Stern Godzilla Premium – Troubleshooting

No trouble with my NIB Stern Godzilla Premium in the first year of use. A couple of issues after the first year – ball hang-ups around the Mechagodzilla shield or rotating target array (too low) and the array not aligning thus wiggling around randomly.

July 21, 2023 – Total Plays 846

Leveling the Mechagodzilla Shield or 3 Target Rotating Assembly

Problem: Stern Godzilla Premium – July 2022 build. Ball gets stuck above the shield due to the assembly being too low.

Solution: From Stern Tech:

“Leveling of the shield assembly: this is very simple. There is a white nylon lock ring on the shaft of this assembly.

If you loosen this ring (you can usually do this with your hands, but it may be tight) you can then twist the knurled metal tip of the shaft to move the turn table up and down.

Once you check on the top side of the playfield if it is level, you can then go and tighten the lock ring as best you can(two hands is advised at times) and ensure that it didn’t budge during the final tightening.”

That worked although I needed a pair of pliers to turn the nylon nut. Also watch your fingers! I caught my finger on the assembly as it moved!

Mechagodzilla Shield or 3 Target Rotating Assembly Acting Up

Problem: The shield seems to be having trouble seeking alignment. Here at the start of the game it should just stay in position with the ramp ready, yet is starts moving around.

Using the diagnostics in the service menu to test the assembly. Seems to work fine in the testing but in the game it randomly starts to move back and forth.

From Stern Tech….if you have allen wrenches, please try to make sure that the armature is tight on the shaft that runs out the the gearbox. The gearbox has a flat spot on the shaft that the set screw should tighten too.

The fact it is over travelling can still be the motor, but also, if it was loose on that shaft, that could cause a few degrees of over rotation.

Can you also go into switch levels mode, and ensure none of the standup targets on the shield are stuck closed. Switch levels will show which siwtches are currently shut, vs switch edges which show current or the most recent closures.

Solution: My targets were not touching. In fact after 800+ plays the gap was a bit far so I adjusted the with a switch tool to make them more sensitive.

Tightening the set screw with a long 3/32 Allen wrench did not solved the issue. It was already plenty tight.

The assembly was removed from the playfield and held up with a tripod arm.

Stern used two different motors on Godzilla Premiums and LEs to operate Mechagodzilla’s shield of three drop targets, a spinner and a ramp.

The one on the left appears to be a motor Stern has used on many games and is available from Pinball Life.

The one in my machine is the one on the right, the longer one. According to Stern Tech, this one on the right has been causing issues.

A solution from Pinside:

I did find an answer on Pinside that appears to fix the problem.

Adjust the power of “shield motor open delay ms” to 20 ms (Default is 80 ms)

Perhaps the factory default settings are for the other motor (left) or maybe the right motor gets looser over time and needs different settings. I don’t know but for now, changing the setting seems to be working.

The solution from Stern Tech – sending a new motor. If the problem returns I’ll switch out the motor.