I just noticed that you started a Campus Queen thread, literally days after I started mine. There are barely any threads about it in general, so I thought it as pretty amusing you and I created separate threads about CQ within a week of each other. Several of my issues mirror yours, so our progress is very similar. I had no power initially, but in my case it was because of a bad connection to the left flipper. Once I fixed that, I was able to get the illumination on flipper press.

I find it funny several of our issues have been the same thus far. You've had a lot more responses to your thread than I have to mine, so it's been a useful reference. I already have a copy of the schematic, received it a few days ago, so if you need me to look over certain parts or provide some info from it, please let me know, I'd be happy to help.

Hopefully we can each get our CQ's back to full life soon!

Yep, I can look on my schematic and tell you what the coil is MechaG. I'm at work, but I'll check when I get home and come back to post about it.

+1 to what 4Max said about PBR. Great stock of stuff, but it's not always intuitive when searching for it on their site. I wish they had a simple "search" feature at least. I've resorted to calling or emailing them in the past, and they've been very good about getting back to me, even providing links to places that have more info if they don't have it.

Also, the best thing to do is start a list of parts/things you'll need. I just made the mistake of ordering a ton of stuff for two projects, then of course noticed something else missing from my CQ that I'll need, so I'm smacking my forehead. Thankfully PBR is good on shipping cost from what I've found, so it won't kill me, but it's frustrating to order 10 parts and then realize a day later you need one more.

If you go with PBR, first time orders should be done over the phone, and they don't charge you, they invoice you and you have to pay after you receive your shipment (personal check is fine). I pay right away so I don't forget. Make a list, find as many part numbers as you can before you call, and they'll be really nice about it. If you just call and say "I need parts for my Campus Queen" and don't have some of the info, they can get frustrated I've heard. They know you won't know everything and they'll help, but don't call completely unprepared, just my two cents. I've spoken with Steve and emailed with Jimmy, both were helpful and nice. Here are some things I would order if you don't already have them:

- QTY (2) Flexstone File (Part Num FLX) I got two because I lose stuff... one will last a long time, but they're like $1 or something so get more than one imo
- QTY (1) Metal Contact File (Part Num FILE) Haven't really needed it, but good to have and not pricey
- QTY (1) L Contact Adjuster (Part Num ADJ) A must-have in my opinion. Way better than using needlenose or something like that.
- A few replacement switch blades and contacts, just in case, since they're cheap
- Coil Sleeves - If you have completely fried coils, replace them obviously, but if they're just a little sticky/slow, consider taking them apart and just replacing their coil sleeves if they are worn.
- Rubber Ring Kit for your game (unless you've already replaced them) - Sounds like you've got enough life in the game, and you're going to keep trying to fix it, so I'd consider just ordering this to save yourself the hassle later
- Cleaner (Novus 1, 2, and 3 products... I got mine in a 3-pack from Amazon with Prime shipping, but PBR has them too if you want)

There's plenty of other stuff, I'm sure other users here will offer up some advice. Those were simply what popped into my head, things I've used regularly on my first two EM projects (which are still in-progress).

I'm new to it as well. I have one other EM I'm working on, and thanks to folks on here and some local enthusiasts, it's now functional and is more in the restoration phase than mechanical fixing. Reading the schematics can be rough until you get the hang of it (which I haven't fully yet). Even worse, every machine is a little different, especially by brand and age, so no matter what you learn, there's always something else to surprise you.

I'll check my schematic and let you know the coil you need when I get home later.

I found the flexstone, for just $1 was well worth having for the hard-to-reach areas that a less-bendy metal file or dremel can't reach. Sometimes you don't want to dismantle a whole bunch of stuff just to reach a little switch contact that the flexstone can handily get to, so I'd still get one considering how cheap they are, but that's just my two cents. I mostly used the dremel for rust/gunk removal, cleaning jones connectors, etc.

Grab some Super Lube Grease too if you haven't already picked it up. It only goes on specific things, but it's been a godsend for both EM projects in terms of repair/cleaning.

Back on repair topic - MechaG, I just got mine up and running for Player 1. In my case, the Player Up Unit in the top of the head was sticking sometimes, and it was clearly causing issues. I took it apart, cleaned it, and super-lubed the contacts on the stepper. Everything moved much smoother, so I fired up the pin and sure enough Player 1 can play a complete game, balls 1 thru 5 and the expected Game Over on 5th ball drain occurs. I haven't gotten Players 2 thru 4 going yet, but this is a big step. I'll post over in my own thread, but wanted to let you know about the Player Up Unit being a possible issue.

The outhole kicker image you linked is basically identical to my Campus Queen setup I believe.

I just updated my CQ thread, but now somehow I'm back to exactly where MechaGregor is... same exact problem. Ball in the outhole, same ball return relay repeat-firing and reset loop he's got. I had the dang thing working, and now it's doing this again. At least I know once we figure this out, we'll both be moving to the next step haha.

0-9 Match Unit is actually correct. They used the same mount they use for other steppers, so there's a coil position there, but there is NOT a second coil required for that unit. Mine's the same as yours. So don't order anything there, I think you're good.

Which coil did you remove?

If your Player Up Unit is sticking on the back orange coil (that's the "advance" coil, the one closer to the back of the head is the reset of that unit), try a simple trick: take some rubbing alcohol (preferably 90%+, 99% if you can find it) and clean some of the gunk on the coil plunger. You can actually push the plunger in and out as you use a cutip with alcohol on it to clean it. Doesn't always work, but I've found more often than not it's a quick fix in some cases. Obviously a better thing to do would be take things apart, clean, check to see if coil sleeve needs replacing, etc. You should definitely be able to manually advance and reset that Player Up Unit though.

Check the exact same stuff Fred suggested in my CQ thread. I emailed it to you, worked great for me.

These aren't great pics, but hopefully you can at least get a general idea. If there's stuff you can't read, let me know. Including the Player Up Step-Up Unit and Player Up Reset. Forgot to circle them. Step Up unit is bottom left of the pic, Reset is on the second pic towards the top/mid area.

CQ_PLayer_Up_StepUp_(resized).jpg
CQ_Player_Up_Reset_(resized).jpg

They call the credit wheel the Reply Unit, here's a shot of that section. Sorry it's not high res, I can provide more detail if needed, let me know.

MechaGregor - can you take a couple of close-up pics of your ball return relay (check my thread for reference to the type of pics I mean). I just want to see if anything is out of whack on yours, like it was on mine. Also, check "Reset 3" in the head. It's the relay in the bottom right-hand corner of the head.

CQ_Replay_Unit_(resized).jpg

Edit: Double post, apologies.

100% agree with Fred on that relay. Looks out of whack to me. Since that same relay is what was causing me to have the identical problem you had earlier (Ball Return repeatedly firing and outhole kicker doing nothing), I would advise doing as he says and cleaning/adjusting it. Check out the same exact relay on my machine by going to my post here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/campus-queen-bally-1966-startup-problem#post-2987131

Aside from mine having a missing contact face, they're in pretty decent alignment. Yours seem bent and moved around a bit. I'd straighten them out and see if that helps. Your make/break (far left group of 3 switches in your pics) look really close together and all bent the same direction. In resting state, you want the furthest two blades to the left touching. When the relay pulls, you want the middle blade to release it's contact from the far left blade and make contact with the 3rd blade in that make/break group instead.

It's hard to see the bottom switches on the far right, but those look a little off too. In resting state, all contacts should be separated except the first two to the far left in that make/break. After the relay is activated, all contacts should be touching except for those far two to the left. Hope that makes sense.

Note: always have the ball in the outhole when pressing start... not doing that seems to confuse the heck out of my Campus Queen.

Agree with Fred on this, the weird bending and multiple-contact-touching thing is almost certainly your main issue right now. The make/break switch (3 switches to the left of your pic/video) have to function properly, or you'll get exactly the results you're getting. I know, because my CQ was identical in terms of issues until I fixed that same switch issue.

Let's check that make/break switch, the 3 blades to the far left. Easy test you can perform with your meter. Set to continuity, test the 3 blades while the coil is NOT energized. Let's call the far left blade #1, middle blade #2, and right-hand blade #3. In resting state, #1 and #2 should be making contact, and the third blade should just be sitting there doing nothing. When the coil is energized, #2 and #3 should be touching, and #1 should NOT be touching anything.

It looks like in your video that all 3 are touching and the coil is locked energized, which is incorrect. I'm going to try and post some side-by-side pics of your Ball Return vs. Mine so you can see the differences in the blades, the bends, etc. Yours is on the left of the pic, mine on the right. Note how straight and aligned my blades are vs. yours. I think if you can realign it all properly, you'll be happy with the result.

NOTE: My blade #3 is slightly bent towards the other two. This is because I'm missing a contact on that blade. Your 3rd blade should be a little straighter than mine most likely.

CQ_Ball_Return_Compare_(resized).jpg

Nope, you don't usually need to disassemble anything. I've done all my adjusting with things sitting as-is so far. The adjustment tool Fred is referring to is the same one I mentioned in an earlier post about what to order first. At Pinball Resource it's under tools and called a "L" Contact Adjuster (~$4.50). You can also get it on eBay (just search pinball tool) or other pinball sites like Marco specialties. I have to admit, when I need to adjust blades, it's a very handy tool to have. You can use needle-nose pliers as well, especially if you have smaller electronics ones, but working in tight spaces like relays it's a little tougher. Another trick you can use is two standard flathead screwdrivers putting pressure on either side of the blade to gently bend it. That way you can using opposing forces to really control the shape.

Honestly, it's just the first 3 blades on the left (your make/break switch) that look really messed up. I would just take some time to tweak them until you are certain they make the contact pattern described above when the coil is off vs. on. They don't HAVE to be straight, they just have to operate as intended. Mess around with it and see what you can do, be patient, you'll get it.

Both very good points. get that center blade straigtened and then adjust the other two accordingly. The center blade in that make/break is the one that's actually attached to the relay/coil mechanism, so it has to be in the right place more than the other two, since you can move those around a lot more easily. Note that my center blade is straight, but not necessarily perpendicular to the rest of the mechanism.