The ball count/player unit never moves off player 1, ball 1. Working the solenoid by hand doesn't turn the stepper.

Ball count stepper won't advance: pawl arm frozen in old grease

Cause: The second arm (pawl) that pushes the stepper gear was stuck solid in hardened grease, so the solenoid's arm moved but nothing engaged the gear.

Checks

• Take the unit apart enough to watch the solenoid arm and the pawl that drives the gear.
• Check that the spring-loaded pawl moves freely and drops into the gear teeth.

Fix

• Dissolve the old grease with a solvent cleaner until the pawl moves freely. Don't re-grease: these steppers are meant to run dry.

EM games carry line voltage at the cord, transformer and switch; unplug before working inside.

Systems

• Electro-mechanical

Games

• Snow Derby

Related tips

• Players, credits or ball count not resetting points to a stepper unit
• Game stuck on player 1, ball 1: broken wire on the ball index relay
• Ball count stays at 1 after each drain: dirty secondary trough switch
• Two-player game runs on to players 3 and 4: hidden broken wire on the coin unit
• Score motor keeps running at start and the game never starts: clean the ball count unit
• Start button adds players 1 to 3 but never the 4th: adjust the coin unit end switch
• What stepper units do in an EM
• Game will not work: stepper unit binding

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