I replaced mine last year with a lock bought off eBay, cheap. As I recall it was common lock size, but I had to make a little shim (piece of copper wire) to take up the gap at the square where the lock bar attaches to the lock cylinder. See pic.

IMG_7963 (resized).JPG

I recently read an old Bally Technical Paper (FO-597) for modifying a 2518-17 in order to use it in a game equipped with a sound card. Are those modifications in FO-597 necessary? I thought a -17 board could be used in any newer game (i.e. those using sound cards) so long as the correct EPROMs were installed and jumper mods were done using the well established jumper mod literature (Bally/Stern pinwiki).

Thank you for the clear and concise, thorough explanation!

https://pinside.com/pinball/community/pinsiders/barakandl

Probably just a poor contact somewhere. Did you try cleaning the GI circuit fuse holder? Has the fuse holder been replaced? The old Bally are notorious for weak connections there.

Does this sound like a PCB problem? Paragon boots (7 flashes). Put a quarter in and game racks up a credit. Credit button starts a game but none of the switches add points, no sounds, and no solenoids fire. It's like everything is dead. If I run the self test the lights flash, displays work, and the solenoids all fire. Any ideas?

I didn't notice before, but the tilt light comes on after i start a game, and when I perform the self test, the tilt switch (one of three) is shown activated. Visually the switches are all open. I tested the diodes across the switches and they test good. The cap across the plumb bob doesn't appear to be shorted. What am I missing?

Yes, checked them all. Also checked at the MPU for closed switches and found none. Wondering if I am not checking something correctly? I checked across A4J2 pins 1 and 14. Checked across A4J3 pins 3 and 16, then across pins 2 and 15.

Yep! That was it! I checked it for shorts deenergized and it was ok, but when energized it conducted. I cut it out and game works!

Able to coach me on this? QUENCH? barakandl? others?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-2518-17-led-locked-on

Maybe your program prom(s) are bad/corrupt?

Do you have a model # or link of what you use?

Thank you! I'll try this.

Have you been to the pinwiki? "Section 5.5.1 LED locked on".
https://www.pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Bally/Stern

Not really a problem, just curious if someone can explain this: On my Rolling Stones, about 50% of the time, when the ball hits one of the lower slingshots, I hear a faint very high frequency pitch. I can't tell where it comes from...either the speaker, or just some weird electrical HF hum from electrical/mechanical components being energized. Has anyone else ever experienced this, and what the heck is it?

Can't understand how a bushing going out would cause a high pitch sound. It's not a squeak I hear...it's a high frequency electronic sounding pitch.

No. I think you're thinking of the scoring posts. Those do have a funny sound. But the very high frequency pitch I hear sometimes is very faint and very high pitch. I guess if I really want to figure it out I could start by unplugging the speaker to see if it's coming through the sound card. It's such a high frequency and so faint it's not a problem, but I'm just curious what could cause this. It's not a mechanical problem...definitely electric/electronic in nature.

replace the capacitor on the switch, I think it's .047mfd

Look closer on the backside. Circles look to be lifted areas.

Stern and Bally are interchangeable. No problem. If the nipple was broken the gas would have escaped and the display would not work.

I don't have my Globetrotters anymore, but I believe the mechanism looks correct. What is it doing/not doing? May just need cleaning and adjusting.

Try a drop or two of light oil on the target where the plastic rubs on the metal part to reduce friction. Not the best solution because the oil will collect dirt and cause future sluggishness. Better yet, disassemble and clean. Probably dirty from old oil/grease.

Can't see enough in the picture to see what it is. But yeah, looks like it may be a tilt switch.

This particular coil is designed to be energized for a long time without damage. The noise you are hearing is because the moving mechanism isn't quite at the end of its stroke....so it's sort of vibrating. Adjust the gate to hit its stop when the moving coil armature plate is against the coil iron core.

PBR sells the plastic heads. Do you need the roll pins as well? I bought the pins on eBay a couple years ago.

I assume when you say "rectifier board" you are talking the power supply board? So on the power supply, the switched lighting for the backbox comes from the J1-pin 7, the playfield switched lighting comes from J3-pins 3,4,6, and 14. Have you checked the lighting board for problems? Maybe the problem is there, and not the power supply.

Would also check the old lamp sockets and grounds for problems.

I clean up the old sockets without ever removing them from the game. Cut a piece of scotch bright pad and tape it around a nail. The nail goes into my dremel chuck and I whirl for a few seconds in the sockets and they clean up nicely.

79A3F7EE-37FB-4606-8D8A-9A0F1BB11862 (resized).jpeg

What are your voltages?

Why is your connector shifted over one pin?

I have a bad C32 on my 2518-35. BOM calls out .003uF - 1kv. Can I successfully replace it with a .0022uF - 1kv which I have in my spare parts supply?

If you aren't a purist (i.e., they are not OEM pinball parts), you can find nylon and aluminum spacers on eBay. They look and work great.

Screen Shot 2020-07-02 at 8.54.48 PM (resized).png

I believe you can test the segment drivers so not to unnecessarily replace any good ones. Also, check for cold solder joints especially at the header pins and finger leads on the glass. Check for resistors gone bad too.

That is exactly how I make my own LED lights for about 5 cents each. 150 ohm in series and 470 ohm across the pins. I also make a no-flicker lamp for GI using 2 SMD's and one resistor...for pennies each! Yeah, I have more time than money!

Here's what I've been doing for my games...

homemade LEDs copy page 1.pdf

homemade LEDs copy page 2.pdf

homemade LEDs copy page 3.pdf

homemade LEDs copy page 4.pdf

I think you are asking about selling them? I don't make them to sell (or package them). Only my own use. See above I have provided instructions.

I am providing instructions above. Hope it helps.

First thing I would do is check that the jumpers are correct. Here's a link to sound card jumpers:
http://www.pinrepair.com/bally/ballyrm1.htm

Then I'd replace the electrolytics and see where that gets you.

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Try these forums:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/looking-for-backglass-and-translites-thread-buy-sell-trade

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/future-spa-club-come-on-in-the-water-is-warm

It should work fine. There are two windings, the -500 is the "flip" winding that kicks the ball. The -4500 (or -5050) are the windings used when the flipper is held on. Both coils should produce the same power when kicking the ball. I wouldn't suspect you will have a problem when the flipper is held on with either coil. Will you try it and report back?

You might also find this forum helpful in the future....
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bobby-orr-s-power-play-club

Good news....it won't get worse. The hole provided a "crack stop". In my engineering experience, if a crack developed in a metal structure, we would often drill a hole at the end of the crack to stop it from propagating farther.

Side note: Used to have a Speakeasy. The worse thing I remember about the flyaway targets were they broke and were unobtainable. I think now though people are 3D printing them.

I wouldn't expect it to get worse. But if you're worried you might put extra stress on that corner lifting and lowering the playfield (applying pressure directly to that corner), I suppose you could add a metal backing plate and epoxy it on the backside straddling the crack. I love J-B weld.

Commonly broken part. It's obsolete and the only place I found that sells a replacement is overseas and $20 each! I made my own with some angle iron and a dremel tool. Here's the link if you are looking to buy it.
They sell left and right hand parts.
https://www.shapeways.com/product/JQGC7NU2N/nut-spring-bracket-p-7939-1-left-modded

Wow...that's good to know. They didn't have them when I checked last year. I may stock up! How much are they?

Are you sure it's magnetism that is causing your flippers to stick? I've seen on more than one occasion where flippers would stick up due to EOS switches binding with the actuator in the full stroke position.

These are available on eBay. I bought some in the past. Not sure if they're counterfeit, but they worked.

Picked up a $6 million man. The sound is just a monotonous tone for each target/switch hit. I have replaced all the caps on the sound board and reflowed the header pins. Also tried all the combinations of S8 and S32 on the MPU, no change. Any ideas on how to get the board to produce the other sounds?

IMG_1355 (resized).JPG

U3 is soldered to the board. Is there any way to check this?

Cool mod. I've installed sound triggers on EM machines, but never on a SS machine. So you installed new switches? Any chance you can show a picture of how you mounted them?

Nice work! Thank you.

I assume you have already reflowed the solder on the board pin connectors? Then install the caps you have ordered. Do you have an oscilloscope?

Are you talking about these?

Screen Shot 2022-01-04 at 4.26.35 AM (resized).png

PBR sells fish paper.

yes, swap them ok.

Thanks for sharing, but too much blue for me!

Looks like with that tool you have to crimp 2 times; once on the conductor, and then once on the insulation, using the slots based on the wire size. I have a different crimper that does the insulation and wire in one slot. The slot is stepped.

What happens when you remove the capacitor?

I have an order arriving next week. Radial leads 150uF, 400V. Selling them for $7 plus shipping if you're interested.

You won't get the 7th flash on the bench unless you provide 43V solenoid voltage or by temporarily jumpering the top of R17 and the top of R23.

I've got a -35 MPU problem. Cleaned off corrosion and replaced 2 sockets. At first the board went through all 7 flashes, paused, then did it again. Continuously rebooted. I replaced U7, U8 and U11 chips with known good ones form another board. Now the LED is locked on. Removed all the chips except U6, U9, and U11 (following instructions in pinwiki). LED is still locked on. I posted another thread if anyone can help. Thanks.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bally-35-led-locked-on#post-7377576

Is there any corrosion on the MPU? Original connectors? How about a high res picture of the MPU? Try reseating the connectors to the original boards, but if they are original, I'd suspect a poor connection (it there is no issue with the boards themselves).

The flippers are not in the switch matrix. Are the flippers not working properly?

There are three connectors on the rectifier board; J1, J2, and J3. There are cables that connect to all three of them. Maybe one of them fell into the lower cabinet.

What 6th display are you referring to? Aren't there only 5 displays in the game?

Not sure where you got the LM323K. I know there's a lot of fakes out there. I would put the original one back in.

None of the crimps look like they were done with a crimping tool. More like the pins were crushed with a pair of pliers.

On my EBD the voltage at TP1 on the rectifier/power board is only around 4.4 volts. The lights don't seem as bright as they should be. Could I have a faulty part on the board? The power resistor is in spec., and the diodes check ok.

IMG_8456 (resized).JPG

Replaced BR1. Now have 7V and bright lights! Thanks.

I often wonder why transformers are wound for both 115 and 120. Is there really that much difference in output considering the input choices only differ by a few percent?

Did you build the kit? Perhaps it is assembled wrong.

On my EBD, when I go into self test, nothing happens after the switch test. In other words, press once and test lights. Press again tests displays. Press again tests solenoids. Press again tests sounds. Press again tests switches. Press again.....nothing. Keep pressing....nothing. Test goes dead after the switch test. What's up? Other than that, game plays fine.

That's what I thought, but the way I remember clearing the RAM doesn't do anything either. Don't you press the reset button on the MPU after each push of the red self test button? Or is there another way to clear the RAM?

You're going to repaint that cabinet????? Why? It looks great already.

Have a Seawitch ....the player displays show all digits correctly in test, but in attract mode every other digit is blank -- on all displays. Bad chip or connector issue?

OK. Tried that, but now game (MPU) not booting. Just getting a flicker LED. I have 15.5V at TP3 on the power/rectifier board. Is that too high?