Chicago Coin Pinball Machine - Troubleshooting Scorewheels / Stepper Motor

[Tom Johnson]

Hello Everyone, I recently purchased the Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' EM pinball game at a garage sale after the seller demonstrated correct operation. Once set-up at home, the operation soon became intermittent as the game would not reset properly automatically as some scorewheels were 'sticky' and not able to rotate automatically back to the needed zero position. Initially if you manually rotated the offending / sticky scorewheel/s back to zero, the game would reset / play normally. But today for some unknown electrical reason/s, the game now tries, but unsuccessfully to reset itself even after all the scorewheels are rotated back to zero position as expected, but after having all the scorewheels back in a zero position now, the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) located underneath the playfield) does not stop rotating after completing a scorewheel zero position reset as was observed before today. Not sure now about needing the scorewheels cleaned / reconditioned after today's observation of the lack of successfully obtaining a complete game reset after the scorewheels have rotated back to the zero position (with some scorewheels still sticking occasionally) and the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) rotates continuously now without obtaining a reset. Sounds like another electrical problem (has now unfortunately crept-up with none of the glass type fuses found to be blown after checking..

Any Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' pinball game troubleshooting advice / assistance / tips would be greatly appreciated...

Happy Gaming!

[Alfred Forbrich]

Post by Tom Johnson
Hello Everyone, I recently purchased the Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' EM pinball game at a garage sale after the seller demonstrated correct operation. Once set-up at home, the operation soon became intermittent as the game would not reset properly automatically as some scorewheels were 'sticky' and not able to rotate automatically back to the needed zero position. Initially if you manually rotated the offending / sticky scorewheel/s back to zero, the game would reset / play normally. But today for some unknown electrical reason/s, the game now tries, but unsuccessfully to reset itself even after all the scorewheels are rotated back to zero position as expected, but after having all the scorewheels back in a zero position now, the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) located underneath the playfield) does not stop rotating after completing a scorewheel zero position reset as was observed before today. Not sure now about needing the scorewheels cleaned / reconditioned after today's observation of the lack of successfully obtaining a complete game reset after the scorewheels have rotated back to the zero position (with some scorewheels still sticking occasionally) and the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) rotates continuously now without obtaining a reset. Sounds like another electrical problem (has now unfortunately crept-up with none of the glass type fuses found to be blown after checking..
Any Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' pinball game troubleshooting advice / assistance / tips would be greatly appreciated...
Happy Gaming!

Hi, not sure if you are aware of this site, http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index.htm, but lots of great info for troubleshooting EM games. Most of it is pretty much game/manufacture agnostic.

Hope it helps out.

[John Robertson]

Post by Tom Johnson
Hello Everyone, I recently purchased the Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' EM pinball game at a garage sale after the seller demonstrated correct operation. Once set-up at home, the operation soon became intermittent as the game would not reset properly automatically as some scorewheels were 'sticky' and not able to rotate automatically back to the needed zero position. Initially if you manually rotated the offending / sticky scorewheel/s back to zero, the game would reset / play normally. But today for some unknown electrical reason/s, the game now tries, but unsuccessfully to reset itself even after all the scorewheels are rotated back to zero position as expected, but after having all the scorewheels back in a zero position now, the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) located underneath the playfield) does not stop rotating after completing a scorewheel zero position reset as was observed before today. Not sure now about needing the scorewheels cleaned / reconditioned after today's observation of the lack of successfully obtaining a complete game reset after the scorewheels have rotated back to the zero position (with some scorewheels still sticking occasionally) and the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) rotates continuously now without obtaining a reset. Sounds like another electrical problem (has now unfortunately crept-up with none of the glass type fuses found to be blown after checking..
Any Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' pinball game troubleshooting advice / assistance / tips would be greatly appreciated...
Happy Gaming!

Chicago Coin connectors at this period were notorious for poor contacts
- check the score drum units plug connectors for warping. Replace the
card edge connector as needed, or solder the wires carefully to the PCBs

Get the schematics and figure out the start sequence...

And try to write in paragraph form - one long pile of words is very hard
to read!

John :-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
[phone] (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"

[Tom Johnson]

Post by John Robertson

Post by Tom Johnson
Hello Everyone, I recently purchased the Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' EM pinball game at a garage sale after the seller demonstrated correct operation. Once set-up at home, the operation soon became intermittent as the game would not reset properly automatically as some scorewheels were 'sticky' and not able to rotate automatically back to the needed zero position. Initially if you manually rotated the offending / sticky scorewheel/s back to zero, the game would reset / play normally. But today for some unknown electrical reason/s, the game now tries, but unsuccessfully to reset itself even after all the scorewheels are rotated back to zero position as expected, but after having all the scorewheels back in a zero position now, the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) located underneath the playfield) does not stop rotating after completing a scorewheel zero position reset as was observed before today. Not sure now about needing the scorewheels cleaned / reconditioned after today's observation of the lack of successfully obtaining a complete game reset after the scorewheels have rotated back to the zero position (with some scorewheels still sticking occasionally) and the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) rotates continuously now without obtaining a reset. Sounds like another electrical problem (has now unfortunately crept-up with none of the glass type fuses found to be blown after checking..
Any Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' pinball game troubleshooting advice / assistance / tips would be greatly appreciated...
Happy Gaming!

Chicago Coin connectors at this period were notorious for poor contacts
- check the score drum units plug connectors for warping. Replace the
card edge connector as needed, or solder the wires carefully to the PCBs
Get the schematics and figure out the start sequence...
And try to write in paragraph form - one long pile of words is very hard
to read!
John :-#)#
--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
[phone] (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

[[e-mail]]

Post by John Robertson

Post by Tom Johnson
Hello Everyone, I recently purchased the Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' EM pinball game at a garage sale after the seller demonstrated correct operation. Once set-up at home, the operation soon became intermittent as the game would not reset properly automatically as some scorewheels were 'sticky' and not able to rotate automatically back to the needed zero position. Initially if you manually rotated the offending / sticky scorewheel/s back to zero, the game would reset / play normally. But today for some unknown electrical reason/s, the game now tries, but unsuccessfully to reset itself even after all the scorewheels are rotated back to zero position as expected, but after having all the scorewheels back in a zero position now, the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) located underneath the playfield) does not stop rotating after completing a scorewheel zero position reset as was observed before today. Not sure now about needing the scorewheels cleaned / reconditioned after today's observation of the lack of successfully obtaining a complete game reset after the scorewheels have rotated back to the zero position (with some scorewheels still sticking occasionally) and the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) rotates continuously now without obtaining a reset. Sounds like another electrical problem (has now unfortunately crept-up with none of the glass type fuses found to be blown after checking..
Any Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' pinball game troubleshooting advice / assistance / tips would be greatly appreciated...
Happy Gaming!

Chicago Coin connectors at this period were notorious for poor contacts
- check the score drum units plug connectors for warping. Replace the
card edge connector as needed, or solder the wires carefully to the PCBs
Get the schematics and figure out the start sequence...
And try to write in paragraph form - one long pile of words is very hard
to read!
John :-#)#
--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
[phone] (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

The score reels have 3 switches in a vertical stack. One switch closes when the reel moves to the 9 position. This switch passes current to the next higher digit so that when you go from 9 to 0, the 10 reel advances - this switch may not be found on the highest value digit.
One of the other two switches will open when the reel goes to zero. This is the switch that passes voltage to the reel during the reset process. When it gets to zero, the coil should stop firing in reset. The other switch, usually the top one, will open on some manufacturers games or close on other manufacturers games. All of the top switches on your game should do the same thing. When all of these switches are open/closed as they should be, the game should go to the next step of the start up process.
Tighten the screws on the switch pack for all of the score reels. The spacers can shrink and make adjustment impossible. These switches may be the source of your problem.
pinworks

[Shawn Lee]

I had a Chicago coin machine once and will never get one again due to this lousy design. The game requires that all score reels are at zero position which is on those PCBs with those lousy wipers and failing edge connectors. Most of the edge connectors on my machine had been replaced or were breaking. Someone had soldered the pins directly onto the circuit board in the wrong position in my case. So check to make sure all the edge connectors are sturdy. Either way the wipers are prone to not making good contact so you should check them closely. On my machine the wiper arm had a four position side and a two position side. The two wiper side was the one that confirmed the zero position. You might have some luck with slightly jiggling each score reel to see if it ends the start up sequence which would indicate the faulty contact and you can focus on the wipers on that reel.

Post by John Robertson

Post by Tom Johnson
Hello Everyone, I recently purchased the Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' EM pinball game at a garage sale after the seller demonstrated correct operation. Once set-up at home, the operation soon became intermittent as the game would not reset properly automatically as some scorewheels were 'sticky' and not able to rotate automatically back to the needed zero position. Initially if you manually rotated the offending / sticky scorewheel/s back to zero, the game would reset / play normally. But today for some unknown electrical reason/s, the game now tries, but unsuccessfully to reset itself even after all the scorewheels are rotated back to zero position as expected, but after having all the scorewheels back in a zero position now, the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) located underneath the playfield) does not stop rotating after completing a scorewheel zero position reset as was observed before today. Not sure now about needing the scorewheels cleaned / reconditioned after today's observation of the lack of successfully obtaining a complete game reset after the scorewheels have rotated back to the zero position (with some scorewheels still sticking occasionally) and the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) rotates continuously now without obtaining a reset. Sounds like another electrical problem (has now unfortunately crept-up with none of the glass type fuses found to be blown after checking..
Any Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' pinball game troubleshooting advice / assistance / tips would be greatly appreciated...
Happy Gaming!

Chicago Coin connectors at this period were notorious for poor contacts
- check the score drum units plug connectors for warping. Replace the
card edge connector as needed, or solder the wires carefully to the PCBs
Get the schematics and figure out the start sequence...
And try to write in paragraph form - one long pile of words is very hard
to read!
John :-#)#
--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
[phone] (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

The score reels have 3 switches in a vertical stack. One switch closes when the reel moves to the 9 position. This switch passes current to the next higher digit so that when you go from 9 to 0, the 10 reel advances - this switch may not be found on the highest value digit.
One of the other two switches will open when the reel goes to zero. This is the switch that passes voltage to the reel during the reset process. When it gets to zero, the coil should stop firing in reset. The other switch, usually the top one, will open on some manufacturers games or close on other manufacturers games. All of the top switches on your game should do the same thing. When all of these switches are open/closed as they should be, the game should go to the next step of the start up process.
Tighten the screws on the switch pack for all of the score reels. The spacers can shrink and make adjustment impossible. These switches may be the source of your problem.
pinworks

[Cliff]

Post by Shawn Lee
I had a Chicago coin machine once and will never get one again due to this lousy design. The game requires that all score reels are at zero position which is on those PCBs with those lousy wipers and failing edge connectors. Most of the edge connectors on my machine had been replaced or were breaking. Someone had soldered the pins directly onto the circuit board in the wrong position in my case. So check to make sure all the edge connectors are sturdy. Either way the wipers are prone to not making good contact so you should check them closely. On my machine the wiper arm had a four position side and a two position side. The two wiper side was the one that confirmed the zero position. You might have some luck with slightly jiggling each score reel to see if it ends the start up sequence which would indicate the faulty contact and you can focus on the wipers on that reel.

Post by John Robertson

Post by Tom Johnson
Hello Everyone, I recently purchased the Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' EM pinball game at a garage sale after the seller demonstrated correct operation. Once set-up at home, the operation soon became intermittent as the game would not reset properly automatically as some scorewheels were 'sticky' and not able to rotate automatically back to the needed zero position. Initially if you manually rotated the offending / sticky scorewheel/s back to zero, the game would reset / play normally. But today for some unknown electrical reason/s, the game now tries, but unsuccessfully to reset itself even after all the scorewheels are rotated back to zero position as expected, but after having all the scorewheels back in a zero position now, the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) located underneath the playfield) does not stop rotating after completing a scorewheel zero position reset as was observed before today. Not sure now about needing the scorewheels cleaned / reconditioned after today's observation of the lack of successfully obtaining a complete game reset after the scorewheels have rotated back to the zero position (with some scorewheels still sticking occasionally) and the large wheel w/ multiple switch contacts (i.e. stepper motor) rotates continuously now without obtaining a reset. Sounds like another electrical problem (has now unfortunately crept-up with none of the glass type fuses found to be blown after checking..
Any Chicago Coin 'Red Baron' pinball game troubleshooting advice / assistance / tips would be greatly appreciated...
Happy Gaming!

Chicago Coin connectors at this period were notorious for poor contacts
- check the score drum units plug connectors for warping. Replace the
card edge connector as needed, or solder the wires carefully to the PCBs
Get the schematics and figure out the start sequence...
And try to write in paragraph form - one long pile of words is very hard
to read!
John :-#)#
--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
[phone] (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

The score reels have 3 switches in a vertical stack. One switch closes when the reel moves to the 9 position. This switch passes current to the next higher digit so that when you go from 9 to 0, the 10 reel advances - this switch may not be found on the highest value digit.
One of the other two switches will open when the reel goes to zero. This is the switch that passes voltage to the reel during the reset process. When it gets to zero, the coil should stop firing in reset. The other switch, usually the top one, will open on some manufacturers games or close on other manufacturers games. All of the top switches on your game should do the same thing. When all of these switches are open/closed as they should be, the game should go to the next step of the start up process.
Tighten the screws on the switch pack for all of the score reels. The spacers can shrink and make adjustment impossible. These switches may be the source of your problem.
pinworks

In my experience with CC's of this era, I have often found the "wiper arm" screw over tightened. While it will force the contacts to have more pressure, it often creates too much drag. I generally will tighten them enough to make but still be free to move.