Perfect! I did find one that was threaded with wood threads but it had a hex head. Thank you. Nearly stripped. Now to separate the two PF

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They should just be held by the nut, maybe try tapping them up from below the pf with a small screw driver that fits in the hole.

Well with the new Black Knight just announced by Stern...will it increase or decrease the value of this classic?

Neither I would think

I would think it would peak the interest of people not familiar with BK or BK2K or entice some to collect the whole trilogy (depending how cool the new one is or reminiscent of the 2 prequels).

With almost 14,000 BKs produced they are still a pretty easy game to find. Therefore demand may increase slightly, but supply is fairly high.

It doesn't seem like a valid black knight as the pro doesn't have two levels. Looks like a combo of GOT pro and t2 to me. Still want to play it though.

The value of BK lies in how much we enjoy playing it.

I have found myself in the same situation as you, have you received any response on this or found a work around?
Jim

The only replacements I know of right now are the "nw7" boards. The reviews are good and include the sound and speech boards.

One interesting thing, you can change the sounds and enable "jukebox function". No other boards for 3-7 I know of let you change the sound/music files.

A little pricy but considering they replace everything but the power supply might be ok. One thread says they work in Black Knight fine. Here's the search and one thread includes a link.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/search?s=1&what=posts&q=Nw7&topic-machine=&pinsider=&age_days=&subforum=0&sort_by=date&sort_order=DESC#results

Here us the manual in English.

https://www.pinball-dreams.com/images/NW7-Documentation-EN.pdf

Rottondog makes a replacement CPU/Driver board but it has known issues with Black Knight and is not supported - so I would stay away from this option.

NW7 board like Travish pointed out.

Send your boards off to be repaired - the damage may not be as extensive as you would think. There are going to be blown chips for sure but it should be repairable.

Buy rebuilt original boards from someone on Pinside or eBay.

just Joined this club! excited to get to work on it. its working but needs work. Want a new playfield but this one isn't bad..some where on right magna save and on some of the black outlines of inserts. Surely the cpr version has come and gone? lol anyone got one available?

I think there's another company running new BK playfields soon, Mirco possibly? Hardtop may also eventually become an option as well.

Welcome to the club!

Yes, the CPR Black Knight playfields are pretty tough to come by and if you find one, expect to pay...

While I wouldn't recommend this for a "decent condition" playfield, the Hard Top that frunch mentioned is available for Black Knight. You need to destroy the original art on playfield to install the hardtop so this is a really good option for games with a trashed playfield.

http://www.pinballgifts.com/store/p75/Pinball_Playfield_Hardtop.html

Fuse blown - Rectifier problem or something else?

Turned on my BK the other day and could not get a game started. Was working just fine previously. Attract mode was still working, but no ball ejected. Turns out the F2 fuse blew. Have been going down the troubleshooting route, but I have run out of fuses. Found a few posts mentioning using circuit breakers temporarily, so I have a few sizes in the mail.

I can't pin down exactly when the fuse blows, and it isn't an obvious blow either. No flash of light, no break in the inside wire, I can only tell it is blown by pulling and using the DMM. Whatever is causing it, I am assuming it is not a huge short that draws a considerable amount of voltage.

One thing I did was take a look at the bridge rectifiers. From what I am reading, the left rectifier should be at 28vdc and the right rectifier should be at 18vdc. When I measure, I am showing the left rectifier at 43vdc and the right at 16.6vdc. Not surprisingly, I get the same 43vdc at the fuse lug as well. Would the higher voltage (43 instead of 28) cause the fuse to blow or am I better off looking elsewhere?

If I need to replace them, does anyone know the part numbers? I can find the rectifiers listed in the manual, but not seeing actual part numbers.

Thanks!

Thankyou!

having sound issues currently
when i flip on the power switch the game makes a sequence of crazy sounds like its about to go into lift-off but when i push start button everything goes mute..had sound at the sellers home and during first game when i brought it home but it cut out mid game. any input helps thnx

I'll be curious to know if/how you track this down. My BK blows F2 every once in while - it's done it 3 times in the last 2 months (almost daily use). The first time I encountered this it blew F2 every time I power on, 5 or 6 times in a row, until I pulled the playfield cables up out of the cab area away from the transformer cage and up into the backbox. My voltages are within the norm on the power supply.

1) Check the bridge diodes... are they even ? or are some diodes way off?
2) Replace the caps that control the +5v reg. IC... The caps go bad causing irregular power ups.

The power supply caps were replaced less than a year ago. They are good.

What do you mean about checking the bridge diodes?

I'm currently running black knight playfields. They will be available as regular and glitter versions. Both should be ready end of April.

All versions will feature the original diamond faceted inserts.

Regards,
Mirco

Is there a link for repro metal ramps? I have seen the mod ones with lights, but just the regular old metal, but shiny new metal, is what I am looking for
thanks

What's the difference between regular and glitter versions? I couldn't find a description your website.

how much will they be in u.s. currency and is there a pre order list?

Sometimes a diode on the bridge gets to be leaky and lets AC voltage mix with the DC voltage.
The small power supply caps can go bad... Sometimes by bad manufacturing process.
You should have approximately +14.6 volt dc to the anode of D1.
You should have approximately +26.2 volts dc to pins 11&12 of IC 1.
You should have approximately +6.27 volts dc at pin 10 of IC 1.
IC 1 output:
Pin 2 approximately +4.95 dc
Pin 3 approximately +5.05 dc
Pin 4 approximately +5.02 dc
I would check the power supply with out the CPU/SND/Display boards plugged into the
--power supply.
You do not want to short and blowup any boards; it happened to me a very long time ago.
I had to change a capacitor that was already changed before... the game was spastic and
would not boot correctly...

Those of you with F2 blowing, try turning the game on with the fuse removed, once it starts up, carefully install the fuse (there are high voltages on the power supply board) and see if it blows.

If it does not blow, you may have a problem with the blanking circuit. This circuit is supposed to disable all the solenoids and displays for a the instant the game is powering up where solenoids and such may fire inadvertently when chips are in an uninitalized state.

Also, make sure you are using slow blow fuses.

Reseat the connectors on the power supply board and lower left of the driver board to see if that changes anything.

The ramps are stainless. Unless your original ramps are bent or destroyed take fine grit wet sandpaper and regrain them by sanding longwise. They will be just like new.

@vec-tor

The power supply seems OK. Not exact, but I assume within 1980's tolerance.

D1 = 13.8 one side and 26.5 on the other

For IC 1
11 & 12 = 26.6
10 = 6.5
2 = 5
3 = 4.8
4 = 4.8

@schwaggs
I found some other posts that mention this a while ago. When I turn the game on and check with the probe, the blanking circuit is low for maybe a second or so, then there is a very fast blip to high, then it goes low again. I have a bunch more fuses and a circuit breaker coming tomorrow. I can check inserting a fuse with the game running later.

I am following up on my post. After getting the circuit breaker and hooking it up to the fuse position, when I turned on the game the lower right coil energized and locked on. I tested the board for for voltage and did a logic probe on the solenoid IC, resisters and both transistors. Moving on to the playfield I replaced the diode, soldered the wire and confirmed the grey/orange wire was showing continuity to the back box and was getting ground. Long story short, I failed to recognize that low signal on the logic probe is not the same a no signal. The center post on the driver transistor for coil 3 was showing low signal, where the other transistors were showing no signal. Replacing the transistor has the game working 100%.

Thank you for your help. For anyone with similar issues in the future, when the research tells you to test the pre driver transistor and the driver transistor, be sure to check it at least twice and take the time to understand what your data tells you. Almost every post I read said that a transistor was the most likely culprit, but I thought I had ruled that out.

Could someone please tell me what these 2 wires I am holding supply power to down in the playfield? Also would like to know part number to replace plug/connector. I was not the one who soldered these permanently in place. Thankyou in advance!

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1 or both of those wires were super hot and caused this!

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GI lighting. But impossible to tell in the photo where in the playfield or headbox that particular circuit goes to.
Extremely common to see the failed connectors on the power supply board, rare to see the mid-wiring connector fail.

Realistically, system 7 machines need to have a significant number of the GI lights converted to LED's or lower amperage bulbs to prevent the problems you are seeing. The machines, as designed, have excessive amperage going through the GI circuits and it results in near universal failure of those connectors.

Agreed - and to make matters worse, they fused all the GI circuits with a single 20a fuse. What appears to have happened in your case is a short on that string that caused the wiring to overheat but not draw enough power to blow the 20a fuse. Bad design used to save money, not give the best protection.

Follow the melted wires to their source. You can’t tell to which circuits or area of the game they lead because each half (4 pins each) of that 9 pin connector on the power supply board is electrically the same. One side is the transformer source, the other side is the transformer return. There isn’t a specific order to them. The hacker could have soldered the wires on each side in any order.

Thanks to you both!
Since I dont have replacement parts for the plugs yet I isolated the 2 wires and used some electrical tape temporarily and sure enough I now have GI lighting! Ordering led replacements today.

This has also seemed to fix other weirdness I was experiencing. Like higher pitched speech from the Knight. I also want to replace rectifiers below the power supply with the updated board from marco. Someone had installed a computer fan just below them. I dont want this thing to catch on fire.

Watched the 2019 Black Knight live Stream yesterday and was impressed but not 100% blown away like I thought I would be. Was cool to see the 1980 version in the background and it got me off the couch to look into this repair (temp repair). Glad I did

In love with this game that came out when I was born and happy to be in this club!

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Bro, when this happens! You don’t fix it! You make the knight squeal higher!!!

Haven’t you seen Disney’s “Up”. The pincer has the best high pitched sinister voice a villain ever had. Hilarious.

Well, the cosmetics are mostly done. I'm going to repair the lower right corner of the head, but the rest of the cabinet is in good shape. And I'll almost certainly pick up a mirrored version of the BG when they become available again. This BK will ride again...soon.

bkfull (resized).jpg

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Can somebody pls give me a lead for part number of plug type i need in my pic a few posts up where previous owner soldered wires to the power supply?
Thankyou!

CPR now has the mirrored version back in stock. No need to wait...

You need to amend the GI wiring... The input connector, I believe, is no longer available.
Best to copy High Speed wiring setup.
1) Add one heavy duty wire to each existing ( white and yellow ) wire from the transformer to
--- power supply; four wires total.
- 1a) need a .93 heavy duty four pin Molex: male and female.
- 1b) remove input connector, and add for more extra wires to the input power board.
- 1c) again copy High Speed GI power setup.
2) get a four fuse, fuse-block. fasten to side of back box...
-2a) get a nine pin .93 connector with key pin; if possible.
-2b) add white-x wires to connector; this would be an extension of the GI wires...
-2c) fasten one OEM white-x wires to each fuse holder on fuse block.
-2d) add return white-x wires to the other end of fuse block.
-2e) again copy High Speed GI power setup.
3) remove 20 amp fuse from power supply and fuse clips.
- 3a) add jumper wire where old 20 amp fuse is located.
-3b) again copy High Speed GI power setup.
4) Add four 5amp slow-blow fuses to fuse-block.
Note: Check High Speed back box photos. Check High Speed manual.

Thanks Vec-tor
Forgot to mention that I got an upgraded power supply. Hoping it will make things easier? What you described might be beyond me some but..I really appreciate you taking time to post

20190416_165847 (resized).jpg

so there is no connector I can buy for J8?

Re-pin your own: https://www.pinballlife.com/molex-crimp-stuff-connectors-and-parts.html

You'd need a 9 pin connector, 1 blank pin, 8 molex pins and a crimper.

You could use IDC connectors also, but I'd prefer Molex. https://www.pinballlife.com/molex-156-idc-connectors-and-parts.html

Be aware, most of the IDC you find nowadays are for 22awg wire. Not sure what J8 feeds, but if it's 18 awg power feeds, you'll need the correct IDC for 18 awg.

Thankyou sir

Hi Guys

I was swapping over the upper trough assembly and doing 1 set of wires at a time when I came across an unsoldered yellow wire from the switch for the upper ramp. I can't find it in the manual.
Can someone tell me where it is suppose to go. See attached pic. There is a white arrow pointing to it.
Just in case there is confusion - if you lift the playfield up and lean it against the headbox , the wire is located at the bottom left.

Thank you!
Clive

Blackknightloosewire (resized).jpg

Can you take a pic little further away to see everything? I literally just finished maybe 10 mins ago a complete led swap and fixed the roll over switch in back left corner that gives you the free ball after both bank targets are set. So this is fresh in my head.

Edit- that looks like the leaf switch was replace with a micro switch.

Hi

yes the trough switches as well were modified but they used what appears to be cut lane guides or something as a switch mount and the plastic has become pliable.

Attached is a photo.

I just discovered this particular switch was changed as well but it still works so I will leave it until it becomes a problem.

Thank you

bkwireoff1 (resized).jpg

So the yellow wire is the one not hooked to any thing? I assume that switch is not working currently. On my machine the yellow is ground. They are tied to other switches like a daisy chain then pulled to ground point or are tapped into the thin braid ground circuit that is stapled through out the underside of the board.

When I was changing bulbs had a few that were soldered to the 1/4 hex bolt that screws bulb holders into playfield.

Before you solder it back down alligator clip jump it to test it.

Based on wire length I'd guess it was tied into the same color yellow wires seen at 5-6 o'clock in above pic. Solder joint probably cracked from either vibration or lifing playfield.

Good evening, I had somewhat of a BK meltdown last night. The machine was on, not being played, and suddenly started acting weird...starting a game on its own, odd noises, etc. I played through a couple games and suddenly there was a small amount of smoke coming from the cabinet. I immediately unplugged and researched today, finding the burnt part of the board as shown in the pics. I'm pretty new to all this so, 1) Any guess what caused this? 2) I'm assuming I need to just replace this board. How easy / hard to get a replacement?

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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InkedBK board - close up_LI (resized).jpg

InkedBK board_LI (resized).jpg

Transistors are an easy repair, no need to replace the whole board. But if the game was acting up like that, I assume you've got an MPU issue as well. Looks like your MPU hasn't been rebuilt judging by the interconnect? I'd just get both boards repaired + bulletproofed

Thanks for the tip zacaj. I've had the machine for about 6 months. No, I don't think the MPU has been rebuilt. Any suggestion on where to get them repaired / bulletproofed? I can try to find some local repair but I have had better luck with recommendations from here.

Chris Hibler here at Pinside has a good reputation here as a board repair tech.

The Coin-Op Cauldron does good work, as well.

I definitely recommend having your original boards repaired instead of buying new 3rd party replacements. Some are good, but original boards are usually quite reliable once they've been gone through by a good tech.