Williams Swinger (Williams, 1971) ball return not working

[aaronlux]

We have a 1970s williams swinger whose ball return kicker is not firing the ball into the lane. we replaced the motor but to no avail. What else could it be?

Thanks Aaron

 

[RWallmow]

I have a 70's Williams EM machine too (space mission), could it be the switch isn't registering the ball is in the ball return, check connections on the switch file its contact points with some 400 or 600 grit sand paper, could be that simple.
Alternatively on the Williams EM machines one of the counter units has to advance properly before it will return the ball, it could be one of the counters (cant recall which one controls it, im at work and my manual is at home). The counters can be a lot more complex since they are essentially a whole bunch of motorized switches, but you could try cleaning contacts on them as well, and watch them all durring a reset cycle to see that they all look like they are advancing, if its not advancing you could use some TEFLON lube (NO WD40! its flamable and can also cause a film to build up on the switches and anything else its sprayed near) or it may need the motor or selanoid replaced. Lots of possiblities on the EM pinball machines. Also you can check out http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index1.htm for a VERY in depth repair guide for EM pinball machines, couple that with a copy of the manual for your machine and you can fix about anything on them.

 

[aaronlux]

We tried replacing the solenoid and the machine does respond when the ball hits the switch, but the motor doesnt push the ball out. Ill take some pictures of what is responding tomorrow and see if you could further help us with the problem. Thanks again for the info and the repair website.

 

[RWallmow]

What does the machine do when the ball falls in and activates the switch, does it advance to the next player and or ball, but just doesn't return the ball to the lane? Does it sound like its trying to pop the ball out? If it sounds like its trying to pop it, something could just be misaligned. From what you have said, it does sound like its advancing the ball/player count and NOT trying to pop it back, I am just trying to get my facts straight here. There is the possibility that the wiring to the ball return solenoid could be bad, if you have schematics you could try running new wire to it, you could also try running the proper voltage off the transformer directly to the solenoid to see if it pops manually like that, that could rule out a bad solenoid (even though it was replaced, it could still be a bad new part, however unlikely).

Do you have manuals for this game to look up schematics and such? From what I have found the manual does not yet exist online, however there are a few registered owners of this machine on the "Internet Pinball Serial Number Database" (http://www.ipsnd.net/View.aspx?id=2485) who MAY be willing to help out a fellow owner and scan or xerox a copy for you, and if that is the case you should try to get a copy submitted to IPDB.org (http://ipdb.org/search.pl?any=swinger&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick#2485) to help out future owners like yourself diagnose and fix problems.