Pull the fuses out to check them with a DMM. Check for appropriate voltages under the playfield. Your schematic is probably available from Pinball Resource.

Clean and check the Jones plugs, if you had it apart. Making sure that the plugs are inserted correctly.

Also the fuses, the fuse holders can be cleaned and checked to make sure that there is a good connection with the fuse. Check the fuses out of the holders. Sometimes just taking the fuses out and putting them back in, creates a better contact with the holder.

Maybe this is dumb but it's sounds like what happens to a machine if the ball is already in the chute when you fire it up. You fire it up and everything is dead until it cycles through again.
I wonder if you need to look at the switch in the ball track that lets machine know that a ball has been ejected properly?
I have a schematic that I'll sneak a look at if need be.

That circuit should be wired thru the tilt hold relay. check the switches. It could be a loose jones plug. I would check plugs first then switches.

Hi
for Gottlieb ONE-Player pins I only have the schematics 1965 Buckaroo. I have some FOUR-player-schematics - here I show from Surf Champ.

"frb" mentioned the H-Tilt-Hold-Relay - Chum43 can You look-up in Your schematics of "Buccaneer" --- and tell about "Q-Game-Over-Relay", "AX-Reset-Relay","H-Tilt-Hold-Relay" ? Greetings Rolf

Surf-Champ-Work-10 (resized).jpg

does "ball 1" show up in the backglass? There is a contact on the ball count unit that closes when it steps to ball 1. This energizes the pf. Clean this contact...

Can do... Perhaps Ninja can narrow this down a bit.
You turn game on... It resets and ejects ball one. You put into play but bumpers and flippers are inoperative.
What happens when ball drains? Does it eject and go to ball two? If so does this sequence continue till game over? Do any of the targets or slings etc score at all or is everything dead? If you can let us know this it will be helpful.
Cheers... Hopefully you can be playing for Xmas!

I agree with Pinhead52 - check the operation of the ball count unit, located in the head. The ball count unit position must be at ball 1 to ball 5, otherwise all PF power will be off.

It may be that the ball count unit is mechanically binding and not stepping, or it may be that the switch at the far right end of the ball trough (next to the shooter) is not making good contact. The trough switch is what steps up the ball count unit.

Also, there are switches on the back side of the ball count unit that must close in order for the PF power to come on. One of these switches opens to kill PF power at ball count position 0 (game reset), the the other one opens at ball 6 to kill PF power (game over). If the ball count is properly advancing to ball 1 but you still have no PF power, clean and adjust these switches to be sure they are making good contact.

- TimMe

Everyone avoids the obvious first step, for some reason.

If the ball is ejecting from the outhole, it's not a fuse. The 25v fuse is good if the ball is ejecting.

Ball count unit is still at 0 position. can you plunge the add coil with your finger to make it advance to position 1.

Then the ball count unit is gummed up, you need to free it up so you can manually advance and reset the unit. The "easy" "non approved" shortcut is a drop or 2 of wd40 on the shaft to get in rotating freely. The approved method is to diassemble and clean it up with alcohol.

also a little steel wool to clean up the rivets on the disk.

And no issue with the hold, they get alot more toasty then that.

You can activate the coil manually, does the stepping part move? It should click once per coil activation. There are 2 coils one for moving the stepper, one for resetting the unit. Some times the rotating part works it self loose, the shaft will turn but the bakelite part will not.
There are 2 small set screws that hold the bakelite part to the shaft. Check the switches on the inside of the unit, clean them. Watch the stepper as it moves and see if it is allowing for the opening and closing of the contact switches. Especially the last position.

From the one photo it looks like the contacts should be cleaned.

Look at your first pic in post #11. The wire on the rivet solder lug all the way over on the far right (I believe it's blue + yellow) is the wire that controls the game over light. Check to see if this wire is shorting out against the metal frame of the ball count unit. If it is, the game over light will stay on all the time.

- TimMe

By looking at a schematic for a same year gottlieb, I can only suggest this.

The Game Over light is powered up on the 6th position of the Ball Count Unit. The wire between the light and the ball count unit has a connection to the 00-90 Unit (Match unit). If your match lights are not working then the wiring at the Ball Count unit need to be looked at. If the Match lights are not working then how is the Game Over light getting power? Could the wire for the Game Over lamp touching another source of constant power? like the GI wiring?