Hey guys.

i was out for lunch today, at an old hotel/restaurant/bar/ complex today, and i forgot they had a games room HUGE games room,

well anyways i went in, and they had a nice pinball lineup

Twilight Zone
Addams Family
Jurassic Park
Leathal Weapon 3
Space Shuttle

and well the addams family had both coin slots jammed with quarters, so i went and told the owner i would fix it for them if they let me play a couple games.

So i fixed it, and started talking to them, and they said they had a guy who fixed their machines (they have about 5-6 vids too) but the guy wasn't very reliable.

Anyways, to make a long story short, all the machines are in some sort of disrepair,

bad top flipper on TZ, AF and JP, and numerous broken rubbers, burned out bulbs, dirty playfields...

the leathal weapon 3 DMD is not lit up at all, and neither is anything on the backbox, and the spaceshuttle is just giving an error code.

so i talked to them, and from now on, i am their new Pinball tech, hah, they are gonna pay me to come in and repair them, now i am no expert, but it's nice to be able to learn on someone elses machines.

so i may be buying alot of parts/asking advice in the near future.

first off, where should i buy bulbs from? cheap/quick ship

also, what should i charge these guys per hour to fix stuff?


Thanks Guys!

Eric

Terry at Pinball life has the best prices hands down. He also uses U.S.P.S.

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?

charge: how much is your time worth ?  

and what if you break "a big thing" ?  are you ok to pay for it ?  

consider that in your pricing ...

well,

the problem is, these machines are in such bad shape cosmetically, like never been cleaned, i was shooting lightbulbs around the playfield on the twilight zone, and i have no idea where they came from, so i dont think i could break too much,

and i only want to start doing small things, like flipper repairs, bulb replacement, cleaning, rubber replacing that kinda thing, and then teach myself how to fix the more complex things, and then maybe someday i'll have as much knowledge as you guys on here!

Thanks!

Eric.

btw, going there tomorrow for the better part of the day to take inventory of what needs to be replaced/fixed so i can try to find parts online.

Eric,

Since you can't see what I'm doing right now I'll tell you.......I'm shaking my head (the one on my shoulders).  Good luck and expect more than a few surprises.

                                              flashman

i know what ya mean flashman,

but the thing is, these guys aren't expecting a miracle, they just want them to be playable again,
so i am going to do my best, and i let them know right away that i know the basics, but i am still learning, and am doing this as a hobby
so i figure it will be better all around for me to learn on these machines so that i will be able to fix my own in the future.

Also, i PROMISE not to do any hack jobs on these machines, so that in the future if they decide to sell them (you guys will be the first to know)
they will be in good shape.

Eric

Going in this morning for my first clean / inspect / write down all the parts i have to order. wish me luck.

Sounds like a great opportunity! Good Job ...Have fun!

UPDATE!!!!

Spent a good 8 hours there today doing an inventory, and cleaning all bulbs and all playfields, (you used to be able to smoke in there) BLAH!
while i was there, i found a pacman that was bought origionally back when they first came out by the hotel owner, and IT STILL WORKS!! and i also found a "Fish Tales" pinball machine in another room which i am gonna move into the main area next time i go, it has a DMD that isn't working, and the belt for the wheel thing? is missing, so i need to replace that. here is my list of stuff the machines need, and stuff thats wrong with them.

Any info, or if you have any parts available i would really appreciate it Thanks

Space Shuttle

Left Flipper - FL-11630/50V
Error # 2535 6
upper left rubber


Leathal Weapon 3


Rubbers / Bulbs
Backbox lighting does not work
DMD does not work.

Jurassic Park

T-Rex does not pick up ball
Backbox Lighting Does Not Work
Launch Ball Cover Missing
Rubber Kit / Bulb Kit

Twilight Zone

Right Upper Flipper Does Not Work - New Coil?
Rubber Kit
Bulb Kit

Addams Family

Rubber Kit
Light Bulb Kit
Upper Left Flipper Slow.

Also, need 5 x loonie mechs, if anyone has any.

buy the rubbers in bulk and save the cash.  then you usally have some left for later.  pindoc, when he isn't busy.  types a easy to follow repair email.  if you tell him exactly what is wrong.  don't get so busy you don't get a chance to burn those cd's for me. thanks

have fun at the new job  
  gre-gory

Gory,

they are coming soon i promise!!! heeh, and thankyou!

oh and i probobally forgot to mention, this is by no means a "job" job, it's just a when i feel like it, paid to work on my hobby type of thing, hehe i still do my other 2 full time jobs, this is just for the couple extra hours i have free a year



Eric.

Quoted from thunderstorm

i know what ya mean flashman,

but the thing is, these guys aren't expecting a miracle, they just want them to be playable again,
so i am going to do my best, and i let them know right away that i know the basics, but i am still learning, and am doing this as a hobby
so i figure it will be better all around for me to learn on these machines so that i will be able to fix my own in the future.

Also, i PROMISE not to do any hack jobs on these machines, so that in the future if they decide to sell them (you guys will be the first to know)
they will be in good shape.

Eric

Going in this morning for my first clean / inspect / write down all the parts i have to order. wish me luck.

Eric,

My post wasn't meant to discourage you in any way.  When I first started repairing pins mainly the EM's an operator showed me the inside of STTNG after I told him I would be collecting those pins one day and repairing them as well.  Well he chuckled and proceeded to show me the inside of the head with the circuits boards etc. and told me I wouldn't be fixing these games anytime soon.  That just made me more determined and yes I am troubleshooting and repairing these games these days.  As long as you have the right literature it's possible.  

The best resource I have found especially for someone starting out is (Just in case you aren't familiar with this site):

http://www.marvin3m.com/fix.htm

In terms of getting standard parts for the newer pins (WPC etc.) as Tanman pointed out Pinballlife.com is great.  You may want to order you rubbers and lights from them in bulk (Great Prices).

As far as electronic parts go, when you get to that point and you probably will if you stick with it is Ed at GPE:

    http://www.greatplainselectronics.com/

If you need to check a manual that you don't have check the IPD:

            http://www.ipdb.org/


I think you have a great attitude toward this, and at times it can become a little overwhelming but purserverance will take you far.

                                                       flashman

Flashman,

i know what you mean, and i appreciate your help and guidance, and for that matter the help from everyone in this board, it's amazing how far people are willing to go, and the length of time they will spend helping out a total stranger, this is a new hobby for me, altho i have had a machine for about 8 years, i've never really begun to learn because i've had great luck with my cyclone *knock on wood*

so thanks again for all your help
i am going to order some parts, and see what i can do to make these work a little bit better.

Eric.