You know that there are groups of people doing this on a regular basis, right?

Thought the same thing. Wallybgood is on his 6th I think...MM, CC, MB, AFM, SS and working on TAF?

Just because you think it's crazy doesn't mean it is for someone else.

Honestly just buy an Addams and do a playfield swap with a new playfield. It will feel like you are building one from the ground up I promise.

If you cut the wire at the IDC, the rest should be good as new.

I think it's more surprising that nobody has come forward with a taf harness yet. I've found a demolition man, t2, and a judge dredd in my quest for wpc wire.

Some times I think that I might be a little bit crazy. Yep, done six already. (two MMs) Working on TAF. Maybe next winter's project.
Wally

I wouldn’t think so, as long as every connection is ohmd out and badly dried out wire is cut out, he should be fine. That’s why I say to use 2 harnesses; plenty of extra correct original colors to splice in where needed.... but new wire would be preferable, But difficult to locate. Maybe not possible to locate.

Regardless, I would not start at all if a wiring harness were not located first. It would have been the first part I would have purchased; even if I only had it to copy with new wire

Curious —
Did you make your own harnesses? And Did you have experience with pins before you delved into the first one? How long are you averaging on a build?

I wasted years looking for a Wpc harness, if at all it is some hacked junk missing wire, Like I said earlier it is not a harness it is multiple harnesses hooked together after the machine is built, as evidenced by the quality control tags on them...I just made wire over at BYOAC, (Jennifer's hot new pin) using MEK and fuel dye...It was easy, but very time consuming.

Hey M
Yep, made all the harnesses. Used a combination of re-purposed wire from other pins and new wire. Some wire I striped myself to get the correct code.
I did a Funhouse rebuild before my first scratch build. Found out during FH that I really enjoyed doing this.
Been averaging about a year for each pin but may go for months without touching it.
Love every aspect of building pins from scratch including searching for parts, deciphering parts lists/schematics/wiring diagrams/assy drawings, making NLA parts, making harnesses, woodworking, painting, ...........
More info in my "There's one more ...." listed in post# 55 of this thread.
Wally

Wow that’s impressive!! I love pinball but can’t imagine building those at that speed or dealing with scratch harnesses.

I saw a cpr gold taf playfield for sale for $1200 Canadian a few months back. My buddy has 2 taf gold playfields and I'm sure would part with one of them. Shoot me a pm if interested.

The pf breaks down into 3 separate harnesses on those wpc games. Coil / flasher, lamp and switch. Coil is quite simple but the lamp / switch ones would scare me as they are a matrix so wires are going in all directions in like a grid pattern. They only look half decent as all cable tired to getter. Not sure I’d know where to start without copying a reference one. Reading the schematic is easy, it’s transferring that into the real world wire lengths which I think would be difficult. Plus you got a mixture of single lamps / lamp boards. Although if your scratch building you would probably turn all into single lamps?

If it’s hard to find the correct colors and or sizes of wire for these builds, buddy up with an operator that’s cleaning out his warehouse. 90’s era Willy drivers aren’t worth the time to scrap them. We pull the PCB, eBay it for $100 and toss the rest in the dumpster. All the wire colors and sizes are the same as a pin from the era. Also, especially look for 33” monitor cabinets. Guys like me hate them. They’re hard to move, expensive to fix, take up too much warehouse space and not worth shit. But they’re a treasure trove for the wire!

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/73610

Made me think of this..

That's not as crazy as it sounds, Build 2 machines side by side, your ordering the same parts pieces and clips anyway, and it does save time...I currently am doing 13 machines all at once, (5 pins, 6 arcade, 1 juke, and a megatouch)

I've got 4 active projects. I swap between them as my interest changes and parts arrive. I'm shopping a Baywatch, almost done rebuilding a basketcase Blackout, working on my own version of Stranger Things and a playfield up build of a Scared Stiff(with custom controller boards running with a pinmame emulation). The OP's project seems tame compared to the sisyphean task I've set myself.
So, yes, if you just want a running pinball machine, buy one. If you just want to experience a rebuild, buy a busted one. But if your groove is big, crazy projects where you create something... well, I get it and I'm rooting for you.

Those sound like some really, really fun projects, (and secretly Jenn is a little curious)

I don’t think the wiring harness will be as bad as people think- sure it will take time, but it is far from impossible- even if you don’t use the exact color wire, it still comes back to known connections and devices. Hell- you could probably make it all out of the same color wire, just mark your connectors carefully. This is a very doable project.
It will not make you rich.... but will keep you busy.

What a nightmare this would be later on when problems arise and things need to be traced down. I don't recommend this.

I couldn’t agree more. Especially for someone’s first project into pinball. Keep it simple.

Yep. If you're going to do it, do it right.

Im having some stainless steel backbox backboard panels A-14092-2 made up for some of my own projects. Not sure of cost yet but if you need one let me know.
I also have a extra backbox bare light board.

Since this is not a restoration wire could be changed a little, Automotive grade would be a good choice, typically there are 19 different combinations most of are the same as that game, the big difference would be the 22ga. Was not usually used in the automotive industry and opted for 24ga...This could actually be considered an upgrade on a pin since it is a little bigger, (but not enough to be a problem with connectors)...Bay area sells a wide variety of good quality in 10ft pieces (for like 2 bucks or whatever).

24g is smaller not bigger than 22

I agree it would be less than ideal, but sometimes you got to compromise.
I deal with huge industrial controls cabinets every day. Thousands of connections, very few different wire colors...
It is more about documentation of connections (which Adams has tons of documentation)
If I have the manual for a pinball machine that shows connection points, I rarely look at wire color...
I also rarely trust wire color- I do 100% trust testing conductivity.

Amen. I've used wire color to track down things before, but it was once out of many, many times(rewiring a drop target from scratch). Always double check the connection.

Yes 24 is smaller than 22, you get the point though right?...Long day.

Get to know Wally. Send him flowers. Remember him at Christmas. If you actually dig deep into this project you will soon find out exactly why I am advising this.
Terry.

This princess loves flowers too...Oh Yes please me too!

Things just got weird

She spent $4000 on an empty backbox. She can buy her own flowers, but pleasing is best done in pairs.

Well little harsh *(feigned indignation) ALMOST 4k, you do realize I built the cab too right?... That is a fun project however, and if the OP has even half that much fun building his AF he is hooked for life.(smooch, wink)...Giggle.

Now now guys and girls play good in the sand box :)lol

The OP is already talking about a vp now? I starting to think this project will never happen. He'll acquire a few parts and that's it. Seen it numerous times with expierenced pinheads stocking up parts and boards to build a Indy or TZ only to find one, then abandon plans on the build. I even sent him a lead on a cpr gold TAF playfield and crickets....Just my .02 cents.

Gold is the quality of the playfield. It's not for the Gold version of the machine.

I put my gold up in the marketplace (it's not the one he was talking about). I think it's priced at what CPR sold golds for ($899 gold, $799 silver, $699 bronze)

CPR has a playfield rating system, silver, gold etc., I believe he is referring that the one up for sale is a CPR gold not for an Addams gold edition

I got a feeling i'll be watching this thread for a looooooooong time

yep, years and will probably never happen.

*Secretly I hope it lasts for like forevvvvver, Lot of good people, and skillsets here...Wait till we start in on making screen (Right Mr. Kelly?)...OP, on that note I would seriously look into those mefolna ( <Not spelled correctly) backbox screen warnings, I am here to say making screens from scratch is not something you might not want to wish upon yourself.

Buying a cab with screen already on it?, OMG you just robbed this guy of the experience... However I would be curious at the CNC approach since generally speaking those are only within the 80% mark. That could in theory throw off dimensions of OEM parts and mounting holes...We shall see so very exciting!

My VirtuaPin cabinet was fully assembled with all trimmings, screenings, etc. I did still have to drill the holes in the side for the brackets the playfield hinges rest on. I measured that about 10 times before I was confident I was drilling in the right spot. I also had to drill the three holes in the backbox for the topper lights and the holes in the bottom for the transformer. Other than that, it was just a matter of swapping stuff from the old cabinet to the new.

Shredder, I hope you don’t get discouraged by the QWERTY toughguys talking trash about you. This is doable. Listen to people that have done this (Wally!) Just take your time, and like anything else associated with pinball, have fun! If I were doing this, once I had a playfield, I’d start wiring the bottom before I started populating it. It’s going to take some time to find all the parts, so wiring it (and making sure you find someone close with a reference machine) will keep you focused on the prize at the end.

Wallybgood is accepting Old Style Beer in lieu of flowers.