(Topic ID: 6355)

hurricane pinball ball lock is acting up

By practicalsteve

12 years ago


Topic Heartbeat

Topic Stats

  • 24 posts
  • 7 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 12 years ago by pintastic
  • No one calls this topic a favorite

You

Linked Games

#1 12 years ago

Hi everyone, new to this and pinball maintenance. I bought my first machine, a williams hurricane and its been great but now I am having issues with the ball lock. once I get it to light and shoot the ball into the juggler lock, it will register and say ball one is locked, but instead of keeping it locked and giving me a new ball at the plunger, it spits it out right away and doesn't stay registered as locked. I can hit it back into the lock and the same thing will happen. This doesn't happen every time, but happens pretty often. Thoughts? Thanks so much in advance for helping out a guy new to owning his own machine.

#2 12 years ago

bumping this up, any advice would help

#3 12 years ago

Did you try testing that switch in the switch test mode?

#4 12 years ago

A silly suggestion hopefully, but how many balls does it supposed to have and are they all in there. None stuck somewhere? If machine is missing a ball it can cause issues like that. Definitely check switches in switch edge test to verify there working and that the trough switches are all working correctly. If you have a manual, read up on the tests and switch locations. Post back as to what you discover.

#5 12 years ago

Great advice, I will definitely try all that. I took out the glass and tested it by manually using the ball to go through all the steps why didn't I think to do the switch test?! Also, good point by pintastic, I know that there are the correct number of balls in there but I did not look to see if any are stuck. I will do both of these things and report back in the morning.

Thank you both so much for replying I really appreciate it! I am totally new at this, you guys rock.

#6 12 years ago

Does the game show a credit dot on the display? If so go into the diags and it will show you which switch is bad. Bad meaning a ton of things but first lets just find out which switch the game reports as bad

99.9% of the time with the symptoms you describe it's a misadjusted or intermittent switch problem.

#7 12 years ago

ok, reporting back. unfortunately it is not a stuck ball, and it appears I do have a credit dot. Initial test report that happens when you turn on the machine and press enter only says date and time not set, but not sure if test reports tell you any more than that.

I went into test mode but I am not 100% sure how you test the switches. Cliffy said to go "into the diags and it will show me which switches are bad", is that indicated by them starting off closed?

I went through each one and a majority of them are "open" but a few of them are "closed" when just cycling through the tests. Not sure if this is normal. I did activate the switches I could figure out just by their name and they seemed to be working well. However the ones that are closed seem to not have anything to do with the multi ball registering properly. The ones that start off as closed are: Trough 1, Trough 2, Trough 3, Always closed (so I assume this one is not broken) and Ferris wheel.

I could not figure out anything in the side switches menus (how do those work?), I got these from cycling through the single tests.

Thoughts? What exactly should I be looking for in these tests? something I am missing?
I am going to print out the manual for Hurricane at work today so I will know exactly where all teh switches are. Thanks for all your help so far!

#8 12 years ago

To test switches, use the WPC internal test software. Press the "Begin Test" button, look at the test reports and make note of any problems (if the game shows a test report), and go to the Test menu. Select the first T.1 "switch edge" test. Activate any switch on the playfield using a pinball (this simulates real game play), and it should show on the game's display. The display will indicate the wire colors going to this switch, too.

#9 12 years ago

thanks pinmike, will do! sorry if this is an obvious question what does WPC stand for?

Quoted from pinmike:use the WPC internal test software

#10 12 years ago

It stands for Williams Pinball Controller thats the type of system that is running
in your game.

#11 12 years ago

Check your batteries and battery holders for any leaks. A leaky battery will wreak havoc! Also, if you wait a second after the initial time and date not set, if theres another problem it will state it a second or two later. Empty the trough of all the balls and see if that clears those switches. Theres one switch that is going to be always closed. Do you have a manual? If so, there should be page in there showing all the switches with the number and location of them. The goal is to have all the switches open with the exception of the one that is normally closed.

#12 12 years ago

ok, done some more work and heres what I've got. Printed out my manual got my switch diagram and was ready to retest. This morning I was getting 4 switch errors- trough 1,2 and three as well as the ferris wheel. Pintastic was 100% right that taking the pinballs out cleared those trough switches.

Now for the ferris wheel switch. First it took me almost an hour just to find the damn switch and thats with the diagram right in front of me. It was only when I thought to put it in the switch edge test mode and threw the ball up the ramp that it became open. Success!?!? The switch fired. But here is the thing. I cannot see this switch from above or underneath the table AT ALL. There is a ramp and the ferris wheel in the way. I can put a pinball up there and it will activate, but when you pull it out it goes back to closed. I can stick a screwdriver or q-tip down into where the ball was and I will here a very light click and it will activate, but it really honestly feels like its not even hitting anything. So....

Heres my questions. Would this be a switch that is supposed to stay closed until a pinball weighs it down to open in? Seems like they are always supposed to start open. Going to go get a little extendable mirror this weekend hopefully that will let me see down there and HOPEFULLY I wont have to start removing the ramp and ferris wheel which will be a huge job. Everything else tests good, would this one switch be enough to give me a credit dot?

Ok this is way two long but Thanks again pintastic. Did you get my email? I did not check the batteries yet just because I changed them only one month ago and everything looked good and I figured I would look into these switches first.

On the bright side I changed two bulbs I had been putting off.

#13 12 years ago

E-mail sent. Can you get to the switch in question from under the playfield? Set the time and date and see if that clears the credit dot. Also, pull the ribbon cables and reseat them. Sometimes that can fix wonky switches but that's a shot in the dark. They have been known to cause funny switch behavior though. Reseating them will clean contacts and give a better connection. I always start with the easiest fixes first and work my way to a completely cleared switch matrix. With the exception of the one switch that is always closed. Be sure to line up the ribbon cables correctly when you re-plug them. One row off on the pins and the machine will not work, or it will act crazy. See if the switch that is causing problems is an opto switch or not. A dirty opto will not work and will cause odd behavior as well. If the ball is in there and opto is dirty, it will continue to read as if the ball is still in there. A q-tip and alcohol or windex will clean it right up as long as its still working correctly. Theres two sides to opto's, a emitter and receiver. When the ball breaks the light path, it shows as a switch closure. If one is dirty, it will show closed all the time. But...... it will always show closed so not sure why that switch is showing closed and open when ball is in there. Also, the shooter lane switch, is it reading correctly? I once had a problem with one that it wouldnt lock balls and kept launching balls. Turned out the shooter lane switch needed adjusting. Machine thought there was always a ball in the lane. Good luck and keep us posted!

#14 12 years ago

Oh, when you change batteries, do it with the machine on and it will continue to save your settings and time and date. Good luck!

#15 12 years ago
Quoted from practicalsteve:

ok, done some more work and heres what I've got. Printed out my manual got my switch diagram and was ready to retest. This morning I was getting 4 switch errors- trough 1,2 and three as well as the ferris wheel. Pintastic was 100% right that taking the pinballs out cleared those trough switches.

When you say errors, what do you mean? Is it stating that there's an error, or are you just seeing that the switches are closed while the machine is at rest?

There are switches that are normally closed - mostly opto switches (which are indeed hard to see). The Ferris Wheel switch on Hurricane is an opto. So it sounds like it's working correctly, from what you've said.

Have you tried entering switch edges mode, and trying to trigger the lock switches, and see if they're working normally?

#16 12 years ago
Quoted from DrAzzy:

Have you tried entering switch edges mode, and trying to trigger the lock switches, and see if they're working normally?

I have entered switch edge mode and it does work when I throw the ball up there. also registers the points during gameplay. it is not saying that there is an error but it does stay closed in test mode untill you put the ball into it. it is the only swith that comes up closed when testing other than one switch that says always closed. So maybe there are no switch errors? I will clean it per pintastics suggestion to see if I can get it to stay "open" untill the ball goes in. is not affecting gameplay as far as I can tell.

Quoted from pintastic:

Set the time and date and see if that clears the credit dot.

I will do this when I get home hopefully it will get rid of the credit dot.

Seems like I am getting farther away from my original multiball problem...hmmmmm only happens intermitently, might be something I have to live with for now. I will reseat the ribbon cables later as well.

#17 12 years ago
Quoted from practicalsteve:

Seems like I am getting farther away from my original multiball problem.

I hope were not going further from that problem. Most likely its a switch somewhere in that row or column that is causing that problem. Have to dig around and find out why the ball lock is acting that way and the most likely culprit is a flakey switch somewhere. Sometimes there a PITA to find but with a little patience and troubleshooting, Ive always found it. Granted, sometimes I have to cuss a bit and walk away from it.

#18 12 years ago

do opto switches normally stay in the closed postion until activated? since it seems to be functioning normally. it says closed in test mode when empty, then open when the ball is in there.

#19 12 years ago

Yes optos are normally closed when no ball is in there.

#20 12 years ago
Quoted from tomdotcom:

Yes optos are normally closed when no ball is in there.

hmm seems if this is the case than all my switches are good, hope setting the date and time gets rid of my pesky credit dot.

#21 12 years ago

Well, the problem with the lock is intermittent isn't it?

So, right now, it could be choosing not to manifest while you're testing it. I'd put the ball in the lock (where it should sit when you have the problem) and move the playfield around - Maybe raise it into the semi-raised position and put it back) while in switch edges, so you can see if one of the switches is sensitive to movement.

Or, next time it happens, immediately open door, end game, pull the glass and try to see if you can get any abnormal results from the switch test?

#22 12 years ago

Looks like I might be in the clear.... I set the date and time and now no more credit dot! ran through the multiball steps and looks like it is working great now. Don't know exactly what I did, but since its working right now I am going to chalk it up as a win and move on to some other fixes. I cant thank everyone enough for all their help, I will need plenty of help in the future, and might even start some new question threads tonight. Hope I can help you all out someday.

#23 12 years ago

i love a good happy ending!

#24 12 years ago

Nice! Good for you.

Promoted items from the Pinside Marketplace
From: $ 209.00
$ 1.00
Pinball Machine
Pinball Alley
Pinball Machine
From: $ 110.00
Playfield - Other
Arcade Upkeep
Other
$ 54.99
Cabinet - Shooter Rods
Lighted Pinball Mods
Shooter rods

Reply

Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.

Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!

Donate to Pinside

Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!


This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hurricane-pinball-ball-lock-is-acting-up and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.

Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.