Gloom, despair, and agony on me...

Fatsquatch

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Now my Frankenpin is acting up:

Issue #1: The ball launcher switch is starting to not function -- more and more frequently. Sometimes, you have to flip the handle as much as 4 or 5 times before it will actually register and launch the ball. Could this piece need some type of cleaning on it, or am I looking at a possible part replacement?

Issue #2: In the "North Pole" section of the game, the little round switch that triggers the upkicker seems to be toast. Now when a ball is sitting in that area, you have to wait for the game to timeout and start triggering all the coils and bumpers. When that happens, the ball kicks up and gets back into play -- via Frank's throw.

Good times! :)
 

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ISSUE #1
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein I take it?

180-5111-00 is your switch for the ball shooter lever on page 31?

Maybe the microswitch is worn out, inspect it. Test it...

I've had some microswitches on some of my pins that still worked but you had to push them really hard to make them close. So I replaced them...
 

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Issue #2

Could be the same thing. Start by inspecting the microswitch and activating it by hand. If it doesn't work or is overly hard to activate then there's your problem :)
 

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The ball shooter can't make up its mind. One game, it'll work flawlessly; the next game, it doesn't work 75% of the time.

And the ring switch is dead as a doornail. I tried activating it by hand, but it doesn't do a thing.

I've just ordered replacements for both switches, so things should be good after they're installed. Well, unless something else breaks tomorrow. :/

Thanks, Tom!
 
Ya if the VUK in the north section still kicks in ball search but doesn't activate when the ball is on the switch, then it must be a faulty or worn or sticky microswitch.

Probably the same deal with the ball shooter.

I had the same issue with a couple of the microswitches on my addams family ramps. I could activate them by hand if I pressed the blade on the switch down REALLY hard. But in normal gameplay the ballgate would almost never hit the switch that hard. So new microswitches, couple quick solders and good as new :)
 
While I was working on the machine today, I decided to manually activate that switch again. I hit about 50 times as fast as I could, and that did the trick -- its been working 100% today. :)

Oh yeah, the ball shooter has been 100% as well, even though I did nothing to it.

(I did some heavy cleaning on it today, as well as installing a new translite and replacing about 22 bad bulbs [WOW...what a difference]. Perhaps Frank was very thankful and just decided to operate normally?) ;)
 
While I was working on the machine today, I decided to manually activate that switch again. I hit about 50 times as fast as I could, and that did the trick -- its been working 100% today. :)

Oh yeah, the ball shooter has been 100% as well, even though I did nothing to it.

(I did some heavy cleaning on it today, as well as installing a new translite and replacing about 22 bad bulbs [WOW...what a difference]. Perhaps Frank was very thankful and just decided to operate normally?) ;)

What no before and after pics? what is this world coming too :)
 
Switches are easy and cheap fixes. Sometimes the wireform needs to be tweaked so it hits the button ...sometimes the button is just sticky/flakey, and at that point it's just best to replace it.
 
Now my Frankenpin is acting up:

Issue #1: The ball launcher switch is starting to not function -- more and more frequently. Sometimes, you have to flip the handle as much as 4 or 5 times before it will actually register and launch the ball. Could this piece need some type of cleaning on it, or am I looking at a possible part replacement?

Issue #2: In the "North Pole" section of the game, the little round switch that triggers the upkicker seems to be toast. Now when a ball is sitting in that area, you have to wait for the game to timeout and start triggering all the coils and bumpers. When that happens, the ball kicks up and gets back into play -- via Frank's throw.

Good times! :)

Call Ricky my tech tonight 423-320-7427 tell him you are a friend of mine and he will help you.
 
Call Ricky my tech tonight 423-320-7427 tell him you are a friend of mine and he will help you.

Thanks a bunch, but I'm good. :)

I ordered new switches yesterday, so when they come in, I'll set about replacing these two that will surely act up again.
 
I know it's supposed to be thought of as crap since it doesn't have the Williams name on it, but this is a seriously good pin. It can be kind of a pain due to its difficult shots (in the North pole area), but the gameplay is really quite strong.

Frank's an awesome pin that I see owning for quite some time.
 
So everthything is fixed, and you did it yourself? What exactly was the problem? That is a great looking machine there "Jaded" I enjoyed watching it. Great halloween theme, nice flashing lights and fast pinball action. Looks fun, enjoy!
 
It just had a couple of flaky switches and 20+ burned-out bulbs. Nothing big to repair...thank Jeebus. ;)

My Freddy, however, had to go to the shop. I hope it gets to come home this week, along with a smallish repair bill.
 
Keeps blowing a fuse on startup. I went through about $30 in fuses trying to figure it out before I finally gave up.

It just seemed pointless to keep dicking with it when I had no idea how to track down the problem. Plus, I didn't want to make things worse by making some silly newbie mistake on such a nice machine.
 
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