If the Start relay (SB) on the 10 bank doesn't trip when you press the Replay button, 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
Example of a pinsider actually doing this https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/red-baron-tech-question#post-5858156
Be careful because this circuit runs on 120 volts

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Howard - what's that switch on the bottom left of that snippet that's in series with the W relay? I can't read the letter on it?

Paul - it's a "W" (same as Bank-A-Ball)

Thanks Larry - so that's its own lock-in switch then until motor 2B releases it, I guess. So the only thing that turns on the W relay is the extra chute switch, which energizes the 120V side of the transformer, and thus the R relay (above the snippet), which keeps power going to the transformer through that R switch, since the W relay also makes the score motor turn, which opens motor 2B and turns W back off again, right?

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but where is that extra chute and what is it for? Just trying to understand the logic of why everything is arranged the way it is.

Yes, that's how the extra chute switch powers up the machine.

The extra chute (set up to accept quarters in Kaps case), is capable of awarding multiple games per coin drop. He just has a coin entrance plate with two slots in it and two coin mechs on the door (if I understand your question correctly).

Take a mental journey back to the 1960s. Most operators thought about game pricing as 1-coin/1-play, probably a dime for pinball. The "extra" chute lets them take in those higher-denomination quarters, which they would very much like to do. Further, they want to be able to take in a quarter regardless of whether the last game ended in a normal game-over ending (still fully powered), a tilt, or a slam tilt. The Bounce Switch and Anti-Cheat Switch seen on the bottom line cause what we now call a slam tilt, cutting off the R relay that energizes the 25-volt portion of the circuit.

Thus, inserting a quarter needs to re-energize the game if it had been slam-tilted or if this is the first activity since power was turned on at the start of the day. The W relay has to do some stuff up in the 25-volt zone: turn the score motor and step up the credit unit.

BTW, if you take a mental journey back to the 1950s, it would be a nickel in the 1-coin/1-play chute and 5 or 6 games from the quarter in the "extra" chute.
.................David Marston

Hi Kaps
in Your post-1 I read "credits are at zero" --- here https://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1683&picno=27671&zoom=1 we see in the lower left corner the Credit Unit. Have the main power cord unplugged (Safety Reasons) - see TWO Coils are mounted on the Unit - one for to add Credits (step up the Unit) - can You manually step up one or more steps ? Doing so see how a rod mounted on the "wheel with tooths, gear" does actuate - CLOSE (?) This switch is to be manipulated ( a blade heavily bent or using a Jumper-Wire on the Solder-Lugs on the Switch) ALWAYS CLOSED - and You have set the pin for "free play" - simply press the Start-Button (Front of the Pin) to start a Game. Greetings Rolf

David is correct, although for games from the early 60s (like yours) and earlier, the above would actually turn off ALL power to the machine. In other words, the 120 VAC supply to the main power transformer would be shut off.

As others have noted, when these types of machines are powered off, they are designed to power up when you insert a coin or press the replay button. That is why the coin door switches and the replay button circuit are at 120 VAC.

If you are interested in why the games were made this way, here's a post that talks about the history of this circuit:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/gottileb-wedgehead-newbie-has-some-questions#post-3538594

- TimMe

Thanks guys....I love learning this stuff!

It's on to following the red line on Howard's schematic... identify the location of the components on the schematic within your machine, assemble your tools (jumper wires, gloves, meter, a good light source and a healthy fear of 120 volts) and follow the troubleshooting with jumper wires procedure.

We're all here if you have any questions!

That's the anti-cheat switch, which should be normally closed. *Although as I look at the North Star schematic (both Howard's above and others on Pinside), it is drawn as normally open - but that cannot be correct. I've attached a Bank-A-Ball schematic for comparison. Anti-cheat, shutoff and bounce switches are all normally closed. If any one of those three switches were normally open, the machine would never be able to start...

The fact that it is bent like that is an indication that a previous owner over-adjusted it to guarantee it is closed. There's still a possibility that it is not operating correctly and you can use the jumper to test it by connecting the two solder tabs for that switch together and repeating your test.

BaB 120v (resized).jpg

By the way Kaps - that last photo you posted is an example of really bad switch bending. When you bend switches, you want to bend them right where they come out of the stack, so the leaf stays mostly straight.

After a FaceTime debugging session, we believe the SB relay was latched on and the SB M/B switch that controls the motor turning is intermittent. It would explain the lights being on and the coin chutes and replay button not working due to the fact that the 120v SB M/B switch was powering the transformer and NOT the coin drop/new game circuit path. SB latched with a motor control switch failure is also a deadly embrace that would survive multiple power cycles in an attempt to clear the failure.

Manually engaging the reset arm on the bank cleared SB and restored normal operation.

Time will tell if the theory is correct - OP’s son more than willing to perform the extensive play-testing required to validate or disprove it.