I just got my Halloween LE and my upper playfield coils stopped working. After some quick checks the fuse (5A) is blown and I’ve replaced a few and all blow when I power up the game. Whew it last worked there was a burning smell and the game went a little nuts. All of that lights lit up? The screen glitched a few times and a hot plastic smell wafted from the game. Anyone else have this issue?

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There is a LOT of information on this game and 137 pages to read. I just received mine and had two questions:
1. About half of the time my ball won't load into the shooter lane at the start of a new game. Sometimes it's the second game of the night or the third, so there is no pattern as to the initial game or subsequent games after it boots. Anyone else have this issue?
2. After the ball leaves the sanitarium through the drop target it almost always drains down the middle without any chance of recovery. To add insult to injury, there is no automatic ball save as at that point either. I see the issues with the diverter on the top playfields but is there something similar that "aims" the ball out of the underside of the sanitarium?

Otherwise, I LOVE the game. The LEDs are done right, the shots seem about right and I am confident that Spooky will include some interesting code to make the sanitarium more interesting. Thanks for any help you guys can provide!

Me again. I posted last week with issues involving failure to launch balls on about every third game. Typically the first game after boot up is Ok but now the problem has progressed to the point I only get one game then have to reboot. Some suggestions were to take a look at the trough and possible add a washer or spacer. I took the apron off and took the following pictures in hopes someone can see a glaring problem for me to adjust. Thanks for any tips.

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It seems our issues are slightly different. Mine is not misfiring, it’s simply not firing at all. Almost like it’s more of a code issue than mechanical. Regardless, I’m checking out the rails and resetting factory settings.

Update: the only thing it seems to do at the start of a new game is partially activate the right flipper lift. There is no coil fire but will in test mode and all coils and servos check out Ok. Hmmmmm…

For those that saw my previous posts, my problem has progressed. Here is my timeline of events:
1. From time to time a new game would not launch a ball
2. I soon realized my flippers and other coils would not fire on the games that a ball would not launch but not all games would have this problem
3. The issue progressed until only the first game would work after boot.
4. Sounds like a logic issue so I called Spooky. AJ sent a new CPU and it is installed and was a little perplexed by the issue as well. No Luck...
5. Today I wake up to find the game won't even give me one game now.

I have reinstalled 1.07 a few times with no progress. What's interesting is that I can't get 1.08 to install at all. I have my 32GB flash drive that I used last time, formatted FAT32, and have the no extra characters. I used the dongle, I inserted into the CPU directly, booted, rebooted... nothing. My beautiful game is now just decor in my game room. I have included pictures that help show there is no power to the coils. All fuses are in tact (originals) and show now signs of stress. Any ideas from the group?

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I keep reading about Spooky's excellent customer service and wanted to share my experience with this game...
When my game arrive it had no plaque, would not launch a ball when the game began, and had some other minor issues. After a few calls to AJ, to his credit, mailed me a new CPU and new board (Pinotaur). SUPER!
Now the game tilts randomly, the left elevator raises and falls all game, and a few lights are out, most notable is the Jack-O-Lantern. I am fairly new at the pinball world so I asked if a tech in the area would be an option to take a deeper dive into the machine and they refused to pay. The tech is currently contracting with Spooky for Halloween game that was also experience major issues near me but won't extend that offer to me. They said I could ship it back to them at my expense but that's another $600 and the game is less than four months old.
I called and left four messages this week for AJ and Morgan and did not receive a call back.

It seems they have, historically, had a pretty good track record with customer service but I can't say I am seeing that. I know the game is dropping like a rock in the rankings and I think it's largely due to the issues we are seeing on the forums and others that are having a similar experience as me. I was super pumped to get this game but now I can't even get it working to sell. It's been a very disappointing first experience with Spooky.

I got the game directly from spooky. I will certainly let everyone know how this plays out. I want this game to do well and Spooky to be the premier boutique pinball manufacturer they want to be but they have to earn both. I believe that starts with customer service and maybe a little tighter QC on the front end. Stay tuned…

I wanted to follow up on the status of my left elevator issue. I was contacted (through DM) by a helpful Pinsider but I am now at a total of six calls to tech with the most recent being today at 3:00 EST. I have yet to get a call back and my game is still unusable since I received it. I am excited to play as it sounds amazing. I definitely think it's an opto issue but they are all connected to the correct spots on the board and all seem to go in the correct direction on the playfield. I can't tell with certainty which wire goes to which opto on the left subway as they are tight and there are several sets of them.

On a far removed side note, I did order the Halloween glass protector that another post shared and it's great for the price. I would recommend it. It may not work, but it's a hell of a good looking game...

Ok, after some help from a helpful pinsider, I was able to determine my left lift was due to some pin connectivity on the board that was replaced. A few wiggles and it seems to work. While we were chatting, I realized I had about half of my flashers that are also not working including the Jack-o-Lantern. During the flasher test there are only a few lights illuminated and many that are not on. I assume this is a fuse issue but the ones on the board are lit up and green. Are there other sets of fuses that may be controlling the flashers that I am missing?

After 87 days of ownership, I was able to play my game today as it was intended to be played.... LOVE the game!!!!! Don't love Spooky's customer support though.

Let me know if anyone has thoughts on the flashers. All other lights are working normally.

I had the same trough issue. They could not find the problem so sent me a new CPU and board. I am curious how you solved the trough issue in case that pops up again.

I have a CE and I never got my plaque either. I have called a few times and mostly never got a reply on my plaque or my playfield issues. When I did get Squirrel, she said she would get it in the mail ASAP. That was a few months ago.

I know we are talking about the sale price of the game but can I ask an unrelated question? I had to replace my board a while back and that fixed my issues but left me without a few flashers. The most notable is the jack-o-lantern. During the flasher test there are many lights that do not illuminate. I called Spooky and they had me check the connections for 0 and 1 and they seem fine. When I plug and unplug the GI lights and a few others turn on and off as they should. I am looking to get lights to the slings, jack-o-lantern and a few others that really make the game pop. Does anyone know where the controls or maybe a specific fuse lives for some of the flashers? The fuses are all lit up on the board that (I think) indicates they are working as they should. I don't see any additional fuses and all of the cables seem to be fitted correctly. Thanks for any help you all can provide!

Now back to our regularly scheduled debate over resale pricing.

Hey guys! I follow this thread religiously and check in a few times a day. I agree that the game has dramatically improved with the new code and I am glad I held on to it.

I am having an issue currently that "feels" like an opto but my game will not start as it's looking for a lost ball. I have taken the balls out and they are all there but the game will not start. I know I have read about this in earlier posts but with 309 pages of posts, I can't find it. I searched for lost ball, ball search, etc but no luck. Does anyone recall where that is or know of a solution? Appreciate the help!

I definitely have all of the balls in the game. This happened while I was playing the game after about 4-5 games in. It crashed, I rebooted, and now have this issue. Is the trough optos or switches? I haven't "opened the hood"yet for this issue...

I will get that log tonight. I THINK it said something like "I am sick" or something to that nature when it crashed and then gave a lot of code on the screen. I will email that over this evening. Thanks for the help...

Update to my lost ball issue that was a suspected switch issue. I don’t see a switch 60 in the switch diagram. Anyone ever wrestle with this issue before?

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I have the same problem and have reached to Spooky just last week. The switches are all functioning properly and the weirdest thing is that its fine when the ball save is on. I thought I was the only one with this issue, whew!