SORCERER spinner fixed - only took 3 years

vintagegamer

Well-known member

Donor 2024
Joined
Sep 1, 2007
Messages
21,092
Reaction score
2,602
Location
Bear, Delaware
I've owned the game for 3 years, and have basically just "put up with" not being able to get the points for the final "R" spinner of Sorcerer. Tonight, while sick, I mustered up enough energy to get out there and finally get this figured out, now that I got some helpful leads.

Thanks to the input from many (both here at KLOV and on the pinball.rec group), I was able to troubleshoot the issue successfully. I learned how to jumper the connections between the J8 and J10 connections on the MPU, and confirm that the issue was NOT on the MPU (thank God).

I traced the wires down to the molex connectors that bring the headbox wires and the playfield wires together. I totally bypassed the connector and shaved away a little casing on the wire in question on both sides of the connector. I ran a jumper with alligator clips to both of the wires on each side of the connector, and credited up a game. The ball hit the "R" spinner and finally, it registered! I played a few more games with the alligator jumper on, and then took off the wire, disconnected the molex connectors, and reconnected them together. I played a few more games and the spinner continued to register.

The connectors, which were hanging down in the hole between the headbox and the playfield, looked like they had slightly worked themselves apart. Not much, but enough to impact the connectivity. I brought those connectors back up into the headbox area, and put 2 zip ties on it: one to hold the connectors together, and another which allowed them to "hang" from one of the screwed-in wire harnesses up in the head box.

This issue really taught me alot about pinball machines, mostly how to go through the switch matrix test, as well as how to read the actual matrix diagram in the owner's manual and all of its related numbers and symbols. This has been a a huge learning experience.

The original issue can be found here:

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=124414
 
Congrats, it's a great feeling when you can finally figure out a weird issue. I just fixed my spinner on Skateball as well, but it just needed a new spinner bracket which was obvious. But it wasn't that easy to find the exact proper sized one. It spins like an olympic figure skater now haha
 
Funny you mention that Tom. The spinner that is now working spins waaaayy faster than its match on the other side of the playfield. Since they both work now I'm leaving it alone but wondered if they could be adjusted to spin less or more.
 
So I had to share my update on this that happened about 5PM last night.. I'd played about 10 games of Sorcerer during the day with the 'R' spinner working again, and was so happy. Stopped playing the game around 2PM. When I went back out to play again around 5 (machine was on the whole time), the 'R' spinner stopped working again. On the first game I thought maybe the switch might just be out of adjustment or something, but learned quickly that nope, it was not working once again..

I totally flipped the f* out. I opened up the head, disconnected all of the blasted molex connectors, pulled the whole game board out, cursing the whole time. My daughter came out to ask if she could play another game of pinball to which she got "NOT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She quickly exited.. ;) I flipped the board over to look at the pin connectors and the solder that holds them to the board. The connections looked fine. I reflowed them anyway (my first time doing this BTW). I was so pissed I could spit. I put everything back together, tried the game again (hoping that I hadn't broken something else by "rage-pulling" the board out. Thankfully everything still worked, except for the f*ing 'R' spinner.. I was like "what is it with this f*ing thing anyway", and the thought of posting a CL ad flashed through my mind (for sale: Sorcerer).

I let my daughter come out to play a few more games of it while I watched, steaming (mad at the game not her). She asked if I would play one, and I begrudgingly did. While playing, I heard something drop inside the body of the game, like a nut or bolt or something. I said in my head "now what in the f*k was THAT????!!!". I'm sure if I'd asked my daughter what color my face was at that point, she probably would have told me I looked like a cherry lollipop. After she went back in the house I opened up the playfield (AGAIN) to find a locknut sitting in the bottom of the body that wasn't there before.. I started scanning around the playfield and..................... guess where it came from? It fell off the damn 'R' spinner!!!!!! I have no idea why that one out of all would come off right at that point, but sure shit it did.. As I put the locknut back on, I could hear the 'R' spinner starting to register as I was bumping it around with the wrench. So of course it was frustrating to hear it working again, but at least I knew more of what was happening at this point. I learned real quick that with that type of switch, it's not when the switch points MAKE contact that it actuates the switch, it's when the points COME APART. I noticed also that even though the spinner was spinning, it wasn't really pulling the switches far enough apart to make the signal be sent to the MPU.. So of course at that point I was completely baffled because the spinner HAD BEEN working up until around 2PM, and then *poof* nada. I went back to the top of the playfield, and noticed something I'd never seen before: the piece on the spinner that makes the lever go up and down for the switch has the L bend in it (which I had seen prior), but I noticed this time around that the switch lever was hung up on the upper part of that "L" bend, when it was supposed to be on the bottom part. I just sat there staring, trying to understand how one would keep the lever from jumping up to the higher part of the "L" bend, and then it hit me: that bracket over top of the spinner, if adjusted tighter inward, would prevent the switch lever from hopping up (again folks this is my first time needing to do this amount of pinball troubleshooting so bear with me). I was so elated!! I cranked down the upper spinner bracket, and with that and the locknut now in place on the bottom, everything was working again!

What a rollercoaster of a day with this game. With the "R" spinner working, the game takes on a whole new level of fun play, because you get the bonus holdover, the multiball is more fun, there are new sounds you don't hear earlier on, basically a ton of reasons to keep that 'R' spinner working. I wasn't giving that up after I just got it working the night before!!!

So basically, long story short, yesterday was a pretty insane day in the pinball world here. :D At the end of the night I had a shot of jack, and held it up to all of you who can do this regularly when buying, repairing, and selling pins. I know that having 10 games lined up with all of these potential gremlins like my Sorcerer pin, would land me in intensive care!!!!

Thanks for reading. I felt compelled to share this story with you guys.
 
I feel your frustrutation haha. I've had issues with all my pins, sometimes it's a simply a wire, other times it can be something so small that you can't notice it or something that is over your head and you can't figure out. Try to enjoy the repairs because it won't be your last, trust me :) haha

Also I would turn off the machine before doing work under the playfield, never know when you might short something out with your wrench or screwdriver, then you could have some major board issues on your hands...
 
Back
Top Bottom