You'll need to first pull out the 1000 point score reel assembly and take a close look at its switches to see how they operate. Manually rotate the score reel by pushing in the solenoid plunger. The score reel should smoothly click to the different number positions. Make sure the switches are clean and adjusted properly. If the score reel is sticking, it will need to be disassembled and cleaned. Also, take a look at the 1000 point relay and examine those switches...

You can usually find 25 cent coin mechs on Ebay. 5 cent and 10 cent coin mechs are a little bit tougher to find. I found a listing at one of the pinball parts retailers, but I don't know the quality of these mechs:

https://www.pinballlife.com/25-cent-standard-coin-mech.html

So you are the one that snapped it up, didn't stay listed very long.
If the spinners are not "balanced", that is if they do not return to open switch status the outhole and other features will not work until the switch is open.
I adjusted each spinner, switch and activation arm to where it is free, centered and not binding in any way, also waxed/polished the wire pivot arms.
The trick is to tighten down the spinner unit gently side to side while checking free motion.

Looked like a nice machine with all paperwork, I don't think you paid too much, I'm getting ready to list one for several hundred more in like shape. Grand Prix is very desirable machine with many people looking for one. Even though they made many they rarely come up for sale since so many owners keep them forever.
Keep us posted on your spinner issue, its an art to get them right and I am still learning myself.

Well you picked a doozie for your first one. probably more relays and steppers than any other EM game.

tackle issues one at a time, and don't get caught up in thinking one issue is related to the next, they often aren't.

So let's start with the 1000 points and your stuck/buzzing score reels and relays.

Yes, clean and adjust the 1000 point reel. But also put the game on player 2 and see if it's still happening. If it isn't, it's probably the 1000 point reel. If it is, check the often overlooked 1000 point relay in the back of the head. In fact, clean/adjust (if needed) all of the point relays in the back of the head. These are often a source of trouble and people don't even realize it.

On my Grand Prix, the game wouldn't score AT ALL. No points. I checked all sorts of the usual suspects (index relay/game over etc.) before realize every single one of the scoring relays in the head needed attention. That's where I'd check first. Good news is these are very easy to locate and service.

You also may have a stuck 100 point switch somewhere on the playfield which could explain the weird spinner and eject issues. But again, could also be those point relays.

Good luck buddy! You are gonna need it!

Check your game for cold solder joints. On my Grand Prix it wouldn't eject a ball. The wire looked like it was soldered to the coil but it had a loose solder joint. I had 3-4 other wires on the game with bad joints. Give them all a tug and make sure they are soldered on securely. You also need to methodically go through all score reels and make sure they are adjusted right. Took me a while to get my game running but it has been Rock solid since going through everything.

Congrats on the pickup! Grand Prix is one of my favorite EMs. Just curious as to what you picked yours up for? I paid $750 for mine around Christmas non working but with good cosmetics. Thought at the time I might have overpaid but the game was within an hour drive and now that it's playing great it seems well worth the money!

For the extra ball/free game, there should be a plug that you move to select.

For the chimes, lay a rag on top of the bars. That will deaden the sound, or not bother and she will get used to them.

There is only one (Playfield Protectors in Germany),though there are several Vendors, expect to pay around 140 dollars unless you catch a sale.

They light in sequential order up the lane.

The chimes have a simple 4-prong Jones plug connecting them to the right female bank at the front of the bottom board, with power unplugged (too close to the transformer and live voltage to stick your hand in there) pull the plug. The Knocker also plugs in here.

That's the anti-lift tilt. It tilts the game if a player tries to lift the game to avoid losing the ball as it's about to drain.

That would be a mistake. This forum is full of posts from people who tried shotgun cleaning & adjustments, and caused more problems than they were originally trying to solve.
What to do instead: Slowly and carefully diagnose one problem at a time and then fix only that.
http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index2.htm#clean

Please be more specific what the problem is.

With machine reset and power off observe the left bonus unit;
Are contact fingers aligned on copper rivets in zero position? (Manual illustrates zero position)
As you manually activate bonus unit do finger move smoothly from rivet to rivet maintaining good contact and proper position?
Is brown bakelight rivet panel in line with steel unit as a whole? There are screws under contact finger unit to adjust.

Check the "delay" relay. It's hanging underneath the playfield.

The point of this relay is when you hit the spinners, it keeps the kickout holes (all of them!) from scoring until the spinner stops. It's activated by the spinners.

The problem is when it acts up, the kickout holes will never register.

This could be your problem.

If not check the eject hole relay, could be a switch in there.

When the ball goes in the left bonus hole and the game does nothing = the Left Bonus relay doesn't activate, Inspect and diagnose this circuit with Alligator clip jumper wires
http://www.planetimming.com/Pinball/troubleshooting/EM%20Troubleshooting.pdf
http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index3.htm#features

Pinball (resized).png

Picture isn't great but shows the brown rivet panel isn't square with the rest of the unit
Remove spider, noting orientation on the shaft (it can only go on one of two ways).
Locate 4 screws that hold riveted plate onto steel backing, loosen and adjust till square. Tighten.
Replace spider and confirm it is in the zero/ start position.

When I was chasing this same bogeyman I discovered this as well as a switch on the score motor with arcing solder points. I am not sure which solved the issue but I believe the stepper was the culprit.

IMG_1900 (resized).JPG

The first statement quoted is not true. This forum is not full of such posts, no matter how many time it gets repeated.

You could mess things up if you're careless but if you understand how relays and switches work you will be ok.

Understanding isn't enough. Inexperienced fingers routinely bump into delicate internal parts and throw them out of adjustment.

Delicate? LOL

The only way to learn is to get in there and do it. If you're scared to touch things you'll never learn.

You really think unleashing a newbie to "shotgun" a mostly working Grand Prix is a great idea?

Not following you on this one man. Would likely cause more problems than he'd solve.

On this game, no. I was speaking more to the idea that guys screw up games all the time and post about it here. I would be very careful with this game, but then again, I continually post that guys shouldn't buy a GP as their first game, but they keep doing it. Better to start with a nice single player and go from there. It depends on what they do. Just cleaning points is not a real hard deal. If they start taking relays and steppers apart, that's something else.

If a noob can fix this game, nothing else will ever be hard.

You'll never learn if you don't try. I'm just weary of repetitive macro posts that aren't really true.

Hi
what is meant (post-15) with "try shotgun cleaning - adjusting" - the dix knows "shotgun marriage", to give it a shot, to have a shot at. A shotgun is a type of gun, rifle, long gun, probably to shoot birds with special ammunition - does it mean "fast / careless working" ?
The first sentence in post-15 "That would be a mistake." - is it true or not true ? At least I would say "That would be superfluous".
But maybe the second sentence in post-15 is "attacked": "This forum is full of posts ... caused more problems ...". How about "In this forum there are too many posts ...".
It makes me shiver when a newbie states: "Maybe the fault is in Score-Motor-Switch 1A or 3C - I'm gonna adjust all the motor switches". I use Jumper-Wires and/or Test-Lights to nail down "the fault must be on this switch" - then I do work on this switch.
I may use slightly other words - but overall I agree with HowardR 's post-15. Greetings Rolf

Stop hijacking other peoples' repair threads, @emsinkc, to indulge your sibling rivalry.

Unlike other types of guns that fire a single bullet projectile, a shotgun fires multiple pellets (like numerous small ball bearings). When the shot (proper word for the pellets) exists the barrel, it spreads out in a circular pattern. So if you fire a shotgun at a wall, you'll have a scattering of hits roughly in a circular pattern.

"Shotgun cleaning" implies a semi-random pattern of "just clean / adjust anything that *might* be related to the problem and see if the problem goes away". For someone who lacks experience cleaning and adjusting switches, there is a significant chance that this approach will introduce new problems without actually solving the original issues.

I think this is Macro #4

Sorry if this is off topic but what is the best way of carefully adjusting and cleaning switches?

You'll get a lot of different answers on this one, so I'll give you mine.

You need an adjustment tool that you can buy from PBR. I like to take the boards out of the game where I can put them up on a bench and see them clearly. If you don't have the time or want to do it this way, you can clean them in the game. Just make sure you have plenty of light, especially when dealing with short frame Gottlieb AG relays that have very little throw. If you're using a flexstone, pinch the blades closed when you file to get both points.

Regular voltage contact points can be cleaned with a flexstone file. I have one I still use, but my go to now, and others on here, is a wire brush on a Dremel tool. You can clean them very quickly using one of these and it does a great job. It works better if you unscrew the relay from the board. It works even better if you remove the switch stack from the relay itself. That's a bit more advanced to do that so a flexstone file might be your best bet.

On adjusting, the first thing you should always do is tighten down the switch stacks. Over time, the bakelite spacers dry out and shrink and the screws get loose. Tighten then up, doing the screw closest to the blades first. Then, use the adjustment tool only on the short blade, not the long blade that inserts into the armature. It's a balance between getting it too close which can cause vibrations to accidently close the switch, and too far apart and it won't close. I adjust mine to where you can see a tiny bit of deflection on the short blade when the switch closes. One of the banes of EM games is the switch that looks like it is making, but isn't, and the converse, the switch that looks like it is opening, but isn't.

I guess I can be accused of using the so called "shotgun" method of cleaning and adjusting. What I say to that is, I get these games, quite often pretty dirty and quite often barely working, or not working at all. To me, it makes a ton of sense to clean it all up. I figure, yeah, I can only fix the parts that are keeping it from working, but eventually another problem is going to crop up. So I do them all. It takes time. It's tedious. You basically are looking at every single switch in the game. However, when you're done, assuming you have checked to make sure every switch is doing what it is supposed to do, you stand a pretty good chance of the game operating perfectly. It doesn't always happen, but then the adjustments are easy to make and you're good to go. I generally don't have to do much with my games once they're are restored like this. I know it's not from everyone, and often it might not be needed, but it has worked well for me. I've been doing this for awhile and my experience level is higher, but still, you're never going to learn how to really work on these games unless you really work on them. Being scared to dive in there and get your hands dirty and learn how to do it isn't the way to go, IMO. Now, if you've never worked on a game and you buy a Grand Prix, then all bets are off. That's the only game I've ever been afraid to do this on. It's more complex and it's crowded as hell in there but still, if you pay attention to what you're doing and take your time, you'll be ok. This is not building the space shuttle here.

Whatever you want to call it, it's clearly still needed.

Clearly, it's not. I have no clue what the hell you're talking about with "sibling rivalry" and I'm pretty sure you don't either, but it's in the macro, so posted it gets.

And nobody knows what you're talking about with the word "macro"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sibling_rivalry

Oh, I think they do.

And I have no siblings.

Pinball has some interesting people in it for sure.

here's the picture of mine

DSC00397 (resized).JPG

Interesting rubber placement with it coming out to front red post, I stop at post behind it and place a small post ring on the front. Not sure which is correct.

yes i saw that as well , does anyone know which is correct ?

The manual doesn't show that post if I am reading correctly. Page 9 of https://www.ipdb.org/files/1072/Williams_1976_Grand_Prix_Manual.pdf

I have read many posts and comments that these drop targets are not available, very hard to find. I find this hard to believe when so many obscure parts have been reproduced for less popular machines.
I put mylar on mine to help protect. I think they should be machined out of aluminum.

https://://www.flippers.com/catalog/product_info.phhttpsp/drop-target-bullseye-p-5544

Flippers.com has them, but they are expensive. $25 a piece.

https://www.flippers.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=drop+target&search_in_description=1

Scroll down and it's there.