Hi all. I posted a question in a related thread but was advised to start a new thread instead. So, here goes.

I am having issues starting a game on my Eye of the Tiger. I have just finished cleaning this game up after buying it non-working. This is my first EM but I am experienced with DMD machine repair so please give me the benefit of the doubt while I try to realign my troubleshooting skills

Upon powering up, I can start a game by activating the start relay manually. No issues at all - everything seems to work fine. However, I cannot start a game via the start button.

Upon power up, game over relay and 1st ball relay engage. After pressing start, the start relay engages, disengages, engages, and keeps going. Same thing happens to the add player unit relay. I can also see the CX relay pulling in repeatedly (but not releasing). I inspected the add player unit relay and the CX relay. All of the switches seem to make and/or break as they should. The gaps are good. I have not tried to file any contacts; I simply cleaned them by wiping with paper. However, I did notice that a couple of switches did not behave properly when I tested them with my meter (i.e. not making or not breaking even when the contacts were clearly touching or breaking away freely - I assume this is because the meter was finding continuity through another relay somewhere??).

Meanwhile, while the above relays are turning on and off, the score motor keeps turning. Also, the stepper in the backbox keeps advancing. The stepper coil moves freely and all of the switch stacks are actuated properly once the stepper rotates around. I have not tried to service the stepper yet. I have lubed the score motor with a drop of oil on the felt pad and otherwise inspected it and could not see any issues with it.

The only other issue in the backbox is that the credit unit does not decrement nicely. It looks like the plunger is gummed up. I haven't tried to clean it out yet, but could this be contributing? I've noticed that, at 0 credits, the score motor will keep rotating and the game isn't able to be started at all. With credits, I get the behaviours I've described above. I also think the zero position switch has been removed as I tried to set the game to free play but the switch I need to adjust appeared to be missing. I've attached a photo.

Here is a video of what is happening:

Some additional things I have noticed:

When in attract mode, I can get the game to start by opening the tilt switch on the coin door. Is this expected behaviour?

Most of the playfield switches are normally open, but when I test them with my meter, I get continuity even though the contacts are not touching. Is this expected behaviour? Seems to be consistent with some of the switches on the relays as I described above.

That's all for now. Hopefully someone can guide me in the right direction for troubleshooting.

IMG_5038 (resized).JPG

Which parts of the schematic do you need?

Regardless, I made some progress on this tonight.

I checked the relays for the score reels as well as the add player relay in the backbox. All seemed OK but I adjusted a couple of the switches for better gaps. Then, I checked the bonus unit and made sure each of the switches activated properly. One of these things did the trick, as the game now resets properly and starts when pressing the start button. Any ideas which one is more likely than the other?

I think there are still issues with the bonus unit, because as soon as the ball enters the outhole, it continually adds 10 in bonus and doesn't stop until the game is switched off. Any ideas on that one?

Still trying to track down a manual however I should have one soon.

I made some progress though. The game now rests and starts without issue. However my main problem now is that when the ball drains in the outhole, sometimes it will not get kicked out into the shooter lane for ball 2. The score motor keeps turning and the ball return relay keeps clicking on however the ball return coil doesn't fire. It works some of the time so the return assembly itself is ok. Outhole switch is good. While this is happening the star rollovers and pop bumper lights also turn on and off.