Remove the mode start stopper. I tried everything. Wasted a ton of time. I took it out and I can finally have a shot at eternal life multi ball!

I put these balls in my IJ when I first got it years ago. Was a terrible choice. They make everything dirty and the novelty of gold balls quickly wears off. They get scuffed and tarnished easily and after just a few plays you don't really even notice that they are different than regular balls.

Save your money. But if you don't believe me, go and try them out. If you're willing to replace them often and clean your rubbers more often than it might be a fun gimmick for a bit.

I believe you,why would I not?
I'll save my money and use regular balls.I just thought it would look good,lol.

Well yeah I just meant it was subjective and not scientific advice. Some people might love the look and not mind the hassles.

What's up everyone! I'm excited to have joined the club earlier today but have a few issues that I'm hoping to get help from you guys to solve so I can fully enjoy this sweet pin. I will caveat the first one by saying that both trough boards (transmitter and receiver) were replaced less than a year ago from Great Lakes modular:

1) a ball will sometimes take a while to register a drain and/or not load into the shooter lane at the start of a new ball without lightly shaking the machine a bit

2) on a few occasions, a ball randomly gets placed into the shooter lane during a game but doesn't launch. Once a ball is drained and it's time for the next ball, a ball is loaded into the shooter lane so there's now two (the game doesn't recognize the initial one that was already there from the middle of the previous ball.

3) more than one ball is launched from the trough or from the idol (usually after a ball has been locked but not 3 to actually start multiball) so there are multiple balls at play but there isn't supposed to be. Once a ball drains, the game registers the end of the ball which confirms that the other ball still at play isn't legitimate

Are these all connected? All of the trough optos as well as the ball lock and idol (entry opto and exit switch) all seem to be working correctly in switch test.

Is it possible I need a new trough? Could the newer trough opto boards be broken? Both?

I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR HELP IN ADVANCE!!

Another unrelated question:

The plastic window over the DMD on the display panel (on the speaker box) has a few cracks in it and is cloudy...can just the plastic window be replaced? If not, does anyone know where I can get a whole new display panel?

Thanks!

Congrats on finding your IJ! The plastic for the speaker/dmd panel can be replaced by itself. I believe Classic Arcades sells a PPS licensed remake of it. They don't seem to have the greatest reputation but the one I got from them seems fine.

Thanks!

Just googled classic arcades and his site is no longer up...perhaps he's no longer in the biz?

Check eBay for the speaker panel plastic. Classic Arcades has a current listing for $99.95.

Can't paste the link from this phone, but you should be able to locate it there.

ebay.com link: WILLIAMS INDIANA JONES Pinball Machine Speaker Panel DMD BRAND NEW

If you're interested I can send you pictures of the original speaker panel plastic I replaced. It only has slight scratching and in retrospect it was a bit overzealous of me to replace it. Would be willing to sell it for a lot less than the new reproduction one is going for.

Sounds like you've got one or more faulty optic sensors. Common problem on these. Clean them all thoroughly for a start. Some may need to be re-soldered or replaced.

The question is...where should I be looking? The trough optos, the idol, the ball lock, all of the above? Also, if I have a divot or something strange happening in the trough is there a fix that is an alternative for replacing the whole trough?

My STTNG was launching balls repeatedly a couple weeks ago, but all opto switches tested good on the switch edge tests. This pin uses the same trough opto boards as IJ. Swapped the boards out and the problem moved from my STTNG to the IJ.

Reflowed all the solder joints on the trough transmitter opto board, and the problem went away. I'd suggest starting with that board pair if all the switches are testing good. Could still be the source of your problems.

If it ends up being the problem, you could either repair it or replace it with the GLM board set. It's an improved design for about $60/set.

Good luck!

The GLM trough opto board set was installed on this machine less than a year ago. Perhaps they're faulty?

I appreciate the insights...I've never repaired a trough before. I'll look into that. A new trough is $125 with apparently an improved design. Was fixing be grooves a big pain in the ass?

Sorry to dominate the thread but I've got one more diagnosis item that I'm sure you all can help with:

Every so often, the diverter post (the one operated by a coil that stops the ball before the path of adventure entry) doesn't pop back up when the path of adventure is lit so the ball just goes right past it and down the metal ramp back in play (the path will move right and left when this happens as it expects the ball to go there).

The post moves freely up and down and the coil and wiring seem fine. The post isn't bent and it's centered in the hole with nothing blocking its path.

Any ideas?

Could be as simple as just replacing a diode on the coil......or it may be more complicated. Have you tested it in the "coil test" mode?

It's very strange. When it doesn't pop back up like it should (this has happened twice over the past 24 hours), I just lift up the playfield and it seems to be fine and corrects itself. I can move it freely with no issues ever. This happened the first time, it worked for 20 games, and then it randomly stayed down in the middle of the game and I had to left the playfield vertically and it corrected.

Weird.

Sorry...I didn't answer your question. The coil test is fine (it moves up and down) when the post isn't "stuck" in the down position. When it is stuck and I perform the test, it fails to raise the post into the up position.

After doing more research, I figured I'd summarize the various things that seem like possible culprits that need to be checked:

- Trough opto boards = everything works 100% in test so I'm doubting that's the issue
- Trough = look into potential dents or grooves in the trough
- Shooter lane switch = works 100% in test and is probably not the problem
- 10 opto switch board = possibly a cold solder joint or something else that's busted
- Idol optos = look into optos themselves (they test 100%) or possibly the surround plastics that the opto goes through as potentially dirty plastics could result in opto intermittence
- Switch matrix issue = read a post about the switch under the POA above the mode start hole as it's on the same column and gets abused over time

What a pain in my ass!

Could someone confirm the correct process/actions of the idol once you lock the third ball to start multiball: the third ball should enter the idol, it should then rotate, the idol lock door should open thus releasing a ball, the idol lock door should close, the idol rotates, the lock door open releasing ball #2...etc.. and this corresponds to the elephant sound.

With mine, I think I'm having an issue with either the lock door and/or the exit switch as the idol motor and optos seem to work. With mine, it looks like the lock door doesn't open and close for each of the three balls and the third ball only is released once one ball drains. I found another thread that says it likely either an intermittent idol exit switch or an issue with the idol lock door assembly. Someone even noticed an issue with the corner tip of the lock plastic catching the plastic and not closing properly.

You might want to start a thread in the "tech Modern Games" section and get the pro's involved. They are better at diagnosing and telling you exactly what to check and in what order. I can fix just about anything.....but I'm terrible at diagnosing.

I appreciate that...will do!

No need to throw $125 through the window. You can easily repair the old one with dremel tool, if you need to spend some money this might also help: http://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=449

Awesome! I've never seen that thing before. If I did have dents or grooves in the trough, is it safe to assume that this would basically take care of that as well?

Seems like it could salvage my trough and solve a few issues (magnetization, dents) in one, very cheap solution.

I don't own a dremel and not sure if I'm comfortable trying to repair it but hopefully I won't have to!

I had divots in my trough and balls would hang up, and I bought the pinbits plastic piece, it works. I also got my indy working 100% heres a video for what its worth, maybe something on video might help you.

You can also remove the divots with a basic metal file, which worked well on my STTNG trough that had minor divoting. Based on your description of being able to fix the issue by shaking the machine a bit I might suspect that the divots may be the problem.

More info here: http://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC (search for "Trough Divots" on the page).

Also, you try putting the machine into switch edges test mode and gently wiggling the wires that connect to the 2 trough boards. If switches start firing you will want to re-pin your connectors on the wires. Unless your game gets a tonne of action, the new boards shouldn't really be the problem.

How about for the captive ball only? I'd love to add a gold ball just for the captive ball, anyone know if these are a good idea for that? You'd think with the much more limited action it would receive as a captive ball it would last a good long time??

Well, I just had my most amazing game ever. I was in the groove. I have no idea what a good score is, but on a standard 3 ball game plus the buy-in ball, default rules I finally got to eternal life multiball. And beyond. Tons of super jackpots (best callout ever) and a crap load of extra balls. Anyone know the exact pattern of what happens to the lights on poa as you collect? I saw the initial static ones, then a single walking one (I think) then double walking or something like that. Has this been documented?

IMG_0113 (resized).JPG

I think a gold captive ball would look amazing. I might try that too.

That captive ball is a PITA to get to. Gold ball would be cool but not worth the effort if you ask me.

"Lucky" for me I recently had my IJ playfield clearcoated so my whole game is in parts bins at the moment. When I finally get around to mounting the captive ball it will be no problem to use a gold one.

Can anybody PLEASE take a picture of the nuts that hold the gun in place from inside the cabinet? I need to see what type of nuts are used. Thanks!

Here you go. Looks like one of the most common sizes used in pinball:

20161103_153105 (resized).jpg

Anyone selling a IJ?

Are they covered in nylon or plastic inside? Thank you!!!!!!!

Looks like nylon.

Thank you sir very much!

I have 1 of the "3 Bank" drop targets that only goes down part way after hitting it. It kind of "slides", then it will full fall with vibration. Just a spring issue?

Could be but I'd suggest pulling it all apart and cleaning. Install a new sleeve. You should be able to test out of machine if cleaning helped.

I just took mine apart and I installed all new parts on it. Most likely its just the spring you need to replace. I had the same issue. Good idea to pull apart and replace all the parts but If you don't feel like doing that just replace the sping first

Check out some pics I took when I rebuilt my 3 bank drop targets

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I am curious what flipper coils most people are using in their machines? I know the manual says to go with the weak ones FL-11753, but is the FL-11630 (red) a better choice given the steep ramps?

Also, i'm starting to experience some issues with my right flipper. During some games, I feel as if the power is a bit reduced. Also, the flipper will stick in the up position for a sec before going back down sometimes. On my demo man, I replaced the flipper opto interrupter plastic piece and it solved the issue...but I wasn't experiencing the reduced flipper strength on my demo man. Could it be the EOS? The EOS looks fine, but I know people who have had similar issues and though they thought it was the coil it ended up being the EOS (loose wire, disconnected wire, etc..)

Thanks!

Have you rebuilt your flippers lately?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-upgradingrebuilding-flippers

The flippers were rebuilt a year ago from the previous owner and everything mechanically is good.

I'm going to look at the flipper opto boards and inspect those optos (clean them if dirty) and look at the interruptor man too.

I had a weak right flipper and all it took was a super subtle adjustment of the EOS. If it engages too soon flipper will be weak. Flipper getting stuck sounds like could be optos like you suggest.

Do any of you have the ball spilling off to the side on the left ramp instead of just dropping down the inlane? It happens to me 1 out of every 10 times but it does happen. Especially if the ball is traveling super fast down the ramp. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

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Yes, I had this happening after I shopped mine and put it back together. Mine was doing it because the nut holding the ramp down at the bumper plastic (you can see it in your last picture) was not tightened down enough--I was afraid of cracking the plastic so had gone on the loose side of tight. After tightening it down, I did 1/2 turns at a time, played if still doing it, the another half turn until it was not doing it any more and the plastic did not crack. Putting a fender washer under the plastic was also helpful to spread out the force from tightening it down. If you need some pics of mine, let me know and I'll get them to you later today. Since tightening it down, I have not had it happen once.

Oh man! This is good news! Thank you very much! Yes can you post a pic of yours? Thanks!!!!