well thought this would be a good topic because there are always fun fixes that somone else has done before you bought the game. so I recently replaced the clock boards (with pinball lizard boards) in  my Twilight Zone pinball machine. it has been broken along time, so i took a pic of the old boards that was in there, that somone tried to fix and share them with everyone, pictures dont really show it really well but the boards are burnt with jumper wires all over the place. have a look! btw got a cool pic of a hack fix post it.

...you should have seen my EDOT before I fixed it all... 14 wire hacks in all... 8 of them to fix a problem caused by a single worn ribbon cable.

It is fixed now... that's the main thing.

Hehe,
We all have encountered these poor hacks.

The sad part is that some were done by actual arcade dealer's techs in the past to do a quick and dirty job to return the machine somewhat playable to earn...
I also have seen poor jobs on some people's machines, and they had paid a lot of $$$ for the 'shopped, fully working' machine...

I should have taken pics of the numerous previous hacks I removed and properly fixed in the last few years, such as:

- foil over fuses - fire hazard!

- big wires around flippers to hold coil in place

- extremely poor soldering jobs, leaving intermittent problems, or causing damage on boards

- mangled switches

- relays with switch blades out of armature as previous week-end Mr.Fix it attempted to fix the machine - only to make it worse

- all chips zapped because someone shorted solenoid voltage to the switch matrix input

- leads soldered directly to a connector instead of proper pin/header replacement

- recently: garbage displayed on bonus display of an 1982 Bally pinball machine, and some controlled lamps either too bright/burning, stuck on, or not working (and the driver was checked).  Issue was two 9-pin connectors swapped.  
Was fun to troubleshoot and locate for me and the owner!

- recently: Mustang EM, with open slam switch instead of closed, cash door connector incorrectly plugged-in and harness wires displaced under playfield, causing initially no game start, and then once mostly fixed, ball/player not advancing. Turns-out the last problem was a relocated wiring harness around a relay bank under the playfield, some wire insulation broke-down on a frame corner due to vibrations, causing the extra-ball relay to kick-in after the ball drained, when that relay bank would reset at the end of a ball.  Whew!

-etc.


It is fun to reverse-engineer and fix properly these issues!
See below the following two pics for your enjoyment:

1 - Machine: Gottlieb Flying Carpet (EM, 1972), would go to game over as soon as 1st ball served.  Previous tech and previous two owners gave-up on fixing it.
Issue: Was a solder splash, mostly hidden, on contacts on a relay bank (bottom left at the back of the cabinet.  Took me a few hours to locate the source of 'voltage' causing the game-over relay to activate at game start.

2- Eight Ball Deluxe, two issues:
  - GI fuse bypassed by unsafe big wires & marette - fire hazard again.
  - bridge rectifier previously replaced, and owner used 'silicon' calk instead of
    heatsink compound.


Happy Flipping!
- Sylvain in Ottawa

2nd pic...

WOW!! On voie que M. Bricole a passé sur la eight ball deluxe (bridge) de Sylvain......hmmmmm, belle ouvrage, continue mon champion!!!

Only six days left to bid.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Gottlieb-J.....QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm really dig'n the flipper mod.  

Adam

Quoted from goodicksa

I'm really dig'n the flipper mod.  

LAFF!

6 days and already more then what I paid for mine


system6 game: Scorpion to fix (lespac readers will remember that one)
Check the driver board and now imagine how many coils where BURN TO A CRISP.
And of course,  it went all the way to the pia chip...

Another interesting hack just discovered, this time on a Stern Seawitch
pinball machine I am currently fixing and shopping...

After checking the ground braid inside the head and cabinet, and replacing
the AC plug with a quality 3-prong plug (the original AC plug had its ground
pin cut, like many machines), I was still feeling tingling when touching the
machine's metal rails or the cashdoor.

I then realized one of the previous owner had spliced the power cord.
Removing the electrical tape revealed that the two AC wires were spliced
(although not soldered)....but left out the ground wire !

I will fix this properly, of course.

Remember, safety first. Shortcuts like this can be hazardous.
Ground pin and safe, secure wiring (especially live AC) is important,
along with fuses of proper types and ratings!

Cheers,
- Sylvain

That should be RULE #1 when buying a pinball or arcade game... FIRST THING YOU DO IS COMPLETELY REPLACE THE POWER CORD!!!

I always replace the cords entirely. I go to Canadian Tire and invest 10-15$ on a automobile block heater 15' extension cord on which I remove the female connector on the wire and solder it in place of the old power cord.

Probably the best initial investment you will make on a machine.

And if you don't take my word for it, check out Clay's pinball repair site and tapes. He ALWAYS mentions to completely replace that old power cord... especially on 20+ year-old machines...

Sparky, who has had his share of side-rail zaps...

Home Depot sells a real nice electric tool cord replacement that is a good plug on one end and the 3 wires ready for attachment.  Very slick!!

Dave

Quoted from Moonlit_Knight

That should be RULE #1 when buying a pinball or arcade game... FIRST THING YOU DO IS COMPLETELY REPLACE THE POWER CORD!!!

True.
In this case however, the power cord is otherwise in good shape.
And I *KNOW* how to splice well, solidly (I solder my splices), then using
shrink tube, plus electrical tape on top, done nicely and safely.
I will save $10 and do an as good a job here for this case, albeit it won't look
quite as good as a new cord. Frankly, most people do not care about the
appearance of the cord as long as it is safe and it works...

Note that I would have replaced the complete power cord if it was in bad shape.
Indeed I have new 15' AC power cords at home purchased from Steve Young
(flat 3-wire cord, as used originally by some manufacturers).

Quoted from Moonlit_Knight

And if you don't take my word for it, check out Clay's pinball repair site and tapes. He ALWAYS mentions to completely replace that old power cord... especially on 20+ year-old machines...

Good advice. I use most of Clay's recommendations.
However, I find that in some cases he is a little too opiniated and goes a little
too far, e.g optional fixes such as changing LED colors on  power supplies
for Gottlieb System 80 for instance.

Doing too much unnecessary work and mods on pinball machines is as risky
as not doing mods at all, or improperly, if done by noobies or Mr.week-end
fix-it warrior.
Trust me, I have been repairing machines as a serious hobby for almost 25 years.
In the last few years, hacks and blatant mistakes on boards and other wiring
inside machines are way up. I think this observation was also mentioned earlier
by commercial board repair people on rgp...

I personally feel Clay's site provides invaluable information to the pinball hobbyist.
Really great info. It is just that some people cannot handle properly a soldering iron,
do not have proper tools, or do not understand proper orientation of a transistor,
diode, resistor value or basic electrical/safety, regardless of instructions

Reverse-engineering hacks and mistakes is a lot of fun for inspector Sylvain!
I will post more of them soon

Cheers,
- Sylvain

Here is a jury rigged flipper I found on a
Cyclone that i bought at Starbust.
I can understand why the previous owner
might have done this...as I found thier
coke spoon that had rolled under the lockdown
bar.

This is still on my "to do list" of fixes.

Tom