Quoted from opt_prime:Any ideas on how to get the game to detect a ball that went into the garage beyond replacing the VUK yet again?
Making sure we are on the same page... I don't think you need to replace the VUK again. The VUK is the thing that kicks the ball back up, unless you mean the VUK as the whole mecahnism. There is a VUK switch that detects that the ball is in the hole and then tells the game to fire the VUK to kick it back into the playfield.
I would recommend removing the glass, opening the coin door and using the Dr. Pinball diagnostics tool to test each of the switches. You can see if the switch above the kicker detects a ball.
EDIT: Oops, I replied to an older post that has been replied to. Let me catch up. I'll still leave my comments.