I just got a newly purchased 1977 Williams Big Deal set up and through pure dumb luck have not set it on fire (yet) despite my best efforts (who knew you actually have to line up the pins up when putting wiring connectors back in place?). I have replaced one coil so all the reels now will reset back to zero, all the pretty lamps glow again and it seems to be working except it will not index back to Player 1 from Player 4 in a four player game. All other player modes work fine. 1 to 2 to 3 back to 1, etc..... I start the game, push the credit button and every time I press the credit button the player indicator lamps glow accordingly, except the 4th lamp! I start playing, it indexes to player 2 after a drain, then player 3 after a drain and then player 4 after a drain, but on the next drain it stays stuck in player 4 scoring and the player light stays on the 4th player. I can cut the power and back on again and it will reset back to original conditions when the credit switch is pressed. I could possibly live with this, but the Electrical Engineer in me will not let this happen. I will add a photo of the player index unit later on. Any thoughts? I don't think this game was ever cleaned in it's life. The long chime was almost cut in two from use! It is a great unit on the whole and for $300.00 a steal.

Chime (resized).jpg

There is NO voltage to Player 4's lamp after pressing the credit button four times. Here is a photo of the player index reel at startup in 4 Player Mode. I may have unwound the reel one revolution when I was poking around the head unit.

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Index2 (resized).jpg

It is definitely the player unit not unwinding. It tries, but I think the B1-26 marked solenoid is not unlocking the pawl. The bigger A-22 solenoid did fire (very quickly) I tried to set the smaller unit into the unlock position, but it still did not unwind. I moved the clockwork coil spring forward and back a turn each way, but no joy.

fredsmythson - thanks for the tip. I will let you know what I find.

Thanks, Rolf. I found a website that had the entire game's wiring in one long pdf file and it made more sense (to my style of engineering training) to see it laid out this way. I kinda chuckled when saw just how logical these pinball systems are. Your drawings make it even better when I put the two next to each other. I will have to work on this tomorrow night.

Cleaned the Jones Plug and got Player 4 to glow again. Thanks Rolf. Still having issues with 4 player games, but even baby steps are welcomed.

It's a dirty wheel bushing. I can move it to 4 Player and it does not spin back quickly on its own even if nothing is in the way of the index teeth. A cleaning and light oiling is on tap as I have already pulled the index gear off and confirmed it is just old oil.

100% fixed and fun to play. Thanks for all the pointers. A little cleaning with PB Blaster, some light oil and it is done.