Right number of balls in the game and all accounted for ? Ball trough switches all working ? Shooter lane switch working and staying closed then a ball is on it ?

LTG : )

Which version of the ROM is in the game? Apparently v1 had a problem with locking up the ball trough. I'd also check ball lock switches in switch test to see if any are stuck on.

viperrwk

Let us know what you find out. 99% of the time, it's the shooter lane switch as LTG has mentioned. Either the switch is bad, or the switch wire isn't positioned correctly. Make sure you test with a pinball.

This happened on my SWT, drove me crazy Feels great to have it fixed.

I had this exact problem on my SST last November (I'm glad I keep a log of repairs on a spreadsheet so it can hopefully be of help to others). Here's what it was for me.
Launcher switch quit working. Ball auto plunges. Traced wires and found negative had come un-punched from a switch. One cascaded switch out, too. Re-punched and all is well.

So, just trace the wires starting with the switch and I bet you'll find a wire has come loose upstream.

Good luck!

Wiring is fine, diode for it is elsewhere. Just using NO ( normally open ) and C ( common ) on that switch.

LTG : )

You'll be hard-pressed to find this issue tracing wires as your first step. First you need to figure out what is CAUSING the problem (most likely via the switch test). You need to 'think' like a pinball machine does. What input (or lack of input) tells the machine to autolaunch (or not autolaunch)? Probably something in the ball trough or shooter lane, like LTG said. Fortunately, these things are VERY easy to check in the switch test menu. If I'm not mistaken, there is a test menu that shows a (bad) graphical interface showing where all the balls are located in the trough and shooter lane. Then, when you press a button, it will launch a ball out and show you (on the DMD) the balls moving through their sequence.

Then, after you've identified (or at least narrowed down) the problem switch, you can physically search for it and determine why it is failing.

Good luck. Remember to think in the same logical steps that a pinball machine needs to use.

The diagnostic tests on this machine are a little strange to understand. I could use some help in determining how they work as well.
TFTC was easy I don't understand these ones at all.

Doh!
I just checked the manual in more detail and it describes the switch tests in detail.

When you open the coin door, the high power (power to the coils and flashers) shuts off. You need to pull out one of the little white knobs inside the coin door to turn the high power back on.

All of this information can be found in the manual.

Is it me, or does every SST(and even maybe Sega pin) have super-powerful shooter lane coil? Almost to the point where the ball sometimes bounces back in. I've heard a certain someone's Apollo 13 sound like a replay knocker each time a ball goes into play.

I was actually just going to post about this but I guess it can fit in this thread. Yes sometimes balls, especially during multiball when they kick out fast, don't seem to make it cleanly up the lane & around the orbit. Some do some don't. But I inspected the coil itself & have a clean sleeve in there, & the mech seems to move as it should. Nothing weird seems to be going on so I'm not sure what to even do to get cleaner launches every time. Game is pretty level too, though I might be sloped just a little above spec. Might be closer to 7 degrees than 6.5 but I actually like the slope where I have it as far as gameplay & would rather not change it.

I never considered this could be due to the launcher being too powerful. I feel like I want to blame the mech itself for maybe being a little too lose or something.

I have the same problem on my SST. I have tried everything I can think of. Replaced the coil and whole assembly and still problems getting some balls all the way up. I adjusted the coil strength in the setting too I believe.The ball sometimes rattles, right when it comes out, then it drops right back down into the outline. I've given up on it a long time ago. Maybe somebody else has a solution?

Pappy

Yup, exactly what happens here. Glad to know its not just my game doing this. Surely us pinheads can think of a fix? Honestly the only thing I can think of might be to add an extra washer or something to tighten up the mech a bit to keep it from wiggling as much when it fires. Just been too lazy to try it yet.

That might work. I wonder if a stronger coil will do the trick too? More horsepower usually fixes things right?

pappy

Fixes or breaks things! If you are a gamblin' man While I love the idea of fixing things with brute force as much as anyone, I am pretty happy with how on a clean launch the ball does make it around the orbit for me (like it should), though not by much. Not sure about you. That tells me the coil is providing enough power. More power might even cause more unpredictability.
Plus the guys above said it might even be too powerful already, though I'm not sure if that is the problem. I'm guessing it has to be a stability thing in the mech itself since I did notice a little wobble there. Of course I could be wrong.