/21 (Following Day): The pin that snapped yesterday (mentioned below) was #6. After meticulously replacing just that one pin with the stronger mod version, I played maybe 3 games last night. Today during my *first* game pin #3 snapped off. So I have gone ahead and replaced ALL of the pins with the mod versions. Rensh what could be causing this so early on? I feel like it isn't ball contact but rather something stressing the pins as they are lifted by the arm. Also Almost half of the non-snapped, stock pins' cylindrical holes were chipped on one or the either side too. Have there been any considerations for a stronger + thicker plastic mold or some kind of padding to ensure the pins aren't being beat up?

PXL_20210529_020009177 (resized).jpgPXL_20210529_020039100 (resized).jpgPXL_20210529_020054158 (resized).jpg

Rensh my game has started having a similar issue. At the start of almost every game recently, the door is slightly open and loose. The game isn't calibrating it back to its closed position at game start. Also, when this happens if I transition to the stepper motor test, the test only allows me to open the door, the close function doesn't work. If I physically push the door closed then disable and re-enable 48V the closed direction test starts working again. I added the failure to calibrate as a bug on the spreadsheet but am curious what could be causing this. Could it be a switch issue? I don't get any switch alerts or anything.

I know of the FAQ. I consulted it before posting. The door close switch and the two parking targets switches are all working just fine in every other way during gameplay, no stuck alerts or anything. I don't think this is a switch issue. If you're certain it's not a code issue, then I think it's mechanical in other places of the car door, beyond the switches themselves. The FAQ only talks about checking switches...

Rensh Let me know if I need to continue along our support thread about this. The right side audio "hiss" is still an issue even after installing the new audio PCB DP sent. I thought it was happening less frequently (like I said in the below post) but it turns out that the only difference is that I haven't left the game powered up as long as before. I leave the machine on for say an hour, not even playing it and all of a sudden the hiss is back. Also another person has reported it which I quoted in this post on the other forum thread. Please advise. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-big-lebowski-official-club-thread/page/46#post-6328691

Could someone please share a photo of their shooter lane diverter assembly from the underside of the playfield? The lower spring on mine keeps snapping where it connects to the bottom arm/hits the coil stop area. Just wondering what I may need to adjust to avoid this from happening. It happened the first time within a month of owning the machine, then after replacing with a brand new spring that one broke within a matter of a week or so. Thanks!

PSA: For those who have to lift their playfield a lot, be on the lookout for your PF hinge pivot(s) coming unscrewed. I've had so many physical issues with my TBL that I've had to pull the playfield up and out more times than I ever felt I should. Apparently over time and time again of pulling the playfield out and up, the hinge pivot on the left side has slowly unscrewed itself. While I was fixing something completely unrelated I realized that my Left Ball Gate wasn't closing. Upon investigation, the cause was this pivot had unscrewed itself so far out of the cabinet that it contacted the the ball gate coil bracket. Therefore as I was pulling the playfield up, the hinge pivot caught and bent the gate coil assembly completely backwards, ruining the entire thing. Fortunately I was able to bend the assembly back into its vertical position then Allen wrench the hinge pivot back into its place. Check both hinges on your machine and make sure they aren't inching their way inward.

bad rail guide and assembly bent (resized).png

I shot these details over to DP support but am curious if anyone else is having this issue. The ball now gets stuck in the bowling ramp pretty consistently. There is an "edge" in the plastic ramp which makes it so if the ball rolls back after a normal bowling ramp shot, it just sits there. Pics attached. I don't know if that edge has always been there and the issue is just now surfacing, or something changed/broke. If that edge/lip is normal, I'm not sure why I am only having the issue consistently now. Level of the machine hasn't changed that's for sure. If anyone has time to pull their garage roof off and compare I'd appreciate it! Pics below.

ball stuck (resized).jpg

loop (resized).jpg

The stock pins are incredibly fragile. I had 3 snap off right at the place yours likely did. Plus the "sleeve" part of the plastic that leads the metal rod into them just flakes away. I ended up buying the mod couple's set for about $200: https://themodcouplepinball.com/products/the-big-lebowski-replacement-redesigned-bowling-pins-individual?variant=18185679765601
They are far more durable but the problem is that they are not logo'd the way their pic shows. You'll get a set with a barely looking "B" on them. Don't expect them to look like the product photo nor be logo'd the way the stock ones are.
What I did with my original DP set is epoxy around all of that easily snapping area to reinforce them. I just put those epoxy reinforced ones back on the other night. Nothing has broken again yet. Regardless, you should reach out to DP support to get replacements.

My original post about this: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-lotta-ins-a-lotta-outs-tbl-maintenance-thread/page/13#post-6308434

Rensh New builds have an HDMI display?! How does an owner with a previous VGA build like me obtain this improved HDMI display you speak of?

Unless I'm blind, I definitely don't have a HDMI port on my display nor any HDMI port on my ARock board. I only have VGA ports on both.

Answer simply stated: Because it only makes sense to have the benefits of the most up to date hardware.
Long answer: Going from a VGA to a HDMI display sounds like a drastic improvement. Please forgive my ignorance, but why would I need to buy one outright (and I assume an updated ARock board too to support it as well)? If DP makes a significant improvement to a part in new TBL builds (like this one which apparently has a known fault), shouldn't previous build owners be able to at least return the old part in exchange for the new one, free of charge (within some reasonable time period post-purchase of course, like < 1 year)? If not, then at least buy the upgraded part at a discount?

I'm pretty sure this is not the only hardware improvement since my build (March of this year IIRC) so I would like to understand what other improvements have been made since. It would be great if DP would share a hardware change log and notify owners of such changes.

I sent an email to the support alias to ask about all of this so I'll await the reply. I imagine I'm not the only one who would like to know what the expectations are for replacement parts when DP makes hardware improvements, hence why I'm posting these questions here.

Also please don't take these questions as being unappreciative. They are out of curiosity and trying to understand expectations now and moving forward. I am VERY appreciative of the support and parts DP has provided to help fix the other issues I've faced.

3 of mine broke within about a month of owning the machine. I posted about that in the 2nd half here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-lotta-ins-a-lotta-outs-tbl-maintenance-thread/page/13#post-6308434

I ended up buying the mod couple reinforced ones but the logo on them is lackluster at best (pictured in that post). They have been solid though.

Since the 3 stock ones all snapped at the same joint (pictured in that post), I went ahead and epoxied all 10 of them around that same area/joint (fixing the 3 and just reinforcing the other 7 for good measure). I removed the mod couple ones and put the epoxied ones back on about 2 months ago and haven't had any new breakage.

Question for owners: Do you experience issues with the BOWLING letters not being registered as I described below?

Issue Description: At the start of every first game after first powering on, the BOWLING letter shots do not register AT ALL. I can hit the MPF loop tons of times over and over again and the game doesn't honor the shots / letters or 'Let's Go Bowling' skill shot AT ALL (this is 100% consistent each time I power up and play my first game).

Then, by the next ball OR next game, all of a sudden the BOWLING letter shots or 'Let's Go Bowling' skill shot begin to register 100% of the time.

I've already been through the rigmarole of replacing switches + finding no issues in switch test mode. So please don't advise that I need to replace switches again. This has been the case since day one of receiving my TBL. If a physical switch issue was the root cause, the consistency of what I described above wouldn't be the case. It's as if the game needs to "warm up" in order to start registering those shots.

I appreciate any advice on troubleshooting to figure out the actual root cause.

Rensh Do you mean the actual new Ubuntu OS? If so, do you have instructions on how to upgrade it on our TBLs?

If upgrading ones' existing HD to the new OS isn't a thing, then IMHO DP should provide a new image file with the new OS that one can clone to the same or a new HD. Right?

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.

Sounds like a MPF PCB issue. Just look at this keypost of what I went through to uncover a broken trace in the same board: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-lotta-ins-a-lotta-outs-tbl-maintenance-thread/page/11#post-6257532

I don't have the newer OS so mine doesn't go to that exact prompt. However per the FAQ (Page 233), when troubleshooting via the command line, you can also get to that nxpin login by pressing Alt+F2 at the LOADING screen. But since you've already gotten there try this:

nxpin login:
root <enter>
Password:
pinball <enter>
(you wont see any characters being typed)

Then if that logs you in, at the next prompt type:
nautilus <enter>

For me on the older OS (albeit at a slightly different prompt), that pulls up the File Explorer window.

Rensh Is DP offering better quality bowling alley pins which are protected against breakage? 3 of 10 of mine broke apart today (yet again). As you well know it's difficult to replace them since doing so requires dismantling the entire bowling alley assembly. So I'm asking you first before I go trying to epoxy them back together, reassembling, and hoping for the best. I'm not trying to do the aforementioned "workaround" about protecting the arms from breaking the pins. Please advise, thanks.

I just received what I thought was the right size vinyl tubing but I can barely get it onto the posts. The service FAQ says 5/6" inner diameter. So I bought this vinyl tubing. 5/16 Inner - 7/16 Outer, Clear: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000E62TCC
Is this the right inner and outer diameter tubing? Any links to the correct product would help as this just seems wrong.

Rensh Also before putting all of the rails and such back together, how can one test each rail, physically to ensure that this workaround is actually going to prevent breakage in the future? The FAQ doesn't cover how to do so until after you've reassembled the entire thing and go into the software test mode. I'd like to know the expected behavior of each pin's backward motion before I reassemble everything.

Thanks so much for all the advice mac2444 ! I ended up just using the size tubing I got. Made a tiny cut on each piece to make them fit. However, in testing the full deflection, I'm not convinced this is going to do too much to prevent breakage again. But I really don't want to take this thing apart again anytime soon. Was somewhat of a nightmare, especially getting the the screws back in. Keep in mind this is not my first rodeo having to pull the alley apart and after doing all the work I had to troubleshoot other seemingly unrelated issues--My "7th" pin now doesn't return to its vertical position completely and my right flipper was shorting out likely due to all the PF lifting and putting back of everything. I think I fixed the right flipper issue for now but the 7th pin issue seems to be intermittent.

I think you have to buy them from DP although it would be nice to be able to source them in the US. I bought a set of redesigned pins a while back from the mod couple (these are no longer in production AFAIK though): Re-designed bowling pin Set of 10
As the description says they are of a tougher nylon and thicker at both the joints and the post holes.

I would like to install these instead of dealing with breakage issues with the stock pins. The only thing is the logo on the redesigned pins is pretty bad. The logos on mine look like 2 blue fingerprints (as you can see in the attached photo) and are offset to where the logo should be. I'm curious if anyone knows of a company that could "erase" the bad logo and replace it with the same kind of logo used on the original TBL pins? I have the graphic, just no way to properly print it. I tried a sticker/decal thing but it looked bad. Perhaps someone may know of a service who could "pad print" the proper logo onto these?
PXL_20221030_000611370 (1) (resized).jpg

As a followup to my attempts to find a pad printing company to print the better logos onto the reinforced pins: Two companies quoted me around $400-$500 for the job. So I am probably going the route of decaling them myself. I have the hi-res logo. If anyone wants it just PM me.

Bowling alley issue: Direct hits to any bowling pins to the RIGHT SIDE of pin #1 (aka pins 3, 6, 9, and 10) don't register as being hit. The ball must pass by the right side of each pin (or just barely glaze the right side of any given one of them) in order for them them to register. The bowling pins on the LEFT SIDE of pin #1 (aka pins 2, 4, 7 and 8 ) do not have this issue. Those pins register 100% of the time on a direct hit.

It's almost as if the "sensoring/triggering" of hits to all pins in the alley is slightly "shifted" to one side or the other if that makes sense.

BTW, this is a consistent, not intermittent problem which has always been an issue with my bowling alley, nothing new. I'm just becoming more annoyed about it these days since I'm entering bowling mode more often.

I'm guessing it's an optic triggering issue not recognizing direct hits to the pins in question, but I'm not well versed on all the optics. The only optic sensors I know about are those on the left and the right side of the alley. I will say that those optics look to be positioned correctly, but perhaps they are not or something else is causing this?

What should I try to adjust or test to fix this issue?

Of course I reviewed the service FAQ before posting. Unless I'm blind, I don't see an answer or troubleshooting steps for this exact issue. By "ball cup" I assume you mean the bowling lane arm that holds, then launches the ball? "Sounds like your cup and how it measures it are not aligned." --Ok how do I make sure it is? Is there a way to re-calibrate it? I just tried the BOWLING STEPPER test and it just has L/R, no CENTER test. During the L/R test to me it looks like the arm is correctly positioned on during both far LEFT and far RIGHT. If what you're suggesting is that the arm isn't centered when at CENTER, I have no idea how to figure out if it is.

Has anyone noticed in 1.10 specifically that the left ramp ball gate doesn't lift back up into blocking position until at least a handful of seconds after a given ball is locked? Mine is staying down/open right after locking a ball which is allowing me to hit the ball lock shot again almost immediately but of course doesn't register as another ball lock. The gate eventually lifts back up to the blocking position. I didn't find an existing bug filed for this so I'm curious if this is a software bug or something physical I need to investigate on my machine.

Ok not a software issue, physical issue. The diverter position isn't too high or too low as far as I can tell. Through more testing, I noticed that it wouldn't spring back up since the top left edge of it is was "rubbing" against the top left area of the plastic ramp cutout. As you may be able to see in these photos, it looks like the plastic cutout has been having some wear from this for a while now. So what did which is now making it spring back up expectedly was ever so lightly loosen the top 2 screws of the underside bracket, tighten the lower 2 bracket screws, and just ever so slightly "bend" the bracket downwards--all in order to move the piston "forward" so that the upper diverter piece can't rub against the ramp's cutout. (sorry I didn't take photos of the underside/bracket).

I think I have it mostly resolved with that sort of band-aid effort but I feel like there's still a problem. Nothing about the bracket has ever changed until I did so now. The piston of the whole thing has a ton of wiggle room back/forth and left/right. Is there supposed to be some aligning plastic insert or something around the hole in the lower orange plastic? Maybe that broke off or maybe the inner sleeve inside the coil has gotten cracked, allowing the piston to have tons of room for misalignment?

diverter1 (resized).jpg

diverter2 (resized).jpg

BUMP. Please post a picture Rensh and let folks know how to obtain the aligner. This wiggle room is undoubtedly going to cause future same/similar issues with the entire mechanism itself + increased wear and tear on the ramp.

My bowling ball arm aka referred to as the bowling ball launcher has run into another new issue. When the arm rotates to the left it jitters over and over again before it then turns back to the right side. Turning right all the way has no issue. This jittering only happens when the arm hits its far left. I can see that the cause might be that it's hitting the top of the "release pin" when it turns left. I did try bending the release pin assembly back a bit but that hasn't helped at all. This issue started happening out of nowhere, aka I've made no adjustments that could have introduced the issue.

I don't see any solution or description of this issue in the DP FAQ. Can anyone help me understand what is causing this?

Same issue occurs in any test. I see both switches register as expected aka I think switches are working just fine. If the switch wasn't working, I'd assume the arm would never return right. Again I've determined that it only jitters when the arm contacts the launch pin.

Forgive my ignorance but what exactly do you mean by "change the limit on that switch"?

For my TBL I leverage this Pinnovators PinSUB Multi-System Stereo. However, for me I'm routing the TBL's audio signal to both 2 active speakers and an active sub, with a mixer in between. Might be overkill for you. If all you want to do is hook up a sub, they also make this PINsub Subwoofer Kit - Multi System which looks similar to how Rensh explained his set up.
TL;DR but if you want to read in excruciating detail how I have all my machines connected to my gameroom's audio system, see this thread.