New York, NY
Quoted from rotordave:Right! My crane had got less sensitive, and had pretty much stopped registering up the top left side. So I decided to get to the bottom of it, and give you guys the tip on how to do it ... as most of the BM66 I play, the crane doesn’t work as it should.
Firstly - it is a very simple mechanism.
The way it works -
- one switch wire attaches to the spring via the 1/4 bolt at the top of the spring.
- one wire attaches to the housing that surrounds the spring. The one that is held on with 4x Allen bolts
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Here is the underside of the crane - you can see the wire and the bolt that holds the spring in.
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The way it works is simple.
You hit the ball.
Ball moves spring
Spring touches surrounding bracket
Circuit is completed
Crane hit registers
Simple huh?
Basically the same as how the tilt bob works in every pin. Tilt bob touches the surrounding ring, makes a circuit, tilt is registered.
FIRSTLY!! Before you start working on your crane, move it to the centre. DONT MOVE IT BY HAND. Go into the service menu. Then DIAG - GAME - PEN. This brings up this menu - use the red buttons to move the crane to the centre. Test all the positions while you’re there.
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Try not to move the crane around while working on it! To do these fixes, you only need to remove the 4x Allen bolts and remove the housing. I suggest putting a rag under the crane lest you drop something on your PF.
So, back to the repair. I see a few potential issues that can cause “no hits”
1/ loose switch wires
My bottom one was tight, but top one was a little loose. Crane vibration could very well cause the bolts to loosen over time.
SOLUTION - tighten bolts up tight!
2/ Bad connection.
Metal tarnished on the switch wire tabs, not making good electrical contact.
SOLUTION - remove bolts, get some sandpaper and brighten up the metal on both the wire tab, and the housing itself. Then tighten the bolts up tightly.
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3/ tarnished spring - poor electrical contact
You can see in the photo below, my spring is a little second hand looking. I ran some fine sandpaper around it and brightened it back up. You want good metal-metal contact for this switch to work properly.
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I did all 3 things, and my crane is back to “better than new!”
So simple.
Hopefully that helps some of you guys to make your crane nice and snappy again.
rd
This is a sweet breakdown dave...but how about if the crane is TOO sensitive?
Doesn't look like there's a way to move the alignment of the spring or bracket?
