Anyone know what the Adult Mode setting in the adjustments actually changes? Can’t seem to find it written anywhere.
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Anyone know what the Adult Mode setting in the adjustments actually changes? Can’t seem to find it written anywhere.
I think there’s a memory leak somewhere in the code. I work on an Air Force base, i just got the game and I decided to bring it into the break room at work to let my coworkers play it for a week or two. We are 24 hour operations. I’ll come in in the morning and the game will be totally locked up and need a reboot. It’s not every day, it usually takes a day or two for it to happen. Just something to think about for Spooky or for anyone playing on putting it on location.
Clear plastic bridge over the drop targets broke on the right side and is hanging down. I’m assuming it’s required to protect the drops from air balls and can’t just be removed. Is it common enough that I need to figure out a way to beef this up from happening again in the future?
68B470A0-6F03-406B-B528-0EB5BBC26EDF (resized).jpegHas anyone else on this forum had the issue of the small solenoid on the Judith Meyers drop target burning up and taking out a transistor on the driver board? This is the second time it’s happened to me in about 2 months. Spooky support has been great as far as sending parts to fix it.
I just want to know if there is a fix in the works so it doesn’t happen a 3rd time after I go through the work of changing everything out.
Thanks
Quoted from FattyPinner:Hello – I am new to both Pinside and pinball machine ownership. Halloween is my second pin, the first is JJP’s GNR LE. Both are a lot of fun, however, I have a few repeat problems with my Halloween I’m trying to figure out. The main issue I’m experiencing is the reset plate on the triple bank drop target keeps getting stuck, as pictured here, where one of the outside teeth on the reset plate gets stuck in the groove on one of the outer targets (usually the left) causing the targets to become unresponsive. This happens quite frequently requiring me to lift the play-field every few games and manually resetting the pieces. Has anyone else experienced this or have any ideas?
[quoted image]
I also consistently have this problem
Quoted from PinMonk:Does the mechanism move freely up into the coil and back out again when you move it by hand? That's the first test you need to do. If it's not moving freely when you move it by hand with the power off, you need to figure out why.
The coil sleeve may be crimped or damaged somehow, causing drag on the shaft that prevents it from falling back down from gravity when the coil turns off. Also, if the sleeve is ok, perhaps the coil is a little swollen inside, which would also make the shaft not move freely (but this is unlikely as the game is very new and it takes a long time for coils to swell like that).
It’s not a coil sleeve issue. It has to do with play in the mechanism working the fingers behind the drop targets
Quoted from PinMonk:So maybe have to shave the fingers or round them at the ends so they don't get hung up? This type of target reset bank is pretty a mature mechanism design. Is this failure a QA problem or a design change from the norm that's causing issues?
I haven’t dug into mine yet. I have a lot of issues with my Halloween and I hope to hit them all at once next weekend. Coil itself seems loose on the stops and I’m hoping that will tighten up the slop enough to resolve the issue.
Quoted from FattyPinner:Hi PinMonk, The coil itself looks good as far as I can tell - No obvious visual defects and the parts move up and down. As Mundy53 mentioned, there does appear to be excess play between the components within the assembly to the point where the strike plate gets behind the targets and gets stuck. I don't see anything that can be tightened. I'm adding a few more pictures to show the coil and the strike plate.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
You should be able to loosen the bolts on the coil stop and slide it down so the coil sits snug and tighten it back up. There’s play in the coil stop drill holes to allow that. I don’t know if that’s the fix however since I haven’t done it yet. Worth a shot.
Just installed my 4th Pinotaur board from spooky (thank you surface mount transistors) and I have no controlled lighting. (Yes RBG 0 and RBG 1 are plugged in). I’m definitely experiencing Halloween burnout. Any ideas from the group what the cause could be other than something internal to the board?
Quoted from dnapac:Ya, that many boards is really unusual. Check for outlet surges…or buy a surge protector for the outlet Halloween is on.
Halloween is one of 15 games I currently own. I can assure you this isn’t my first rodeo and the outlets in my house aren’t the issue.
After about a month of ownership, Judith Meyers drop target reset locked on and took out the coil and transistor. Replaced board, same thing happened again 2 months later. Finally got around to put in board number 3 this week and after 3 days of play a transistor randomly let go (for the middle playfield reset) blowing a fuse. On to board number 4…. No controlled lighting. Just swapped back in board number 3 and verified that board number 4 is the issue…
Spooky customer service has been great, but this, the powder coat and so other problems have given real Halloween burnout. Definitely the least reliable NiB game I’ve ever owned.
Quoted from Beechwood:There has got to be a hidden problem causing these issues. It just makes no sense to have that many "unrelated" problems. Mine is still playing zero issues.
Well I’m happy for you then Beechwood. Mine has been a lemon thus far. I would love to find a hidden problem. But as of yet, neither I, Spooky, or anyone on this forum has found anything to isolate said problem over my months of ownership.
Quoted from Beechwood:Sounds like a crazy problem and I understand your frustration. It's got to be a pinched wire that's shorting or one small thing that's so hidden you can't see it. Sucks for sure! It's unfortunate as it's such a great game. Hope you get to the bottom of it. If you lived closer I'd be the first one to help track the problem down.
Fact that spooky chose to use surface mount transistors and parts instead of through hole has made this entire experience way more of a pain in the ass. I can change a through hole part in my sleep. Surface mount requires me to send the board in for exchange.
Quoted from Pinballer31520:Same here . Coil fried . Had to swap boards . Doing that endless shorts and searching for wires not in place . Finally working ok but all hedge servos gone
I have 1 hedge servo down as well. Think I finally fixed my 3 drop target bank this week at least. All 3 targets would consistently get stuck up. Either the coil stop or sheet metal was out of spec Causing the fingers of the mechanism to have enough play for them to work inside the slits on the targets. Bent the coil stop enough to remove any play.
I would have been first in line for TNA 2.0 if it wasn’t for my Halloween.
Quoted from MK6PIN:Would be awesome, and Spooky really does a great job on the support side. Hope they get it sorted soon as the game is a blast.
( hard to believe there would be 4 consecutive " bad" boards, but suppose it could happen)
Only the last board was bad. Something (either code of mechanical) caused the other 3 to blow a mosfet. 2 of those boards were months between events
There goes driver board number #5. This is literally the worst game I’ve ever owned and I’ve owned 77 pinballs in my life. Changed the driver board on Saturday from the sanitarium drop taking it out and updated the code to 1.08a. Played a couple games this morning and noticed the upper playfield drop not locking on, but constantly resetting. Inspected everything was in the right place and went to take a video, but I guess I wasn’t fast enough. I’m not new to fixing games either, other than the Judith Meyers coil burning up twice, every issues is a new issue.
I’m going to relist my ad at $6k if anyone is interested. I’m done with Spooky games.
I wouldn’t think lemon law applies to something like this. I haven’t asked about replacement, I don’t see too much incentive on Spooky’s part for something like that. AJ has been helpful and friendly every time I’ve called and their customer service has been miles above that of the larger pinball company. I’m throwing my hands up in the air and accepting the big hit as a lesson learned on this one.
Quoted from lpeters82:I'm sure you:ve been through this with AJ, but what transistor is blowing on the Pinotar?
First 2 boards were the transistor associated with the Judith Myers drop. 3rd board was associated with the sanatarium drop. I haven’t even gotten into it with this one, but it looks like it’s up in the house playfield drop.
Sometimes I’ll just turn on the game and the shaker motor will run nonstop until I turn the game off or exhibit other weird behavior until I cycle power. That might only be one out of every 20 or so power cycles.
Quoted from lpeters82:I'm sure you've been through this with AJ, but what transistor is blowing on the Pinotar(s)? There is obviously a short, so knowing that would help to narrow it down. Making sure the coil is wired with the diode in the correct position would be the first thing I'd check.
Looks like solenoid 7 mosfet is shorted this time. Other than my Judith Meyers coil, every other one is factory original, so no worries about the diode being backwards.
Quoted from lpeters82:I'm at my daughter's football game, but I'll check it out when I'm back near a machine. You for sure have a short in that sanitarium knockdown coil. Can you disconnect that molex from the Pinotar, replace the fuse, and go through the coil tests several times. If nothing else blows, we can say with near certainty that the the problem is isolated to that one coil.
I ohm’d the coil out, it’s shorted.
Quoted from Deez:Nice find. Hopefully this will get you up and running again.
Like I said earlier, I’m out… sick of getting it working only for another surface mount component to go that requires a board swap. I can solder through whole parts all day, but not surface mount. I have zero confidence in any long term fixes and am willing to lose a lot of money to not look at this game anymore.
Quoted from kciaccio:If you have gone through 5 driver boards it's a short or something wrong with the rest of your pinball machine..it's not the board at this point.
Thats pretty obvious. Problem is I can’t just take it out, desolder a transistor and be good to go in a half hour like WPC and older. Average person doesn’t have the equipment to do surface mount stuff, so it has to be a swap out.
Luke, I try and treat weekends as sacred. Thanks for taking the time out of yours.
Quoted from mpdpvdpin:Wow, and people think I have all the “hot takes”. Fact is the majority of Spooky buyers know what they are getting into and are happy to support an underdog in the industry who provide the niche titles and forward thinking designs that we want. Few problems here and there? ITS PINBALL. 5/1200 games with critical issues? Spooky customer service will bend over backwards. I just fall to see what the actual problem is. Wanna go hard on a manufacturer? Take it out on the big dogs. Concerned about buying a boutique game? Give your money to the big dogs. You might be surprised how poorly they handle NIB issues compared to Spooky. Pinball is hard. It’s the nature of the game.
Not trying to convince you of anything. I support small manufacturers. I’ve owned a Dutch Pinball for about 2 years, have a Whiz-Bang, and am getting a P3 soon. I haven’t had any issues with the support AJ has provided me. I know of 2 manufacturers based in Illinois that give about zero support once a game is sold. My Halloween has been nothing but a headache however. I’m throwing in the towel. Game is for sale cheap. You are more than welcome to buy it.
Quoted from Beechwood:Why not replace the shorted coil and see if the issues go away? At minimum if you fix it then you can get better resale. At best, it works great and you love the game and keep it. Worth a shot at this point.
Edit: I just read your for sale listing. I don't blame you for selling. Just wish I was closer. $6k is a steal
I forgot to mention in the ad that every time I work on a game, I find another connector that wasn’t pinned well at the factory…
ABBFB544-D258-4722-9494-D870698DEA6E (resized).jpeg
Quoted from Bucknut3000:My flipper stopped working last night on the upper house playfield. All the other flippers are working fine. Any ideas how to fix/diagnose? The underside of the upper playfield looks like a tough area to reach.
Check fuses first
I think this is the new lowest asking I’ve seen.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/908820423614528/?mibextid=6ojiHh
Quoted from iceman44:Sell it and quit whining. Simple
That’s what I did. 10/10 recommend!
Quoted from Guitarpinman:Has anyone else had the centre drop target issue and been able to resolve it?; the left drop target on my machine (in front of the centre ramp) after a few games gets stuck down and doesn't reset - this also stops the centre and right drop targets in the bank from being able to go all the way down.
Looking under the PF I can see that the cause of this is the let target slipping out of the reset mech/plate below, so the mech can't push the target back up and the mech also can't go all thr way back down (thus stopping the other two target from coming all the way down)
I can temporarily fix by popping the left target back in, but after a handful of games, I get same issue (annoying having to take the glass off and left the PF every time)
Is there a proper fix? (I've mentioned it directly to spooky and distributor)
I also realised the washed out screen is because of the viewing angle (looks fine of you bend down with eyes level to the screen, but from a playing angle it looks washed out; greys instead of blacks etc) - I'm guessing there's no way to deal with that?
Anyway, I see the next code update is imminent - so looking forward to to that
I had this problem and disassembled the mech multiple times. The solution that finally worked for me was to bend the coil stop a little greater than it’s current 90 degree angle in a vice (just a little) this pushed the coil tighter to the mech and prevented the slop in the assembly from letting the fingers slide out of the drop targets.
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