Big Bang Bar

[jadziedzic]

I didn't see this mentioned in any of the other topics ...

The lower left ball lock on my game has an annoying habbit of popping balls over the purple wire form. I noticed the lower mounting bracket of the assembly was loose, thought tightening that might help, but no go. We watched carefully and it really seems like the dwell time on the solenoid is just a bit too short. Or perhaps the spring is too strong?

Any ideas on this?

Thanks,
Tony
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Joseph "Tony" Dziedzic
BBB #39

[zaphod]

The bottom switch of three on my ball lock sticks up higher than the other switches. The ball must roll a little farther before the switch is disengaged. Is your bottom switch bent to be a little "taller" than the others? If not, maybe that would fix your problem.


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Former BBB #115 owner.

[sellenoff]

[BBB94]

I agree that this is likely a switch adjustment issue. Likely it is taking the switch too little or too much time to open and the timing in the software is having the ball stop shoot up while a ball is overhead. Speculating - if it does it with only one ball there, then the switch may be opening too quickly causing the software to think the ball should be past. If it does it when multiple balls are there and it is popping the trailing ball over, then it may be opening the switch too late causing the stop to stay down to long and smack the trailing ball. Actually if it only does it with multiple balls locked, then it could also be related to the function/timing of the 2nd or 3rd switch.

I have NOT had this problem. Pitch: 6.5.

[metallik]

Making the game steeper would also likely fix the problem. I set mine a little steep (didn't measure but I gues 7-7.5deg based on play) and never had a ball kicked off the lock.

[marspinball]

I just set mine up today and also have this issue. I can't tell if the plunger is causing it or not. It sometimes seems the ball on it's own if going fast enough will jump out. If that is the case then setting the incline greater would probably to make it worse. Mine is set to 6.5.

If adjusting the first switch doesn't work I might try putting a thick washer where the purple ramp is in contact with the sling plastic. Raising it a bit may catch the balls.
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BBB #131

[BBB93]

I think it may have to do with the pitch of the game.... I put some clear fender washers on my sling plastics yesterday. By doing so, I effectively raised the wireform by about 1/16 ", thus reducing the pitch of the wireform. The first game after I put on the sling protectors, I had a ball jump off the end of the wire form and into the outlane. It had never done that until after I installed the plastic washers.

Maybe installing the plastic washer decreased the pitch of the wireform just enough that the ball now rolls slightly slower, thus the timing of the ball stop (popper) is hitting the ball before it gets out of the way??? I'll take a closer look later.

Bob S
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Belly-Up To The Big Bang Bar ©

[sellenoff]

[greg_888]

thats funny l put the plastic washers on both ends of the slings and it fixed the problem but l did not tighten the purple ramp at the bottom of the sling ... l left a little play in it
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Greg
#82

[jadziedzic]

I spent quite a bit of time this evening working on this issue. I tried different inclinations of the playfield, tweaking the microswitches, etc., and nothing really made a difference.

I finally noticed that it took a LOT of pressure to push down on the lock post; the solenoid return spring used in the unit on my game was VERY stiff. I removed the multi-brawl lock unit and substituted a Williams 10-376 conical flipper return spring for the original spring. That finally resolved the issue. Not one failure since replacing the original spring.

I suspect Williams solenoid return springs such as a 10-135 (standard sling shot kicker return spring) would work fine too, but I don't have any in the parts bin to test that theory.

Maybe the wrong spring was used during the unit assembly?

Anyway, hope this helps. The game is a LOT more fun with a working multi-brawl lock unit!

Tony
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Joseph "Tony" Dziedzic
BBB #39

[awarner]

I fixed mine a different way. The problem on my game was that the cross support on the purple ramp hits the post. All I had to do was loosen the bolts/nuts holding down the purple ramp and give it just the slightest bit of upward pressure and the post popped up. Then I kept the pressure and re-tightened. Worked fine every time.

-Al-
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