I have a bumper that the solenoid stays engaged. The bumper wasn't working. I found a piece of tape on the top set of points. I removed that and cleaned the points. Then when testing it engaged the solenoid and proceeded to burn a fuse. I've gone through a number of fuses even after putting the tape back in to be sure the points didn't connect but every time I turn the machine on the solenoid engages and the bottom set of points do not seem to "flip" the switch. I think it's not the solenoid (it moves freely) but rather the switching mechanism. Does that make sense or does anybody have any other ideas or suggestions.

Little Joe Bumper Assembly (resized).JPG

This bumper is controlled by a Pop Bumper dual switch. I suspect that this switch is stuck in the on position (triggered by the top set of points when a ball hits the bumper). When I plug it in the solenoid activates (and causes the bottom set of points to separate) but this doesn't reverse the switch as it should. I'm not sure how to check this. I'm going to go buy a pop up breaker and attach it in place of the fuse so I can do more testing. I've gone through 7 fuses already. Can't keep doing that. Hopefully I can find a replacement switch. The pictures I've found at Marco Specs look promising but I'm not sure what the differences are compared to what I need.

I've been spending my free (or at least inexpensive) time today watching videos. While this game has been in our family since about 1974 this is my first time actually trouble shooting. After watching the videos at the beginning of this forum I'm not so intimidated. I don't see anything externally on the pop bumper dual switch that looks bad. Even if I force the switch open that is supposed to turn off the solenoid it still activates. I was looking on Markos Specs site and see dual switches that look identical but they say Gotlieb and other EM games. I don't see any listed for Bally machines on the site. Is there any reason this one will not work? I'm not sure if the differences from one to the other is electrical differences or physical differences (length of the spoon etc.). Any thoughts on replacing this switch?

Little Joe Pop Bumper Dual switch (resized).JPG

Thanks for the tip. I did find the relay and one of the switches was stuck. I separated them and they stay separated. However, when the bumper is activated they stick again and blows the fuse. When I manually separate them the gap looks the same as the other. I'm not sure why they it sticks. I will do more testing when I get a pop up breaker that I can use when testing. In the attached picture it is the middle switch. The switch looks like it has some damage. I don't have a file to clean it very good. I have an emory board but hesitate to use it.

Little Joe Bumper Relay (resized).JPG

An update. After putting a temporary breaker in place of the fuse, I cleaned the middle switch really good and tested it manually repeatedly and it did not stick. I then tried playing to see how it responded. After several hits it now causes all the lights to go out and of course when you turn it back on it is game over. The points are not stuck together and the solenoid is not staying engaged as before. The breaker is also not tripping. I still suspect a bad relay. When I tested it manually I watched the switch. I also did the other bumpers and watched their switches. All of them have a bit of a spark when the middle switch activates but the one in question seems to be a bigger and brighter spark. Any other suggestions?

If your referring to the last picture, I'm not sure. Since I cleaned the center switch it will fire but something is not right because the whole machine shuts down. I'm going to replace the coil on the relay switch and the one on the solenoid for that bumper. Any other suggestions to replace while I'm at it? All other functions of the machine seem to work fine. I've been playing it extensively with the bad bumper bypassed and haven't seen any other problems.