Poll of the Day > I finally got my stupid pinball machine working

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT0ZqNKB5yA" data-time="

It's a 1971 Williams Action Baseball em pinball

Not a single computer component in it at all, just a bunch of coils, wires and switches

The ding when you score a run is so awesome
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That's neat. I have a TZ myself and if you're going to own a pin you have to be willing to maintain it.

I'd love a Twilight Zone but solid state pin prices are crazy
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Action53 posted...

Not a single computer component in it at all, just a bunch of coils, wires and switches

how do you maintain state? there must be some kind of logic somewhere. strike counter, bases, etc?

is this something you designed or is it more like a kit that you put together?
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Did you fix it yourself? What was wrong with it? I fixed a pinball machine once.

Sometime around 2000, at 21, I was working at a Harley Davidson dealership as a maintenance engineer which was a glorified title for a motorcycle detailer, shop handyman (not a mechanic), store/shop cleaner (but not the bathrooms), the tow truck driver (including motorcycle delivery) and gopher.

The Harley Davidson pinball breaks, one flipper stopped working. My boss asks me to try to fix it. I've only played pinball, never learned how they operated and only had a basic understanding of electrical engineering.

So I flipped up the table, underneath was the electrical schematic. I used an EC meter and identified that the solenoid for the broken flipper was bad. I ordered a new one, replaced it and that's how I fixed a pinball machine without any training.
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Action53 posted...

I'd love a Twilight Zone but solid state pin prices are crazy

I found mine on Ebay right as the market was in a hole and people were trying to clear things out. It needed some work too, nothing extreme thankfully. Could easily sell it for double now, especially since TZ is so popular.

SunWuKung420 posted...

So I flipped up the table, underneath was the electrical schematic. I used an EC meter and identified that the solenoid for the broken flipper was bad. I ordered a new one, replaced it and that's how I fixed a pinball machine without any training.

That was lucky. A good portion of the underside is easy to fix. If something isn't moving it's either stuck and dirty or a switch/solenoid is broken. Bulbs and rubbers are simple. My biggest concern are the boards in the backbox.

DPsx7 posted...

SunWuKung420 posted...

So I flipped up the table, underneath was the electrical schematic. I used an EC meter and identified that the solenoid for the broken flipper was bad. I ordered a new one, replaced it and that's how I fixed a pinball machine without any training.

That was lucky. A good portion of the underside is easy to fix. If something isn't moving it's either stuck and dirty or a switch/solenoid is broken. Bulbs and rubbers are simple. My biggest concern are the boards in the backbox.

I'm sure, with the multipliers and keeping score, the backboard is more complicated.

I surprised myself, at the time, that I fixed it. Maybe I'm a genius?
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SunWuKung420 posted...

DPsx7 posted...

SunWuKung420 posted...

So I flipped up the table, underneath was the electrical schematic. I used an EC meter and identified that the solenoid for the broken flipper was bad. I ordered a new one, replaced it and that's how I fixed a pinball machine without any training.

That was lucky. A good portion of the underside is easy to fix. If something isn't moving it's either stuck and dirty or a switch/solenoid is broken. Bulbs and rubbers are simple. My biggest concern are the boards in the backbox.

I'm sure, with the multipliers and keeping score, the backboard is more complicated.

I surprised myself, at the time, that I fixed it. Maybe I'm a genius?

Both types have their issues. Electro Mechanical like the baseball game doesn't have all the fancy electronics the Solid States do. Clean some coils and switches and for the most part EM's will work. Anything else breaks and it takes some time to track down, where a SS has reports to tell you what is broken. But like I said before, my SS has several major electronics boards in the box and if any of those go down, well, I doubt replacements will be easy to find let alone cheap. They aren't anything I'll be fixing myself.

Maybe. Ha. Common sense is a good thing. When one flipper stops working there's only a couple things you need to check. If the mech part can swing freely then check the switch or coil. Something I learned is a coil either works or it doesn't. Any machine with weak flippers needs to have the coil sleeves replaced or the mech part cleaned or adjusted. Don't use oil as that tends to collect 'pinball dust' and turn into gum.

Action53 posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT0ZqNKB5yA" data-time="

That is so cool.
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Sahuagin posted...

Action53 posted...

Not a single computer component in it at all, just a bunch of coils, wires and switches

how do you maintain state? there must be some kind of logic somewhere. strike counter, bases, etc?

is this something you designed or is it more like a kit that you put together?

Action53 posted...

It's a 1971 Williams Action Baseball em pinball

Also, I think I remember this topic from a few months ago when you originally bought it. Those machines are so fun.
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Sahuagin posted...

Action53 posted...

Not a single computer component in it at all, just a bunch of coils, wires and switches

how do you maintain state? there must be some kind of logic somewhere. strike counter, bases, etc?

is this something you designed or is it more like a kit that you put together?

https://imgur.com/JRXQ4Xt

It's not a kit or my design, it was commercially made in the early 70's

It's just a bunch of solenoid driven switches, motor driven switches and solenoid driven steppers with wiper fingers, it has at most 4 bits of "computing" power.

SunWuKung420 posted...

Did you fix it yourself? What was wrong with it?

I fixed it all myself, with a schematic I luckily found and a shit ton of Googleing.

When I got it, it was totally dead. I had to replace some wiring, replace a few burned out coils and clean up a bunch of switch contacts to get it to show any signs of life.

It was stuck in an infinite reset cycle, when it first turns on it pulses all the motors to make sure everything is at "zero" or starting position. There was one zero position switch on one of the score wheels that looked like it was making contact but it really wasn't, a little more cleaning and adjusting and I got it to start a game but then it wouldn't pitch any balls out. That was another switch in a relay that needed cleaning/adjustment

Now it finally plays, for the most part. It needs a few bulbs replaced and it doesn't register every out but those should be pretty simple to figure out.
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This is so cool!!! Kudos for your achievement, you must preserve it for future generations.
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Awesome job.
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Man I want a pinball table
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Registers every out now :)
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I dunno if you're like me, I enjoyed tracking down the problems and fixing them on my pin. Always liked to see how things work and it's rare to see inside a pin without owning one.

I'm the same way, I love it. Even if it's frustrating sometimes
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