The aim in moving the ball guide is to ensure that the ball sits centrally on both forks.
That may mean you need to move one of the forks left or right.

Is the coil replacement actually a fix for the auto-launch making the loop? Wasn't sure if only a couple people did it, or of it's a widely used fix.

I've tried nearly all the suggested fixes, some work and some don't (or don't last long). The more powerful coil is a big help and worth the swap--it will increase the percentage of good launches. However, if the auto-launch prongs don't contact the ball squarely and your shooter lane guide isn't smooth and adjusted perfectly, it is not a guaranteed 100% cure. Everything has to be just so to get close to 100% accuracy on the auto-launch. It has to be the most finicky auto-launching Stern, there is no room for error in the set-up. Even the top flippers have to be set at just the right angle to avoid being struck by an auto-launched ball.

.

If it's not the end-all fix for your machine, it's at least 80-90% there. I highly recommend it. Don't tell him, but Neil's a genius for this one.

What coil should I be ordering?

Click on the topic index at the top of the page, then click on the topic "how to fix autolaunch forever." All the info is there, including a link to the coil.

Pinball Life is out of stock currently on the coil, Terry said it will be 2-3 weeks before the new stock arrives. Guessing everyone is swapping out that coil.

They are usually available at Player One for about $14

Little Shop of Games has them in stock for $14.95 (cut the diode off)
https://littleshopofgames.com/shop/coils-windings/data-east-sega-stern-auto-ball-launcher-solenoid-coil-090-5023-ot/

Or better yet, BAA has them in stock without the diode for $6:
http://bayareaamusements.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=DX-090-5023-00

Pinball Life link does not work.

Found 3 on Marco, but not sure which one I need:

https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=090-5023

this one will do it:

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/090-5023-0B

Marco's out of stock, too. I followed up and posted two places that have it in stock. BAA is much cheaper and diode already off it.

If I remember correctly, you had to cut the diode off that came on the new stronger coil.

Derp. Right. Edited it.

BAA is the best bet, then. Only $6 and in stock.

My solution for shooter:

1. Used a pen to mark where my pf brackets latch to the PF. It's is very important that your pf sits in the same position each time you close it.

2. Cleaned and waxed the pf.

3. Replaced the post rubber at the end of the ball guide with a thicker one.

4. Put gorilla tape around the rubber post to make it bigger.

5. Cut a piece of old flipper rubber and wedged it between the ball guide and the oversized post rubber. I adjused the amount of tape to dial it in so the ball makes the loop dead center.

I've essentially eliminated the adjustment screw as it is ineffective, piss-poor design.

I am at about 98%, assuming I clean the pf every 100 games, give or take.

It's unnoticeable on the game. Only potential issue is the pressure on the post, hence the rubber.
IMG_20191026_121732 (resized).jpg

my coil mod is 100% on two different IMDN's that I own.

Has anyone had their left ramp arrow light randomly decide it wants to show blue? Like when it's supposed to be white it looks Aces High blue, when playing Flight of Icarus the light is green, etc. It's only the left ramp arrow and nothing seems to be out of whack when I look at the wiring. There are no technician errors being given. This doesn't affect the gameplay, it just looks stupid.

Board is bad or solder is cracked. Inspect the 4 wires soldered to the board. If any are loose or you see solder cracks, reflow it. If you don't see any of those issues, the board is bad. My GUESS is the RED connection is the issue based on you saying blue works, green works, and white looks blue.

Fortunately, they're cheap - like $1.39 to replace from pinballlife.com:

https://www.pinballlife.com/rgb-pcb-led-replacement-board.html

Thanks Neil, I’ve replaced the coil as you suggested and that indeed fixed the issue completely. I’ve tried everything else but this fixed it for 100%.

Greetings guys.
New LE owner here. Couple quick items that I’d sure appreciate help with.

1. When starting a new game, or even a new ball, my pin will start playing a song and act like you’ve selected that song even if you haven’t. Is this a bug in the code? I’m running the newest code.

2. Ball comes off of the left wire form coming back to the left flipper. I’ve read in this thread that this is an issue and that stern replaces the wire form. Is this correct even if I’m not the original owner?

3. Auto Plunge. Plenty of good stuff out here so I’ll read up and I’m sure I’ll get her locked in.

Such a fantastic pin!

1. A switch is triggering. Most likely the clairvoyant newton switch needs adjusting.
2. Check for any bumps at the welds. A few had too much of a bump at the joints causing ball hop. I think Stern will help you out regardless of whether or not you are the original owner. They will just want the serial number from your game.
3. Like you say, plenty of reading material. Swap the coil, adjust your rails, whatever works best for your machine. Regular waxing always helps.
Good luck. Enjoy.

How’s it going guys, having an issue with Maiden Premium that can’t seem to track down.

The sarcophagus lock is having an issue in game play where it shutter or doesn’t move smoothly while ball is in play even if the Anubis door is closed. The sarcophagus keeps going up and down, all switches are working normal in test( I even replaced the all the way up one just in case it was flakey). I’ve also reloaded the software due to at one point when I was testing the sarcophagus, the Anubis gate starting moving on its own.

If this was covered anywhere in the 44 pages could someone point me to the page since I don’t recall this issue being addressed. Thanks for any ideas-help to track this down.

If it's constantly going up and down, it's trying to clear a jam. Are BOTH switches inside it working properly (one isn't registering closed all the time or intermittently)? Also, while in switch test, try smacking the playfield with an open palm sharply and see if it makes any switches register from vibration.

That makes sense, I have two new switches that I’ll install hopefully tomorrow night just in case one or both are flaking out in game play. I’ll report back after I put some games on it.

Thanks for the advise, the game is still the number one played when company stops by and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

That mechanism is a very common point of failure on the Premium/LEs, but it's a bitch to replace one of the switches, so I'd definitely test first. No sense in replacing if you don't have to.

What was happening on mine is that the switches inside the mech would actually bind on the side of the mech not allowing the ball trigger the switch... I replaced all three switches in the mech and haven’t had a problem since. It is a bit of a pain to get out but once I figured out how to get the captive ball disassembled it was easy. Vice grips with an old pinball runner to hold the captive ball still is how I did it.

Thanks for the reply, I've been busy for awhile and haven't played the game. Looked through settings and looks like everything is on factory default.

Everything seems to be working besides this, but trooper Multiball just shoots the balls into play one by one rather than shooting them and held by the post and all released simultaneously.

I guess it isn't all that detrimental to play, but just bugs me to have it not working as intended.

If the process is interrupted by a switch, it will drop the post and just start the multiball. I'd check to see if you have an intermittent switch that's activating while it's trying to start multiball. Glass off. Go to switch test. Smack the playfield with an open hand firmly all over the place and see if it triggers a switch.

What I ended up finding,was the screws for the sarcophagus lock switch plate were loose causing the switch to drag or not release the metal tab every so often. This was probably why it worked fine in test with me triggering it but changed during game play. I also installed the new switches since I had the assembly out. Thanks for you help..

The switch near the Newton likes to bind. I pulled off the leaf of the switch and trimmed and adjusted it. See my previous post a while back. Way easier fix.

Edit: you're already done. Oops!

Got the coil from BAA. Thought it didn’t come with a diode on the coil when I ordered it but it sure appears that there is a diode on the coil.

Does this make any difference? Thought I’d ask before I put it in.

By the way, it’s hard to work on this machine. Even at 90% locked in, its so good.

It's no diode. If you got one pre-installed, just clip it off.

my ramp keep playing up on my premium. it opens super wide...any ideas?

Not sure what you're saying? The center ramp is staying up on your premium?

I’ll take a picture

So I finally changed my coil to the suggested one and still is only 20% at best I've tried setting the power from 180 to 230 with same results. It hits the rail below the upper left flipper everytime it misses. I've moved the shooter lane rail up as high as possible with no luck. Any ideas?

It’s all how you position that rail before it leaves the shooter lane and making sure the plunger is hitting the ball dead center. Carefully elongate the mounting holes on that side rail if you need a little more adjustment. It’s a little trial and error but you should be able to find a sweet spot. That’s what worked for me.

I'd check my previous fix. Don't rely on the adjustment screw. It's only a wood screw ie. Piss-poor design. Once I took that out of the equation, I'm at 99%.

Per my previous post, my issue lies in the orb/power jackpot Newton ball.
When I first got my machine, it wouldn’t let you pick a song. During game play, I noticed it was giving awards for power jackpot without the shot being hit.
Upon further review, my newton ball seems to be getting caught up. It doesn't fully come back to the original position. Seems to me to be a spring issue? It also doesn’t seem to me to be a very well designed piece.
Any got any words of advice? Do I need to replace this piece?

Do you have the flat metal rod where it hits the saucer underneath, or the one that looks like a dull pencil point?

The end of the metal piece under the PF looks like a pencil.

But it still gets caught in the mechanism/spring moving up and down.
Actually removed the switch to see what was going on and it definitely gets hung up in there. How does a guy take that piece completely out?

Why is it moving up and down? The spring should just be compressing slightly as the lever attached to the ball moves in any direction horizontally. The ball shouldn't be moving vertically.

Correct.
It compresses and then gets caught like a spring that compresses and then cannot release.

Has anyone else had issues with their newton ball?
Either MUMMY or Orb/Power Jackpot Newton Ball.
To clarify, when my newton ball is struck, it moves backwards but gets stuck (presuming spring gets stuck/pinched) and cannot spring back to its original, neutral location.
Just thought I’d ask before I take the entire thing apart.
Thanks!

Make sure the end of the actuating rod is directly centered in the middle of the spoon. If it is off just a little it can cause sticking. Even when it is adjusted as good as you can adjust it, it still might stick but another hit should re-center it. I polished the end of the rod to make sure there were no burrs, and made sure the spoon was smooth. Poor design, you just do what you can and live with it.

Hey guys what’s the part number for the roll over switches for the sarcophagus fix please?

I *believe* it's this one:
https://www.pinballlife.com/data-eastsegastern-ball-detect-blade-with-roller-sub-microswitch-180-5119-02.html

Yep thats the one thank you!

I had mine changed but have sold it since. Helping out a friend with his.

Cheers!