I am working on a Williams Planets that when you start a game it will keep cycling, like it is looking for the ball. When you get it to catch and start a game, once the first ball is drained, it starts cycling thru the balls again. EMs are NOT my strong point and to be honest, I am not sure where on this machine to start looking.
Any suggestions?
There's a schematic on ipdb.org:
Planets score motor (resized).jpg
There are nine different normally open switches that connect to the orange-green wire that sends power to the Score Motor. Any one of those switches being closed or shorted could cause the motor to run. Check each one visually to see if you can tell which ones are closed. If that doesn't help block the switches with paper to see which ones when blocked will let the motor stop. One of the nine switches could be the problem or it could be the relay that's closing the switch that is the problem. Either way you need to figure out which switch is closed.
/Mark
Thank you both very much! EM's are my weakness. I have been trying to buy a couple cheap ones, to mess with in my free time, but you know how that goes 
This gives me a good idea of what to look at when I go back to it this weekend.
I finally got a chance to spend some time on this planets table. When you start a game, it will usually run thru all the balls in a row. Like it says balls one, then before you do anything it cycles through to ball 5. Sometimes it will stay on ball one, sometimes it will cycle to ball four and stop. It seems pretty random. The only things I can find currently that are an issue, is the lock relay coil is burnt up and broken.. but oddly still works and the contacts on the bakelite for the ball count unit seem heavily worn, with a visible groove. However, I seem to have continuity everywhere on that. I'm going back in a couple days, when I get parts in for another of their pins.
I have Zodiac, which is the same thing as Planets except that Planets (the add-a-ball) is even more rare! We like ours and play it a lot.
Switch #2 on the score motor, a switch on the Tilt Relay, and a switch on the Outhole Relay each could make it step from ball to ball if it's adjusted so it can't open.
ZodiacPlanetsBallUnitStepUp (resized).png
The second picture shows the Tilt Circuit - the plumb bob, the ball tilt (next to the plumb bob, the smaller rolling ball that keeps you from lifting up the front of the game) and a slam tilt switch could all be making it tilt and move to the next ball. Does the "Tilt" light on the backglass flash on and off as it cycles through the balls? Let us know what you find!
ZodiacPlanetsTiltCircuit (resized).png
Quoted from DCP:Does the "Tilt" light on the backglass flash on and off as it cycles through the balls? Let us know what you find!
[quoted image]
Thank you for that! I do not remember seeing the tilt light come on. But I will definitely check for it when I am back there this week.
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Maryville, TN