Gents I have a intermittent problem on my Gottlieb Top Score,
On a game reset, the score motor seems to stop rotating just before it should resulting in the silverball not kicking out on to the shooter lane, I've looked and read, adjusted and cleaned, lubed and un-lubed, measured and checked and then the miracle happens it resets just nice.
I close up the game, put in the glass and a few games later...<sigh> no ball, I believe I need a new plan.

That's the exciting way to get the game to work while reaching in through the coin door lol!
Yes if the motor is rotated the sequence will complete kicking the ball out.
Lemme think (I'm not near the machine now to confirm) there are a few methods where I can manually reset the game..

A game is played and ends. Game over is lit. Ball is in outhole. No tilt or anything unusual is noticeable. There are credits showing. The game is not set for free play.
The credit button is pushed and the startup sequence begins, all scores and play surface bonus's and lights reset correctly and then the game stops without kicking out the ball. At this point I can manually do two things reaching in through the door and get a restart.

1)If I give the top disk on the motor a push the motor will take over and continue another rotation, kicks the ball out and motor stops at it's correct position. And the game will play to its logical end.

2) I manually push in the AX relay, but not hold it, the motor will run and stop, I believe a third of a rotation, then if the credit button is pushed at that point, the game will reset and complete with the ball being kicked out to the shooter lane. Play on!

With either method the next game may or may not reset properly. It can be played multiple times without incident and also can be had to be manually reset multiple times. This usually causes a bad karma and i shut it down...until the next time!

thanks wayner I'll check it out, the manual has that as the 1C inside switch. Actually you know this is an adjustment I have been avoiding, messing with the score motor is one of my last resort things to do, basically I'm afraid of making them worse.
Maybe this is where I have to wade in. This machine was a major project to restore, it has had this issue all along, and I haven't touched the motor except for superficial cleaning.
Any tips on how to properly clean and adjust the score motor?

willbeEM

I now have a plan! I am going to follow up with your suggestions and proceed very slowly and with great caution. I've just completed shopping a Jungle Queen and moved it out my work shop last weekend so now I have the room to take out the motor board of the TS and a place to put it. And as a bonus the JQ is working 100% so I will be able to use it as a reference.
When I first got the Top Score it was a pretty beaten up game. I followed the directions of others, didn't plug it in right away and cleaned and inspected it as much as I was comfortable with, then turned it on and when nothing happened, well I had nothing to lose so I began working with all the switches, coils and steppers, slowly slowly and then one day it came alive. That was awesome! Now it's beautiful and plays great except for this reset issue. See that's the great thing about this hobby, what was bothering me before, well now I'm excited and feel confident to take the next step. I'll post updates as things progress.

thanks again
WillbeEM

Here are pictures of my Top Score motor positions with and without a proper reset

top score no ball (resized).jpg

top score ball (resized).JPG

I believe I found a problem, the 1B switch is missing a switch lifter, don't have a replacement, any way to come up with a temp fix to troubleshoot if this is the issue?

topscore missing lifter 1B stack (resized).jpg
topscore missing lifter 1B (resized).jpg
top score 1B switch sch (resized).jpg

The fix is in, at least until I find a replacement. Found a very small finishing nail that fit in the hole, cut it short, soldered it in. Found a length of hot glue, cut a piece off and pressed it onto the nail. Reassembled the switch stack and after some switch adjustment and 15 correct game resets I'm kinda pleased. Thanks for the encouragement for me to to give it a try.

Will-be-EM

top score fix (resized).jpg

<sigh> it's back... its something either loose or broken that I can't find. The game resets right up to the ball eject and stops, but sometimes i can drop the game surface in place and the motor starts and the ball pops out. Sometimes at the end of a game the game over lights and then nothing....hmmm

LOL I've given that switch the evil eye a few times but never actually checked it with the field down. It's on the list!