Back to the Future pin questions from a newbie...

enjoyvelvet

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Hey guys,
I'm the proud owner of a BTTF pinball machine and I'm trying to slowly learn the ins and out...SLOWLY. I have a few questions...

-When I start a game, the machine starts me with 2 balls...the machine is supposed to have 3 balls in it total but I know it only has two...could the fact that its missing a ball cause it to do this? I am pretty sure I corrected put the game back on the factory settings so I don't think its that

-All the machines sounds and music work except I know its supposed to play a couple a couple of H. Lewis songs besides the main theme but I haven't heard them yet...why would only the main theme song play? All the voice overs and play sounds are fine. Am I just not hitting a target that triggers this? I can't believe this is true after owning the machine for a week now.

I already replaced the 3 AA batteries behind the head and there is no corrosion on the board. I assume these are simple fixes...any help is appreciated!
 
The extra balls being kicked out are usually a symptom of a faulty switch in the ball trough. The missing ball could be causing the problem also, but it is more likely one of the first two switches.

I don't know about the music. It could be the ROM revision you are running or it could be a setting keeping them from playing.
 
It's been a while since I've played BTTF, but if I remember correctly, the music changes each time you lock a ball ....I think each lock gets you a different Huey song...then I think the mutiball is more BTTF score type music...and the Jackpot gets you ZZ Top Doubleback.

To light the lock you have to drop the 3 Delorean targets, then shoot the VUK saucer on the left. If you're hitting the VUK and it's not counting as a lock, there could be an issue w/ your targets not registering.
 
well it turns out the music is fine...I just suck at the game. I finally played long enough and made enough good shots that "power of love" started playing...sweet! I know theres a couple of others...so looks like I just need to figure out the 2 balls at a time coming out...I'm hoping added the correct 3 ball into play will correct that. Thank you for the help! I love this pin!
 
Just a thought as it might take some fun out of the exploration of the game, but if a test of function is needed I usually just take the glass off the playfield and roll the ball where I need it to go to try and check if a machine is working as I think it should.

For example, a friend and I were cleaning up and replacing all the rubbers on a Bride of Pinbot (BoP). This was my first time doing a rubber ring kit for any game and I quickly found that I had to disassemble a lot on the BoP to change out the rubbers. In order to try and see if I had corrected some issues, as well as assembled the machine correctly again, I just rolled the ball where I wanted to over and over. In this case I got to check general illumination (GI) functions for specific events, including getting the Billionaire Club. As I love pinball, but am not the best at it, this might have been my only way to see the Billionaire Club light up, thus to see if it works.

Have fun with the BTTF! Mine is due in this week and I am very excited!

Always...
 
Clock Tower

I recently bought a BTTF Pinball, and I am having an issue with it. The clock tower eject pin doesn't work. I opened up the machine to find that the coil had been removed. I purchased the correct coil and have since installed it. However, the pin is still not ejecting the ball. The switch is good, as is the coil. All of the connections are good, and I have check every fuse in the machine for continuity. Does anyone have any thoughts?
 
@OP - does it have a ball missing somewhere, like a captive ball, etc, where there should be one, leaving too many balls in the trough? one extra ball could cause it to kick out two at a time. had a similar issue in my TMNT.
 
Oryk,
I don't see player field eject...but it is an eject coil. Toward the back on the machine on the right. I will try to trace the wires, but there is a huge bundle that goes up the back to the board. They are zip tied together, so i will need to seperate them. I am fairly certain it is the only coil not working. THe game playes perfectly except for this eject port. All the coiles fire during the test procedure.
 
Do all switches operate during the test procedure? Especially the switch associated with this hole?

Player field eject is the nomenclature in the manual, I wouldn't be surprised to find it labeled differently on the machine.
 
Yes the switches work just fine. In fact when the ball goes in the hole, the switch activates and the lights flash that are supposed to. I can hear the upper board (in the upper cabinet) click twice when the lights flash...and then the lower board clicks ( I assume that is when the ball is supposed to be ejected) but the ball stays put.
 
Sorry, it took me a while to get time to look into this more. This weekend, I pulled the PPR board, and tested all the connections and everything was fine. Board was in excellent condition. Then I pulled the power board. First off, half of the screws that hold it on to the frame were missing. I don't know if this would effect grounding or not. Secondly the back of the board looked like it has seem some heat. Kind of bubbly looking. The main thing that I noticed was that one of the capacitors looked as if it had popped, and has oozed out at some point. Unfortunatly I don't know exactly the postion of the capacitor of hand. I want to say it was a 330 volt capacitor. As far was the boards go, that's about it. I couldn't trace the wire, but I did check connectivity with a voltometer. It checked out fine. Again, other than the clock tower eject, everything else works perfectly.
 
Are you sure that the crap around the cap was not a glue? Many times caps are glued in place from the factory. These boards are usually grounded by one or more of the screws. Missing locations are often the plastic stand-offs, if the rest of the machine is working then that is most likely the case here.

As for the bubbling, that could be caused by heat or battery acid. Was it near a heat source? If it is battery acid you need to clean it up or it will continue to spread.
 
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