Gulfstream
Williams, 1973Having a weird problem with my Gulfstream. Frequently midball it will skip a ball. Ball 2 will switch to ball one and ball one will suddenly go to end game. So it would seem ball count unit is suddenly hiccuping? Ideas appreciated!
I'd first check the mechanics of your ball count unit .. does it step up and down properly or is the unit sluggish? You can check these manually. Also, following the step up/down movement, are all of the fingers lined up over the brass contacts correctly? Another possibility: I've had issues with my Gulfstream step ups with missing screws on the coil stops, messing up the movement of the coil plungers and hence weird issues. Speaking of plungers, those should be clean and soot free, along with the nylon sleeves that those plungers ride in. Let us know if those check out.
Quoted from Dono:I'd first check the mechanics of your ball count unit
Yep, likely needs some cleaning. Check this: http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index2.htm#steps
Quoted from davidsprague:Having a weird problem with my Gulfstream. Frequently midball it will skip a ball. Ball 2 will switch to ball one and ball one will suddenly go to end game. So it would seem ball count unit is suddenly hiccuping? Ideas appreciated!
Any progress?
Check that a make/break switch on the outhole relay is gapped properly. That is what makes the ball reset relay energize. Check the outhole switch itself to make sure it isn’t closing due to vibration.
In other words, it may be falsely detecting a ball drain.
Completely went through ball count unit. Changed out coil sleeves, one was metal, with new nylon. Neither were particularly dirty since I had gone through them several years ago. Changed out springs. Cleaned and lubricated contacts with teflon grease. Thought I had made progress as no issues for many games, but problem came back. Now thinking that outhole relay suggestions by dr_nybble will be a good thing to check. Very mysterious but I think I'm getting closer to fix.
Quoted from davidsprague:Completely went through ball count unit. Changed out coil sleeves, one was metal, with new nylon. Neither were particularly dirty since I had gone through them several years ago. Changed out springs. Cleaned and lubricated contacts with teflon grease. Thought I had made progress as no issues for many games, but problem came back. Now thinking that outhole relay suggestions by dr_nybble will be a good thing to check. Very mysterious but I think I'm getting closer to fix.
Not mysterious if you check the circuit path as suggested, you'll find your issue there! Have faith.
Quoted from Dono:Not mysterious if you check the circuit path as suggested, you'll find your issue there! Have faith.
That seems to have been the problem with random ball count dropping. Switch contacts were super close. Problem solved, thanks for the help.
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Glenelg, MD
Ottawa, ON