I guess it could be an intermittent switch. (?) but I can not get it to -not- register a ball in test.

So now, I locked a ball again, and then the game went all crazy. I shot a ball into the stage, the stage ate them, and then opened back up again, and I had no ball. The game then did a ball search, and popped another ball out, which the stage ate again, and never did the left lock let my ball go. I got a video of some of it, which I can post. Hard to hold the phone while you’re playing though! Haha

The game is now very confused. When I drain, it doesn’t react - I just lost a ball, and it still thinks a ball is in play. Eventually it shoot another one out, and only on that SECOND drain does the game acknowledge the drain. I did have a whole bunch of multiballs before, but still between the trough and the left lock switches the game should know where everything is.

Anybody else having this?

I have. It’s usually deep in play after stacking a few modes. The game gets confused. I’ll end up, once in a while, with a sort of unofficial 2 ball multi-ball the just keeps recycling until I lose both balls at once. That’s happened a few times. Other times I’ll be in the middle of a ball, drop into the scoop, stage or hat, and then no ball. It searched, chugged a ball out the scoop, which drained (which was a rare coincidence) and then no ball search, no nothing.
However, I do note that my TZ would on rare occasion get confused and get lost in play. Usually when I gad a lot going on.
So, it’s rare, but does happen.
Hopefully the new firmware will take care of Master Magician resets and look into these intermittent issues too

I watched this video a few times since you posted it a week ago.

I just realized, is this you? I showed it to my friend when we were working on it yesterday, and told her people like this are invaluable. All of these skillsets learned in the industry, over decades, and such a relaxed nature in dealing with these issues. I genuinely admire that ability.

Yes, that is me.

You'll do fine. You'll learn as you go. And the day will come when you can help others. That really makes pinball great.

LTG : )

Yep that be Lloyd the Great! Only fib he dropped was the never broke a bolt in 40 years. That would mean he only started working on pins after he was 45! LTG is an Indispensable asset to pinball and an overall great person. Hence the reason he is the support rep for JJP, CGC, and a few other wise companies that understand his incredible value.

Sorry. I should have specified flipper pawl bolt.

I only do tech support for JJP and PPS/CGC. I try and help where I can elsewhere.

That's some funny crap. Thank you. Let us not forget Rob Burk says I'm warm and fuzzy.

Thank you for the day brightener !

LTG : )
Disclaimer : I have a great idea for next year's Expo mug.

Thanks for the confirmation - that appears to be exactly what's going on, and you described exactly what I am seeing. Whew. I hate dealing with those switches, and it does seem to make sense it's just a bug. I definitely had a host of multiballs going - I started Straitjacket multiball, then I believe Seance multiball started almost immediately, and *then* I got trunk multiball right when I only had 2 balls left. It was awesome! The flippers did not return to regular controls until I was down to 1 last ball, which was cool. Then the game got all screwy though.

Ditto. I had a truly epic game (sadly due to a glitch, but still epic) and then right when I had 5 million points and still managed to avoid Master Magician, it reset. Boo hoo. I guess it’s true that cheaters never prosper. Darn.

When you turned it back on, go to switch test immediately. Does it show that switch is triggered (on) solid?

Also, HOW did you test the switch? With your fingers or a ball? It matters. Those switches are really touchy. You MUST test with a ball.

Thanks again to everyone over the past page or so that's offered insight and information from what they've experienced over the years.

I really appreciate it, and it helps take the nerves away, and most importantly, increase the fun!!! And knowing that people in this community take time to listen, read, and react in helpful ways, makes it all the better!

Thanks again everyone!

I Always test w/ a ball

So when you power on after it can't find it and go immediately to switch test, does it show the switch is on that the ball is under?

I ask because it's common for the ball to come in hot, activate the switch, then bounce back a hair and stop ON the switch, but not with enough force to activate it.

Yes, since the other day a ball has stayed in that lock - the switch is triggered consistently when it is sitting in there. It is triggering the switch. I will take a pic when I get home

I’ve had the machine lose track of the ball on multiple occasions thus far. Usually it’s when a lot is going on. Sometimes it will trigger a drain when the ball is in play. Sometimes I’ll get two balls going when I shouldn’t. I know for a fact all my optos and switches are working just fine. I end up doing a machine reboot and it seems to do the trick. Not sure what to make of it if a reboot doesn’t correct it and the switch tests out fine? I was really hoping for a code drop that would address these issues/bugs sooner rather then later. Fingers crossed

Background: I'm only owner on a Houdini machine that is level, at 6.5 degree incline, and has 1200 games on it. After installing the new power supply (which I did largely to fix the lower catapult issue) I'm experiencing similar behavior. I can't remember the exact power settings I have it at, but at X the catapult throws the ball dead center and it hits the front edge of the trunk which 50% of the time results in the ball bouncing in to the trunk and 50% of the time results in the ball bouncing out of the trunk and 100% of the time results in minor damage to the trunk. At X+1 strength the ball goes wide left 100% of the time. If the ball were going straight at X+1, it would likely hit the inside of the trunk's lid and perfectly fall in to the trunk. I'm no expert, but I feel like the ultimate solution involves the strength at X+1 with some adjustment in place to make the ball not go wide left.

I've done the API recommended lower catapult fix (pull off and cleaning) and that did not help. I know other fixes have been proposed, but with 7150 comments on this thread I'm unable to find them. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this? I'd be very appreciative of any help.

Honestly at this point I'm so tired of jerking around with this feature on a new game that I'd be happy to buy and install a metal ramp that attaches to the back wall, and when a lower catapult throw goes wide left, catches the ball and diverts it in to the open trunk.

Examine the catapult straightness compared to the wooden cutout.

Open the catapult mechs mounting holes a little with a dremel tool, and rotate it in the direction necessary to get it to fire into the trunk.

Or put washer under 2 of the mechs mounting plate screws to pivot the arm to the left if it's going right or right if it's going left etc.

You can also pivot it front or back to change the trajectory if the ball is going high or low with washers.

So, physically turn the mech slightly or pivot it.

Either solution works well.

I don't think I am following what the issue is. At start of game, if a ball is there it will leave it. Are you saying it then never releases that ball at all during game play? Does it attempt to release it (but the ball does not actually release)?

When you start up, do you get a couple of ball searches before the game starts?
If a ball drains, is there a 5 second pause before it actually does end of ball stuff?

watch very closely when it fires, and see if is it nicking the plastic ramp. If the trajectory is a touch low, it can nip that ramp which will then send it left. Using the 'slomo' video on your phone can help spot if this is happening.

I'm at work and can't test this until later, but IF it turns out the ball is hitting the plastic ramp, what is the preferred resolution?

Rotate the mech left slightly.

Rotating the mech, or having the ability to adjust it perfectly is what is needed here.

Since you can drop balls endlessly into the catapult to see how it fires, it only takes a couple adjustments to get it to work perfectly.

Since you have the new upgraded power supply, the adjustment will hold and be stable for thousands of games.

Pivoting the mech with washers also works since it fires at a slight angle to the trunk.

Rotating the mech has the best results over all.

I have done both adjustments and by far, side cutting the holes in the mech slightly to allow me to rotate it as needed has been the most effective, and gives me the most control.

You only need to rotate it around 1/16" in most cases.
Sometimes you only have to loosen the screws, and twist the mech firmly while re-tightening to get a better alignment to the trunk.

Does anybody have a clue what these are supposed to do? I ordered these when gathering supplies before getting my game. They arrived two weeks ago, and I really don't know what purpose they serve. Are they actually supposed to cover the plastics, and obscure them???

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1114-little-shop-of-games/01487-houdini-8-piece-set-easy-break-plastic-protectors-

Also, the extra plastics in the goody bag from API seem rough around the edges, and a bit beaten up. Are these meant to replace plastics in case of future damage?

One last question. Are all of the legs interchangable? When I tried to look for markings on them, I found none, and assumed they were all the same.

That is a plastic protector kit. (Yet another thing you didn’t Really need lol). After removing the blue film they go under each of the corresponding Playfield plastics to protect from errant ball hops. All legs are the same and interchangeable. The goody bag is misc extra pieces for key chains and some easy break replacement plastics normally the slings. (by the flippers).

The legs are interchangable, yes.

They go under the plastics. I was worried that that they would not let the light shine through but they look okay (see image of the protector under the right sling). I didn't use all of the protectors - especially under the milkcan. I would definitely use the protector that goes under the green plastic that is under the Ouija planchette. That piece is susceptible to breaking from air balls.

I think they include the "rejects" for the extra plastics. Better than no extras I guess.
IMG_3571 (resized).JPG

Ooooh! Thanks everyone for the answers!

So it's a pretty simple, remove screws, place underneath, and screw back into place kind of affair? Is there enough thread in the screws to hold in both pieces?

(I'd been watching some unboxing videos, to see how Stern and JJP send their machines, and wondered about legs, and if there were differences!) It's amazing how many people slice into their boxes, versus slide them out, in case they'd need to ship them out again. Most in videos cut, and cut really quickly. I'd be wary of cutting into the machine. Eek!

Careful not to overtighten the fastener holding your plastics. Just enough to engage the locknut. I think too tight will cause more breakage when the ball hits. Also, its too early to tell, but there's always one or two plastics that take a beating and become the few unobtainable plastics 20 years from now. I like to use a washer too if there's enough thead.

Just getting back to working on the non-booting Houdini. I've checked all of the connections in the backbox and basically everything in the cabinet and bottom of the playfield. The game simply stopped working and won't boot. Here is a video that shows all of the boards and LED colors and symptoms:

you cut away from the screen too fast. I want to see what it does after it turns black. Also, check the power button on the computer. It is on the right side, just below the monitor, a blue light, make sure that turns on when the game turns on. If not, hit that button and lets see if it boots.

If the light is coming on, then stick a blank USB in the USB cable in the coin door and see if it pulls logs, if it does, send them to me.

Did you check the VGA connector that comes out of the computer and connects to the stage screen? There's an extension cable on that, and it was flaky on early machines. If it wasn't connected firmly, it could prevent the machine from booting.

That is all zip tied tight under the playfield. I took the cover off the back of the stage and didn't see anything loose.

The screens stay black. The blue light is on the CPU. I will go try to to the USB trick.

No problem at all -

The ball is released, but only if I put another ball in there (when lock is not lit obviously). The game does do a ball search at start, and yes there is a ~5 second pause when it drains.

I am going to try and adjust the switch and see if somehow it’s not triggering consistently, but it does trigger when the ball is locked, and as far as I can tell it stays triggered whilst a ball is in there. If I’ve locked 3 balls in there, sometimes it will release 2 at a time, which is weird.

The plugs on the VGA extension are zip tied together?

What about at the computer box? Is the vga plugged in tight there?

That makes me think it is not seeing that switch, and working in 'lost ball mode'. the five second pause is the game waiting to see if there are a switch hits after the drain, which indicate the lost ball has been found. Based on all the symptoms, certainly seems that switch is being flaky. Be very careful adjusting that switch, very easy to make things worse. Also, take a photo of the area, I want to see the positioning of the down post.

Not sure if it is a "trick", but if it pulls logs those might shed light on what is going on, depends on what is causing the issue.

OK. It didn't save a log or even blink the LED on the stick. After the screen was black for a minute or so, I cycled the CPU off by holding the power button until it shut off. I turned it back on and again no file on the stick. Re-powering the CPU also didn't wake either monitor.

Oh I know...! I hate these switches I once blundered my way into a total replacement on a LOTR of these darn rollover switches. Took forever!

I will report back! Thanks for the support!

One other thing - I am getting really good at hitting that inner loop , and I am noticing that when I really knock it into that left lock real good, the ball will bounce back *into* the VUK for the catapult, and I'll get a free ball lock for Trunk multiball, when obviously it should not count toward that.

Did you try refreshing the connections to all of the displays, small and large?

Unplug and replug?

so nothing ever appears on either screen except for 'no signal'? Starting to sound like either a computer issue or a corruption of the drive or something along those lines. If you not yet opened a service ticket, please do so, note on it for Barry to come talk to me so we can figure out best next step.

In the meantime, double check all connections to the monitors.

Has anyone seen an indicator of how many balls are locked in the trunk at any given time? There are 3 balls in the scoring display, but they don't change or light up--just part of the illustration. It would also be handy to know how many extra balls are stacked up. Finally, does anyone know is the rule for how much a secret mission scores? Mainly I get 50k, but sometimes 75k or 100k. It doesnt seem related to how long it takes me to finish the mission. Just wondering.

20181119_173130 (resized).jpg

Not sure on the balls, but secret missions increase in value the further along you get.

Yes, since there are no insert lights to keep track of locked balls what does one do?

I like the secret missions, it always amuses me when I complete one or 2.

After all, they're secret ! lol.

Did you put these in your game? So I just unscrew the existing plastics, place these down, then the existing ones on top? These are all for protecting the bottoms? I figured they protected the top.

Yes. They are stffeners to keep your inked plastics fro taking the full brunt of a ball strike.

How does this attach permanently?
20181119_192442 (resized).jpg20181119_192448 (resized).jpg

I found it fell off today. It looks like the trunk lid knocks it off.

I've seen this before in the thread early on. But cant find the solution.

How does it attach to keep from falling off?

I set it on the led strip bracket but it keeps falling off

BarryJ
rosh

Any suggestions?

Look it over. Glue, if you see holes - staples, or brads.

LTG : )

One-way gate will solve that problem.

The lampshade doesn't have any glue or tape residue on it that I can see.

But there is one hole in it that looks unused?

Thanks Lloyd I'll try looking at it more closely.

I don't have one to check. Sorry. Just going by what I see on other games.

LTG : )

No problem, I thought the same.

But with the single hole in it I thought maybe its riveted on?

And it fell off.

It's not a horrible malfunction. I just put a 2 million+ game on it and it's still there.

It's just held on with some screws on the backboard; mine has fallen off 3 times now. It's the shade for the LED strip at the back. It's noticeable when not installed but not terrible. I am considering maybe adding washers to it next time to get better grip, since there are no holes drilled through the actual piece.