Thanks for the info about the domed cannons. I bought the domes myself, but could not figure out how to remove the old ones.
Now I know

Axl

STTNG owners, seeking advice!

I booted up the pin and the error report said left and right cannon could not find "home". I removed both motors and manually moved both cannons to their respective "homes" (the were each facing the other way).

Long story short, now when I start a new game, the ball is not loaded in the catapult. Instead, the right and left cannon coils keep firing, right, then left, repeat forever.

Ideas? Do I have a bad cannon perimeter switch?

More detail; in the test menu, when I test the LT and RT cannon, both switches listed on the screen are closed. Normal?

Thanks for any info!

Umm why? Did someone physically mount them wrong or were you manually moving them because they were not going home.

Either way, you should just be in tests and using the test to swing the cannons back and forth. If they do not swing back and forth in test, that is an issue (regardless of switches).

If they do move back and forth THEN you look at the switches. At starting position HOME should be closed then as you swing out HOME should open.

Then after home opens the other switch (I forget its name) should open/close as the cannon passes over it.

Step 1 can the cannons be told to move.
Step 2 does home open/close at the right spot.
Step 3 does the other switch open/close at the right spot.

Patofnaud, thanks for the reply! I really appreciate your time. To answer your question, I moved them home manually because it seemed like the thing to do. I removed the motors to learn about how the cannon work. I then inspected the 2 switches (per cannon). Anyways.

NO, the cannons do not move under the test modes. So step 1, no go. Enter doesn't fire the cannon coils either. + and - do not move the cannons. Total test failure there.

While the motors were off, I tried to trigger the 2 switches (per cannon) in the single switch test. Neither of them triggered at all. Hm.

(Since I had removed the motors and located the switches, I totally understand step 2 and 3 now. Thanks! But step 1 fails)

Thoughts? Thanks again for your time.

EDIT: Also, when you power on the pin, the cannons do not swing out and back home again. That's part of the boot sequence, correct?
EDIT 2: I booted up the pin while the cannon motors were off. The motors did not spin at all. It's like there's no power delivered?

Ok if step one is failing, is the coin door closed? Do other coils work fine?

May be time to look at prints if yes to both those questions. But not tonight, I'm dead tired.

Again, thanks for your reply!
Yes, coin door closed (coin door switch working). When I start the pin, a bunch of coils actually fire. So yes, other coils are firing.
Another weird thing, I can't seem to trigger (any?) optos in switch test. And also, my lighted flipper buttons are not lighted anymore (I thought those lighted up as soon as you started the pin, but I might be wrong).

Even though my batman forever pin thought me a lot via several repairs, I am sort of a newbie. In case it wasn't obvious. Yeah, I know, I did not pick a newbie pin. Right?

All use 12v. You may just have a simple blown fuse and not a cannon issue.

Take a peek at the prints/manual and you will see were they get 12v from. Without looking I would assume its 12VDC Unregulated.

I'm having similar issue (dormant display, canons not rotating, britebuttons the opposite of brite, etc.). I believe it's fuse F116 on the upper left of the power driver board. I haven't tested that belief yet, but will as soon as I get back in front of the machine.

It is F116, and it does sound like 12V is missing. LED 7 should be lit on the Power board, the playfield connection are J116, J117, and J118 for the +12VU.

F116 keeps blowing during the canon cycle, in which the right cannon doesn't move at all. Then all of my solenoids keep triggering. I started a thread about it over in the Technical Help section if anyone wants to jump over there and chime in:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-fuse-116-keeps-blowing#post-3101804

Yes! Good plan. After looking at the manual, it's a 12 volt fuse, SLOW BLOW, 3 amps.

I will try that as soon as I get back to my pin! Of course, typically, fuses don't just blow for fun. But eh, it's a start! Thanks guys!

I did not notice it. That's a good point too!

If it is blown and continues to blow, start disconnecting stuff that uses it like the Britelights. Then the motors to the cannons.

I had my right cannon motor full of gunk that shorted out the 12V unregulated. When the motor ran, it blew the fuse. It started out with a very slow cannon, then it did not move at all and blew a fuse after a few seconds, then it blew anything right away. Took me some time to figure that one out.

Try taking the motor apart, or get a new one if you think you can't do that. I just bent the lips on the metal can of the motor that held the bottom plastic in place, then removed the plastic from the motor axle. Be weary of falling parts and remember how to put it together.

Good tip too! You know, my left canon assembly is much harder to manually crank than the right one. Not the motor, the assembly with all the gears that the canon motor activates. Hm... Good point.

Step one is still testing the 12v fuse with my multimeter, to see if it's blown.

My F116 fuse has no continuity, even though it looks pristine!

oke, but did replacing it solve your problems ?

I'll know tonight! If I can find a fuse during my lunch break. I need to stock up on them. Thanks for your interest. I will report back!

Pinbits has shaker kits in stock again.

I have one. Kicks a$$.

Sweet. I can't wait I am about 2 yrs late to the party. Just ordered a bunch of stuff to fix mine up, as well as a second shaker for my POTC . Very excited, and even more after your post. Thank you

Buzz, you have 2 STTNGs listed in your collection?

Thank you. Corrected. Just one now. Well two with the Stern.

Buzz, have you had to do a lot of work on yours?

Not yet. Just picked it up. My left cannon kept going back and forth, so I ended up breaking the small control arm. Then I went to adjust my flippers I tightened too much on the screw and it broke. It is a pretty paper weight right now. I just ordered lights, laser cannons, and a bunch of other stuff. Going to pimp it out and wait to call my tech once I'm done. Not sure how much stuff I'm going to mess up yet. I'm always trying to do stuff myself, then calling the tech to fix whatever I messed up.2 out of my 5 projects have been successful. He's a great guy who always says it was just bad timing on the things that go wrong when I work on them. I believe it's me, but I keep getting on that horse.

ah! But... My friend says, if I translate to english, that when you do nothing, nothing ever happens, good or bad. So you're getting your hands dirty and learning stuff. I try to do the same. I purchased my STTNG locally and got it somewhat loaded:

Extras include: Mirror Blades, Pinbits shaker, LED lamps and insert lighting, BrightCap EVO lighted pop bumpers, lighted LED flipper buttons, laser pointer cannon mod, all ships upgraded.

(beautiful machine, really)

Right now, mine's a paperweight also. Fuse F116 keeps blowing. Had to call my local tech too, as board stuff is beyond what I want to mess with right now. But that's ok, I'm learning.

The shaker's pretty fun. The laser launchers are kind of cheating, I think. It makes it so much easier to finish Battle Simulation, and score the free ball.

The lighted flipper buttons are nice, makes it look super classy. My favorites are the BrightCap EVO lighted pop bumpers. Got them in my batman forever too, and they are so much fun. Not sure why. The LED purple and blue just really pop!

It's said that STTNG is a maintenance black hole. So far, I have more maintenance done by myself on my batman. Batwing gun ball detection switch and replaced the drop targets (they snapped).

I am expecting to have to tend to the STTNG ball launch catapult soon. The ball doesn't always make it all the way back (in the ball lock hole).

I read that "some" lube is needed on some parts in that machine. Must research that too.

Right on. It's cool learning and getting the courage to venture into the unknown. I play with 12 thousand volts of electricity, something like 30 times hotter than the surface of the sun , if I make a mistake. I get more nervouse working on my games that are 20 plus years old, because I can't always just go buy another. Wish I could do an apprenticeship with someone to learn

Have you logged serious time with a STTNG? You also have a STLE I see. Both designed by Steve Ritchie. The machines are surprisingly similar (I read). I don't have much time on ST. When i played it, I didn't have my STTNG. ST doesn't have the "Picard Maneuvre" though.

Whoa. What? That must be some machine.

That's why I buy double the components when they're like drop targets and the like.

Not liking the noise of my left launcher. Even though the motor and the gearbox operates ok (doesn't bind), I might just buy components now while they're available and in stock.

I'm a electrical lineman, helps pay for the games.

Any plans for your old crappy cannons?

Verify the coil stop is the correct one for your game; if it is, the ball is likely hitting something stealing its energy.

They are I great shape, but do not have the dome top. They are old school flat inserts. Would you need them? When the time comes to let them go, if I don't break the new ones.

There are only three parts in this game that should be lubedricated ... after a thorough cleaning of the old grease. These should be lubricated with Super Lube synthetic grease http://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-21030-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B000XBH9HI

1) Both cannon shafts, this is the part that extends through the playfield. This part requires lubricating due to metal-metal contact, you only need enough to coat the shaft (a drop the size of a pea is enough for each shaft).
2) the rear ball diverter. This part requires lubricating due to metal-metal contact, you only need enough to coat the shaft
3) both playfield rails. This playfield is very heavy and a tiny bit of grease will make it easier to position the playfield for maintenance, without grease, you will actually see the metal dust from this metal-metal contact.

My pair have some fade to them, I would be interested in a better pair of cannons for the right price.

Done. Just need to make sure I don't break the new ones first. The price will be right I'm sure. I'll keep you posted maybe a couple weeks.

I'm pretty paranoid about a shaker on this particular game due to its age and troubleshooting difficulty. I had a shaker on it for a few months and have since disconnected it. Love this game but can be such a pita to troubleshoot then fix i didnt want that shaker lossening things up over time or screwing things up in the long run. Fun while it was installed but mine sounded like a freagin lawnmower every time it was on and felt like one too!

Its an older game and can be difficult to fix and was never designed to have a shaker, shaking things up all the time. Good luck to you all who have it, it is fun and makes playing even more immersive, just hate fixing the game!

Anyone know where I can get a new shuttle? Or something else to replacement it with.

I replaced mine with the hallmark Rio Grande shuttle. Lights up and looks great!

Here's a thread I followed. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-sttng-mod-functional-shuttlecraft-uss-rio-grande/page/2#post-2519861

beat me to it

Thanks. I got Rio Grande, Enterprise and Klingon bird of prey off eBay for less than $30.

Premodded for the machine?

New to the Club. Picked up mine last week and just set it up last night. I have some tweaking to do as the flippers are not at the right angle. I am mostly concerned with one of the cannons. It seems to only shoot the ball about halfway up the playfield, not much power at all. Is there a common issue with these? Maybe a rebuild kit or something would be a solution? Also notice that it is set to 5 ball. What do you guys use? Thanks

Just joined the club. Got one in excellent shape with lots of mods. Just have to add a color DMD and maybe a pinbits shaker. Still a little hesitant on the shaker... Worth it?

i use 3-ball. i personally feel like 5-ball can get a bit boring for people, especially non-pinball people. "oh -- ANOTHER ball? ok..."

i suppose you could make a 5-ball argument for this game, since the outlanes are so evil. (i would still recommend 3 balls though)

as for the cannons, if you let them swing out and then swing back, they will do a weak launch that only shoots the ball halfway up the playfield (because your time ran out to make the shot). sounds like that might be what you saw. you pretty much have to take your shot on the initial swing out. if that's not the case and the cannon is always weak, then i would check to make sure the plunger that fires it is lined up properly, striking the ball in its center and in a straight line.

I don't think that's right?

I'd like to be able to keep the ball in the cannon for more than one swing.
My guest never know whats going on and it fires out on them

Coils are cheap, sometimes less than $10. You could just replace both coils. Use the owner's manual (available for download on this site, in the pinball archive section I think) to select the proper part number. That would be a start.

that's what mine does. it gives you one cycle to make the shot, then it spits the ball out softly. does the same thing on Final Frontier. it doesn't just wag back and forth indefinitely waiting for you to shoot.

BE QUICK OR BE DEAD!

Pez, that is the best info you could have given me. Nothing wrong at all with the cannons! Thanks a bunch.