I don't think it is a "bug" per se, but tell your boys, sorry, it needs to be fixed

The yellow standups in the Tortuga mixer advance the meter when the ball(s) hit them. The switches may be working in test (they should all be off, normally open, not active, however you want to describe it) but maybe one or more are gapped too close and register more often than they should. Maybe vibrations are activating them repeatedly (like what happens with rapid slingshot firing when the leafs are too close.

In short, look at those yellow standups.

Good luck and when you find it, post back so the next person searching can find the fix

That sounds about right. I believe the optos at the top of the ramp start the multiball, so you may have a couple of things going on. The connectors for the disk optos are prone to coming loose due to vibration (and crappy connectors). Whether one is loose or not, reseat all four opto connectors on the opto board under the playfield. Follow the wires from the optos under the playfield to the opto board.

Don1 did you ever resolve the Tortuga problem? I have the same issue... check switches and replaced all Optos... thanks!

Reviving this thread, as I am having the same issue as well. Any confirmed solutions to this? Thanks!

Have you tested the Tortuga switches in switch test? Reseated opto board connectors?

It’s the yellow switches. Make sure they are all gapped properly and there are not any shorts.

Tortuga switched all tested good, optos reseated, and gap on yellow switched all looks proper. Still having the same problem. Any other suggestions?

Another problem I’m am having is the post for the trunk lock does not fire. It will retract in test mode but that is it. The optos and roll over switch under the trunk all test good. Any thoughts?

Put it into switch test and shake the game or bang around the playfield and see if switches register.

This. Pound on the lower playfield with a closed fist. If no switches trigger, lightly tap around the opto boards on the back panel.

How and when exactly does Tortuga qualify itself?

If it goes from nothing to qualified almost immediately on game start, it could be a bad opto switch... they can fail to a state of repeatedly triggering quickly, seen it happen on WOF to the tune of millions of right ramp points. This problem came and went, so might have to pound around to see if it triggers.

If it qualifies only while the game is being played and not while idle, you could have another switch also triggering one of the Tortuga switches. Check all switches in test for double-triggers and check diodes if you find anything odd.

Switch edge test is your friend here... start test, then pound playfield, roll the ball around, trigger other switches, poke prod and bend things around Tortuga, all the while watching for one of the qualifying switches to show closed.

Really appreciate all the responses thus far. Did all of the above while in test mode but could not get a switch to trigger.

However, switch 11 (plunder enter) did randomly trigger a few times on its own in test mode with the table up. When it did, it registered many times in rapid succession. This happens during game play sometimes but before manually launching a ball. It triggers an auto launch and subsequent Tortuga multi ball when it does this.

That said, I did play several games last night after conducting the foregoing troubleshooting and the issue did not occur during game play. I know the problem is not fixed but just wanted to mention it.

I am thinking the optos at switch 11 must be bad even though tapping them and wiggling the wires does not trigger a response in test mode. Is this the most likely culprit?

Fix the known issue and report back. Doesn’t make sense that the shooter switch could cause this stuff, but definitely fix that switch.

Shooter switch is likely fine. Flaky opto is validating the playfield, which triggers auto plunge.

Next thing to try is to reseat all the connectors on the opto board that switch 11 plugs into. Before reseating, you can go into switch test and flick a finger at the opto board to see if anything registers. Follow the opto wires under the playfield to find the opto board. POTC has more than one. Power off, balls removed before reseating connectors.

Ah. Good call.

Finally got around to replacing the optos at switch 11, and after playing about 20 problem free games, that appears to have fixed the issue. Thank you to all who helped narrow that one down.

The only remaining issue I have is with the post failing to stop the ball when shooting the chest. The post under the trunk does not respond in test mode. It will retract when prompted in test mode after pushing it up manually, but that is it. The optos and roll over switch under the trunk all test good. Any thoughts on what to try next? Replace the coil and/or sleeve?

Power off, test the resistance across the two coil lugs. Should be around 10 ohms. If no reading, look for a loose wire coming off the coil (to the lugs).

Coil tested good. Kinda at a loss of what to try next other than simply replacing the coil. Any other suggestions?

SOLVED! Turns out the simplest solution was the right one. Finally realized that the retaining clip on the coil post was missing. That is why the post would never pop up yet would still retract when tested. Fashioned a temporary fix with a paper clip and the chest works perfectly now. The chest did not work when I got the machine from the original owner who had never done any maintenance to it since purchasing new. It makes me wonder whether it was possibly missing from the factory. So glad to finally have this game at 100%!

Hey guys - I have a Tortuga multi ball bug that is slightly different. Everything seems fine. Get a ball up there, exit post is up, disc spins, lights fill up on switch hits, post drops, all is well. Then once Tortuga multiball is lit, get one ball up there to start Tortuga and it doesn't lock (post stays down) or give you a chance to get multiple balls locked up there to start a 3 or 4 ball multiball. It just immediately drops the 1 ball that you got up there and starts tortuga multiball (with 2 or 3 balls). I've checked the optos, everything seems to be working properly. Checked the switch test while banging on the playfield with a closed fist. Nothing erratic that I can find. It was working properly a month ago. Anyone have any ideas about what could cause this condition?

Haha, silly me. I realized this happens when the game thinks you only have 2 balls. A little weird that it never gave me an alert about balls missing. I was clearing the trough via service menu (to do some more testing in switch test mode) and I realized that it was only seeing 2 balls in the trough. Turns out 2 balls must have gone missing during the last service. Found them in the cabinet. Oops. Solved my issue... definitely one of my favorite games!