Looking for an Eight Ball Deluxe within two hours of South Central Pennsylvania. No projects--I'd like a fully functional machine. I'd also prefer the '81 or '84 models, not the LE. PM me if you have one for sale. Thanks.

Can someone tell me what this lamp is supposed to indicate? I've seen it on different machines but it's a mystery to me.

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My new-to-me Eight Ball Deluxe has a problem I'm trying to sort out.

When pressing the left flipper button, the upper flipper stays in the extended position. As soon as I apply a slight push to the flipper itself, it springs back to its resting position. If I just tap the button very slightly the flipper doesn't stick, but any normal use of the button will cause the sticking.

Is this a common problem, and is it OK to spray some PB Blaster lubricant into the shaft where the shaft goes into the coil, or is that a no-no?

I did swap one of the other flippers into its position and the same thing happens.

Wow, those side exit lanes allow the ball to drain more than I recall on just about any other game. Is it just the nature of the beast or has anyone adjusted anything or added posts to cut down on that?

I hadn't noticed that. Thanks for the tip.

Interestingly, the left post had two other holes drilled (it was set in the middle position), but the right post had no additional holes.

Ughhh. I just got done switching over the playfield lighting (and under the playfield) to LEDs, and some of them are flickering, even though they're supposed to be non-ghosting.

Also, the right target bank is not popping up at all. I don't think I bumped anything but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Yes, it seems the outlandish prices on items attract watchers to see if it really sells for that price. I've done that too.

They seem fine. I'm wondering if I knocked a wire loose somewhere when I was installing the LEDs.

Ok, this is weird. Although the 7-drop-target bank doesn't reset (pop back up) at the start of the game, or for a second player, it does pop up when doing the solenoid diagnostic test. That implies there is power to the assembly, but why isn't it popping up as it should during the game?

Well, thank you for pointing me in the right direction! As soon as I put an incandescent bulb back in that spot everything works properly. So it wasn't that the coil failed, it was that that bulb somehow regulates electrical flow, and without it things won't be running at the proper voltage.

As xTheBlackKnightx said on another thread...

"IMPORTANT TECHNICAL NOTE:
DO NOT USE a LED in the SEB lamp, as this will not work in the circuit theory based on necessary voltage unless the circuit has been adjusted with resistance based on a standard Ohm's Law calculation. A lot of new owners do not seem to understand the SEB design technology and why/how it was used. Read the base schematics closely. The SEB lamp is part of lamp matrix, not the SDB, and does not draw power from this part of the game. The proper 6.5v from the SEB lamp is extremely important in order to draw enough current to the MOC3011 opto-isolator on the SEB and activate. I have already seen young technicians not understand these aspects and make this mistake repeatedly on this series of games.

The SEB lamp is not "just another feature lamp".

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I have a strange problem with the 2x and 4x multiplier on my EBD (1984 version).

When I hit the 2x, sometimes the LED under the playfield briefly lights the green 4x before switching to the 2x LED. Other times it lights up the 4x and doesn't switch to the 2x indicator. If I actually get to the point of hitting the 4x target, the LED doesn't advance to that (it stays on 3x), and no sound indicates that any change occurred.

The wiring doesn't look like there is any problem, but if I trace the wires back to the board is there a way to know whether they are connected to the appropriate socket? Is there a diagram that shows where each wire (2x and 4x) should be connected?

I'm guess the lamp module is correct because in attract mode the lamps 2x, 3x, 4x, and 5x light up in the proper order. Is that a correct assumption?

I also have ALLTEK boards replacing some of the originals. Do those wiring diagrams still pertain to me?

Also, why on the wiring diagrams do they show 2 4x locations and not a 5x location--is that a typo?

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The factory setup was the plastics where the ball rolls along them and the metal on top. I was having ball-hop issues and found that swapping the metal and plastic positions helped alleviate that, but later I ordered skinnier flippers, which allowed me to swap back the plastic and metal guides to their normal positions. It may be that others have swapped the guides for a similar reason.

That's good to know. Where did you source the repro from?

One of the problems I'm trying to solve on my EBD is shown in this video. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

It's been this way since I bought it 2 months ago. Just trying to sort out the issues one by one. Good to know about the '3 ball' callout simply being that it's set to three ball mode. Thanks!

My multipliers are also odd. Hit the 2x target and it momentarily lights the 4x lamp before changing back to the 2x lamp. It scores as 4x though. I tried tracing the wires back to the board, but I've got replacement boards and I don't think the original schematics match what I've got.

Thanks for those suggestions and the lengthy response! I'll check it out later after work.

Where would this switch matrix be in the machine?

The switches all seem to be about 1/16" apart.

As far as the schematic not matching, when I look at the wiring under the playfield, I see that the 2x multiplier has a white/green wire coming from it.

When I follow that wire, it goes to the Alltek board J2 position 8, not J1 position 27 as in the wiring diagram (I don't think there even is a position 27 on the Alltek board on J1).

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The first photo of the three shows the green/white wire coming out the top of the switch (2x multiplier is the one on the left of the bank). Using a multimeter, the continuity setting goes from OL to 0.00 when connected at each end of that green wire, so I know I've got the proper wire at the board.

Ok, I understand that now. The lamps are almost always correct though, it's the scoring of the multiplier that seems to be off. BTW, is there supposed to be a call-out for the multiplier when it's dropped? I never hear anything said when hitting any of the multipliers.

I'll post a video to better explain things.

Here's the video showing the Multiplier problem. When the 2x is hit, it briefly lights the 4x lamp before switching to the 2x lamp (occasionally the 4x lamp stays on and doesn't switch to the 2x lamp). It scores as 4x though. Once the 3x is hit, the proper lamp lights up, but it still scores as 4x. When the 4x is hit, no sound is made, the 3x lamp stays lit, and scoring stays at 4x. When 5x is hit it does advance scoring to 5x and the proper lamp is lit.

I don't have a pin removal tool, but would I be able to bend the pin 45 degrees to test without it and then bend it back, or are they more brittle than that?

I just ended up doing it this way (removed the orange/white 4x wire). It made no difference in the scoring or the lamp lighting.

Are you saying to unplug this connection?

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Well, I'll be damned! I did as you suggested and not only is the one-ball / three-ball problem solved, but the multipliers are working fine too!

Of course, it's a pain to have to keep opening the head to plug that connection back in just to put up credits on the game, so I do have to narrow it down further.

If it's a problem with the coin door (all the wires look Ok to my untrained eye), or the cabinet, where should I look next? I really appreciate your suggestions!

BTW, I did swap out LEDs into the coin slot sockets--could that have caused a problem?

Well, it wasn't the LEDs. Swapped back in the incandescents and still have the problem.

I'll have to look at the manual. I went through some of the self tests and saw drop targets dropping one by one and resetting, but I don't recall anything happening with the door.

I pressed the button 5 times and a flashing "0" appears in the ball-in-play display.

The diodes on the coin door look good. I don't see anything wrong there.

The numbers 16 (slam--inside of door), 10 (add credits), and 6 (use credits to play) lit up when each button/switch was activated. There is a coil and diode on the inside of the door that doesn't activate in any way. It's on the mechanism that accepts coins.

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Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be out of town for the next week and won't be able to do much more, but I'll probably have more questions then.

Does anybody have an image of this area (tilt area) inside the body of EBD? I clipped a few wires and unhooked a couple ground wires trying to solve my electrical issues and now the add credits button isn't adding credits. I should have snapped a photo before being so reckless. This image I already have isn't clear enough to really see how things should be hooked up.

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You guys are awesome! Thank you.

OK, I've got everything temporarily reconnected, except for this "diode" or whatever it is that I broke. Still not able to add credits so I'm guessing I need to replace this component. Anyone know its specs?

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Setting the first replay at 10,000 is great for adding credits, but we're used to using scoring thresholds for extra balls. Can the 10,000 level be set for replay, and the other two scoring thresholds be set for extra balls? It doesn't appear so if I'm reading the manual correctly.

Thanks for that. I made both switch changes you mention, but the credit is still displaying the number of credits and its counting them down as I lose games. What will happen when it gets down to zero?

Yeah, I definitely switched #27 on and off a couple times to verify and the display did not go off. Also tried switch 20 and 16, which the Alltek website said are sometimes used for the credit display. No dice. This was all done after the left switch on the Game Select was shifted up to the ON position.

Is it possible that because the extra button and wiring is present to add credits that it's not allowing the MPU to go into free play mode?

I was wondering about this myself. What I assume is the model number on the board (HS3 94V-0) doesn't match what Alltek has on their website now.

Just wanted to give a shout-out to Dave at Alltek. He's gone beyond the call of duty to help me get my EBD working properly. Excellent customer service and warranty on Alltek boards.

Referring to my posts from about a month ago, it turned out to be a problem with the coin switches (or their wiring). I snipped the wiring to them and the multiplier problem and 1-ball/3-ball problem went away. Thanks very much to everyone who helped narrow things down to this!

I think I have everything sorted out on my EBD now, except for one thing...

The blue 70,000 bonus lamp (up the left lane) stays on all the time. It's always lit, and even in self-test mode, it stays lit while the other lamps blink (except for the GI lamps). It's as if it is linked to the GI wiring, but when I look under the playfield it is wired just like the other lamps in that lane.

Any suggestions?

My right flipper is gradually getting weaker over the course of the last week. It now barely pops the ball up to the multiplier most of the time. Any suggestions as to how to figure out what's wrong?

The soldering under the playfield looks good and the flipper moves smoothly by hand.

The plot thickens...

Now the right flipper is delaying by about a 1/2 second from the time of pressing the button to when it actually flips. It does make the game more challenging!

I thought using a file was frowned upon due to wearing off coatings. I guess if it's not working otherwise I might as well though.

My EBD started having intermittent sound issues a couple months ago. Last week the sound went out completely. Reseating the connectors has had no effect, and when I was done doing that and powered the game back up, all I get is "8" on the 'ball in play' indicator with no other lights or sounds coming on and the machine not booting up.

Any suggestions?

Anybody?

Here's what the game does when it is switched on...

The LED flashes 2 times, pauses, and flashes 5 additional times. It's an Alltek replacement board.

I appreciate your response, but which board is the power supply rectifier board? And where do I connect the voltmeter's probes to? The link shows the boards in the backbox, but I don't know if they correspond to my 1984 version, and none of the labels in the link's photo refer to a rectifier board.

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Ok, you're going to swat me, but I discovered one of the fuses on the power board was blown. It's in position F4, which the manual states should house a 32V-5A fuse. The blown fuse is a 125V-5A fuse. Does that matter, or should I order what the manual states I should use (I'm running mostly LEDs, if that makes a difference).