Welcome! It's great that you've got a Big Brave. This is one of the better-playing Gottlieb multi-player EMs. I have this game, and I really like it.

Here are some answers to your questions.

You should be getting 5000 points when you knock down the last drop target. 10K points or more is definitely not right. If I had to guess, I would say your drop targets may not be resetting properly. All the drop targets should solidly and firmly pop back up on the first 5000 points scored after getting them all down. If they aren't, check the reset bar on the drop target bank to see if it is binding mechanically. The plunger and sleeve on these bank reset assemblies are often very gummed up and so they stick. Cleaning the plunger and the inside of the sleeve (or better yet, replacing the sleeve) often helps.

For star rollovers that don't score, it's probably due to dirty and/or mis-adjusted switch contacts on the sequence bank (relay bank) mounted on the underside of the PF. There is one relay for each letter B, I, and G. There are make-break switches on each of these relays that connect the corresponding rollover switch to one circuit when the relay is latched, and a different circuit when the relay is tripped. In this way, a star rollover can score one thing when not lit, and something else when lit. So if the rollover is dead when its corresponding relay is latched, the make-break switch points are probably not making good contact.

Also note that the sequence bank frame fits into two end brackets and there are wing nuts that hold the frame in the brackets. On Gottlieb EMs, if the frame is loose and has slipped out of the end brackets even a little bit, then the relays will not operate correctly. So you always want to make sure the relay frame is properly seated in the end brackets, and the wing nuts are cinched down very tight.

If your replay unit isn't adding credits, it most likely is that the pawl on the drive arm that pushes the gear is stuck on its pivot. If the pawl is stuck, you can put some penetrating oil on the pivot of the pawl on the drive arm and work the pawl back and forth by hand to free it up. Then you should start getting added credits again.

For the playfield lights, in addition to the fuse holder, check for a dirty switch on the tilt hold relay. This switch needs to be making good contact when the tilt hold relay is energized, or the PF lights will go out. This switch is what causes the PF to go dark when you tilt the machine during game play - the tilt hold relay drops open, shutting off both the lights and the power to the PF coils until the ball drains.

Have fun and again, welcome! - TimMe

By the way, the over-scoring of your side drains may have the same root cause as the over-scoring on your drop targets. I believe on this game, they are scored by the same relay. Your 5000 point relay may be sticking mechanically. If it is, you can remove the coil from the relay frame and clean it. Here is a recent post on the EM tech forum with details on that topic:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jumping-jack-scoring-relay-sticks-sometimes#post-6014112

- TimMe

Good point on the max credit switch, I forgot about that. And no need to bow out, it takes a village to help a newbie.

- TimMe

Well, you definitely have a learning curve ahead of you, which is (hopefully) part of the fun. There are resources online that give you information on the basics of EMs. You can do a search on this Pinside forum to find posts that are addressed to new game owners. Some of those posts should have pointers to the online information that will help you get educated about EM pingames.

As lowbeau67 says, you will want to get a schematic for your game. You can order one from The Pinball Resource. Learning to read a schematic is yet another education task, but a valuable skill to have.

If you don't know about the IPDB (the Internet Pinball Database), you should. Here is the entry for your game:

https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=234

Looking at the instruction card on one of the playfield photos, I notice it says that "Completing drop target sequence scores 5000 points and resets drop targets." So from that, you can assume that you should get 5000 points when you get all the drop targets down, whether the special is lit or not.

Correct. The "switch for the rollover" is on a relay for one of the B-I-G letters that determines what the rollover is connected to (that is, what it is going to score). Because of the symptoms you are seeing, the switches on that relay would be the first thing to check.

That relay is located on something called a sequence bank. The sequence bank is a row of relays ganged side-by-side in a single steel frame. It is mounted to the underside of the playfield, all the way in the back (that is, just under the B-I-G rollovers at the top of the playfield). You need to raise the PF all the way up to see it.

The steel frame with relays mounted just behind the coin box, down inside the cabinet, is not the sequence bank. It is called the control bank. The relays on that bank are for overall machine control, such as starting the game, setting the number of players, tilting, and game over. The control bank is mounted on a rectangle of plywood called the bottom board.

The relays on the sequence bank are for things that are unique to the play of this specific game (such as remembering if the B-I-G letters have been made). The sequence bank does look a lot like the control bank, but like I said, the sequence bank is mounted on the underside of the PF.

And, the row of individual relays on the bottom board running front-to-back are not a relay bank, they are the set of individual relays needed to carry out various game functions. For example, from your above quote where you say "the mechanism to give the points" - that mechanism is one of these relays.

It's possible to lube the pawl on the replay unit while it is in place. If you can get to it, that will probably be the least amount of work. The replay unit does not slide out easily for service like the score units. Even if you remove the mounting screws, movement of the replay unit is limited by the attached wires. But if you can't lube the pawl with it in place, you'll probably be able to get access to it by removing the mounting screws and moving the frame, even with the wires still attached.

As for the tilt hold relay, yes, I meant that there are two switches on the same relay - one to control the lamps, and a different switch to control the coils.

- TimMe

Well, I screwed up and gave you incorrect advice regarding the relays for B-I-G. Yikes. On this game, there is no sequence bank mounted under the playfield, so you won't find any wing nuts there. Instead, there are individual relays that pull in and stay energized for the memory of each of the B-I-G letters. So the suggested fix I gave was correct (make-break switch on the controlling relay) but the place to look for that fix was wrong. Really sorry about that. I'm glad you figured it out in spite of the mis-information.

The issue with a relay bank being seated properly in the end brackets is a real issue, however, and it does still apply to your control bank down on the bottom board. On that bank, hopefully you can see the two wing nuts I was talking about. Just something to keep in mind going forward.

The replay unit is mounted using springs to make it more difficult to cheat by striking the head or backglass in an effort to make the replay unit jump up one credit. Since it is loosely mounted, it vibrates every time a credit is added, and that movement does tend to scrap the ink from the backglass after thousands of operations. There is supposed to be a foam pad on the front metal mask of the replay unit to keep it from scraping the glass, but that pad deteriorates over time.

The special awards a free game, so one credit should be added when you score it. Since your replay unit isn't adding credits right now, you are not seeing the award happen.

Here's a drawing showing the pivot that may be stuck on your replay unit. The red arrow points to the pivot. Note that there is a metal latch above this pivot, which is partially covering the pivot in this drawing. Your replay unit will likely have a similar latch, which will make the pivot difficult to see. You'll need to move the latch out of the way to see the pivot.

stepper pawl pivot

- TimMe