Most of you will agree there's nothing more satisfying than a job well done.

I have owned several pinball machines with multiple issues in the 15 months or so since I started this hobby. There is a learning curve for sure, and it definitely helps to have some knowledge of electronics beforehand. Or at least the willingness to learn.

Although I am a newbie compared to many of you I can honestly say I have absorbed a ton of information in a very short span and have proven to myself I can be a techie if need be.  

My proudest achievements so far:

-Barracora, purchased last summer, turned out to be the deadest POS a pinball machine could be. There was barely a single mechanism in that machine that wasn't broken/seized or disconnected. The boards were mostly malfunctioning as well. I get the impression that this machine, purchased blindly in a bulk deal, had been sitting untouched since the early 90's at least. This machine was a big part of my learning all about the details of an SS pinball, how it works and gets repaired. I can easily think of 20 things I fixed, except the boards which were sent out. This baby plays like a charm now and has 2 sets of boards. Sadly the boards I had fixed thru a MAACA member have failed on me yet again soon after they arrived, but I was lucky to have bought a second set elsewhere. I guess it was just meant to be. Couldn't put a dollar value on this machine.

-Centaur II, bought a few weeks ago from a MAACA member who found it and then purchased most of the parts to rebuild it. He wasn't really stuck to this one and let me take it. Subsequently, now with more experience under my belt I tackled this machine a bit at at time and very quickly as most of the pieces were on hand. Bought a few more parts to get all the details restored as I would want it. Today, this machine is operating fully 100% to spec with all factory bits on it. Again, cannot put a dollar value on this one but can fully appreciate how great it plays. Possibly in the future when the time allows this could be a good candidate for a CPR playfield replacement, although I am happy with a touched up one for now.

These 2 babies deserve new playfield glass!

Like to hear how others have worked so hard to nurse their favourite machines back to life.

My one and only major repair so far was my Bally Skateball. I had at least 10 threads going between here/pinbash/RGP/Klov trying to sort out all the issues. It had also sat for many many years. Board hacks, power supply hacks, wrong parts, super dirty inside and out. It is now 100 percent working (except for one pesky insert bulb haha) It's my girlfriends fave game in my collection too. I know the feeling....

Yes, I remember the thing with the resistors.

Eight Ball Deluxe caused me fits for about 6 weeks.  Machine would tilt if you hit a certain target down and then went through the right inlane.  Strangest thing.  Even after about 30 posts and a ton of replies from Sylvain, the solution eluded me.  Finally just rewired practically everything, put new diodes and caps everywhere.  Problem was solved, but I never got to figure out what the actual problem was.

Felt good to finally play that b**ch !

I pride myself on the fact that all my machines play amazing.  They may not be the nicest to look at but when I finish shopping a machine out it will play like a top and won't need a shop job for many, many years to come.  Everything on my machines work properly and while I generally don't enjoy the process of shopping a machine I sure do enjoy the end result.  Cosmetics always take a back seat to playability as far as I'm concerned.  

Black Knight is my current horror story, I can't seem to fix every issue on it and when I fix one issue another crops up.  But at least it's playable, I plan on just waiting for Rotten Dog to release the system 7 boards and ordering a full board set.  But at least it plays great and that is what matters in the end.  

Hey Adam-

I have had issues with Barracora and so much so that I had one MPU/Driver combo completely serviced and in my impatiemce to get it back after round 2 (3 months away), dont ask why!) I went and bought a whole other set also completely resocketed, etc.

I have learned that even these boards will fail, and thats because of the new sockets, reseating the chips pretty much fixes any error where "9" shows up on the MPU test. That is a CMOS error, which on an updated board  is very likely a contact issue in one of the sockets.

My BK has been perfectly reliable so far, just needed a pop bumper fix.

Those SYS 7 boards are temperamental, but if you know them, a lot of the stuff is easy to remedy like the afformentioned socket wiggling.

Quoted Text

Eight Ball Deluxe caused me fits for about 6 weeks.  Machine would tilt if you hit a certain target down and then went through the right inlane.  Strangest thing.  Even after about 30 posts and a ton of replies from Sylvain, the solution eluded me.  Finally just rewired practically everything, put new diodes and caps everywhere.  Problem was solved, but I never got to figure out what the actual problem was.


[quote] Eight Ball Deluxe caused me fits for about 6 weeks.  Machine would tilt if you hit a certain target down and then went through the right inlane.  Strangest thing.  Even after about 30 posts and a ton of replies from Sylvain, the solution eluded me.  Finally just rewired practically everything, put new diodes and caps everywhere.  Problem was solved, but I never got to figure out what the actual problem was.

Felt good to finally play that b**ch !

So how could you part with it so easily?

Quoted from wbradley

So how could you part with it so easily?

Actually to be honest I pulled a huge douchebag move and backed out on a deal I had with my good friend TwilightZone.  I feel like an a$$ for doing it but I just can't bring myself to part with this machine yet and hopefully he will understand.  I have no excuse other then I don't want to sell the machine yet as I am still enjoying it, but I did make a deal and I did back out of it and the blame is completely on me.  I feel like I've blemished my good name and my friendship with him but that's just me beating up on myself.

Actually I have been eying the playfields and plastic sets over at CPR and am thinking about pulling the trigger maybe down the road, but I really don't need another project right now.  

Big commitment. Game will be unplayable for a while and that would be the toughest part. I will be keeping an eye out for a Centaur playfield. Not sure about where to make the time to do it though.
It looks like best bet on playfield replacement for an older SS machine would be to use all new light sockets. To bad they don't pre- drill them. Gotta be careful with bit sizes, keeping holes vertical. After watching pinballs being assembled on tv Im confident I can rebuild a playfield. Need a vacation to do it. And a box of t nuts and spare hardware.