QC issues are very common at Stern. Everyone accepts you will have to fix something on your NIB Stern. It's part of the experience.

Yeah unfortunately some of us live nowhere near a distro. So it'll have to be shipped.

I got #430 last night. It’s fast, mine played fine out of the box with no issues, built July 8th.

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How can you tell when it was built?

Hey there so I was able to get a diverter out. My game doesn't have the nut size needed. Would you happen to know what i need to go buy?

There is a build date sticker on the back of the cabinet.

For now until your diverter has issues.

I finally caught the "Turtle Power" lock error on camera while setting up my stream for later today - this is for Xaqery and anyone else who hasn't seen it or wants to confirm that what they saw is the same.

At ~1:15 into this clip I make the right ramp to start Turtle Power Multiball but it locks the 4th ball in the van and then ends my ball. At ~5:40 into the clip I start Turtle Power Multiball in the NEXT GAME and I end up with 5 balls initially (the van balls almost always drain SDTM)

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/681414270

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Thats exactly what its supposed to be doing. If its happening only while the door is open, its functioning properly. They should go away if you boot with the door closed. Its a self diagnostic mode when booting. With the door open, those boards have the power cut to them for safety and those errors are what you see.

Just got LE 32. The diverter is hitting the ramp a bit so i put some foam there.

Question. What is considered the “center ramp”. So many ramps here dont know where to shoot!

The one in the middle

I believe it's the the one you hit with the upper flipper

Update. The more i continue to look the more issues i find. Diverter literally did not come with the parts for it to work. I keep finding random nuts and screws that have fallen out and i have a pile at this point. Game is literally falling apart. Distro is working to get me professional help and stern to send me replacement parts.

If your Distro fails you, hit me up.
I happen to know a guy that specializes in this sort of thing...

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Will do. I'm hoping i can get the game fixed. If not ill just end up selling it and maybe buy one used down the road. I damn sure will never be buying another NIB stern again.

You'll get it fixed, it helps to stay positive. I totally get how frustrating it can be, been there with every single NIB I have had. Each one gets easier. I have found Stern pretty good to work with if you are patient, kindly persistent, and reasonable. Don't let the anxiety of it not working in the short term get the best of you!

Thats what I thought. So its a two step process. Get to upper flipper and then hit it.

My lineup is complete for now with LE 32. If I get another pin I need to sell my VPIN to make room, or take over my girls playroom(more likely). Played about 15 games so cant make informed opnion yet. My first thoughts are the thing is beautiful. The pink colors from ZombiYeti look so damn good. SternHD glass makes a big difference! The powder coating also looks and feels better when resting my hands on it.

The game is packed full of ramps and everything and shoots really smooth. I was able to do 4 loops in a row off the upper flipper. I have been able to hit lair here and there but mostly when its not lit! Still need to figure out what I need to do to progress as theres lots of things going on.

The spinner is awesome but soo many times it spins my ball into a sdtm drain.... I havent found the spinner to be noisy at all, but I do have the diverter hitting the ramp issue and put a bit of foam there.

My favorite thing so far is the ball launch. Its amazing! It goes up the ramp and around to left flipper which feels wonderful as oppossed to just going through an orbit.

Least favorite thing so far is how much the ball stops for things. Im a big fan of nonstop flipping without a lot of breaks, so this is a change Ill need to get used to.

Oh yea. 8 ball multiball is insane. Dont know how I feel about it yet!

Will be playing a lot tonight and getting more impressions.

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Its all fixable. I had the same issues as you.

However, Stern really needs to get a better QC department. The diverter was poorly put together. Whoever tightened the nut to the diverter needs to be fired! Or they need to test each game at least 50 times to make sure shit is working before they box it up. Then put a check list of things to look for in the box before playing. I guess Pinside has become their QC department. lol

To be able to make adjustments and simple maintanance is also part of owning pinball machines regardless of who made it. They all require tinkering over time to work. You can't just plug in the cord and expect them to work for years without ever having to touch them.
But yes it is frustrating when they don't work out of the box.

It needs to have a message about the status of the interlock switch on that screen to give inexperienced owners a clue.

Completely understand your frustration Mrawesome44, however, don't let it discourage you too much. While not perfect, Stern makes some fantastic games which can be fun for years. Both used and NIB can have issues as I've seen both.

As Bundy mentioned, pinball is a hobby fit for tinkerers. The more you learn, even if its from fixing your NIB machine, the better off you'll be in the long run and the more you'll enjoy your machines, imo at least. I actually had to teach myself to solder, not well albeit, to fix a switch. You have this site which has a lot of great people willing to help you navigate issues. Hang in there.

Good luck with that. I have seen 1 spot sold for $1500. Looks like the lucky buyer got a bargain!

For $9000 NIB, you should NOT have to tinker for a while.

Soon it'll be $10K+ to tinker.

Our games have been 12-15k for several years now

Some LEs sold for 9600 so close enough.

While I agree to a point, things happen. No one can account for things getting loose during shipping etc. I work in a hospital with medical equipment that has to undergo very stringent testing and training before being implemented. Without fail we break something on the equipment that the manufacturer has "never seen broken before".

While the diverter issue seems to be something they "should have noticed" during testing, it is in a hidden area, and it appears to be one of those items that loosened during shipping. In truth, Stern, or any company could play test the games every day for a year and we would still find issues once we got it home. It is a complex piece of equipment with lots of moving parts.

Thankfully we have a wonderful community that can show you how to fix almost anything that could be wrong with a machine, and is pretty much always willing to jump in and help.

Yea while I think our 9k purchases should be flawless as well, I sell xray equipment to hospitals for 300k to 2million dollars and they are finicky as well. Many times adjustments need to be made on install or shortly after. So i guess it just happens. And people like to crap on stern but it happens from them all. Rick and morty had a bunch of finicky things, JJP has its issues as well.

Doesnt excuse it and its very frustrating when you spend a lot of money and its not flawless.

I’m getting my LE tomorrow. Anything I should check/do before playing it? Sounds like there are a couple of issues to be aware of out of the box. Thanks!

Mostly it seems to check the diverter behind the turtle van. Check if its loose at all or if diverter is hitting the ramp. My diverter is hitting the ramp so i put some foam there and its fine

ok, thanks

Check list:

1. Check diverter behind the turtle van. Make sure the nut is super tight so it doesn't hit your ramp. If the diverter is hitting your ramp, then the nut is loose. Foam pad or cliffy wont help because over time the diverter will just loosen even more and fall apart. Tighten the shit out of it under the ramp!

2. Check ALL the RJ45 connectors to the node boards. These do get loose. Especially during transit on a truck.

3. Check all other connections under PF and in back box. Press in firmly.

4. Check all screws, nuts and bolts above and under PF. In my JPLe a lot of the posts were loose. Someone mentioned earlier on this thread Stern did this on purpose to prevent PF clear-coat pooling.

5. Check play-field for any loose parts like nuts or screws laying around.

All I can think of. Anyone else want to add anything?

Spoke with Patrick at Stern. That Diverter seems to be a real issue if it doesn't work or its loose. It's gonna cause errors and shoot balls nonstop. Stern and my distro found me a technician and im looking forward to getting this fixed. I will give credit where credit is due. I've heard and seen a lot of horror stories about stern pinball but at least in this instance. They didn't tell me to pound sand and have been very helpful. I also appreciate everyone who has helped me so far. I'll report back when im up and running.

I will say this though. This is hands down the best playfield I've seen from Stern in years. No pooling, chipping, or raised inserts. I don't know if they fully fixed the problem but this is a huge step in the right direction

I am having the center ramp not registering pretty often. And also having the ball hop off the right habitrail into the drain.

Assuming it’s an opto issue with the ramp. Anyone else have this problem?

Does the opto work in switch test mode?

If it DOES register in test mode, cover the bottom half of the opto circular opening with non-transparent/opaque material (gray duct tape, etc) so it completely blocks the bottom half. ONLY HALF, not more. Should help make fast balls register more cleanly.

I’ve had the same issue. Almost feel like it goes thru so quick it doesn’t register

Calm down Joe, you can't shoot that fast.

Did you remove the backboard to do this ? Only way I can see .. what size wrench save me the trouble haha

3/8’’

Cool thanks ! Now I just need to figure out how to get to it !!

I feel for all of you. You are the QC department on this one. Every Stern NIB LE I have purchased has had issues except Transformers! All the others had problem. I was a LE buyer. No more. I buy premiums and dress them up the way i want. By then the issues are resolved! My JP premium was great mechanically except my translight shattered. Stern would not pay for it. The strangest thing that has happened to me. My dist got me one for $100 including new art. They seem to glue or tape the art to the glass. Weird. Avoid the early LE games for sure.

This bug seriously needs to be fixed... Between that and the ball consistently flying off the left rail and down the drain, I’m just about done playing it for now... At least one can be fixed via software but BOTH ramps should have been fully enclosed wire forms or at least on all the curves...

Great game overall but... Frustrating as well...

Jeff

Finally played a Pro last night. Game looks great, and is hyper colorful. I only played 3 games, but man I had trouble finding shots...

My friend had a much, much better game. We only played 3 games a piece, sadly.

Are three balls always locked in the van seems it would be cooler if just 1 and you lock the rest . Mine always seems to have.3

I believe that is correct.

Im sorry to hear of all your problems with this machine. This is my 3rd NIB in the last 8 months.
As of now 10 days in My TMNT works great with no problems, well one , the right ramp gate came off once. Not sure why. Fixed it in 5 minutes
My other 2 NIB from stern worked great out of box with very small adjustments needed to smooth things out.
I know its hard, but try not to let this experience deter you from buying NIB again
I believe the extent of having multiple problems is some what isolated.
I think most machines will need some small adjustments. Just the nature of the beast
Your DISTRO will get you the help needed.

Sometimes you have to take a deep breathe and go through the proper channels. Glad it’s getting taken care of, you’ll be very happy in the end.

Might want to change the thread name to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles LE Club(Stern 2020): Cowabunga! It’s Repair Time.