FlipNOut had one… what happened?

I happened

Loving it !!

Since the new update.

1st game seance started to fire balls out and never stopped. it would be completed and start back up and you would still have the balls. if you let them drain you would be able to stop and move on. so if the ball heads down the escape hole or back into the scoop it will give you that ball back plus one out of the launcher.

2nd game. I now realised i didnt need to start seance. just put one into the escape hole and now your in a 2 ball, put another 3 ball, and so on.

I reinstalled code. no change

I went back to the old code. still the same.

I cleaned all optos and switches because to me it seems like the 3 ball lock is not holding the ball when needed. No change after that.

I tested the coils at the 3 ball lock both are 4.3. now if you test in test mode the coil that shoots the ball out actuates. The ball lock coil not as well. Moves the post slowly and not very much.

If the coil test the same on the meter how is it bad? I have always heard they don't go bad slowly. I don't believe that but hey who am I to say.

Is there more then just a bad coil here?

I assume you mean the down-post. Check the alignment of the post going into the playfield from the underside. The L bracket that holds the coil and plunger needs to be perpendicular to the playfield so the down-post can move freely. If the L bracket gets pushed/bent forward or back, the post will move at an angle and drag on the playfield.

Is the tilt bob attached with anything other than a wing nut?

Thanks.

The graphite bob weight slides on to the swinging wire and is tightened using just the wing-nut. The higher you place it, the more sensitive to tilting. No need to over-tighten it. Some folks leave it off completely (as shipped).

Don't leave it off... that's like leaving training wheels on!

Thanks. I was concerned the wing nut would loosen over time, but I guess not.

So is the stage kick out DOA? I enabled it to see what it does and it looks like the ball that is held in it lifted, pushed the ball I shot into it back a little then the curtain closed and the game went about its usual sequence.

I turned on the stage kick out on my Houdini and it works about 80% of the time and it’s pretty cool IMHO. The ball under the stage just forces the trapped ball back and if it has enough momentum it rolls out of the front stage and down the playfield…if it doesn’t go back in the hole.

Where in the settings menu do you turn it on? When does the kick out feature get used?

Anyone else have family who wont play the game because its "too difficult"? I like the game a lot.......but I might sell it to get something more family friendly for the whole household to enjoy.

Go to menu select settings, then select features and it’s at the bottom of the page (10th from the bottom)labeled as “stage front eject”. It’s used during a few modes but still learning which ones but you will definitely know when it’s supposed to be used.

The default settings are way too hard. Change them, it’s your game.

Also does your family know basic live catch / post pass type moves? Every game gets way more fun

Yeah, I've adjusted the game to make it more "easy." Most of the family likes to just "keep the ball moving." So they are not the best players...but still have fun. The difficulty for them comes from the tight shots. What's funny is my granddaughter who is 7 will play it and really doesn't know the game or rules and like the others..........will just keep the ball moving....and in the end, she will get a higher score than them sometimes.

Thats me, just shoot the shots without knowing about what i'm aiming for as it's complicated. About the only thing i know how to do is start seance.

I’ve had it for a little over three years, my wife wasn’t into it at first, but it has slowly become a favorite of hers as well. Ours is pretty much bolted to the floor.

When you can learn to control the ball, and set up the shots, the game is way more fun. I played for about 9 months before the rules really clicked for me. Once I figured out how to really play, the game became way more fun.

I watched the video and noticed that the coil was flipped a different way. I flipped the coil to the way it was in the video and I had to cut zip ties to make the cable reach. the lock works great now. the scoop works great. Found out seance was only a 3 ball multi ball. before the was no such thing as a 3 ball it would be 6 eventually. problem that still presits is the game still resets mid play. You don't even need to be in a multi ball.

This machine has never played right from day one.
I have checked all the connections and none were loose. Any suggestions ?

Wow, sorry to hear you're having issues, what code are you on? Does the game have the added power supply or the newer integrated all in one unit?

Houdini is an excellent game, but if you have to switch out for another game for the family I'd suggest Hot Wheels. Should be fun for everyone.

its on the 10/21 CODE. yeah all the power upgrades in . this machine has spent more time not working than its worked. I;m going to try A fresh code today and if that doesn't work try the older code. i have done this already but i will try again.

so it a coil is upside down does it operate backwards? And how the hell did that not get noticed off the line? so many issues from that one coil not working right. but its fixed now. if it would just stay on.

No. Operates the same. Coils are dumb and don't know crap about direction.

LTG : )

That's odd. Coil didn't move rod. Flipped it, put it back together moves rod and works. Just game will shut down and reboot sometime during the game. On new code. Old code no shutdown after 4 to 5 games

Have you checked your household voltage where the machine is plugged into?

yup. 122v lowest for a game was 118v

Here is an odd one. I was awarded the out lane saving mode from making the skill shot. One alternating out lane saving mode is now lit. I was then awarded out lane saving mode again by random generated mode from the magic shop. The left out lane was lit when my ball drained out the left. I got no ball save mode and the game moved on to the next ball. I look down and noticed neither of the out lane modes are lit. I press and hold the left flipper and the right out lane save mode lights. I press and hold the right flipper and the left out lane save mode lights. I press and hold both flippers and both right and left flash and go out. Moving on I continued to play and I believe at some point it returned to normal with one alternating out lane saving mode. I am not on the latest code so many this is known and corrected already.

The next time it resets, note the date and time. Then pull the game logs by inserting a USB drive without game code on it.
Send to [email protected]

Note: there is a known bug with having 4 replay levels set. If this is the cases with your game, take it down to 3.

Unfortunately the test function using the coin door switches does not work every well for some things, the diverter post and the left ball lock release post being another. There may be a reason why they do not function properly in test mode but that is something AP would have to answer.

For your other problem, have you checked over all the connections in your game? AP does not use wire harness supports so some things are pulled very tight. I would guess that by flipping your coil around you just happened to disturb things enough to work. So at that point I would be looking at connection points. It could even be a bad pin in a connector (poor connection made in wire to pin crimp). But as others have mentioned, coil orientation does not matter.

There was a bug associated with timing on the outlane modes but I definitely don't remember what version that was, have tested too many to keep track of.

i will do that. i have abunch on my computer saved. they all had code on USB when saved. i can send just the logs if that works

Coil test does nothing more than fire the coil to confirm it is getting power and functioning. The best way to test coil performance is in coil settings, where the game will operate coils more closely to how they work in game play (but not necessarily 100% the same). When in coil settings, the machine is also smart about kicking balls out of VUKs and scoops, locks, etc. When we first start shooting a new game's first whitewood, we use 'coil settings' to do it.

I forget the details on it, but that was corrected in the last release

This is the only bug I know of on the current release that will cause a crash. It is corrected for the next release.

I suggest going back to the newest code, setting your replay level to 3 and see if you have further issues. If you do, please send us logs with details as to what you are experiencing.

as LTG said, does not matter which way it is. Likely it was out of alignment and that is why the post was not moving correctly, your change corrected the alignment issue.

rosh is there any chance to get some more adjustment settings for the Flipper coils - eg. For Hold Power strengh (Different ms ) ?

It would be nice if we can adjust the flipper settings to our likes and needs.

With the dual wound coils, there is no pulsing or ms control on the hold like with single wound, it is just full on, so nothing to adjust. If I added an adjustment the only thing it could be used for would be to make the hold weaker, and no one would want that.

I changed the replay level to 3 5 games no shutdown. TY

Hi guys, I am in Australia and just picked up my NIB Houdini from the distributor yesterday. It is a 2018 build. Loving the game. The only issue I am having is the right flipper losing power during multi ball. I noticed there were posts on this from 2 years ago but did not see what the fix is. I have the current code. TIA for any help.

Lift the playfield and take a photo of the power supply at the rear of the cabinet. Post it here and we'll start with that

Since 2018, The original unregulated 48v supply was updated with a regulated version ($150 on API website). In addition, a flipper performance board was added under the playfield near the flippers to store energy very close to the coils. It was basically a big capacitor mounted on a PCB, (but was out of stock recently on API website). The flippers draw so much energy for the first few milliseconds, that the length of the wire between the power supply and the coil begins to impact pulling power of the flipper coil. The capacitor essentially stores energy on the “other end” of the wire!!

It already has the updated Varistor and the 48v Power Supply

looks like just a 10,000uf 63v cap across the 48v Line

https://store.american-pinball.com/products/kit0006-00

Try it! Super simple install and should go a long way to addressing the issue

Your line power - voltage into the house or specifically the circuit to the game can make a difference too. I have dedicated circuits for my pins and have no issues. My Houdini runs the first generation power supply, I have no upgrades to the flippers and my game performs admirably. Trunk shot extremely consistent and my flipper strength is fine even during stacked multiballs.

I have 20 amp breakers with no more than 3 games on each circuit. I have 6 separate breakers for my pins and all pins can be played heavily at once when I have league or a party. Right now I am sitting with 18 games but I can squeeze in a few more and run 3-4 per circuit with never a worry. Went on the side of more circuits than needed but since I had the electrician installing them when I had my main fuse panel upgraded the cost wasn't much more adding a circuit or two more than I needed.

Quality and consistency of your line power to the game does have some bearing I believe. Your mileage may vary.

That is exactly what it is! The pub just makes it easy to insert inline and mount to play field.

Im curious what everyone does with flipper power. Keep recommended settings or jack it up?

Too low and you cant make the ramp.

Too high and you get stage rejects.

Try to find a happy medium.

I find I set the left two notches higher than the right. Seems a good balance. If the right is too high I have less success with the shot through Stage Alley for double scoring. If the left is too low, can’t make the ramp.

seems the problem is not with flipper power it's when the flipper bat is in the up position and a ball hits the bat it drops down and flipper button needs to be re pushed to go back up.

does this Mod with the capacitor address this issue?

After installing the EOS switches and the capacitor upgrade, the flipper collapse is almost completely eliminated.

Whereas prior to the upgrade, you had to re-press the button to get the flipper back up, that never happens now.

Updated code also had a positive effect on this issue.