Hi everyone, I'm considering joining the Houdini club by trading for one. Hesitant to do it because I want to play the game, not constantly tweak it or have to upgrade parts, power supplies or anything.

This is a Nov 2018 build. What can anyone tell me to look for so that fixes have already been performed, etc?

I think I'd enjoy playing the game for sure, my wife won't, but whatever - she has her Medieval Madness. But I want to enjoy playing and not have a frequent project on my hands.

Thanks!

It's not a "frequent" project, but in order to enjoy the game I do think it's smart to make the recommended fixes. Wouldn't you do that on any other game? I've had mine since probably around november 2018, and it's still here. I've made the fixes. Suggest making sure you have the new power supply or the upgraded one (which is 2 pieceS). Get a photo, post it here. Otherwise check for EOS switches. The jury is out on whether they actually do anything, but some of the owners swear by them, and they're pretty inexpensive.

check that the catapult lands balls in the trunk frequently. Mine has never, ever, ever missed. Even with the "bad" power supply. But it does seem to depend on the power at your location, which is why the upgrade is good. Check that it's level, pitch should be just a touch above 6 to start. If you have a level floor, screw the leg levellers all the way in, then unscrew them a couple of turns.

check the flippers - they should be pointing straight from the lane guides, not slightly tilted up. there is a template that AP provided - it's a plastic you can lay over the flippers to check their alignment. they should be slightly *lower* than the template indicates. If not, fix that.

You may want to nudge the really small targets around the ramp and inner orbit just to be sure there isn't even a micrometer blocking those shots .. But really that's it

Awesome, thanks!

And I'd be posing the same-ish questions if thinking about a Stranger Things Premium/LE.

I have a pro which works great. But 75% of the owners thread is premium and LE owners making adjustments so stuff works right.

Happens with every pinball.
Geez, the work Ive put into my White water with the Ball Lock opto's is stupid. Wanted to sell the damn thing.
Ive done every "Fix" on my Houdini, there not hard and you learn, and it's rewarding.
Hell, same on my Led Zep prem, did every fix love the game.

I have applied the factory suggested updates and the game is running really good.

I havent done anything to my game in years, other than the recent capacitor addition (literally a 5 min fix).

There is no constant anything other than regular waxing every 400 plays and change the balls.

Nothing has broken, nothing needs anything.

Houdini is particularly robust compared to many other recent games.

All brand new games require tweaking and adjustment and sometimes there are service bulletins to fix something.

If you buy a well used game, operators and prior owners may have already done all the tweaks and fixes. Some good, often bad...

I tweaked and upgraded my early build for a year or two. It was my first new pin, and a learning experience. It was never frustrating, and the design makes it easy to work on. I placed 2 calls to the tech team for help since 2017. Never had any problem with stage motor. The fun factor has been constant. If you like this type of machine, it is worth dialing it in.

Just wanted to say for any potential Houdini buyers out there, that American Pinball has some of THE BEST customer service in the business. I'm talking about getting emails answered same day, tech support over the phone, replacement parts no problem. (Plus the game is amazing...)

All the stuff that people complain about Stern and JJP NOT doing in terms of after-purchase service, American Pinball IS doing. That should give you confidence about making a purchase.

I hate to be “that guy” but how do you start a new post in this American Pinball Houdini thread? I can reply to others posts but nowhere do I see an option to start a post. New Houdini owner here…and I have questions lol.

One of he best questions with no answer I've ever seen.

Well done.

Ask your questions in this thread and i would assume that a lot people would chime in and help

Um.. just reply and remove all the stuff it pre-loads in the text box

I just installed the EOS switches.

Yesterday I loosen the screws of the catapult's base plate and rotated it a bit. Afterwards the ball was perfectly thrown into the trunk, sometimes a bit more on the left side. But today the balls are thrown again to the right and miss the trunk!

The catapult itself looks robust and I don't see anything loosen at the assembly.

Did you moved the plastic ramp a Bit to the right. That's what i did besides the Hardware fixes

Ok..I think I get it…Every post is a reply to the original post 4 years ago.

It shouldnt be. It should be blank unless you hit the "s

Great!

Now what questions did you have?

It's still a Reply just not a direct reply to any particular post unless you quote that post using the quotation marks link in a particular post.

Yes, exactly. Just put your questions in man!

Don't rush him, we want to be sure about all of this stuff. Can't have questions just anywhere willy nilly.

Did you scroll the whole way down to the bottom to the empty reply box ?

LTG : )

Like this ?

LTG : )

That's a really deep, philosophical question that hurts my head.

If we can figure that one out we should be able to unravel Pavlov.

Not knowing how he reads Pinside. Phone, iPad, Computer, different browsers. I was thinking he may not see it or be able to scroll the whole way down. By quoting, you get a reply box.

LTG : )

Can't be, he hasn't used quote, unless he has quoted and then wiped the quote.

He's only made 2 posts. Still in the first 10 posts learning curve. These things take time.
Last one was 4 years ago. The plot thickens.

Hi, I need a little help. I've read through a couple other posts on the fuses, but I'm a little confused on how to troubleshoot. One of my kids power cycled the machine twice while in the middle of someone's game. Now, the coils don't seem to fire (ball won't fire into shooter lane, flipper won't fire). I didn't quite understand the manual on the power lines and how certain fuses were connected to each as I'm assuming a fuse (or multiple) is blown. I saw another post about a red LED indicating a blown fuse, but I'm actually not entirely sure where they even are on this machine. Would appreciate some help and guidance. Thanks.

Page 5-45 in the manual lists four involved with coil power.

I don't have the game to check.

So turn the game off. Go over the boards. Pull any fuse you see and check with a meter.

LTG : )

The first thing I would do, if you haven't, is to turn the game off for 90 seconds and then turn it back on. If the problem persists after it powers back up I would go into tests-coils, pull the high power interlock switch out (it's a white switch the coin door closes) and cycle through and see if any coils at all work or if they are all dead. If they are all dead (seems unlikely) you have may have a 48V power supply issue. If some are working and some aren't you can probably isolate it down to one board, or one bank on a board. There are two PD-16 driver boards mounted back to back on a bracket on the underneath the playfield. Each one has two banks of controls to drive solenoids and flashers / low-powered circuits. Each bank has it's own power supply input and associated fuse and each fuse has an LED power indicator next to the fuse. If you find it's a certain bank of coils not working check the LED and fuse for that bank, the fuses holders all have covers on them. Just remember the LEDs on those boards won't be lit unless the coin door is closed or the interlock switch is pulled out to the service position.

I took delivery of HOU1571 a couple weeks ago, and love it. While playing with the menus I found a red light on Tilt Switch and trunk lid. I cleared the tilt after “finding” the pendulum in the coin box ( whole other story…delivery guys were useless), and hitting it one time. The trunk lid is a different story. The trunk operates just fine so I am not sure what the purpose of the trunk lid switch is or why it would be red. Anyone have this same error after delivery?

According to the manual that's an Opto but I don't remember where it is on the game or really what it does, unfortunately I'm away from mine at the time but someone will chime in with the answer.

Thanks for this. I left it off for about 10 minutes and for some miraculous reason everything is all correct now. Could of sworn a fuse was blown due to the way it was operating and I'm not exactly sure what changed / cleared. Thanks for the help

Anybody having trouble :

rosh - Josh Kugler, ferret - Joe Schober, vegas98 - Michael Grant who is sales and marketing

Call them, open a new ticket on their support desk - https://www.american-pinball.com/support/service/ send PMs to rosh ferret vegas9 and their new tech guy Dave :

Dave Brennan brenna98
Technical Services Manager
[email protected]
Phone: (833) API-HELP / (833) 274-4357

LTG : )

My next newbie questions are gameplay questions.
When the ball is launched into the trunk it is announced “ball one locked”. What does that signify as I have not seen any benefit?…yet.
Also, on two occasions after playing, the knocker hit and the word “Match” came on the screen. How does a match occur?
Thanks to all those who have helped me so far!

If I recall correctly, Josh said that initially there was concern about the trunk not being open when the catapult fired so they added a switch to confirm it was open. This turned out not to be a problem but the switch is still there but not really needed.

Thanks…that makes sense

Also, on two occasions after playing, the knocker hit and the word “Match” came on the screen. How does a match occur?
Thanks to all those who have helped me so far!

Match is like a free game, if you were paying to play that is. Not on free play. Some call it lucky number. If the number that rolls up at the end of the game matches the last number in your score, then, pop……match…

Match is like a free game, if you were paying to play that is. Not on free play. Some call it lucky number. If the number that rolls up at the end of the game matches the last number in your score, then, pop……match…

After 3 locked balls you get trunk multiball.

Awesome thanks for the replies

Trunk Multiball rules: The ball is locked by hitting the right inner loop when lock is lit (teal colored insert) and the game starts with it lit by default. To light / re-light lock you have to hit the stage alley. There are two lock inserts in the middle of the playfied in the "chains" that indicate when you have ball one and two locked (teal colored). Once you start trunk MB there are three jackpots; left orbit, ramp and right orbit, when you hit all the three the super jackpot is lit at the right inner loop. If you hit that the three regular jackpots are available again and you can repeat this over and over if you're good enough. You can start Trunk MB during an illusion, Film or escape mode but you cannot start any of those after Trunk MB is started. You can add SEANCE MB to it when lit for total magnet chaos.

Here is a helpful chart: http://s4.american-pinball.com/img/support/2021-6/Houdini--Quick-Reference-Guide.pdf

This video will help answer this:

bobukcat 's advise is accurate. If you need me to walk through some testing with you, please give me a call when you're in front of the game 833-API-HELP
Fuse list is here: http://s4.american-pinball.com/img/support/2021-6/Houdini--Quick-Reference-Guide.pdf

Correct. In fact, I don't even open the trunk until after the ball is on the way.

For an operator, It is good to have the switch adjusted properly, so at least you would get switch error if the trunk lid coil was not functioning.

Chart is nice. To bad it doesn't say where the fuses are.

LTG : )

whats the cost to upgrade an older houdini? power supply and eos switches?

https://store.american-pinball.com/products/houdini-power-supply-upgrade

https://store.american-pinball.com/products/houdini-end-of-stroke-switch ( sold out - you can see what to order to make your own )

LTG : )

I’m thinking of doing the lock lane Mod but since it involves drilling shaping and riveting, would only want to try it on extra brackets/switches. This way I have the originals as a fall back. These are not items in the American Pinball storefront. Has anyone ordered these for the Mod? I assume most game parts are orderable?

What in the world is the lock lane mod ?

Who knows lol.