Credit swich inside coin door won't activate credits on a EM pinball machine

[BR549 Auto Sales]

 I can't get an EM pinball machine to credit up from the coin switch inside the door, I have to add credits from the credit relay in the bottom of the cabinet. Would this be tied into a leaf switch inside the drum? I would actually like to add a free play button if possible and not even use the coin mechs.

Thanks,

David

[Mr. Dinoman]

There are about a billion possibilities that could be wrong...Where are you located...I did not see anything in your profile...If you are anywhere in Orange county, CA I can help you...EM machines are difficult to trouble-shoot without having it in front of you...One little cold solder joint could affect (and does) the whole machine...
Jimmy

[BR549 Auto Sales]

oh, just right down the road in Alabama, you wanna come over and help a brother out? Just kidding, do you know of a way to make a free play credit button work by going directly to the credit relay?

[Mr. Dinoman]

Does the machine work and give you a credit when you push the relay?...If you have a martini ready tonight, I will be right over..

[BR549 Auto Sales]

Yes, the machine was completely dead when I got it in, now this is the only thing left that I can't track down, unfortunately I do not have the scematics to make this easier.

[Mr. Dinoman]

What pin machine is it?...Can you post a picture of the game and where the relay is?

[BR549 Auto Sales]

A Sonic Super Straight, kinda dog of a game, but I am repairing it for a friend. I can post some pics later when I get back home. One other thing, do you know if Williams coils will work in a Sonic pinball? I know that some of the parts are compatible between the games. I need to replace a score reel coil and a slingshot coil.

Thanks,

David

[Mr. Dinoman]

I have not worked on a Sonic...You would need to measure the coil resistance and voltage to cross ref. it...Is there voltage getting to the credit relay?...Does the relay work if you apply voltage to it?

[BR549 Auto Sales]

I can manually engage the credit relay and it will add credits, so there is voltage. I just need the actual coin switch to work when the switch touches.

[Mr. Dinoman]

Also, here is a link to the schematics on Ebay if your interested...I believe this is the game you have...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-Straight-1977-Sonic-Manual-Schematic-/220350740375?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item334ded7797

[Mr. Dinoman]

Because you can manual engage the relay does not mean it is getting voltage...Put a Volt meter across the coil and try the coin switch to see if voltage is getting to the relay...If not, try applying your relay voltage from the power supply and see if the relay actually works...Be careful...Make sure you know what voltage goes were...If it were me, I would invest in the manual I mentioned above and we can go from there...If the relay works with you applying voltage to it, then it should be easy to manually add a switch or trouble shoot your problem...
Jimmy

[knagl]

For what it's worth (and not much since there aren't any manual or schematic downloads available), here's the entry for the "Super Straight" pinball machine by Sonic at the Internet Pinball Database:

http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2449

One other thing, do you know if Williams coils will work in a Sonic pinball? I know that some of the parts are compatible between the games. I need to replace a score reel coil and a slingshot coil.

Of note and perhaps a tiny bit of help, I did find this tidbit in the comments associated with the rating of the game in the IPDB entry:

This is another game from Spain, but inside it is basically a Williams game, most general WMS parts will work in a Sonic game.

Take that with a grain of salt -- it's one comment from one person and it's not specific to the coils, but perhaps it's the answer you're looking for.  If the coils that need to be replaced are similar in size and resistance with available WMS coils, they may work for you.


Edited to add:

It looks like Marco also has the manual available, as well as a new rubber ring set for the game:

http://www.marcospecialties.com/storeitems.asp?txtkey=super+straight


...and finally, here's someone's YouTube video showing the game in action:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DYzSGpbMcXk&rel=0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/DYzSGpbMcXk&rel=0</a>