Ship Ahoy! Possible solinoid issue

RetroInjection

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I know nothing about these machines, so I am doing my best here. My in-laws have an EM Ship Ahoy! which will not start. The machine keeps making start-up sounds, but never gets anywhere. I traced the sounds to the pictured assembly in the back glass. Might the solinoid need replacing? Thanks for the help.
 

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Yay, finally EM questions. My specialty.

So since it makes noise, does the coil try to fire?

There should be a hairpin you can remove to tilt this unit downwards to inspect the back, make sure it is not missing any obvious springs or there is no visible failure with the mechanics in the back. You may need to adjust the springs, and I have done this many times to repair similar problems. I just stretch them and attach them lower down the line of the spring but they also sell replacements.

You can also sand down the contacts with a very fine grit piece of sandpaper (wipe down after with a dry cloth) and then a very light coating of teflon grease over the contacts to make sure that end of things is running good.

The other thing may be the coil sleeves that needs replacement. There will be two coils, one to advance and one to reset (go the other direction), the one you're having trouble with is the reset one and also make sure the arm in the back for this one moves smoothly. If you push in the coil plungers by hand with the machine off and release, does the unit step up and down? Keep in mind you'll need to do it kind of quickly to simulate the fast force of a coil or it won't be an accurate simulation of it working right.

If you find you have difficulty pushing it inwards, replace the coil sleeve.

If you find it has difficulty pulling back out once it's in, adjust/replace the corresponding spring on the back of the unit.

Also, does the rotating bakelite (brown) plate have a crack in it? That may be an issue down the road, if not already.
 
Otakus is always faster on the draw on these. :) I hope you don't mind if I tag team the issue with ya.

If you can operate it mechanically (by pushing the plunger into the coil) and the wires look connected correctly (you can measure the coil's resistance also. Should not be shorted or open), it's probably something else.

Do the score reels try to reset?

-Pat
 
The solinoid does not go all the way in. I do believe that the score reels try to reset, but don't quote me on that; I don't have access to the machine right now. Thanks!
 
The solinoid does not go all the way in. I do believe that the score reels try to reset, but don't quote me on that; I don't have access to the machine right now. Thanks!

It does sound like a mechnical issue then. If it doesn't go all the way in the plunger inside has mushroomed a bit to cause too much friction, the plunger itself has gotten sticky, possibly from someone spraying it with lubricant (these solenoids never need lubricant, it dries up and cause a gummy condition) or the coil has at one point gotten too hot causing the coil sleeve to shrink.

Take apart and remove the coil from the assembly (remove the coil stop on the end). The coil sleeve should easily, almost fall out of the coil. The plunger should do the same thing. If the plunger is dirty, clean it with steel wool, or if you have a wire wheel on a grinder, that's easier. If the coil sleeve has shrank, then replace either one or both of those.

This is a "wow" game, and I've actually never seen the Lightbox Advance Unit, so I can't tell if you're working on the ball count unit, or the other. Anyways you'll have to fix the mechanical issue first to even have the game reset properly. If you can take a picture of the entire inside of the backbox, we can probably tell which is which.

-Pat
 
It's been a long time since I worked on an E.M. but I know one thing that is true with all E.M. games. You cannot start a game unless all your score reels are at 0. I don't know how many times I've got a E.M. to work by just manually setting the scores to 0 and starting a game.

Rodger Kilgore
 
So, it's been awhile. Here is the likely culprit. This thing is physically cracked. Could this be it? Does anybody fix these, or are there replacements available? Thanks.
 

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i'd contact steve at pinball resource (yeah i know) but thats prob your only bet to find a replacement. Or you can put on your craft apron on and making one yourself.
 
Incredibly common part, only thing you might have to do it drill new holes for the pins if they don't line up the right way, but they will likely from any add-a-ball game through many years. It's called a disc wiper, for reference, I believe.
 
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