Folks,

I need some help as it seems that all my attempts at fixing this machine is like one step forward, three steps backwards....

The Lady Luck is a four players machine (which adds a significant level of complexity) and initializes correctly.

1) I noticed that the 1,000 relay stays stuck, preventing any additional hits on the pop bumpers or nearby targets to be effective. In addition it causes the sound card to screech permanently instead of sending a short sound pulse. If I pull that relay by hand (un-stick it), then everything resumes correctly and the 1K reel scores again....until it sticks again and blocks everything. What could be the reason of this self energizing? Is the motor not releasing the 1K points relay after a short time?

2) The second issue (which is my own stupid creation) is the following: the Player/Ball in play stepper unit no longer advances between balls. I am now stuck in Ball 1 for ever. Usually, that stepper unit goes through each player (even if it is a single player game) and moves to 2nd ball for player 1. Yesterday, I removed the 1,000 relay from its holder (without turning the power off....stupid me) and caused a small electrical short with a nearby relay (10K) which shut down the game. Apparently no fuse were affected, but since then the stepper unit (multi-player/ball) located in the lightbox refuses to increment. It works manually when I push the coil but does not receive the orders from the motor, obviously. Did I fry a contact in the motor?

I would appreciate any help or suggestion as I am kind of concerned to do any debugging by myself. Obviously I am not too successful at it. Also, I was not able to find any local help in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel-Hill area....

I thank you in advance.
Yves

Yes, I do have the schematic and have tried to study it in details. Here is an excerpt of it, where Relay "M" is for 1,000 points.
recel-01 (resized).jpg
Relay "N" is for 100 points and does not have the problem of sticking, as well as relay K for the 10,000 points.

Yes, the 1,000 reel increments once and then will not move (as the relay M is stuck). If I pull the relay M open (manually), then the relay M will energize the 1,000 points reel another time and gets stuck again.

I am not too sure how this relay should work. I suppose all EM pinballs use the same principles for scoring (This one is largely based on Gottlieb parts and design) but I have not figured that out completely.

Yves

Yes, that is what I am also thinking. I have wrapped the machine as I am moving soon but will get back on it as soon as I can.
I am also thinking about a burnt wire (interrupted) due to the short I created. The reason I say that is that the game I was playing while doing the maintenance, stopped short. It is going to be a challenge to find the culprit in this maze of harness.

Thank you for your support and mental help... It truly helps.

Yves