The diverter operates in the test menu now and I tried to clear the fault. From my understanding, you roll the ball up the lock ramp on the left of the saucer.
First time it should come back to the flipper. Second time it should get snatched for lock. Then repeat...flipper...lock...flipper...lock.

What really happens, is the 1st ball goes to the flipper, then after that, the ball keeps getting locked. What switch needs to be hit in order for the diverter to close?

It’s operating correctly (for default settings). The first multiball is flipper lock lock lock. After that it’s flipper lock flipper lock flipper lock.

To get the first MB is flipper, lock, lock, lock (as Kevlar51 posted)
however to get the MB the second and any subsequent time is flipper, lock, flipper, lock, flipper, lock

Had a great game the other day, hadn’t played it for a while. Turn on and had one game
I always play better after a couple of beers!

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Thank you, I did not know that. Must be why I'm not able to clear the error because I'm stopping after the 1st MB. I'll try again tonight.

That cleared the error! Thanks you for the info!

Just had the scores on my AFM reset on their own. The GC score is still there but all the others are gone.

Anyone know what could of caused this? Or what I should look for to find out why this happened?

There is a setting for score resets every X number of games. Take a look at B.3-33 H.S.T.D. Reset Count (I always set mine to 0/off - I don't recall the exact option to disable). I believe this controls resets on all high scores except for the grand champion.

Well tickle me pink! I wasn't aware of that. Thanks Tantrum!

nearly there....

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B.3-33 H.S.T.D. Reset Count is the book keeping for that setting. I had to go into A - adjustments to set it to zero, FYI.

Any one looking to sell both pairs of power blades? Also looking for acrylic alt translight.

Thanks. Just set it to 0.

Can anyone confirm the correct coil to be installed in the left VUK? My machine has an AE-25-1000 installed (see below).
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Page 2-23 of the manual says it should be AE-23-800 and the solenoid table on page 3-5 says it is AE-26-800. I am wondering if this incorrect(?) installed coil is responsible for the deformation of the scoop weldment?
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Weaker coil.

Either one is stronger, 800 turns.

No, 27 years of balls hitting it did this.

LTG : )

The ball sometimes bounces back into the vuk on mine, I wonder if my coil is wrong

I've always found rationalizing coil strength (its magnetic field) to be a confusing topic. The equations for coil power don't actually take wire gauge into account, but it indirectly effects the results because the resistance of the wire changes and that can alter the current, and current is part of the magnetic field equation. Which is what happens in our pinball application as we have a constant supply voltage so changing the coil resistance changes its current and thus its power.

The other things that come into play when determining the mag field:
1) The physical coil Length (like our voltage situation, all 3 coils have effectively the same length as they fit the same mechanism)
2) Permeability (again, we are not changing the plunger)

Since most of the other equation elements stay fixed in our application, it really boils down to how we change the current when we replace the coil, and that's directly related to the coils resistance. So Turns and Wire Gauge are important.

In this case, the data I've found (I looked it up, I didn't actually pull out my DMM) is that the 26-800 and the 25-1000 are roughly identical "strength" wise (have the same resistance, thus current is the same) at 7.5 ish ohms. 26 awg has a smaller radius than 25 awg and thus has higher resistance per foot. But the 25 awg coil has more turns (more feet of wire). The net result in this case seems to be more resistance and shorter = less resistance and longer.

However, the 23-800 comes in at around 4.2 ohms (less turns, thicker lower resistance wire) so it's going to be a stronger coil as the amperage draw will be higher. So you can't just go by turns alone.

Or the curved part of the chute has a divot and doesn't let the ball go up through and out.

LTG : )

What Lloyd said. I'm surprised at how often I find in cases of ball kickouts that what I assume is electrical is actually mechanical. A whole new scoop, a little sanding and polishing, a little changing of pitch, adding a washer or two where the screws are to change the angle, a littler careful bending of a metal part--these kinds of mechanical experiments often do a lot more to solve kickout problems than you might think.

Mine hits the wireform with so much force it somehow bounces back up into the vuk. It's as If the wireform is bouncing but it's solid.

I feel like wear on the vuk would make the ball slower?

I solved a similar powerful coil issue on my Diner by adding a star post rubber ring around the plunger so it doesn't have as much travel and therefore loses a little energy.

I had that with the stroke of luck kick out. It would hit the sling. A few washers helped although I've noticed it starting to vary where the ball hits again

Bit more progress on the build today..
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Does anyone have a source for indivdual silkscreened cabinet decals (vs a set)? The machine I bought came with a pair of backbox decals and two of the front coin door decal so all I need are the main cabinet sides.

Suddenly the sound on my machine has become very faint. I need to crank the volume up to 90% of max to be able to hear it and max is about what I would have expected for 50%. Both cabinet and backbox speakers are similarly faint. I have checked their respective connectors and all fuses on the AV board ok. When I measure the voltage at pins J605-7 and J605-11, I get 13V vs. the 18V that I see in the manual, is this normal or perhaps a problem elsewhere? Any advice on what to check next is appreciated. Thanks.

Wide angle LED bulbs

Check out the wax paper fix for the translite. It worked great for me.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/afmr-should-i-be-able-to-see-thru-the-backglass#post-5971571

Did you get anywhere further with this issue? The fact that you are getting 13V at the J605 pins is strange as this is coming direct from the transformer.

There is a little bit of information on Pinwiki but certainly nothing matching your specific issue https://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#On_Board_Voltage_Regulation

I was secretly hoping this thread would die a silent death but now I will have to own up to an embarrassing solution in the hopes that someone else doesn't make such a dumb troubleshooting mistake. Here goes. A previous owner of the machine had installed a potentiometer to adjust the machine volume. Based on where it was located (inside the coin door), I figured it had been moved from a standard location in the cabinet and I had assumed that it was THE way to adjust. I also noticed that the potentiometer was only wired to the back box speakers and not he cabinet speaker so the cabinet speaker couldn’t be adjusted which seemed weird. After much troubleshooting and head scratching I recalled how in my old Diner the volume was adjusted with the menu buttons inside the coin door and suddenly I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach. Lo and behold, I think that somehow I must have inadvertently hit one of the buttons while doing something unrelated and had lowered the overall volume level. I cranked it back up with the buttons and everything is fine. I did find that the tweeter on the right side is blown but not related to this problem, just needs to be replaced. I did get a message on another thread that the 13V is not a problem and doesn't seem to be in this case. Thanks for your info!

What’s an original no credit dot, all LED, Colordmd, little fade, above avg PF AFM worth nowadays?

Thanks for posting that! Something I would totally do. I have scratched my head many times at what someone was thinking when they "fixed" things on games.

Well the good thing is that you solved it yourself!

11k

I hooked my AFM audio up with a potentiometer like this. This allows you to get the bass up. Basically, you turn the volume up with the coin door buttons, which increases all speakers, then decrease the back box volume with the potentiometer, leaving the cabinet subwoofer at a higher volume.

It’s a nice mod.

I'm looking to buy an original AfM playfield. Doesn't have to be in perfect condition, but at least good enough to be restored if needed.

I've had a wanted ad up for awhile but no responses to it, so I thought I would post here. Thanks!

Finally! I’ve Ruled the Universe! Next on the list—my kid’s high score.

Oddly enough, this victory came on my very first game after installing magnetic switches on my right orbit. Here’s the thread on them: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mampm-creations-mrs-catalog

I tried adjusting the original switches countless times and I’d still get frequent shots that didn’t register. These switches cleared it up, so I’m happy

Thanks for the testimonial!! Glad to be of help - our switches are pretty interesting and can help fix a lot of problems...

Matt & Dan
M&M Creations

Hi! I have few sets of blades and backboard decal in stock. Bundle will be cheaper, but also avaliable "only blades" and "only bb decal". Let me know who interested.
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Any chance that someone has a spare left side plastic 31-2535-16 for sale or trade?
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By a strange coincidence I have a spare 31-2535-6
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Reach out to “TomTest.” I gave him a ton of leftover unbroken plastics from my restore a little while ago. He might have what you’re looking for.

Hot Damn I finally picked up an original AFM in super fantastic shape other than needing cabinet decals and a scoop. Got a few questions for you guys.

1. The scoop kickout. Should the ball exit and hit the flipper or the metal lane guide wall? Someone did a weld repair on this piece and the ball hits the wall and will randomly go different places.

2. On the translite. Is the outline around "Attack From Mars" supposed to be transparent meaning you can see the bulbs? Or has something faded out here?

3. Who has the best quality cab decals for this title?

Thanks.

1. Should go to the left flipper
2. Yes that's normal.
3. Unsure...can someone else chime in for this one ?

As far as decals go—I put RadCals on mine. I am very happy with them, but not everyone likes the glossy look.

Got my first AFM in 2010.

Sold it, regretted it.

Got another 4 years ago.

70 games come and gone in last decade through my doors.

And after all that.....

AFM - it's the best game of all time

Games like Maiden and Godzilla have raised the bar with design and coding, and yet AFM has something no modern game seems to have.

Timeless.

Shopping out my AFM and I have a broken plastic I can’t seem to track down. It’s the plastic that goes just to the left side of/ and under the main saucer.
Figured I’d see if anyone here had one before having to go buy a whole new set. (I do see the post a few up about messaging tomtest)

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pinballcenter has one .

These used to be readily available on ebay and Planetary Pinball. Now it looks like only European sites have them (as two-packs with their opposite-side pair).
Planetary Pinball still has some individual AFM plastics, but it looks like that supply is dwindling (perhaps more money in selling full sets). I'd been looking for the same piece as Deleenhe a couple months ago, and was annoyed to find that it was the ONLY AFM plastic I couldn't get as a single part--now there's lots missing.

Still looking for this one in case anyone has a source. Thanks.

Extremely excited to join the club! I thought I had lost out on my opportunity to buy one at a reasonable price but patience paid off! While it definitely spent some time in an arcade (per the previous owner ~7 years) it remained in the stewardship of one family for the next 20 who are finally selling the last few of their collection.

It's definitely a "player's condition" machine but that will work just fine for us!