Back of cab says sept 1, 2021

Pretty sure there was only the one run (nothing prior) and I might have got the last one from that run lol

Are there people getting Q4 builds with scanners installed?

I got one nib last Monday with the scanner installed at the factory, I haven't had a chance to take it out of the box yet due to work schedules, but hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to set it up, and then I'll post the build date.

That killed me constantly until just recently but I can usually save it the last month. Ball is on a horizontal/slightly downward trajectory. There's 2 different nudges depending on how steep.

Imagine you're looking directly down at the playfield from above. 3 points. The post between the inlane/outlane (A) , the left edge of the gravestone target(B), and (c) about equidistant between them vertically, but then shifted directly left to the wall.

If the center of the ball is heading more between:

A/C: nudge up so the post between the clips it back toward the center or up toward the gravestone target.
B/C: light nudge/slap from the left so it comes back off the wall with a kiss.

The reaction has to has to be instant so go with your first instinct. If you're not sure, go with B/C. Either is better than neither, but when you read it right it almost always works.

Use the search function at the top right of the thread (not site). Type in "manual plunger", send, and scroll down.

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I thought that was the case because my distributor I bought mine from forgot to check me off the list and called me for another one in late December-

I finally centered my plunger and it hits the orbit way more often now. Check that first.

I have this mod from Back Alley Creations and not quite sure where I should attach it. I figured on the backboard behind the right ramp but it just doesn't fit behind the clear plastic ramp cover. Back Alley's site is down for a while so I can't get on there and check it out. Anyone got this mod and point out to me where exactly to attach on my game? Thank you.

IMG_5192 (resized).JPG

Mine has just started doing this too after a year of working flawlessy. I reckon this whole mechanism of hitting the loop correctly hinges on very exact alignment of the ball guide, plunger, angle of the machine and so forth. Any slight change to any of those factors can cause this to go out of whack. I'm sure I can get it to work again, but yeah it's a little annoying.

It should fit!

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If your plunger worked reliably when new and has gotten worse over time, I can almost guarantee it is due to burrs on the exit of the right side ball guide, just below the upper right flipper. A few swipes of a file to remove the burrs and you'll be back in business. This should become a part of your regular "maintenance" of the pin - do it whenever you clean/wax the playfield.

Manual is not as powerful as auto at 255, that is why it fails.
Your shooter lane ball guide is out of alignment.
Readjust to overshoot closer to upper left flipper in auto set at 255 , once you get the ball high close almost touching upper left flipper then lower the coil power to center the ball.

Yep it worked 100% on a full manual plunge. I'll check the edge of the ball guide first - and then begin the other re-adjustments if there's still a problem. It's a minor annoyance - agree it's more of a "maintenance" issue on this pin..

Not in a rush or anything, it's just on my to do list.

I'm on the hunt for the "aces high" plastic, the one that goes over the drop targets. My first thought was to buy the whole set, but figured I might take a shot in the dark Incase someone bought a set and wanted to make a buck.

Games from the August September pro run but when ever I got tit I changed rubbers out with titans and I just noticed the other day I put a real small scuff In the art of the plastic.

Just putting feelers out there because when I got it I did upgrades then and think I'm bout ready for round two

In round one I did:
Shaker
Titan rubbers
Pin monk colored inserts
Anubis
Torches
Flipper fans
Coil stops
Both premium figures

Round two I'm thinking:
Art blades
Voodoo glass
Pinball speakers (did flipper fidelity last time on spiderman)
Volume control and external hookup (currently using speaker wire and gator clips)
And maybe something else.

Guess this just turned into a rant, sorry

Did you eliminate a socket or bulb short (VERY COMMON with Stern Spike era pins) as the cause of your lights being out? Are you getting an overcurrent error?

Not getting any errors at all - in fact the game is playable just without lower playfield LEDs - basically any of the LEDs coming off boards 8b, c and d. I tried disconnecting each board starting with d backwards, but nothing ever came on from board b (which lights the modes). I also tried disconnecting the lamp on 8b (which lights the "shoot again" insert). Still no joy. I tested the cables, connectors and the continuity from node board to 8b - all seem ok. I swapped around node boards 8 and 9 just to be sure it wasn't the node board but same result. I can't really think of anything else besides a bad LED on the 8b board? I have a replacement coming soon - will see if that fixes it.

If you swapped node 8 and 9 and got the SAME result (lower lights out), that means the problem is NOT on the board.

Did you try removing all the bulbs that are out and adding just one back that you know is good? The short could be in a bulb or a socket.

Yes you are correct, sorry if I wasn't clear but we came to the same conclusion and we ruled that out by the swap. However, there are a series of LED sub-boards chained off the node board (8) that control all the lower playfield LEDs (8b, 8c, 8d). So the node board is fine yep I agree, but given that 8b never has anything lit no matter what i disconnect (if i disconnect 8c and 8d further down the chain, 8b still doesn't light up) - we suspect 8b has a problem and affects 8c and 8d further down the chain.

I hope that makes sense I get confused just typing it.

Oh, so it's just inserts and not GI too?

Yeah seems to be just all the inserts - GI is working ok. I realise my post was misleading because I did say ALL the LEDs.

The pop bumper LEDs seem to be out too though, not sure which circuit they are part of, but I think they are coming off node 8d? I can't remember, I could be wrong...

Two of the Pops work off 8e, the third pop at the top left is actually a flasher.

Yep, you are quite right. However I assume I have eliminated these as problems if I disconnected 8e from the chain and the remaining connected LEDs were still out?

Anyway lets see what happens with the new 8b board, as I should have it in the next couple of days - and need to give myself a little break from connecting/disconnecting things.

Yeah, if your GI is okay, it's probably a sub board. Fingers crossed.

I bought your 3D Anubis mod for my Maiden LE long ago and it still sits in its box as I don’t have the patience or skills to paint the thing.

Is there anyone in here with good artistic skills who I can ship it to to be properly painted and/airbrushed? I’ll pay for your time, of course. I’ve seen some done really well and would love to install this part on my LE.

Even unpainted, it looks fine installed. I'd just put it on.

Yours will look and should fit fine as well.
Any issue with mod is only with recent built premiums.

And it's obviously not all of the new recent premiums from the ones that had no issue installing it on a new premium, so it's unclear what the actual reason for the lack of proper fit actually is. Very irritating trying to find the common issue. It better not be Gracella on the assembly floor putting her machines together wrong.

Having ramp issues, when I hit the right ramp the ball is moving so fast it flies off the ramp and goes right down the drain before it hits the inlane. Anyone else having this issue. I will try to get a video of it, but everytime I try it doesn't happen.

You have a bump in the rail welds that's too big and is launching the ball. At high speeds it launches it enough to dislodge the ball. Find it by rolling a ball slowly over each weld area with your fingers, always making contact with the ball with your fingers as it moves until you find one that you can feel. File that one down. You may have more than one, but probably just one is your issue.

Interesting, I'll check it out, thanks

If this is a new build under warranty, Stern has replaced them in the past for this issue. If it's past warranty, then finding and filing the too-high weld is your option.

Cool - so received the new 8b board (thank you AMD you guys rock) - installed and fixed the issue.

Kind of a bummer in design that one bad LED can take that whole chain down, but hey it's fixed so I'm happy.

Awesome. Thanks for the followup.

Thanks for the help and suggestions too, it's very much appreciated.

You should get someone with an early build to take a picture and measurements of the mounting hardware and do the same thing with the later builds that don't fit and compare the differences.

I wouldn't recommend filing off the the chrome. You can bend the wireform without ruining it. See my previous post:

Or even the 2021 builds, measurements of the ones that work vs the few that don't. It feels like an assembly error, but it could be that they changed parts partway through the 2021 run after the original stock ran out.

My left flipper /upper flipper is triggering my back left pop, I adjusted the switch to no avail…

So in switch test mode when you smack the playfield with your hand/fist, is the pop the switch that triggers?

Mine is actually out of warranty and they agreed to replace my ramps. They're not in stock right now though. I've been on backorder for a few months now.

Also it may not be a cross member that has to be filed down. on mine it's the first bend is too wide so the ball has room to jump up. I had to put some target backing foam on the bend to cushion the ball.

It doesn’t trigger when I hit it with my hand

Happy to assist with photos or measurements on my 9/1/21 built that worked with the mod, let me know what you need-

Update on my ramp issue, it seems like there is a small jump in the ramp (see pic), any ideas on how to handle it? I'm gonna reach out to Stern also to see what they say. I uploaded to YT in slo-mo but it’s played regular speed, not sure why, if you pause it and slide manually you can see it jump off the ramp like the General Lee.

IMG_2344 (resized).jpg

Does your phone have slo-mo video recording (all current iphones do). Would be more helpful.

I’ll give it to you from a different angle, Iron Maiden LE is a top 3 game for me, and the extras are well worth $2k (way more now) WHEN THEY WORK. I can’t believe that Stern hasn’t given enough support to date to fix the crappy captive balls, both in mechanics (I’m close but not perfect) and software (to recover, reset where all balls are so that the remainder of the game can be played). That’s what makes the pro attractive to me (even though I’ll keep at it on the LE).

I must have been lucky. With just a little tweaking when we first got it, our Premium was rock solid. I think I only had to adjust a switch on the mini-subway one time that was causing ball issues. Iron Maiden is indeed a fantastic game.

We’ve had our prem for 19 months and any time the auto plunge misses the loop twice in the same game I just wax the PF and replace the coil sleeve (or sleeves depending how strong the flippers are ).I know all machines are different but I’d try this out before adjusting the rail .Every time I’ve done this it shoots up the loop with muscle to spare .

Your mileage will definitely vary with regards to pro or premium, and I'd say IM falls into the category where a pro is fine, and premium simply comes down to how much you like those features. Personally I love the Egyptian theme so I really wanted the tomb/sarcophagus/underworld and the Egyptian themed artwork - for me it was worth the extra $. If you aren't fussed about that, I don't think you'd miss it, it doesn't change the gameplay substantially. I mentioned it somewhere else in this topic, but anyone who comes here and plays it and hits the secret entrance loves the way that works - such a small feature but so cool.

Compared to something like Avengers IQ, where you have an extra (and very cool) inverted wireform ramp and a portal lock/subway system - I'd say that's a more significant difference.

I was always very happy with DP as a pro - and actually, I really wish I'd kept it now. In trying to upgrade to a premium I may have forfeited owning one of my favorite ever games (Stern and their delays/cancellations grrrr), and for the length of time it's now been gone from my games room, I don't think the premium differences are worth the wait anyway. Bah.

I tried to upload in slo-mo but YouTube changed it back to reg speed. See post #10694 for more info.