The Little Chief I'm working on during this quarantine can now play single-player games with no issues but I have not had much luck in getting it to work for 2-4 player games. The manual does not have any specifics on what to do to get 2-4 player games to work. Before working on this one, I have only worked on single-player games and one two-player game, a Gottlieb Soccer. Looking at the schematic, this is what I can deduce:

1) After the Reset cycle is over and the ball is in the shooter lane, pressing the Credit button should then allow other players to play, lighting the "2 Can Play", "3 Can Play", and "4 Can Play" lights in succession as the Credit button is pushed.

2) After that the Player Unit should take over controlling the scoring and game play for the multi-player game.

In my game, after the Reset cycle is over and the ball is kicked into the shooter lane, pushing the Credit button does nothing. The coin relay does not energize and neither does the Coin Unit. Am I understanding the logic of how going from a single-player to a multi-player game correctly?

Thanks in advance,

Alberto

ArgosySK and currieddog - thanks for the help.

I started the debug looking at why after starting a 1-player game, the Credit button no longer actuates the Credit Unit Reset coil. Looking at the four switches inside the black box, when the machine is first turned on, only the Game Over Relay switch is closed, all others are open. Then I push the Credit Button and the Credit Unit Reset coil is energized through the Game Over Relay switch and a 1-player game can be played. At this point, the Game Over Relay switch opens and the other three switches remain open. This can't be right.

I'm thinking one of the steppers (Coin Unit, Player Unit, or Ball Count Unit) has a Zero-Position switch in the wrong spot, one of them has to be closed AFTER the Game Over Relay Switch opens for the Credit Button to be able to actuate the Credit Unit Reset coil. I just don't know which one. I'm guessing it's the Coin Unit but I don't know. I contacted a couple Pinsiders that own Little Chief, hopefully they can send me a photo of those two steppers.

Thanks,

Alberto
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Below are photos of the Coin Unit stepper and the Ball Count stepper

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I checked the Zero Position switch on the credit wheel and it’s working correctly. It opens with no credits and is closed when there are credits on the machine.

One thing I tried this morning was to manually actuate the Credit Unit Reset plunger on the coil. Doing this does added 2, 3, and 4 players.

I then tried to play a 2-player game. No issues on Ball 1 but then when it has to go to ball 2, the Player unit stepped up to Player 3 when it should have reset to Player 1. Same thing with the Ball Count unit, stayed at Ball 1.

If I manually step-up and reset all the steppers I can play a 2-player game with no issues.

I’m going to continue work on the Credit Unit Reset coil problem tonight after work and then move on to the other problems I discovered.

Thanks again for all the help

Alberto

zacaj - I did re-assemble it wrong. This machine had water damage when I got it and that stepper was all rusty and the leaf-switches were broken. I used the Ball stepper unit next to it as a guide. I'll have to switch this around.

Thank you

Alberto

Corrected the switch position and now I can add credits with no issues. 2-4 player games still did not work. I found a broken wire going from the Coin Unit to the Player Unit which stepped up and reset the Ball unit which in turn controls the Player unit. The broken wire was buried inside the main bundle going from the playfield to the head.

Now I have some scoring reel issues to sort, but those I know how to deal with.

Thanks again to everyone for all the help.

Still got some cosmetics and cleaning to do, but the game now works from 1-4 player games. Did not think I could get it to this point but thanks for Pinsiders like you, it's now up and running.

From a game with a water damaged cabinet to one that now works.

Alberto
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