Vexed and perplexed with a problem related to the eddy sensor board. Any leads are appreciated. My tech skills are pretty limited.

Here is the situation and what I've tried:

(1) Originally, hits on the crate all registered but then gradually only registered sometimes, and finally not at all.
(2) With the crate no longer registering hits in switch test mode or gameplay, I replaced both the flat eddy sensor that sits under the playfield insert and the eddy board with a new one from pinball life. Installing the new flat sensor and new eddy board resulted in no change.
(3) I tested the small two-pin connector for continuity coming from the flat sensor, and there is continuity.
(4) With both the old and new board, the LED light STAYS LIT as soon as the game boots and never goes off. I see that the old and new board both have a potentiometer and I have read a website about adjusting the pot, so on both boards I have adjusted the pot with a screwdriver to its minimum, midpoint, and maximum and run a switch and gameplay test again, but with no change. Meanwhile, even with adjusting the pot with the game turned on, the LED light on the eddy never goes off. A meter test confirms that adjusting the pot on both the old and new board does show a change in resistance.
(5) All LED lights on top of the crate do light in attract mode, and both optos in the crate under the playfield do work (perhaps irrelevant, but just in case).
(6) THE BIG ONE: During gameplay, if selecting the crate from the spider hole, the crate DOES register a hit, despite the eddy board not registering any.

So any ideas? I feel like the problem is not actually in the eddy boards, but in one of the backbox boards, which may not be communicating with the eddy. If so, which board and what could be the problem?

Grateful for any advice!

Could there be anything else triggering the eddy sensor (e.g. a metal hole protector)? Maybe try and remove the sensor from the playfield and see if the LED turns off when it's in mid-air.

Just this weekend my crate stopped registering hits and when I checked the sensor the LED was permanently on. Thankfully I was able to just tune the pot a little. The LED should be off in steady state and turn on when you pass a pinball close to it.

I believe this is just done in software -- the game grants a hit to the crate when you select it from the spider. But it does show that the LED drivers are working.

Thanks so much for the response. The LED light state information is useful, as is the idea of whether something else metal could be triggering the sensor or eddy board. Based on a test I also did by letting both the flat panel sensor and eddy board dangle from the playfield and passing a ball over the flat panel sensor (with no response), I don't think there is something else triggering it, but it's worth a closer look. Also, even if I unhook the flat panel two-pinned sensor from the board, the LED light on the eddy sensor board stays on, so I'm still puzzled.

Anyone else have any other ideas?

This is completely expected.
A ball passing over the sensor changes impedance for it to be 'out of' range of the expectation, so it activated the switch/LED.
Unplugging the loop board will do the exact same thing.

Thanks for the response, Coyote. Still puzzled as to what the problem could be, given that I have tried two different boards and adjusted the pot on both, with the LED light staying on no matter what the pot position is.

I saw you mention this before - which board(s) were different? Two different driver (board with the pot and LED) and loop boards? Or did you only change the driver only? Did you try adjusting the pot with the loop board not mounted on the playfield?

1. It's possible the loop board is shorted, or bad,
2. It's possible that like someone else mentioned, that something (metal) is interfering with the loop board.
3. It's possible that the cable connecting the two is picking up interference or not making a solid connection.

For #3, for example, it's a common fix in TZ to hard-solder the connecting cable, as interference, iffy, and loose connections to the plug can cause bad inductance readings.

Thanks for the detailed reply. I have replaced both the driver board and the loop board, and I have tried adjusting the pot without the loop board mounted to the PF. But I'll keep troubleshooting with what you said in mind. I may try the hard-soldering route as well.

Okay - some things to keep in mind: (And I only bring this up because in the past, I've had to deal with this in my career. You know those squares or circles you see on the roadway in front of traffic signals? Some railroads use them as well. Yeah, same detection technology here.) I'm not saying that these would be enough to set off the board here in SS, but it's issues I've run into before -

Depending on the sensitivity, some things you think may not interfere can cause issues - including a person's fingers simply holding the loop board. A dirty board, or a scraped solder mask (green coating on the board) can cause issues.

I am ALSO assuming that the LED is a sensor LED and not a +12v or +5v indicator LED. I don't have this game in my collection now, and I don't remember having to ever mess with the board, but the manual says that the LED is representing the output and not voltage present. If you have a 3rd party board, though, I would double-check.

The cable connecting the two will be BEST if the two conductors are twisted and not loose. Help minimize noise.

The cable connecting the loop board with the driver board has no polarity. (Because the 'loop' board is just that, a loop.)

Honestly, I would check your cable connecting the two boards - likely there is a loose/intermittent connection on the IDC connectors.

Some useful ideas. The next chance I get I will experiment further. Thanks!

See the attached photo on a good calibration technique. The sensors are very sensitive and you might (hopefully) just need to fine tune it.

Note - this applies to the OEM PCB. I don't know about the PL one.

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I have an issue that I'm having a hard time figuring out. The spider wheel works fine most of the time, but occasionally it will continue to spin a bit past the point when you hit the flippers. If you hit the flipper at Double Trouble, for example, it will light up. The problem is that sometimes the spider will continue past that point. Sometimes a little bit, sometimes a lot. The light and the pointer don't match up when this happens. Any ideas on what might be causing this? Thanks.

Thanks for the detailed instructions, amxfc3s. I will experiment. I do appreciate it!

Also forgot to mention that everything works fine in test.

In case anyone else has this problem, I reflowed the connectors on the spider board and everything is working fine now.

Glad to hear it, and thanks for the update. I was going to take a look at my spider wheel this weekend to see if I had any notions, but you beat me to it. Congrats!

Let me know if you would sell or consider trading your SS. Thank you.

Hi!

I just got a Scared Stiff, but the mechanism that makes the crater Hold its door it's not there. I just bought the metal piece that holds the door close, but I don't know how to install it. Can so some take a picture of your mechanism for me, please? I need to see how the coil connects with the metal piece.

Thanks for your help!

The manual shows all assemblies in the game. If you don't have it then to to ipdb.org, put game title in search and download the pdf file.

Edit: check page 2-31
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I have this complete assembly. It’s NOS. I got it when I bought a garage full of parts from a guy that restored machines in the 90s and closed shop in 2000.
No idea what it’s worth - quite a bit. It’s a plug and play “fix”. Can’t believe distributors used to have complete assemblies like this on the shelf.

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Because while we 'home' collectors are upset when little things break, back in the day when operators were the main reason Pins existed distributors had to stock up on components that broke easily. A day down is a day's worth of earnings lost.

Going back a few weeks to when I could not get a new eddy sensor board for SS to register any crate hits, even when adjusting the pot, troubleshooting anything that could have been causing interference, and trying workarounds, I decided to get another new board, but this time with the autocalibration feature and no pot. The only available distributor was tangles' pin parts in Australia, but it was worth the wait. This "smart" eddy sensor worked immediately, so finally I can "feed the crate" again. I'm still perplexed as to why a new board from a reliable U.S. distributor could not be made to work, but I'm very grateful for all the advice from amxfc3s, coyote, and waveman related to my original post.

Does anybody know where to get a replacement gate trap door? Mine recently seems to fall off the ramp edge and hangs down which stops the ball from going up from the VUK and into the right ramp. When it’s in the right position flapping above the hole the kickout works great. Mine seems like it needs to be extended so it stays on the ramp edge and over the top of the hole.

Edit: Found one at Marco but looks like you have to rivet it in yourself.

My flap was 1-2 mm to short and would fall down. I had changed ramp as the old was broken and the hole was probably slightly larger in the new ramp. No slack to adjust the ramp position either as the ramp screw holes would not align properly then.

My solution was to take a short bit (maybe one cm) of standard translucent tape, fold it at the middle and fasten both ends above and below the ramp edge. This gives the metal flap a ~2mm invisible edge to rest on. This has worked for more than two years now without any problems.

I bought a new boney beast ramp a while back too and have yet to replace it but the tape sounds like a cheap option. I’ll give it a try thanks.

Mickspinball.com is now offering, and has available the LED oscillating disc's for any single lamp location. This product is designed to be used on any machine that has an open playfield lamp location that you might want to enhance.

Oscillator.GIF

Below are three examples of upgrades to playfield lighting that that I installed on my personal Scared Stiff using the LED oscillating disc.

Shoot Again.GIF
Light Lock.GIF
Telepathic Powers.GIF

The web site currently lists several options and available kits that can be installed on any machine or location, as well as some Kits that are specific to ST:TNG. It can be installed in any light location that uses Wedge or Bayonet type connections. It can also be connected to any GI Lighting source. For any other types of connections that you may be interested in doing, please contact me to provide details for your desired connection location and type.

Details can be found on my website at: https://www.mickspinball.com/circular-red-oscillating-led-flasher. Please check out the web site for ordering information, and of course, if there are any questions please let me know.

This really is another fantastic Pinball addition, along with my laser cannons that I have been offering since 2002.

Anybody have an extra set of sling shot plastics you can sell at a reasonable price? Wish someone would re-create the original ones as some of the others I’ve seen look weird.

Just picked up a beautifully restored SS. What’s everyone’s favorite side blade set?

Pics?

Pics

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That’s a beauty! I bought a restored SS a couple years ago and it looks very much like that. Good find! I have had the blue and the red blades from Tilt on mine, I prefer the blue. My favorite Elvira blades are from Retro Refurbs, and are actually for EATPM, I believe, and I have them on my Party Monsters. I would put them on SS too if I ever change them. I like the color transition. These dripping green slime ones from Tilt for EATPM are cool too! Any would look good.

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Having a real weird opto problem on switches 37-left (crate) kickout and 42-middle coffin lock. The opto on the crate kickout works for a while when testing and then stops. Come back a little later and it does the same thing. Opto on switch 42 will work once or twice in test mode and then stops. Come back latter and it works once or twice then stops again. Both the transmitter and receiver on both switches have been changed out to new ones. Is there a problem with my 16 switch opto board underneath the playfield and how do I troubleshoot that? Why do both switches work intermittently and then stop?

Can anyone help me identify this part, I found it rolling around the top of playfield last night while playing. Looks like it broke off something. Game seems to playing fine & all working unless I’m missing something. Originally I thought it was part of the transmitter/receivers on the ramps but doesn’t look like it. Any help would be great, says 25v on it & the backside looks & feels like it had 2 solid wires on it. With this piece rolling around I assume something isn’t working. PM me or respond here. Thank you, John

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Ok so I’m thinking this is a 25v capacitor on a board up by the skull pile possibly. I have to investigate further. John

I used these on my machine. But I had to in order to match the armor!

Skull pile mod, boogiemen, & color DMD. I’m thinking it’s nothing. Looking further into it, thanks

Hi pinsiders, i join the club. I have a question, i remove the ramp to clean and forget where this plástic go, can someone help me please?

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Don’t see that anywhere on my game. The only clear plastics I have are upper right by the bumpers.

I've got a plastic set from cointaker that I'm not going to use. Cost was $129 plus shipping (and maybe tax?). Will sell for $120 shipped via PayPal f&f.

https://cointaker.com/products/scared-stiff-plastic-set

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New price $110 shipped

My crate sensor just started acting up. I haven't even popped the hood to mess with the pot yet, but even if I can get it working I might want to get a modern eddy sensor in there for the long term. Are you still happy with the Tangles version?

I can chime in here- I picked up the Tangles auto sensor board last year. I haven't had a single shot to the crate not register. With the old board, it was at least 2 to 3 times a year the pot needed to be dialed in. Pick up the auto sensor board, you'll be glad you did.

Thanks much for the confirmation @in2kiss!

I just noticed my SS ROM is version 1.2! I have had a ColorDMD in it since 2014 so my ColorDMD software is ancient too.

I saw some posts about poorly colored transitions with the current SS ColorDMD and ROM 1.5? Did that get straightened out? I'm trying to decide if I should update all the software, or leave it alone.

Does anyone have a part number for the adjustable pot on the crate eddy board?