Most of those ads seem to be really old.

What are these blue rubbers that are located at the building entrance? My Premium does not have them. The ball just rams into the metal. I have seen some pics with and some without.

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The premium moves up and down and gives a different size opening depending on building height

bending...a common occurrence in pinball ownership

They're called snubber rubbers.
Are you sure they're not just black on yours? Mine aren't blue either.

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Mine are black as well, but I've got blue on the mecha shield.

I'm in the club! First premium NIB! Thanks to Jason Grindle from Classic Game Rooms.

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Godzilla Prem: issue is balls not locking in the building. Sometimes it as if the VUK is having an issue locking all three balls on top of the building. Tried increasing VUK strength, but I dont think that fixed it. Read earlier that some folks said it could be VUK not alligned properly. Is it possible that there is an opto that is failing to read the ball going in the front door of the building? Any advice would be appreciated. Thx

Here is photo of the VUK which shoots balls to the top of the building. Are the VUKs kind of crooked like this on all Premiums?
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Had the same issue and followed the steps in post 15771. No issues since!

Congrats and enjoy, and welcome to the club!

Jason is certainly top notch, too.

My shaker motor has become incredibly loud lately, feels like the shaking level is out of control. I tested it and it isn't something else in the cabinet that is vibrating, it's just the motor itself. Very loud, and shakes the game a lot more than it used to. I haven't touched the settings for it at all, had always been at max.

Any suggestions?

Remove the plastic cover and check the bolts that hold the shaker assembly to the bottom of the cabinet. Are they tight?

IIRC, the shaker settings in the software menu control how often the shaker is used and do not control the strength of the shake.

The strength of the shake can be adjusted by removing one of the weights and repositioning it on the rotating shaft, in 90 degree increments:

Both weights in same direction = Max Shake force; weights 90 deg off = Med Shake; weights in opposing (180deg) directions = Min shake

RM

RussMyers nailed it. In addition, make sure the motor itself is tightly fastened to the cabinet. If it is loose, it will shake more.

The motor is still very firmly screwed into the cabinet, and the weights are in the same direction. But instead of quiet vibration with the intensity I'm used to, the vibrational noise is unbearable and shakes the cabinet way too much. I can't put my finger on what has changed to cause this..

did you use size 6, 8, or 10 washer(s)?

As mentioned above, try aligning the 'arms' on the shaker 180-degrees. one arm up and the other arm down. That will reduce the momentum significantly.

I can try that, but what I'm trying to figure out is what changed. I've had the motor set up since day one in June 2022, and now I've got these issues. I'm just wondering if anyone has had this issue before with a motor just getting insanely loud and intense with no change in settings, alignment, or the assembly.

there is a bolt/nut combo thingy across the top that spans the 2 supports for that plastic cover.. if that is loose, it will make noise.. check that.

I have noticed this also actually

Funny I actually dialed my shaker down recently as well. Maybe a code change?

Hadn't thought about that. It could definitely be code related. If it is, it should be listed in the read me code files on Stern website. Assuming it was an intentional update and not a bug.

Occam's razor: The simplest answer is likely the best answer.... Maybe the motor noise is coming from a noisy motor? Motors do wearout as they have bearings and run all the time.

If it is code related - I've noticed no change in my shaker motor with any recent code updates. Mine's been fairly aggressive since I installed 10 months ago, but that's how all of my games are.

Yeah it's definitely coming from the motor, but as for the motor wearing out, it isn't even a year old! Hope that isn't the case, as Stern seem to be having a hard time producing these of late. Maybe it's a lemon.

It's not just about age of the motor, it's about the number of hours and the duration of play as they heat up when used consistently, which causes the bearings to wear faster. I suspect it's just a bad motor, which can be replaced quite easily. (The motor itself can be purchased for maybe $40 or so)

https://www.pinballlife.com/replacement-motor-for-stern-shaker-kits.html

Have you tried taking the arms off and testing just the motor to isolate the problem?

Skippy2904

My GZ Premium showed up today, yea. When I pulled the playfield up (to check connections), it was held very tight. After I did my checks and went to put playfield back, I could not get the brackets to go in the slots. I have checked for anything catching or binding but don't see anything. Has anyone else seen this problem or am I missing something? My other games slide right into the slots without applying a bunch of force.

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Probably unrelated but I also just received my machine and when pulling up the playfield some of the wires were tangled around the one of building posts. I ended up using a few wire ties to secure these so they don't get tangled again but have you looked under the playfield for any snags?

Yes, mine is new also and has the same issue. Would not be surprised if you also have issues with the VUK gap and balls not locking sometimes.

Is the ball being kicked up onto the building and not registering as a locked ball after it's up there, or is the ball kicking up but then falling back down the VUK instead of coming out onto the building, or is the VUK not kicking the ball up at all after you shoot into the building? Any possible solution depends on what the symptom is.

That's almost always something hung up behind the rear of the playfield. Make sure no wires hung up back there and also make sure the top portion of the back wall of the playfield has clearance.

Edit: maybe also raise the playfield back up and check the metal sliders inside the cab that the playfield rests on. Make sure nothing looks out of place there

Mine was this way out of the box too....no interference, just had to push a little harder to get it to drop into the slots....game plays fine for hundreds of games.

Here was the issue with mine. The front board of the cabinet was warped or the metal piece was bend when attached to wood. Pic shows a metal straight edge showing the gap. It's 1/8" which is about exactly how much off it is. I was able to bend the metal a little so I didn't have to use excess force to get it in the slot. Thought I was good until I pressed the Start button and it did not come back out. Even unscrewed from cabinet it sticks badly. Great quality control! Thanks for the responses.

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Thought I had this one licked but it’s popping up again.

My right habitrail has a “bounce” to it when the ball hits the inlane exit. The left side drops in perfectly, the right side hits the end, bounces back and then drops down the hole. Kills flow a bit.

Any suggestions on how/where to bend or put pressure on the habitrail to smoothen it out? I’ll start screwing around with it but thought better to check here first as last time I thought I had it beat but it appears the problem has returned.

Have you tried adding a washer or washers under the nut at the end of the wire where it attaches to the sling? That might change the pitch of the wire just enough to slow it down a bit so it doesn't bounce.

Sometimes the ball does not make it up the VUK. It is the one inch gap between subway and VUK.... great place for a ball to sit. I am gonna get some washers and try that method and if that does not work I will get out a welding kit and make a connector piece for the gap. This gap is kind of ridiculous.

I am away, but will check when I get home.

Make sure the lock down bracket is screwed in tight. Also make sure there isn’t any leftover packing foam at the back of the playfield.

Gotta love Rodan!!!

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thanks brutha.... I just went ahead and bought like 10 of each size. May need extras down the road, never know. If this doesn't work, I'll disable the tilt-bob because a good running slam usually frees up the ball sitting in the gap.

New to the club, recently picked up a premium. What is the groups consensus on the most suitable replacement for the Godzilla toy?
Is it the Neca 1956 Movie Poster Godzilla?
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That's a good one and a popular choice.

RM

That's the one I have in mine, looks great. He's quite green compared to the look in the movies but then again, the ZY cab and playfield art all shows Godzilla as bright green so to my eyes it works fine. His spikes are red, which some people dislike, but again, it looks great in the machine so it works for me. Major visual upgrade over the simplified version that comes in the machine and an easy install. He's fairly pose-able so you can play with where he's looking or the position of his arms.

Long waiting list but this one is pretty cool. I'm like 240 on the list. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/godzilla-atomic-godzilla-figure-mod

Sonic

I did install your MRS mod and it works well until The magnet activates and the ball comes in between.
That means Imposters or other shots getting collected if the magnet activates.
Is there any fix for that?

In the past, when I have had habitrail issues, it is usually because I have adjusted the rail in one place (at one screw). Eventually, the one screw loosens enough that the fix is undone. Instead, I have had success adjusting the rail at every location for the fix to hold.

On other games, I have removed the rail entirely and bent a bit as needed.

Pulled the glass and threw some washers in, definitely better but not perfect. You’ve nailed it though, speed is the issue. I’ll probably tweak the habitrail and/or other mounts to slow it down.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Cool! Glad it got a bit better. There's a spot a few inches before that sling connection where there's a bend in the wire form. Maybe very slightly bending that spot upward a bit more would get you the rest of the way there.

Was super excited to get this as my first pinball machine but apparently it got damaged in shipping by FedEx. Box looked fine but they clearly dropped it. Now I have no idea what’s going to happen… not a great day for sure.

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