Ok, question for you folks. I'm working on a Bally #Eight Ball.

Can someone who has one post a picture of the proper wiring for the lamp socket for the "Same Player Shoots Again" lamp on the playfield. Mine is disconnected and I want to be sure I have the right wires all in the right places before I connect something wrong and blow something.

While most of the lamps (i.e. the numbered balls) have just two wires (ground and a power wire) this lamp seems to have ground, power and two green heavier gauge wires. I know where the smaller gauge power wire goes, and I assume the uninsulated ground braid goes to the base of the lamp - but what about the other two green heavy gauge wires? Are they for this lamp also or do they belong somewhere else (in which case something is really screwed up under there).

Thanks!

- Gblaz

Ok, that helps a lot. It confirms that I'm connecting the lamp socket correctly.

I still need some help diagnosing my problem on my #Eight Ball. I have a single lamp out - the "Same Player Shoots Again" lamp. I've done the obvious, like change the bulb and the socket. I've also replaced the SCR and it still won't light. I also checked the resistor assigned to the SCR and it reads the correct resistance.

I did a test that I found in a repair guide and used a jumper from ground to the Anode of the SCR and the lamp still will not light, which tells me its a problem after the lamp board. I can light any other controlled lamp using this method, so I'm doing the test correctly.

What could go wrong between the lamp socket and the lamp SCR that I should be checking?

Thanks,

- Gblaz

Solved my problem on my #Eight Ball. The chart I was using (and the schematic too) have the positions of two of the lamps swapped - the credit lamp on the apron and the "Same Player Shoots Again Lamp". They are shown on the schematic as Q60 -credit and Q52-SPSA. But I realized by testing them again (by jumping ground to the Anode of the SCRs) that despite the schematic saying that Q52 should be controlling the SPSA lamp, it was lighting the credit lamp in the apron and conversely Q60 was lighting the SPSA lamp. I hadn't noticed before since the credit lamp is off to the side and I had been looking at the main playfield lamps when I was testing things.

So since they are swapped out, I had replaced the wrong SCR. Well, it should have been the right one, but anyway... I replaced Q60, which should be the credit lamp SCA and voila, my problem with the SPSA lamp is fixed...

So either the schematic is wrong, I'm reading everything in the world wrong or my machine is just wacky, but all is well with the world because both lamps light at the right times.

Maybe someone else will have the same problem and see this post later on.

- Gblaz

So, for the benefit of all, I just found this:

http://mirror2.ipdb.org/files/760/Bally_1977_Eight_Ball_Service_Bulletin_Schematic_Errors_October_1_1977.pdf

And lo and behold it says "On J3, change J3-3 to S.P.S.A. : J-13-3 to CREDIT IND."

So what that doesn't mention is that by swapping those pins on the connector it also swaps everything about those two lamps throughout the lamp board schematic.

If I had found that before, it would have saved me many hours of trouble.... But at least I'm not nuts...

Nothing like having a 40 year old mistake drive you nuts for hours. Lesson learned.

But in the end, its solving stuff like this that makes me love tinkering with these darn machines to begin with. If they always worked, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun!

- Gblaz