Put 2 plastic protectors over the magnet cores and replaced all the pinballs a little over a week ago and have been pleased with the restored save launch feature. The save launch feature virtually disappeared after only a month since I purchased the machine and the pinballs were not registering due to magnetization. Thanks for your earlier post. Back to the crypt!

Thanks for your post! Appears that I too am missing my guillotine top and had no idea. Will go hunting in cabinet but I've been in there several times over the last month so I'm not too optimistic I'll find it. Again, thanks for the heads-up!

Have you installed two magnet core plastic protectors? See post #2361 in this thread for info. Adhesive backed circular clear plastic mounts over the magnet core which seems to prevent the magnetization of pinball. Remember to lower the magnet core same amount as plastic thickness so finish height is flush with pf. Covered the magnet core at top of pf as well. Good luck.

RD's right. After experimenting with other patterns if the problem persists, check to see if you have the clear plastic magnet core covers (~ 1mm thick). Available from Pinball Life, helps prevent magnetization of pinballs.

Topper is awesome! Unfortunately my house was built well over a century ago with a basement suited for me (height challenged...). I've already run out of nearby real-estate to locate toppers for RnM & HWN. Nice job with your artwork toppers!

Thanks for posting your situation & solution. Sounds an awful lot like oxidation may have been a contributing factor: Similar things have happened on pin connections on all types of games. Probably laughable, but I've been placing desiccant packs in my game cabinets & heads since my "game room" is also my basement. Probably ineffective but allows me to think I'm doing something helpful.

I installed the small plastic disc over both magnets as protection from further magnetizing the balls. Plastic backed with adhesives were purchased from Pinballlife. If you install them be sure to lower the magnet from under the pf.

Issues involving magnisave were discussed in this forum over the years, check out previous posts (search key word feature) on other solutions.
Good luck and enjoy this great game!

There are 4 magnet settings: Original and patterns 1,2 & 3. I installed the thin plastic adhesive discs on both magnets to reduce tendency for magnetizing the balls.

Can't answer to the horror stories but with 3 Spooky pins I sincerely believe they are ideal for home use/collections. Started out with RAM, then picked up ACNC in 2021, which led to my 1st nib HW delivery in early January. For me, RAM required the most pf tweaking to address brick shots but ACNC has been minimal. I'm sure there are many contrary experiences out there as supportive ones. All 3 of these games play so utterly differently that feels refreshing. Half my current collection is a Spooky game, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Sorry to hear all the problems you're having with your ACNC, can feel the frustration as I read along. I too love my ACNC (celebrated it's 1 yr anniversary in my collection last week) but haven't had the type of issues you're describing. The one thought that crossed my mind reading your post was how may prior owners have had #423. If you're the original owner, your quality concerns directed at Spooky are understandable. I've bought only 1 nib (HW) with all my other games after one to many prior owners. It's possible some of the issues result from prior attempts at tweaking the game, done either poorly or incompletely, leading a prior owner to "pass along" their own monster creation. This line of thinking doesn't solve your problem but may it contribute to your perspective of what you're experiencing. Hope you get your baby in line and stay in love with it...

Besides buying 25 additional pinballs to have on hand for my 6 games, I also have a ball demagnetizer. With more games using magnets to hold/redirect the balls, figured a demagnetizer might prove handy.

Was going through my game collection to check on batteries and found my ACNC CR2032 coin battery dated 5/2019. I'm not familiar with the dedicated setup and didn't see replacements on Pinball Life. Anyone whose already replaced theirs can tell me how best to source replacement? Amazon has similar 3v but they're listed as for laptops. Thanks.

20220903_ACNC (resized).jpg

Understood. My question has to do with the button housing and wire harness. Do you replace the harness or just slip a new button CR2032 in the existing unit? Thanks guys.

With so many games using magnets, besides keeping a stash of new balls I have a ball demagnetizer that seems to work as well. Guess it's like having a belt and suspenders...

Here's the amazon link
https://www.amazon.com/TTC-Portable-Magnetizer-Demagnetizer-Model/dp/B007UQ4UI0/ref=pd_lpo_3

But it's a little cheaper if you go this route and don't need it for another month:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256802901601221.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt

Wow! Beautiful paint job - I so respect those with artistic talent. My "super power" is dogmatically maintaining things (old house, pins, old self...) but artistic talent = 0. Good for you both!!

In addition to the other suggestions, look at the drop down target tab below the pf surface. The translucent drop down targets require a black/dark surface on the tab that interrupts the opto beam. I've had to apply a thin black coat on other Spooky games with translucent drops.

Sticker is posted on right side of cabinet, just above the "ugly blue box". Should be able to read/see it from open coin door.

That sucks, sorry. Here's what mine looks like. Don't recall if my ACNC has any other markings. I know my newer Stern games have born dates on back of backbox. Older Sterns had SN listed on inside of cabinet. My RAM also has a blood sucker plaque on lower right of speaker grill. Maybe others can better address this...

ACNC SN 2021.6.14 (resized).jpg

Looking at both your photos it appears your ramp flange is over the art plastic where DrBernd has his flange below the art plastic. No shaving of plastic necessary if you reverse the layer effect.

Agreed. Before changing out the silicone ring, try pulling the existing ring so the facing side is more slack. I found it improved but didn't eliminate the occurrence.

You're right that the upper flipper on ACNC is metallic but the shaft isn't keyed. I replaced all 3 flippers with the Precision flipper system (keyed shafts, brass lined metal bushings and clamps along with the signature bats). I'm pleased with the improved performance on the upper flipper, making Frankenstein and the free ball much more consistently. The metal bushing with the 0.005" tolerance combined with the keyed shaft/clamp makes the flipper response brutally crisp. As reported in other posts, I've lowered my flipper coil settings between 25 and 33% post Precision installation to cut down on air balls, to save the mods and plastics.

Full disclosure: I don't work for them and paid full price

Funny you should ask: Yes. The allen screw securing the clamp to the keyed shaft was a ball-buster. I just received double-ball-hex L-key allen wrenches yesterday which would have made the tightening much easier. I'm embarrassed to admit that at the time I resorted to using plyers on the exterior gnarl surface to tighten the allen screw. Access to the upper pf through the main pf from underneath is feasible. That said, it was worth the effort changing out all 3 flippers.

When ordering Precision flipper system I specified that it was for ACNC and requested the 3rd flipper be a "mini" for the upper pf. Don't hesitate to exchange an email or two with John if you're going to order. When the order came in all flippers were properly sized to replicate what had been originally installed. I didn't see a specification listed on my order to answer your question specifically. The keyed shaft was the same length as for the main flippers.

Looks right at home there! Just be careful with exposure to sunlight. I've always sought out somewhat dark locations and then use art towels to cover the pf. Don't want those uv's to fade Alice!

Agreed, just last week I brought my spinner back to square (relative to the travel lane) as the leaf switch was coming in contact with a plastic nearby.

I thought I remembered seeing mention of pigmenting formula a while back in this thread. In post #1403 Medisinyl listed a "recipe" that's listed below:

I use brown (burnt umber) mixed with light green 50/50 for a base, then for the main color,
1 part brown,
2 parts light green,
2.5 parts yellow (Cadmium yellow medium hue),
half part neutral gray, and
.75 parts cream (unbleached titanium).
After that, I adjust the mix based on the dried outcome, do another coat with the fixed tone, then mix cream and yellow with the previous main mix to do some light accents (not too heavy as the factory stones are fairly monotone).

All Liquitex Basics acrylic paint. Topped with a few coats of matte clear.

Hope that can help at all. Took about 30 attempts to get that mix. Not sure if a store product exists with the exact color or not. If so, I'd like to know :p

Do you have precision flippers on your ACNC? After installing them on my game I lowered my coils about 35% and 25% respectively on the lower and upper flippers. Love the action and power but hate seeing pf damage, especially the plastics, from air ball bullets.

By the the way, be sure to put an asterisk after this score in the record books: "extra ball" played... literally.

While doing a full Titan band replacement on my ACNC I found a few pinch points where the bands are significantly impinged by metal guides/rails. The worst instance involved the metal deflector for the Secret Passage where the band was severely compressed nearly to the post shaft. Like most owners I try to rotate bands periodically but since this one is completely obscured by the overhead art plastics below the Crypt and tunnel over the left elevated metal rail, I never attempted to rotate this one: If I had tried I certainly would have snapped it.

A better solution was filing the metal deflector to fully accommodate the new band so it can be periodically rotated for fresh facings. I also back-off my post tightening just enough to allow the post to rotate slightly to help the bands keep consistent tension throughout the mount. Thought that I'd share a photo of what it now looks like to help others avoid snapping a perfectly good band as part of their regular adjustments.

ACNC secret passage bracket marked 2023.8.10 (resized).jpg

Skippy2904 thanks for your clarification on the Frankenstein ball lock. I love getting the Frankenstein multiball going. I'm curious if others have experienced somewhat frequent (~ 10%) ball searches when landing a ball captive in either the left Frank lock or the Crypt lock. I've cleaned the opto's and switch tests all pass test. Is it a software known issue or possibly still a physical alignment issue? I don't like to leave things <100% and won't rest till this is eliminated. Thanks guys.

I believe backhand shots to either ramp can be enabled or disabled by the preset location of the flipper at rest. That's one reason I've taken pictures of my flipper adjustments by machine so they can be replicated if ever having to adjust/rebuild my flippers.