(Topic ID: 5340)

Bad wizard! update

By wizzardz

12 years ago


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  • 32 posts
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  • Latest reply 12 years ago by wizzardz
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    #1 12 years ago

    I spliced in a new power cord, and replaced the old (foil wrapped) fuses and fuse block. Upon power up, I hear a relay click....and nothing. Time to pull out the multimeter and start chasing power.

    I have all of the plastic as well as the flip flags pulled from the playfield - though I left the bumper mechanisms. I'm assuming if the machine couldn't reset properly with the flags pulled, the head and field would at least light up.

    I'll put some time into chasing power in the cabinet, but if I can't make progress fairly quickly I'll likely focus on making a rotisserie and pull the pf for restoration.

    #2 12 years ago

    how do the contacts in the cab.look?
    tripping a few of the key relays may wake up the wizard

    #3 12 years ago

    The manual is actually pretty good about pointing to a few places (kick-off switch, anti-slam and front door switches) to check. In fact, it specifically says that if the (normally open) slam or door switch are closed, then the delay relay will energize momentarily (perhaps the relay I heard). I'm just wondering how much of the switch or relay action needs to be working before any lights will energize.

    #4 12 years ago

    good that you have paper work on the game
    game should light soon as you turn game on
    when start up PF should also light if not lit already.
    look for a start relay or reset relay and try carefully turning the score motor a bit

    #5 12 years ago

    ITS ALIVE!!!!!!!

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    Sorta. It all relies on having this setup set just right....then it sets to playing for at least player 1. Most of the playfield works....a couple targets/rollovers are out. The reset relay stays stuck most the time as do many others.

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    The left flipper works as well, but using the right flipper shuts the whole thing down...and in fact blew a fuse just after the pf pics

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    #6 12 years ago

    You might have to de- solder the lugs off both flippers coils and take an ohm reading and compare the 2 readings. - hey progress

    1 week later
    #7 12 years ago

    More incremental improvement. I had the chime box apart since it burnt a coil after the 10 point relay stuck in the box. I polished the chimes, cleaned up the plungers, and added new grommets. Just need to get a tumbler to clean up the hardware. Once I find out the correct sleeve to get to replace the melted one, I'll likely pull the whole thing apart for a good cleaning. But for now, it sounds more like a pin than simply coils firing

    Note the dimple in the middle of the 10 and 100 pt chime (bottom two). I turned these over from their original. The dimple is from the plastic tip on the chime plunger over almost 100K games.

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    #8 12 years ago

    Trying to troubleshoot a blowing fuse when the right flipper button is pressed, I desoldered the flipper coil and noticed that a tab was completely shot - not surprising given the previous solder job. I already have a replacement coil, but decided to rebuild the whole setup, right and left. At least I'll be able to take measurements to isolate the flipper short.

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    #9 12 years ago

    You know Bally EMs had the worst flipper hardware at that time
    when you start adding stronger coils you just end up bending everything down the line
    PBR sells a whole rebuild kit - thats what I ended up doing with an old Expressway pin.
    -check all the brackets to see how off of 90* it is

    #10 12 years ago

    Yep, I have their rebuild kit coming. I'll check the square of the other brackets. I wasn't able to separate the metal sleeve from the stop (I'm assuming they're supposed to separate)...so I figured I'd simply get all new flipper parts.

    I went with the same spec coil. The left flipper actually feels very strong, so I have a new coil for the right and rebuild kit for both. I have new rubbers, and new plastics and posts on the way. Once the new parts are in place - assuming the new parts magically fix the right flipper short - I should be able to actually play the thing.

    #11 12 years ago

    you see what happened to that chime unit coil?
    and pf contact got stuck and fried away at it - who ever had it never turned it off in time
    That game is pretty popular with those flag targets I was told -BV $1375 but you never know?

    1 week later
    #12 12 years ago

    IT PLAYS!!!!!!!!!!!

    Certainly nothing like it did in the 70s. I fixed the right flipper causing the short - replaced coil as the lug was burned thru with repeated soldering. Then the decision was to put the pf back together and play it, or continue stripping the pf for restoration.

    Since I had all new plastics, posts and rubbers, I decide to put the pf back together until I can complete a rotisserie. I put the old plastics on for now, but with new posts and rubber. The levelers are set and rusted in place at a decidedly player-friendly incline. The slight incline combined with a rough pf makes the machine play rather slow for now. With the cupped pf inserts, and slow play, the ball makes funny unpredictable movements sorta like playing Orbitor 1.

    I've had to disable the 10 point relay as it still wants to stick and burn up the corresponding chime coil.

    Next step is to get the levelers replaced and the machine at a more playable slope, and begin building a rotisserie.

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    #13 12 years ago

    Hell yes! congratulations!

    #14 12 years ago

    Looking good - congrats on bringing it back to life!

    #15 12 years ago

    She looks good for her age

    #16 12 years ago

    The firetrap 2000 is alive! Nice work Wiz.

    #17 12 years ago
    Quoted from mystic:

    The firetrap 2000 is alive!

    funny....I had to promise my wife I'd unplug it each night for fear it'd burst into flames in our sleep even if turned off. Given its original condition and existing signs of conflagration, I'm really not objecting to the request (science aside).

    I'm contemplating what to do with the cabinet. Surprisingly enough, while there are some good scratches - and the burned area of the head of course - the colors are actually really bright. I suspect it sat in a corner of a dark bar for a long time. When I get around to refinishing the head, I'm temped not to restore the wood in the burned area beyond prep for paint. Kinda adds some character.

    #18 12 years ago

    I'm a big fan of keeping it real. Nothing against touch-ups, but original bumps an bruises do add character.

    #19 12 years ago
    Quoted from donjagra:

    I'm a big fan of keeping it real. Nothing against touch-ups, but original bumps an bruises do add character.

    I'm with you on that one... Prefer a play worn cab with the odd bit if scratched graffiti to a re-stenciled cab any-day... it's called patina, and adds to the value I think... a re-stencilled cab either says to me that the cab wasn't from this game and therefore had to be painted over, or it was so bad that it had to be done... if the colours are nice and bright, I'd drefinitely leave it as it is!

    #20 12 years ago
    Quoted from donjagra:

    original bumps an bruises do add character.

    Agreed. My Fathom has "AC/DC" scratched into it in two or three places. I have re-stenciled one game so far, but it needed it cuz it was too fugly for the finished basement. Wife's orders LOL!

    #21 12 years ago
    Quoted from pinballslave:

    it's called patina, and adds to the value I think...

    hahahahaha

    #22 12 years ago

    - nice job
    always a good feeling when you wake up a dead pin and bring it back

    #23 12 years ago
    Quoted from HELLODEADCITY:

    always a good feeling when you wake up a dead pin and bring it back

    No doubt - especially one that I had initially figured would be terminal flatline. I doubt it will be anything close to a collector pin unless I really want to gut it, clean everything, and reassemble it (probably beyond my inclination and wherewithal). But it does play enough that I'm going ahead with the pf restoration to at least make it play right. One of those projects where I will in no way get back what I put into it if I sell it down the road. But it will certain pay off in experience and personal satisfaction.

    At this point I think the hardest part will be locating and replacing the cupped inserts and toasty score reels.

    #24 12 years ago

    You could repair those cupped inserts......Some on here have done that and been very successful at it, just a thought and it's cheaper than trying to find them for sale.

    #25 12 years ago

    A soft artist brush and mild dishwater soap / water does a nice job on plastic score reels.

    #26 12 years ago
    Quoted from RWH:

    You could repair those cupped inserts.

    I saw pics of another (refurbished) Wizard that had cupped inserts as well. It appears they simply filled them to be level as part of the clear coat process. I don't know yet if there are other approaches, but I have probably another month or two before I have a rotisserie built and am ready for the pf refurb to research it.

    #27 12 years ago
    Quoted from HELLODEADCITY:

    A soft artist brush and mild dishwater soap / water does a nice job on plastic score reels

    Unfortunately not in this case. even the most careful cleaning is taking the numbers off. I will likely just get some laminated strips made as a replacement rather than trying to repaint them. The condition of the reels don't tend to show as bad when mostly covered by the backglass. Some numbers simply appear a gray/black blotches in the windows

    1 week later
    #28 12 years ago

    bad wizard turns 100K!!! Not all the games run on it were actually played since I got it at 99312, but I probably have a couple hundred played games on it, even if some are half assed and/or glass off checking pf parts.

    I got a small vac (Metro datavac pro - nice vac) and have been cleaning cabinet. It surprising how much an improvement can be had refurbishing a pin simply by vacuuming. It seems the more I clean, the more comes to life - but I think I'm nearing diminishing returns with the pf in place. I've also been making adjustment to get it to play more reliably - i.e., not burning up coils because of stuck switches and such in the course of play.

    I tried taking the levelers off, but they're too rusted to unscrew. The rears are rusted as low as they go. I was able to remove one of the front and cut the other, so at least it has some slope to play (slowly). I'll probably refurb the original as they're original Bally gun-metal legs, but will likely get a new set of gun-metal my next parts order just so I can play it sloped and leveled like it should be.

    I probably have a few weeks of play and tweaking yet. I've gotten to the point that I've tweaked about all I can reach under the pf without taking it off. I'm picking up parts for a rotisserie this weekend as well as some triple thick to coat the backglass.

    I likely won't make much progress this weekend as we have some little ones coming over. I think its time to introduce more kids to the fun of pinball

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    #29 12 years ago

    You know wizard these EMs have easy 2D playfields that if your careful and have a good pair of eyes, you can lift the PF and put it back in the cab upside down without having to build a roto-whatever you call em? just make sure you dont smash anything -should only touch in 3 places

    #30 12 years ago

    Since I wasn’t happy with the CPR plastics for the bad wizard, I decided to take some time and novus 2 to the original plastics. I was surprised how well they cleaned up. There are spots on the print side that I didn’t want to scrub too hard on, but overall they cleaned up really well. The pop bumper caps lost some color, but also cleaned up well.

    The clear areas still have a decidedly “smoky” tint to them; but the novus did a fine job tearing down the grime. Previously the Special light would only be seen as a red haze thru the 30+ years of grime accumulation. The only crack in the set is in the plastic covering the Special target at the lower right screw. This is also likely to take additional beating as I play it. I don’t know if there’s a way to stop-crack plastics or otherwise mend them, but I think I’ll put the new plastic in its place - despite the small amount of orange missing on the newer one.

    Speaking of getting a beating, I noticed while cleaning the center target plastic that the edges at each post was literally beat down. The plastic isn’t cracked at all, but definitely domed where the old rubber wasn’t sufficient to keep the ball from pounding down the plastic. That center plastic really needs a light...but I suspect it'd warp the plastic even more with the heat build up between the posts.

    It’s funny, the game seems to play faster now that it’s all spruced up. I was playing it this weekend with some younger family members (first time playing pinball, and they liked the EM bad wizard better than the BK), and it seemed slower then. Playing it after polishing the plastic seems to have really livened up.

    I have a couple months to play and tweak before ms. wizz will want the space for her xmas village. I think I can get a good deal of both in before then. I think I’ll completely rebuild the pop bumpers and already have a flipper rebuild kit. Other than that I have a Flag 1 that won’t flip (wants to burn up a coil – surprise!), some pf light issues, and some switch gaps to adjust. Otherwise it’s now completely playable, and really fun. Its amazing how challenging and addicting a simple layout and game play can be. Some modern analogs that come to mind would be games like tetris or bejeweled; not difficult but will keep you coming back for more. Plus I really like the old school chime box counting down the double bonus.

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    #31 12 years ago

    Looking good! Gotta love that Novus, it usually does a great job. Just a bit more work and you'll have it at 100%.
    Keep up the good work!

    1 month later
    #32 12 years ago

    After playing the bad wizard for awhile, its been moved to the workshop and the pf strapped to a rotisserie for a winter refinish project. I'll strip it to the point that I have a flat pf to refinish. I plan on replacing all the inserts, but will leave the old ones in place while I polish and retouch the pf. I'll rework underneath the pf in place, and plug the pf holes while I refinish/clear the top.

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