During ball 1, hitting a few targets advances the game to ball 2, 3 and then game over, so the flippers die before the ball drains.

Hitting targets runs the ball count to game over: shorted rollover switch

Cause: On one centre rollover switch the small tension blade was touching the wrong contact after adjustment, shorting it into the ball count circuit.

Checks

• Check the rollover switches, especially recently adjusted ones, for blades touching the wrong side.
• Check the Jones plugs are seated in line, not offset by one pin.

Fix

• Re-form the tension blade so it presses on the correct side, then recheck the other rollovers.

EM switch contacts carry live voltage; switch off before adjusting.

Systems

• Electro-mechanical

Games

• Pat Hand

Related tips

• Ball count stays at 1 after each drain: dirty secondary trough switch
• Game stuck on player 1, ball 1: broken wire on the ball index relay
• Score motor runs on at game over: end game relay not pulling in
• Game starts but flippers are dead and nothing scores: dirty relay switches
• Game Over relay trips again right after start: dirty Lock relay switch
• Game resets when a target is hit while the spinner spins
• Ball-in-play and game-over lights all dead: bent switch blade on the O relay
• Ball count runs to 10 and the game resets endlessly: dirty ball count stepper

Source: Pinball Repair help group!! (Facebook group)