(Topic ID: 325177)

Godzilla Premium Multiball Ball Lock Problem

By McNick

1 year ago


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  • 16 posts
  • 10 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 23 days ago by McNick
  • Topic is favorited by 5 Pinsiders

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#1 1 year ago

My Godzilla Premium doesn't register ball locks for Godzilla Multiball. After i make the shot, nothing happens, then the ball hunt dumps the ball out of the top of the building. This is a brand new machine with the latest software. Has anyone had this problem?

#2 1 year ago

Suspect switch 63. Does your menu have a switch test? Brand new game I'd check the connectors first.

#3 1 year ago

I have the same issue on my <50 plays GZ Prem (it was okay for about a month). When I run the Active Switch Test, it shows “VUK Exit Opto” (#64 I think?) as always active, so something is wrong.

Haven’t yet diagnosed if the opto is bad or something else is wrong. Will keep an eye on this thread.

#4 1 year ago

Yep, the No. 63 opto wasn't registering. All the wiring around this switch looked good. However I did find a nearby loop switch with the wires removed. I soldered it back together and it solved the problem.

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#5 1 year ago

Same problem after about 95 plays. It went away when I tried it again the next day. I will check soldering on that switch. Thanks for the pic.

1 month later
#6 1 year ago

Hello! Hope its alright if I post in here as I am having a similar problem, however as far as I can tell all switches and optos are functioning properly when in test, id say about 25% of the time the game does not recognize that a ball was shot through the building for the lock, but if i give the machine a few good nudges before the ball search kicks in it will recognize the lock and the game proceeds as normal. So I get the impression that there's something wrong with how the ball falls onto the VUK under the playfield. Has anyone encountered an issue like this and if so how did you fix it so the game recognizes locked balls 100% of the time.

Thanks.

2 months later
#7 1 year ago

Is it normal on the Prem to have the VUK tilted like this? I think it may be the reason 25 percent of my building VUK shots never make it to the top of the building. Thoughts? Maybe all Prem VUKs are slanted like this?

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#8 1 year ago

Come to think of it, I bet the ball is getting caught in that gap. I'll try and close that off with some plastic.

2 weeks later
#9 1 year ago
Quoted from MagicMako:

Hello! Hope its alright if I post in here as I am having a similar problem, however as far as I can tell all switches and optos are functioning properly when in test, id say about 25% of the time the game does not recognize that a ball was shot through the building for the lock, but if i give the machine a few good nudges before the ball search kicks in it will recognize the lock and the game proceeds as normal. So I get the impression that there's something wrong with how the ball falls onto the VUK under the playfield. Has anyone encountered an issue like this and if so how did you fix it so the game recognizes locked balls 100% of the time.
Thanks.

Were you able to resolve this? My game is similarly sporadic. I ran tests with no issues. Visual inspection looks fine. Variable ball recognition. Any help would be appreciated.

#10 1 year ago

Just looked at a new out-of-box Godzilla.

Playfield pitch exactly 5.7 degrees.

Not every three-ball lock, but if you get a few more balls through the lock it would 'lose the ball' and eventually go into ball search.

This is what I found:

I ran some balls through the building until one didn't register.

I shut the game off.

Gently, I took the other balls off the top of the building. I wasn't worried about these.

Then I lifted the playfield up a little, and I could hear the ball roll backward and settle on the upkicker hole, where the opto's would have been able to see it. There wasn't a 'drop' sound, so I knew that the ball was not resting in the metal trough leading to the upkicker.

All of this isn't visible, but I believe my machine would have a ball come in at a rapid rate of speed, hit the back of the upkicker channel, and come to rest on the lip where the trough that feeds the upkicker assembly is just a bit higher. This is just out of sight of the optos.

I use Felt furniture moving pads on the bottom of leg levelers, so I have these all the time:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Scotch-24-Pack-1-1-2-in-Beige-Round-Felt-Pad/1000093217

They have remarkable adhesive. I cut a piece a little less than 1/2 inch wide. These are about 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch thick, which matches the 'drop' of the trough that feeds the ball to the upkicker assembly.

The 'little less than 1/2 inch' piece allowed the ball to easily drop fully into the hole where the upkicker rod is, and almost gave the ball no place to go except where it should end up... in the hole, blocking the optos.

I then tested 30 times. No failure. Then, of course, something not so good. The ball hit, I could hear it rattle and the upkicker fired ?early? And the ball was somehow in there and the normal ball search couldn't dislodge it. I had to lift the playfield to get the ball where it needed to go... though you could probably lift the front of the machine if this happened while the glass was on.

So I'm not sure this is a fix.

I think if I were in my shop I'd have made a small wedge shaped ramp out of plastic or metal to guide the ball to the upkicker hole.

Something about 3/16 at the tall side, tapering down to provide a ramp, a little less than 1/2 inch deep and an inch or so wide. Really good double sided tape to apply it... making sure I've prepped the surfaces for the tape with an alcohol pad.

If I end up going back on this service call, I'll post here what I did for a better solution.

3 weeks later
#11 11 months ago

I'm having this issue with a brand new game as well. I'm not really clear on where the ball goes when it goes in. Without removing anything I can see the hole but there is no kicker right there, it looks like it curves under the building(or does that run behind the backboard and then travel back up)

8 months later
#12 85 days ago

This problem has crept back up. Now, the VUK kicks the ball to the building, but the machine doesn't recognize the locked ball. I ran an active switch test and tested opto switches 63 & 64 and they are fine. In play it happens ~10% of the time. During a switch test I checked 63 & 64 many many times without problem. If anyone has found a fix, let me know. This makes the game almost unplayable. I read response #10 from PinRetail , but I don't think that is my issue as the VUK does kick my ball onto the building. It has to be switch No. 63, but for the life of me, I can't reproduce the problem during a test. I do have the most current software update.

#13 85 days ago

Having a similar issue lately.

I've been toying with the VUK - it's getting better. But lately I've had locked balls not recognized.

Possible this could be a lighting reflection issue? I'm thinking like a garage door opener safety beam in the sun? Never had to deal with optos before.

#14 85 days ago

@ronss2, you may be onto something. I turned off the lights and played 2 games without a problem. I'll report back if the trend continues. If that is the issue, perhaps I'll come up with a way to shield the 63 opto from ambient light.

#15 85 days ago

I still have the same issue also. Seems like after the first couple of games, it happens alot less.

2 months later
#16 23 days ago

This is the message I received from Stern support. It sounds like I have bad opto sensor that still passes the individual test.

___________________

Thalia Cruz (Stern Pinball)

Dec 27, 2023, 10:49 AM CST
Good morning,

It could be that you have a faulty opto set then. Keep in mind that the single switch test isolates the switches to only focus on them while testing. During game play, everything else is up and running along with the switches so if the switch is faulty, the over power of all the components running at once can cause it only to fail during game play.

You can enter single switch test and also tap on the opto boards for switches 63 and 64. If either set activates when you tap them, then the set is going bad and will need to be replaced. You can also check the wiring on the opto board connectors to make sure they are not loose at all or if you have another opto set, you can swap them to see if the issue persists or if it goes away.

For the business card trick, it will be the vertical gap going into the horizonal vuk, so both parts will be connected by the piece of business card.

Thank you,

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