I posted my problem in the Ghostbusters Issues Forum, but I think this issue is likely a general stern issue and not specific to Ghostbusters. I've read through several forum posts already and tried several different fixes, but nothing has solved the issue yet.
Problem:
Whenever I start a new game, two balls are ejected. The balls are ejected immediately, one right after the other. This is not a situation where the first ball isn't making it out and falling back into the trough.
What I've done so far...
- I replaced both trough opto boards with new ones. This had no effect.
- I reduced the power to the trough coil. The balls definitely kick out less aggressively, but I it did not fix the issue.
- I checked the shooter lane switch and it's good and works without any issues.
- I removed the trough assembly, cleaned it and made sure there were no blockages in any of the sensor holes. This did not fix the issue.
When I reduced the power to the trough coil, I mistakenly left 1 pinball out when I installed all the balls back into the game. With only 5 balls in the game, I could start a game and only one ball ejects as expected. However, when the game would end and a new game is attempted, the machine goes into a locating ball search. If I wait about 15 to 20 seconds, I can start a new game with just the 5 balls installed and it only ejects one ball as expected. If I add in the 6th ball, it ejects two balls every time I start a new game.
I went into the switch test matrix and here is what the switch status looks like when all 6 balls are in the trough. I'm not sure if its supposed to be like this or not, but trough switches 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 are all showing closed, but trough switch 1 shows open. The Trough jam switch shows closed. If I take another ball and put it into the trough eject opening (so that it's stacked on top of the ball in first position in the trough), the trough switch 1 closes. The trough jam switch status never changes.
I included a second picture of the switch status with no balls in the trough.
I guess my first question is whether this supposed to be how it works and what is expected for normal operation or is something out of whack?
TroughSwStatus (resized).JPGSwitchStatus (resized).jpg