New to the forum and also just got my invoice from Cointaker. This is my first pin.

Oh, I'm ready but my wife is not!

Thanks for the tip! I'm in learning mode right now and reading through all these great posts. Lots and lots of good information on this forum!

Thank you for the recommended mods. I did grab the plastic protectors already. Also grabbed the shaker motor because I've played at my local pinball arcade and can't imagine playing it without it now!

Love the Rocket return! Actually, one of my favorite features about this game!

Did not know about the HD glass, going to look into that!

Ok, I plan to run cleland code and I will report back the results. Melissa said the machines should be coming in next week to their warehouse and then from there they will start shipping them.

I'm pretty sure like clockwork I'll get the call when I'm down in Florida mid-October lol!

I'll reach out to Cleland to get the code, from reading through here it appears I just need to PM him.

Ok thanks for the tip!

I still haven't heard form cointaker on my order. I'm not local so they will be shipping to my home in Tennessee. I haven't contacted them because I will be in Florida for fall break anyway and I figure like clockwork they will probably call to deliver when I'm down in Florida lol.

I'll just have to see if they can deliver the week of the 17th and hopefully the shipments will be ready by then!

Does your tracking number have an ETA?

Ok thanks. I may call them I hope they didn't ship mine, I’m out of town. I thought they were supposed to call before shipping them out to schedule a preferable delivery window.

I'm still waiting. I've called at least once a week for the last few weeks. Last time I talked to them was Monday the 17th and I was told tracking numbers would go out that day but I'm still waiting for mine.

What's odd is they sent me a shipment notification on Friday the 14th but it did not contain any tracking info.

Not sure what is going on, starting to get a little worried as I've already ordered several mods for that specific game.

So, I just got the call from ABF Freight. My unit is in Nashville now, so I guess what happened is I never got a tracking number this entire process. Anyway, they are supposed to be delivering it tomorrow.

I just learned that they will not come in my house like I originally was told, and they will only drop off "close to the house". So, I guess now I have to get some pinball stakes or something to wheel it inside from the driveway. It's going on the first level, basically just right through the garage and into the next room but they will not pull it inside for me.

So be prepared for those that don't have a dolly or skates. Maybe I can slip the delivery guy a $50 to drop it inside versus buying skates or a dolly. Either that or buy the neighbor a 12 pack to have him help me carry it in lol.

Getting jealous seeing everyone with theirs! I hope this freight company comes through tomorrow and delivers mine!

I got an empty spot waiting!

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Got my pin today! Noob question. I’m trying to install scoop protector. How do I remove the posts?

Thank you I got mine installed.

Crap I should have taken pics sorry. I just wrote everything down as I did it. I did NOT take ramp completely off like others have mentioned, just removed first 4 ramp screws enough to move it out of my way.

Posts are different sizes so I just wrote down on paper where they go.

We Are Groot.

Time to drink some beer and play some pinball.

Finally!

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One thing I noticed after playing for several hours last night regarding the magnet grab.

Seems like while in the siblings rivalry mode when doing the orb shot the ball would stay in there for 15 seconds or so while the movie clip was playing. The machine would then start clicking maybe 4 times or so. If it does this then the magnet will NOT grab when ball is released. Did this several times in that mode and I think a few times in antiques as well.

All the other modes when I hit the orb shot I’m not hearing the clicking noises and the ball will release sooner and when it does the magnet grabs it hard each time.

I’ll pay more attention next time I play and see if it’s some sort of pattern. But to me that clicking appears to be some sort of glitch and I’m not sure why it does it mainly during sibling rivalry (Gamora mode)

Good point. I have 4 SD cards, 1 has factory code, 2 have both Clelands code and the 4th has the Applejuice code.

I’ll experiment with the different cards and codes to see the differences and maybe reflash with a different card, I think I have some spares playing around.

Oh ok Roger that.

Played some more today and now I'm having a new issue. It appears the back red flasher lights glitch out and when they do it makes the entire back half of the playfield dark and the left side ramp lights will flicker.

When the back flashers are working properly the issue goes away. I went into the diagnostics and tested the back flashers and at first, they would not turn on but now they do when testing, however during gameplay they stop working again and the lights sorta flicker and it keeps the back half of the playfield completely dark.

I've replicated the problem with the factory SD card (v 1.11) and Clelands sound mod (v. 1.09).

I don't understand it worked perfect yesterday. As far as I can tell all the wires look secure when I lift the playfield, but perhaps I'm not looking at the right thing?

Anyone have this issue or have any ideas?

Figured I would post a video on Youtube of it working and another of it not working so you all can see what I'm explaining. It happens during gameplay but the videos below show the issue at the end credits. During gameplay the issue stays like that for several seconds and ruins the gameplay as I can't see the entire half of the back playfield.

Video of it working -

Video of it NOT working -

Let me know what you all think.

I just started to look at this again, life got in the way today, kids, errands, etc .

Ok so I flipped the playfield and tried tracing the flasher lights but they appear to be going into the connectors where I have placed red arrows in the pics below. I don't see them going into node board 9, I'm assuming that is the board next to Groot? Maybe I traced them wrong? I didn't want to start undoing all the zip ties and pulling on things. I'm a green horn, keep that in mind lol.

Last night while troubleshooting I re-flashed SD card, swapped them, tried different codes, different receptacles, with a surge strip, without a surge strip, etc. I also had a Reolink house cam sharing the same receptacle as the pinball machine so I unplugged the camera just in case that was somehow interfering with it being plugged in the same receptacle?

During my testing I did notice a voltage error on the screen when I turned it on after removing from surge strip, camera, and plugging straight into the wall outlet receptacle. I don't remember what it said exactly because it flashed off the screen before I could take a pic but then 2 more errors followed and I took pics of those 2, screenshots below.

The problem continues to happen intermittently as I have been playing a few games today. Those errors have not come back up today ironically even though the issue still persists. Sometimes the game will work flawless and then other times it will go back to the back red flashers blinking quickly and dimming the other backside lights making it impossible to see anything back there. I do notice when the music is not playing I can actually here a noise when the flashing is occurring coming from under the playfield in that back area near Groot.

Everything else looks secure. I took a flashlight and checked all connectors, ramps, etc. Everything looks nice and tidy.

I think you and Monk are correct about the node board resetting now that I actually have an error to go off of.

As far as mods are concerned the only thing I have done is replaced the factor speakers. I just cut the speaker wire from factory speakers, spliced into them and connected some Kicker 4' speakers. I also connected the pinball life sub to replace the factor sub.

I also installed the scoop protector but I re-checked all the wires in that general area and nothing has been disturbed and everything looks good. When I installed the scoop protector I made sure not to disturb anything and just left the ramp connected (removed 4 ramp screws to just lift it slightly out of my way)

All those mods I did day 1. The machine ran great on day 1. I didn't have any issues other than the orb drop target got stuck a few times, but that was about it.

2 more issues have surfaced now that I have had more time with the machine the last few days. The orb drop target is much worse today and gets stuck pretty much every time. The machine eventually looks for the ball and when it does the orb will finally release. I see people have had success bending but I didn't really understand the instructions (bending the bracket up with palm of hand or bending bracket toward playfield with palm of hand?). I really don't see how that bracket can be bent to the playfield it seems pretty solid and not much give at all even with applying some pressure to it. Maybe I just didn't understand what people were talking about with the whole bending thing?

I am also having the issue with the ball getting stuck in the little groove area where Groots jaw meets the playfield.

I can live with these last 2 issues and maybe I'll try the rubber washer fix if anyone has a picture of what it should look like with the washer installed to help with the orb drop.

The node board light issue though I think is going to be a problem. Not sure if maybe its the actual node board itself? Perhaps I should call Stern in the morning.

Sorry for the long list of issues, appreciate everyones feedback!

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I tried hitting select last night when the error was up on the screen but I might have pressed menu by accident and the screen went away.

It has not returned since so I haven’t had the opportunity to hit select, but I will when it pops back up or if it does, weird I haven’t seen it since.

This is a NIB from September 2022 run. My game build date says September 21st 2022.

This is my 3rd day of ownership, day 1 was Friday the 21st and ironically that is the only day it worked pretty much flawless lol. (I’m getting really annoyed by the stuck orb drop target, totally ruins flow of game)

Also someone else asked what mods and I forgot to mention I did install a shaker motor. I don’t consider that a mod and didn’t mention it in that previous post.

Ok back left and right red flasher is causing the problem looks like. I just did as you said and was able to duplicate the problem with both of those flasher lights. I will get on the computer and upload to YouTube and then post links.

What’s funny is when I ran the tests again a second time now they are working. Makes sense because I’ll notice this during gameplay. One minute they are working and then the next they start flickering again and dim entire back half of playfield.

Yes it is a PCB board, I just got done dissembling the back left side. I checked the front red flasher for reference since that one and the right front have both worked 100%. After examining the back flasher it looks identical to the ones that are working.

Here is a pic of the PCB board and soldering below. I also attached pics where it goes underneath the playfield and then connects to the Molex connector. From the Molex connector I traced the 2 yellow wires and brown/green wire to the node board, circled in the pic below.

After tracing and examining the cable run I don't see anything out of the ordinary.

I have not done a polarity test, I don't have a multimeter. Is there any suggestions for one to get?

PCB Board 01.jpg

PCB Board 02.jpg

PCB Board 03.jpg

Wiring 01.jpg

Wiring 02.jpg

Wiring 03.jpg

Ok the plot thickens, this issue is getting worse.

Just lost power to the entire upper playfield during a game. Pop bumpers, rocket, ramps, etc became unresponsive and just shut off.

At this point I’m going to go lick my wounds and go to bed.

Definitely not the issue, I actually wish it were that simple honestly though.

I downloaded cleland 1.09 and Applejuice 1.09. Factory code came with 1.11. I can freely go between all 3 cards and upon boot it does show the proper version so that is not the issue with it being earlier than 1.09.

I also unplugged CN14 from the node board, but the problem still persists so that also is not the issue.

PinMonk suggested swapping nodes 8 and 9 but I'm not sure what that means or how to do it. Sorry guys this is my first pinball machine and looking inside the thing is like looking under the hood of a car and not being an auto mechanic.

I'm in IT for a living so I understand computers, I can splice speaker wires, no issues unplugging the connectors, etc., but all the pinball lingo, mechanical switches, lights, etc., you'll just have to bear with me

I left a VM for Stern pinball support as well this morning. Not sure how long it takes them to return calls.

Also thought about checking with dealers around in my area and maybe try and pay someone more knowledgeable to come look at it.

So, I was on the phone with Stern for over an hour troubleshooting. We unplugged node board 15, same issue. Unplugged each red flasher same issue. We were about to test the flasher between pop bumpers and as I was lifting the playfield in service position it completely fell inside the cabinet.

Honestly all I've done is troubleshooted this thing for the last 3 days and really not sure how I could have allowed it to fall, when I have literally lifted this thing 100 times by now.

I don't recall pulling it over the hump and it falling. I was just trying to lift straight up in service position and as I started to lift the back completely fell through.

I started disconnecting wires in effort to pull it completely out of the cab from the front since I can't lift from the back as the metal sliders are in the way. There is a single grey cord still connected somewhere that goes underneath and to the front but I'm unable to locate it so technically I can't pull it out the front because it's still connected.

I've tried reaching a local dealer in the area and left a VM. At this point I think I just need some help. I feel I'm now making it worse as no telling what damage I have caused with it falling into the cabinet .

With these Mickey Mouse plastic pegs and no rails, it just makes it way worse. Nothing to grab onto.

I'm in Franklin, Tennessee. It's a suburb just south of Nashville.

I appreciate the input. You have been great and everyone else on here. For a while it felt like I might find the issue and after spending time with Stern support this morning it started to feel like this was not going to be an easy fix as they too were stumped, and as I was in the middle of lifting the playfield for the 100th time, WHAM! it slammed down into the backside of the cabinet .

I don't see how it would even be possible to do since that huge lip at the end of each rail. I keep replaying it in my head and don't even remember pulling hard as I knew I was already clear over that initial hump. I went to look back at the camera footage to see what went wrong and that's when I realized the camera was unplugged because it shared the same receptacle as the pin and I had unplugged last night while troubleshooting, DOH!

At this point Stern contacted me back saying they are looking for a technician in my area and will send someone out. Hopefully this process doesn't take long, but at this point its wedged in there so good that I'm afraid if I try messing with it myself, I'll just do more damage than has already been done.

So, I'm going to try not to breathe on it and lock the cats out of that room until Stern sends someone out.

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Oh, it woke me up alright! Heart skipped a couple beats, and I probably would have hit my head on the ceiling if it weren't from me still holding onto them mickey mouse pegs! I'm going to have the tech that comes out install some proper rails lol!

Hi All,

I wanted to post an update on my NIB Sept 2022 GOTG Pro because I think this will be beneficial information to many of you.

So, the culprit to my lights flickering and losing power randomly to the back half of the playfield was caused by node board 9. A local technician came out today with an older GOTG Pro node 9 board from a build that is several years old.

When he put that older node 9 board in my machine, I no longer had issues with the lights flickering and loss of power to back half of playfield.

Now here is the interesting part. With his older node 9 board my magnet would no longer grab the ball. I'm talking 0%. A few times it might have slightly diverted it but not enough to really tell. We tested this over and over again, even during the magnet diagnostic test it just would not grab the ball.

We put my defective node 9 board back in the machine and the light flickering started happening again but now the magnet worked flawless. It would grab the ball hard each time and really hold onto it before it would release.

Absolutely NO adjustments were made to the magnet. This different behavior was all cause by the node 9 board.

Anyway, I just thought many of you might find that interesting because I know the magnet problem has been around for a long time and many of you have had different fixes through the years but at the end of the day the culprit to that entire problem could be your node 9 board and the way it behaves with the magnet.

Totally agree, it completely changes the game.

I would contact them and have them fix it.

Just swapping node boards today made it an entirely different game.

I made sure Stern was aware of this because if my new replacement node board disables my magnet ability I’m going to request another one.

I want to be sure I get a good board which will make the game play as it was intended.

Yes totally agree. The more people that report this to stern the more likely I think they will patch it.

After my node board fiasco I think most of the problem is due to software/node board.

I’m still waiting for my replacement node board. Turns out stern can’t send it, they emailed me today letting me know

Something about due to the expense of the node board and it has to be submitted by the distributor and then stern will send a new one out.

I reached out to cointaker today hopefully they submitted it. Going to reach out tomorrow and touch base with them.

I just hope I win the node board lottery and get a good one. I’m going to be really pissed off if I receive another defective one.

Really want to play this game!

Like Mcvetyty mentioned, you need a nice bouncy post rubber on the right side of the orb slot to help slow and bounce the ball over to the magnet properly. Only the Cliffy ones seem to work well, but they kind of wear out quick - so order a few if you decide to try it. Carbon-core balls help as well.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/guardians-of-the-galaxy-owners-thread/page/98#post-6043176</blockquote

For those of you modifying your magnet with washers underneath the playfield, adding bigger rubber posts, changing pitch, etc., did you try a different node board 9 first? I know there seems to be so many fixes for the magnet and I just want to throw a new node board into the mix as a potential fix.

I don't know if some of you saw my post from the other day but I have a brand new 2022 build of GOTG Pro. The Node board 9 that came with my game is defective, some sort of short that dims and powers down the back half of the playfield randomly.

Anyway the magnet grabs hard each time it exits the orb (unless the orb gets stuck, I have that issue to unfortunately). During Groot multi ball the magnet diverts the balls in different directions. Whenever the magna force light is lit it grabs the balls and flings them in different directions randomly. Sometimes it pulls the balls and they sort of float for a minute and change trajectory gently and other times you can see them being pushed and spun really fast, its really cool. Pretty much works just like the promotional video of the machine when it was first released. So I figured I got lucky and got a good magnet at least.

However when a tech was out at my house to diagnose the short I have he switched my node board for one he had that came from an older machine to test in order to see if the short was coming from node board 9. So it fixed the short but broke the magnet. It literally worked 0% of the time just from a node board change. Same SD card with factory 1.11 code. Nothing else was touched or modified. The magnet didn't do crap with his node board but it fixed the back half of the playfield shorting out.

We played several games and we were fixated on the magnet and literally trying to get it to grab. During Groot multi ball the balls just all go straight down the middle. It didn't grab at all out of the orb or when magna force was lit. The playfield was warm to the touch however. Even intentionally just taking the balls and putting them over the magnet it just refused to grab them like it did with my node board. My first thought was something shorted out and broke the magnet and now I have to get a new one from Stern along with my other laundry list of items.

When he put my node board back in that came with the machine to my surprise, the magnet was fixed and grabbed the ball hard 100% of the time (unless the orb drop target gets stuck of coarse) but I still have the short where it shuts down the back half of the playfield randomly. I did some more test after he left with the playfield off. Magnet was diverting out of grout multi ball, magna force and of course whenever the orb decides to work when the ball comes out of the orb it will get stuck on the magnet for a few seconds and whip around before being released.

So I'm patiently waiting for a new node board along with some other things. Still trying to get all this BS fixed but the magnet thing is pretty wild that it behaves completely different just from a node board swap. It literally changes the entire dynamic of that game with it not working.

I just find that extremely odd and curious how many others might have switched node board 9 and if they are seeing the same thing I'm seeing? I'm in IT for a living and I've seen odd behavior with computers. Since this node board is pretty much just a computer if these are shitty components then maybe that is the root to all these problems.

I don't know who manufactures Stern's node boards and who designs the software but maybe they need to switch lol. Maybe they could work with Nvidia or AMD for further Pinball machines lol.

My results have varied from everyone else. My magnet strength depends on node board 9. Has anyone tried replacing node board 9 to fix the magnet?

I posted the other day about a short in my node board 9 from my Sept 2022 build of GOTG Pro. A technician suspected it was node board 9 as he couldn't find a short anywhere else.

He had with him a node board 9 from an earlier build of GOTG Pro, I believe a 2017 build date. When he took my node board out and put his in, voila it fixed the short I was having, however it broke my magnet. It would not grab at all even when placing the ball directly over the magnet. You could feel the playfield getting warm, but it just wouldn't work.

He put my node board back in that came with my machine and the magnet worked 100% of the time. No washers, no waxing the playfield, no mods or anything. Same factory 1.11 code and SD card.

Literally the magnet behavior changed 100% due to swapping out node board 9.

Thanks for the tip, I don't have a multimeter, but I noticed the tech that was out had one. When he comes back to install my new node board I'll see if he can do that and record the results.

But I will say with my node board that came with the machine that magnet feature is pretty awesome. All the balls will divert to the sides when Groot shoots them out of his mouth to avoid going SDTM. When I get lucky and my orb drop target actually works when the ball releases the magnet grabs it hard for a few seconds, spins it around and releases. When the magna force light is lit the magnet will randomly grab the ball, sometimes push it to either side and I've notice it pulling as well and the ball will kinda stall for a second and then get released. It's so random and works very well.

Then with the other older node board installed my magnet didn't do a thing. I remember getting excited that the short was finally fixed but then I immediately noticed the magnet would not work at all. My first thought was "Oh crap now my magnet is shorted out!". But after putting my defective node board back in the magnet went back to normal.

So, this is why I say it could also be a node board causing the issue since that's how my machine has behaved and surely, I'm not the only one.

Perhaps these node boards are just crap? Not sure who manufactures them? Maybe Stern should work with Nvidia or AMD to manufacture future boards and chips lol!