I have a small problem with the drop targets on my Big Brave. Sometimes, not always, the target highest up on the machine will reset then quickly drop back down. When this happens it will award another 500 points and stay on player number one. It may do this for a couple of balls, then reset and move to player two. It may happen once in ten games. Is this a mechanical or electrical problem?

The springs are all there and appear to be okay. No broken targets. I did find this under the playfield. Maybe it will help. The coil was missing the mounting screw on one side. I found the screw earlier when I first got the machine.

IMG_0684 (resized).jpg

IMG_0685 (resized).jpg

The problem did not go away. I cleaned the the back side of the blades where the mechanism slides against it with scotchguard to remove any friction there. We'll see if that helps.

I may have found the problem with the one drop target not always resetting. I found an old thread with that had the same problem. The throw on the coil plunger is not enough to always reset the problem target. It is the fifth and farthest away from the coil. When the plunger is activated by hand you can see how the force diminishes the farther away it gets from the coil. The problem was cured by adjusting the position of the coil. I can't get the screws loose to do this while playfield is tilted up. Man are they tight. I'm sure I'll bugger up the screw slots if I don't get it in a better position. I will live with the problem for now. I want to play it. Company this weekend, so they will have to live with it. Happy Easter to all.

Success!
I finally got the 4 screws loose that secured the coil for the drop down targets. I needed a bigger screwdriver! I then moved the coil back a bit to extend the throw for the reset lever. We played for a couple hours yesterday with no issues. I also replaced the coil bracket, it came off in two pieces. Hopefully I won't be breaking any of the other targets by exerting too much force on when the reset lever kicks them up to reset. We'll see. Thanks for all the help from everyone. This could not have been accomplished without this site. On to the next issue...bonus advance doesn't always advance.

IMG_0712 (resized).jpg

IMG_0720 (resized).jpg

The bracket and stop have been replaced.

I swear these games appear to need worked on as much as played. I finally have my drop targets working so I think I'm ready to play some pinball. Well not quite. The "G" rollover quit scoring, the switch was too far apart. Now I'm ready to play. Nope. Now the "I" rollover light is out, the switch was too close and sticking. Is this how it is with EM machines? The playfield seems to be up more than down. I'll quit whining.

I think this game intends for me to continue working on it. I cleaned up the bonus stepper the best I could short of disassembly, it helped but still sticks occasionally. Maybe it will free up with more play. Now the credit replay decided to randomly work. Sometimes it will award a credit for a high score, sometimes it will not. Sometimes when I match it will award as many as 4 credits, sometimes it does not give you a credit. Not a big deal because it is set for free play but we all like to hear that "knock" when a game is won.

I did exactly as you did with a precision clock oiler. I only did the the metal pivot points. It is doing so much better. I did spray a degreaser first and only to the pivot arms. All the plastic pieces were protected. I finished up by putting a dab of dielectric grease on the the copper contacts. Still randomly awards credits, no big deal.

I finally figured out what was going on with the bonus stepper. I cleaned the heck out of it, twice. It helped somewhat but still wouldn't award bonus advances correctly. I started playing with the mechanism and discovered that the lever was not able to travel down to the next tooth. I adjusted the coil position to allow this to happen. They certainly put those screws on tight! Guess what? It played great. No more missed bonus points. It even racked up 5 bonus advances when the Vari target was pushed all the way back. I had to test that manually because I have been unable to accomplish that while I'm playing. That will be the next thing I try to fix.

IMG_0733_LI (resized).jpg

IMG_0735_LI (resized).jpg

IMG_0736_LI (resized).jpg

When I first picked up my machine I noticed that the tilt wire had been cut in to near the plumb bob. Not a big deal. Now I want to fix it, my wife shakes the crap out of it. I had to slice in a piece of wire to make it reach. At first I connected the wires wrong and would only tilt when the extra ball rolled down to the switch contact. I switched the wires and now both the plumb bob and ball rollover work. I did cheat and use wire connectors to connect to the switch. I did solder the wire splice. It is adjusted for mild shaking. We'll see what happens if she tilts it. I'm not going to tell her.

IMG_0650 (resized).jpg

IMG_0738 (resized).jpg

Well I paid the price and tilted on the last ball with a bunch of points on the table. My better half thought it was hilarious. It works anyway. On to the next item on the agenda, the vari target. I could never bottom out the shot to collect 5000 points and 5 advances on the bonus. I hit it pretty hard and the most I could get would be 4000. I backed the spring of 1/4 turn to next hole in the slot. That seems to be the sweet spot. If it is backed off anymore, the target has a slower reset. I finally pushed that target all the way back and collected the bonus and the points. Hooray! I'm finding out I can recognize and fix mechanical issues much more than the electrical ones. I hope that part gets easier.