Found a way to stop the constant clicking in Battle Vader.

[Mike Briggs]

I found a way to turn off the clicking motors in Battle Vader, the down side is you get a lot more balls in the start pocket (or upside). It takes a couple of steps.

Check out the photos for some clarification. The wires that control the motors are behind the upper circuit board in the first photo. there is a release tab under the right hand side of this panel. push the release tab towards the front of the machine and slide the whole board about 1/2 inch to the right, it should then fall free (with a bunch of wires still attached)

Behind it you will find the panel in the second photo. the third and fourth connector on the top (small grey and small white) control the motors. in this photo only the third connector is inserted.

with the power off, if you swap the small gray and the small white to the opposite plugs, the way the motors rest with swap. That is, the left motor will now rest with balls falling to the right and the right motor will now rest with the ball going to the left. Power up so the motors will swap the their new rest positions. Then power back off, and unplug both connectors. Now when you power up, the motors will no longer function (enjoy the quiet) and any balls that pass through will go towards the start pocket sorter, so you will get l lot more spins.

I also unplugged the large gray and large white connectors, I think they are part of the sensor that monitors the motors, but this might not be necessary. If you get any alarms, then it is. Make sure you do all the swapping with the power off.

Put the removed circuit board back in place by putting in to position and sliding 1/2 inch to the left.

Let me know if you have any questions. It worked great for me.

IMG_6446.jpgIMG_6448.jpg

[pachiwall]

So can a switch somehow be installed to easily switch back on?

[Mike Briggs]

I suppose you could place a switch into the wire path, but I found that when you disconnect the plug while powered up you trigger an error message that takes over the screen asking you to call for an attendant and sounds an alarm that won't stop until you power down, so the same might happen if you switch it off while powered up. I didn't try that. I actually went so far as to pull out both motors and rockers. (one of them stopped working- causing the alarm all the time - so I had to find a solution) now the balls just randomly fall left or right when they pass through that area. And I can leave the machine on with guests over and its nice and quiet. I was kind of forced into the situation, and ended up preferring it. Just thought I would share my findings.

[Drunkenclam]

I've heard 2 different things about these.

1) Some one fitted an autoplay unit and it disabled the clicking.

2) There is a sensor that detects the flipper motor. If it malfunctions it shows an error code.

[pachiwall]

Sorry to hear about your motor issue. I don't own one of these macbines...but I enjoy reading about modifications to fix what we perceive as problems. Seems like if someone wanted to temporarily diSable the mechanism, they could find where to put a switch...theN turn the machine off before switching it. Not ideal, but seems like it could work. Best of both worlds, looks and plays like designed, and quiet when you want it to be!
Thanks for sharing what you have learned.

[pachiwall]

Rereading how it was done...a switch to duplicate the reversing and unplugging might be difficult. Maybe a switch closer to the motors cutting power to the motor (s)...as long as it don't trigger an alarm.
Of course your work is done! You have given future ambitious tinkerers a startIng point to solve the clicking motor problem.

[billyp203]

Yes, we did the same mod: video here:

https://youtu.be/tD3somwJjZM

And then an update with a few tweeks due to "Error 81":

https://youtu.be/6wOQJyXEn0E

We did this to help a few customers who were click crazed after a few days of it..... I hope it helps others