Quoted from javagrind888:

So unlike some others on here, my auto launcher was shooting around the loop 100%. I then put Titan bands on all the flippers and now it hits the little flipper and only succeeds about 75% of the time. Are Titan bands thicker than the black bands that came with the game or is it more likely that I moved the positioning on the flipper? I'm thinking about swapping the single flipper back, but it was a bug bear to get on and the color will be off from the others.

Quoted from splitcms:

Anyone ever have the problem where the game automatically chooses a song and the tomb opens at the start of the game?

Quoted from splitcms:

Anyone ever have the problem where the game automatically chooses a song and the tomb opens at the start of the game?

Quoted from snaroff:

The rubber sleeve on my Trooper MB diverter post creeps up every 10 games or so, resulting in stuck balls and annoying searches/tilts from trying to free the ball. Anyone else having this problem? I've had MANY games with posts and never had this happen. Before I contact Chas, wanted to see if there are any solutions folks have been implementing.
Thanks,
snaroff
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Quoted from Rdoyle1978:

this doesn't happen on mine, but I'm assuming it must be catching on the hole a tiny bit. You may be able to just readjust the post and center it better

Quoted from snaroff:

Thanks for the tip/response. That's what I was thinking as well. No adjustment to center the post, but I bent the bracket and seemed to improve it. The mech does have an adjustment for the post height. I raised it 1/8", so the ball is unable to rest in the hole (which it was doing, ever so slightly).
Man, this game is temperamental....
snaroff

Quoted from Rdoyle1978:

good! Much easier fix than the damn auto-fire.

Quoted from snaroff:

Yep...fortunately, the auto-fire works great on my example. My only remaining issue is my mummy captive ball is still wonky. I replaced the armature & adjusted the switch, but the ball itself seems to catch (which requires hitting it to reset).
snaroff

Quoted from snaroff:

The rubber sleeve on my Trooper MB diverter post creeps up every 10 games or so, resulting in stuck balls and annoying searches/tilts from trying to free the ball. Anyone else having this problem? I've had MANY games with posts and never had this happen. Before I contact Chas, wanted to see if there are any solutions folks have been implementing.
Thanks,
snaroff
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Quoted from Maken:

Had this issue, found an easy fix.
Remove the rubber from the metal post, place some electrical tape on the metal, re-attach rubber with a nice snug fit. Make sure that you don't invert the rubber, it is tapered and will cause problems if changed.

Quoted from snaroff:

Yep...fortunately, the auto-fire works great on my example. My only remaining issue is my mummy captive ball is still wonky. I replaced the armature & adjusted the switch, but the ball itself seems to catch (which requires hitting it to reset).
snaroff

Quoted from Rob_G:

If the newton ball isn't centering properly, unscrew the spring retaining collar (8) slightly. Loosen (4) first and start with about 1/2 turn on (8).
Rob
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Quoted from snaroff:

Thanks for the tip. Man, getting ahold of the newton ball to adjust (8) is a PITA. For me, loosening it seemed to make it a bit worse. I was able to tighten it a bit and it's working pretty well. It was never awful, but does seem dialed in. Considering the mech, I imagine 98% success is good enough
snaroff

Quoted from Rob_G:

If the newton ball isn't centering properly, unscrew the spring retaining collar (8) slightly. Loosen (4) first and start with about 1/2 turn on (8).
Rob
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Quoted from RA77:

Thanks Rob,
I must reiterate, please all, excuse me for continuosly going on about this junk mech.
take a look at the exploded view provided from Rob , simply unacceptable in today's day and age
Just a huge waste of materials added to the BoM
The worst part is the headaches this mech is causing owners and distributors.
As a pinball tech at a technical level, there is NO way this mech can be reliable !
I never want to see this rubbish again, you are better than this Stern Pinball.
There has never been a worse newton ball.
I ask Stern to come up with a proper solution.

Quoted from RA77:

Thanks Rob,
I must reiterate, please all, excuse me for continuosly going on about this junk mech.
take a look at the exploded view provided from Rob , simply unacceptable in today's day and age
Just a huge waste of materials added to the BoM
The worst part is the headaches this mech is causing owners and distributors.
As a pinball tech at a technical level, there is NO way this mech can be reliable !
I never want to see this rubbish again, you are better than this Stern Pinball.
There has never been a worse newton ball.
I ask Stern to come up with a proper solution.

Quoted from snaroff:

Truth! Every time I fiddle with this mech it's frustrating. I've owned 40-50 machines and have fixed/tweaked a lot of mechs and this is among the worst (the most arcane/complex/ornate implementation of a simple feature). I realize Keith was the new guy on the block, but you'd think Stern would have given him the "A team" to polish the Premium/LE (since the design of the game was largely accomplished outside Stern).
Do you think there is ANY chance Stern comes up with a proper solution? That would be great, but out of character for them...
snaroff

Quoted from snaroff:

Do you think there is ANY chance Stern comes up with a proper solution?

Quoted from hank35:

OK. After this fix, I went 50 for 50 on the auto plunge and had two perfect games with the auto fire working the way it was designed. I've tried every fix mentioned here and spent dozens of hours tweaking this.
Here's what (for now) finally worked.
Make sure your playfield is level.
Make sure both your auto fire prongs are touching the ball "at rest" and at the end of its cycle.
Clean and wax your playfield prior to adjustments.
MAKE ALL ADJUSTMENTS WITH YOUR LOCKDOWN BAR ON AND LATCHED.
Trust me on this one. Bar on and off produces different results.
1. I loosed the nut under the playfield that holds the top of the rail down.
2. I loosened the hex nut that adjusts the rail.
3. I inserted a plastic wedge to (slightly) move the rail more towards the playfield.
4. I adjusted the angle of the ball's trajectory with the wedge.
Pushing the wedge (down) towards the player moved the trajectory up towards the left mini flipper, while moving the wedge (up) away from the player moved the trajectory towards the rubber post.
5. After final adjustments, i'd say both screws on my machine are not loose, but they're also not snug. Tightening the nut under the playfield AND the hex screw at the end of the rail tight (like you'd expect) returned the game to erratic auto firing.
6. My final adjustments were with the wedge. I spent two hours yesterday and three hours today coming up with this "why does this work" fix.
If you're having problems, give it a try. Hopefully it'll work for you too.
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Quoted from Gogdog:

I think you are really on to something here. This has also helped by auto plunger success....(inserting a wedge)

Quoted from hank35:

Nice. I'm happy to announce 100% accuracy for the auto fire since this tweak. I've put on about 50 games since my last post, and well dammit, it still works.

Quoted from Fytr:

It sounds nuts but evidence is evidence.
Where does one acquire one of these mystical plasic wedges?

Quoted from Fytr:

It sounds nuts but evidence is evidence.

Where does one acquire one of these mystical plasic wedges?

Quoted from Hdmike444:

So I should have not said anything about the Newton ball because mine stopped working.

Quoted from Rob_G:

The mystery newton ball on my Premium started acting up tonight. It's not the mechanism itself or the switch gap, but the positioning of the switch cup. I drilled out the 2 mounting holes slightly bigger so I could position the switch assembly better without having to bend the bracket. Maybe it's also because I have the older spoon posts, but they have to be absolutely 100% centered in the cup. Test by pushing down the back of the plastic cup and if the post moves even a fraction, adjust it again. When it's not centered, the switch may actually open more in one or more directions and the switch doesn't close.
Rob

Quoted from javagrind888:

Dumb question: Which is the Newton ball vs the captive ball? Newton is the MUMMY and captive is the orb right?

Quoted from RC_like_the_cola:

On a premium, they are both newly design newton ball mechs.

Quoted from Tranquilize:

I would recommend getting the screwing started now. You’re going to have to learn it anyway.

Quoted from Billy16:

I speak from experience. Mine came with the auto working 100% and the manual hitting the post. Got the manual to 100%, auto went right in the dumper. Took me forever to get the auto back--shoulda left things alone...

Quoted from Who-Dey:

You can also just plunge softly for the skill shot below the loop if you dont want to mess with the manual plunger.

Quoted from Fytr:

Replace with these micro-switch based ones: http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/5647-12693-06

Quoted from patrickvc:

I got the switches today, getting the game tommorow so I wanted to be ready, these feel a little stiff like not feather like to activate. They are the ones that were recommended.

Quoted from Hdmike444:

I have been doing that and also plunging for the left lane which awards a big skill shot
I never knew the plunger should reach the fireball loop until reading it here

Quoted from patrickvc:

I got the switches today, getting the game tommorow so I wanted to be ready, these feel a little stiff like not feather like to activate. They are the ones that were recommended.