(Topic ID: 54503)
Linked Games
Black Knight
Williams, 1980-
Black Knight Limited Edition
Williams, 1981
Topic Gallery
You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider chosen_s.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
Thank you skywalker! Before I start, A few questions
1. flippers, should I upgrade these? as per seigecraft?
2. are there any good mods worth doing while Im taking everything apart and going back together ? (other than cliffy's protectors)
3. which shooter spring strength should I use?
4. pop bumper cap... is there a decal I can replace the old one with? (luckily this cap is not broken!)
Thank you guys!
I'm definitely going to add the 3 extra gi lights.
The original cap just has a printed decal on it. I can't find a repro anywhere, I'll just color it back in.
I will definitely bullet proof this sucker, I already ordered a new power supply
What more powerful flippers would you upgrade to?, maybe the bottom ones only of course.
I seem to be missing the green plastics next to the lower flippers, anyone have extras I could buy?!?
Siegecraft has a full doc on the original pop bumper remake 
. For the scrollwork anyway
Quoted from skywalker:I'm happy with the std mechs & plays great, noticed some guys have upgraded, Up to you i guess,
those 2 added GI lamps looks like a nice upgrade IMO,
not sure if the cap is a flat surface to put a decal on
Quoted from Toyguy:You definitely want to see if the Bridge Rectifiers in the backbox have been fused. If not, you really need to do that. See Vid's article here on bulletproofing the System 7s.
I used a medium strength spring on my shooter - it seems to be more than enough but I am running at 5.5 degrees slope.
I did not upgrade my flippers and were I to do so, I would probably look into trying to get to a higher power flipper. I'm not sure if the Seigecraft mod accomplishes that or not. That said, I can make all the ramp shots if I do my part.
I don't think I have seen a decal for the pop bumper cap. Mine has the replacement cap, which does not have the scrollwork on the rim. If you ever have your cap off and have access to a scanner, I'd love a scan of the rim artwork. It'd be nice to try making a decal.
Quoted from swampfire:My rollover switches are old and ratty and unreliable, so I'm replacing them all with microswitches. Kind of a pain to order; I got the brackets from Marco and the switches from PBL.
Would you mind posting part numbers and quantity? I may go ahead with this too while shopping everything
Speaking of shopping this out... I'm considering cleaning the playfield really good and completely stripping it down.
There's only one worn place where the manga save is. So I'm considering giving it a clear coat. Does anyone have any suggestions, or tips?
Quoted from swampfire:OK, I just posted this as a guide in the tech section:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/guide-upgrading-early-ss-rollover-switches-to-microswitches
Locked in, thank you!
Quoted from LEE:If you are OK at touch ups and clear coating, then I say go for it. I'm on my third BK right now
That's looking pretty, I think I may do it =O
2 weeks later
6 months later
need help buffing out the clear on mine
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/black-knight-clear-coat-hazy-need-help
1 week later
That black looks awesome,
I had a thought to paint them silver, to give the thought of armor or a sword blade
1 week later
Finished the clear coat... Worked all day to put 95%of the beast back together, looking pretty sharp, I'm upgrading the upper flippers per seigecraft (will do the lower flippers later)
I added in extra gi on the upper right, and for the lower hideout I put a purple ball rest in and added purple gi under it, I'll grab pics when I can get it to fire up...
A few pics of the evolution
image.jpg
image-928.jpg
image-512.jpgQuoted from Gnatty:Where did you get those custom cards? Looks great!
Thank you! They came from pincardz on Facebook, he has a limited number of pins he makes cards for, and black knight is one of them, find him on face book, and he can tell you how to get them.
Quoted from robertmee:28VDC comes off the rectifier BR2 shown behind your hand in your picture. That rectifier has AC or ~ markings, and +,- markings. With your meter on VAC, put the leads on the two terminals marked AC or ~. Do you have AC? Should have roughly 25VAC. If so, then put meter on VDC and put leads on + and -. Do you have 28VDC? If so after the rectifier it goes through some connectors and fuse F2. If you have a good 28VDC at the rectifier, start measuring with your meter along the way to see where you lose it.
Thank you. The vac is 29 volts, the vdc is 43 volts
I measured the rectifier on the left in the picture, I suppose this is BR2. The orange wire coming from it is disconnected from the harness that goes to the power board.
Am I ok to proceed in re connecting the wire to the harness? Or should I replace the rectifier?
I fixed my wire issue, got 28volts!
Then started a game, upper left flipper not working. blew the solenoid fuse when the drop targets started to reset, dang, back to checking wiring and diodes, I'd gladly pay someone to fix this sucker after all the work I've got in to her
Thanks for the help robertmee!
Welcome to our world
Here's some good reading that will help
http://pinball.flippers.info/system6repairpart5.asp
I'm contemplating on the rottendog board too, Jim , the creator of the rottendog board, encourages either way, but we are dealing with a 30+ year old board, that really needs to be sent off to be refurbished, and the interconnect between the two boards still needs to be replaced every so often.
my board seems to work when all connectors are pushed together really tight, but if I ever so slightly push on my board, it resets, haven't even tried to play a game and nudge the machine to see what that does
Im having to chase down the upper left flipper not working, and the controlled solenoids burning a fuse if anyone knows of a way for me to diagnose quickly?
for the solenoids burning the fuse, I'll start by unplugging all but one solenoid connector, and start a game and get each solenoid to fire and try to pin it down that way I guess, we'll see what happens
(I think it may be one of the drop targets, because the first start of a game, the targets all reset in logic, but only one of the sets actually reset before the fuse burnt)
I don't know how to run through the coils one by one in a test mode, unless someone knows
EDIT: meh, found it in the hand book
how do you guys set freeplay?
Quoted from mof:Max credits #18 = 0, afaicr that's all you need to adjust...
-mof
perfect, thank you Mof!
1 week later
Quoted from Riptor:A high res pic would work. That pic might work but its going to need to be cleaned up quite a bit. Hoping someone has a ready to print file.
Don't make your own, there's stickers already made somewhere , try bayareaamusements
Quoted from Riptor:A high res pic would work. That pic might work but its going to need to be cleaned up quite a bit. Hoping someone has a ready to print file.
http://bayareaamusements.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=BAA&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=DC-8
dang they're out of stock
3 weeks later
1 month later
Quoted from Farmboss:After watching a few videos I think my bottom flippers are under powered. I cleaned all the switches and made sure the leaf springs were correctly adjusted. I replaced the coil inserts and the flipper mechinisms. My coils are SFL 19/400's. They feel kind of mushy and when I press down on them I can feel them giving a little bit. The top flippers do not give. Are the 19/400's the strongest I can run? Thanks
or you can upgrade to fliptronics style by replacing the brackets and add in the outer return spring, makes em real snappy.
They feel stamped, there's definitely raised plastic that seems like it's dipped in hot ink, or pressed somehow
Im still having problems... Anyone care to jump in and help me out?
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/black-knight-solenoid-locked-on
Quoted from centerflank:HEY! Just joined this club! Woot! Anyone have a nice NOS/CPR play field set FS shoot me a pm! No butt raping prices though.
IMG_0707.jpg
are you looking for the playfield or the plastics?
Quoted from BobC:FYI, if the bumper caps were stamped like the originals the black art work would be lower (kind of like branded / melted in) not raised
True, but they're still nice, I'm using my original, but like a nice 12$ back up
Quoted from centerflank:Agreed, I'm good with playing this pf but if I could get a new upper/lower in the $600-700 range Id go for it.
IMG_0723.jpg IMG_0724.jpg IMG_0722.jpg
Touch that sucker up and clear it, you'll be thankful you did
Every time I looked at my playfield wrong paint was chipping off, ha, I even blew some dust off of it, and some red paint fluttered away, so I put my big boy britches on and touched up and cleared that beast
I put about 35 hours into mine (playfield touch up, cc) , it has a few flaws, I put about $300 into it, including a few tools I'll use again. Who knows what labor would have cost for someone else to do it... I got a few quotes ranging from $300-500, they wanted the entire pf stripped, which I did not entirely do. Who knows what it might be worth to somebody now, time will only tell I guess
2 months later
Quoted from HighVoltage:Picked up a Black Knight this weekend.
It has slight flaking on the black glass, and I was told I should clear coat the inside to prevent further. There's some tape around the side of a couple score panels on the back glass, it looks like it's picking up the back glass paint. I don't want to peel it off and take the paint with it. How should I address that? Just spray over it? Tape it down again and then spray over?
Thanks for any tips!
use tripple thick, don't remove anything that would cause the paint to peel further, be careful And try not to touch the paint... Google "triple thick pinball backglass" there's a tutorial on what to do. Don't use clear spray paint.
Use masking painters tape over the clear score areas before tripple thicking it.
6 months later
Quoted from opie:Hey all, I've been lurking in the background gleening all this good info. I'm slowly putting BK together. It plays pretty well and I have all the original manuals and instructions plus a new reprint set. The play field is pretty nice and I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on a new b.g. Forms Steve at Mayfair. Im slowly getting things rebuilt and the next big item is the drop targets that don't drop. Thanks and keep it going. Harley's and pinball, go figure. My lift table came in darn handy.
Fun times, bk was my first clear coat. Wish I could get it out of my garage and into my house.
Look through this thread for drop target stickers, me and another guy made some that really pop, good luck and have fun!
3 months later
Quoted from Fytr:Thanks vintageclub! This post helped me out with a sound board issue I posted in its own thread that got no love.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/black-knight-playing-the-wrong-sounds#post-3319043
BK is back to playing the correct sounds again.
Nice! Love it when it's something simple... you might consider for the future to pull the chips and clean the legs, and maybe replace any capacitors on the boards to give it a good update if they are old, Glad you got it working!!
3 weeks later
1 week later
Quoted from Its_me_aj:So this happened. I'm kinda kicking myself for not painting the white but it will work just fine. We color matched all the colors using ppg dbc products and used ppg dc3000 clear. I still have to sand it down one more time and reclear and cut and buff but I'm pretty stoked on how it's coming out.
perfect, you don't need to paint the white, it looks great! get ready for an insanely fast playing BK
3 weeks later
Quoted from goohst8:Hello all, I'm just starting the restoration process on my Black Knight and have a couple of questions regarding LEDs.
1. Is there a difference between the LED kits sold on marco and cointaker? Is one preferred over the other by BK owners?
2. My gaslight displays still work, but I need to replace the high voltage capacitors to get them working correctly. Is it worth the effort to repair the board or would I be better off upgrading to LED displays and bypassing the HV portion of the board?
Thank you in advance for your input.
The LED kits are very expensive compared to building your own kit.
I personally liked (for bk) colormatching the inserts and using cointakers retro warm lamps, they are the closest look to incandescent while still going led
7 months later
Quoted from Yelobird:NEW Custom Black Knight Illuminated MOD replacement ramps
Show your beloved Black Knight the love he (or she?) deserves! Are your 37 year old ramps dented and showing their age? New from The Mod Couple we offer you this complete plug and play Illuminated Custom ramp set to make your Black Knight Shine!! Simple install, you don’t even have to raise the playfield! (Maybe 15 minutes?) Precision cut from the same stainless steel and hardness as original with a Custom highly detailed theme art cut to accent each piece. Each ramp has an illumination filter as shown with LED back lighting. Light grain finish applied though you could polish them too a shine if you wished. As seen in photo, it does a great job of adding some much needed light to that area while also giving it a Truly custom look!! Everything is included in the kit!! Plug and play LED setup, Both left and right ramps Pre-formed to original shape, and a bottom adhesive shim to ensure level installation. Completely Reversible granted I’m not sure Why you would remove it? Does Not effect ball roll or play. Light up the Knight with this personalized kit. Ramps are in stock now and ready to ship. Feel free to PM me any questions or inquire about purchase. Complete kit is $117 plus 6.95 priority shipping. Thank you for viewing our New Product!!
The Mod Couple
Dave and Darcy
Those are pretty cool, is the surface smooth? If there's a hint of cut in the metal, won't it scratch the ball and dull them pretty quickly?
Usually we don't see metal cuts where there is ball travel because of this . Even cliffys will dull a ball faster than factory without cliffys in place. So, just curious to see how often the balls will need replacing when using these if they cut into the ball???
Cool idea either way
4 weeks later
Quoted from lordloss:Picked up a Black Knight, anyone have a spare transformer?
It has no transformer?
7 months later
Quoted from Yelobird:I'll shoot you a PM. I scanned my set as a backup in case I needed another.
I could use that as well if you don’t Mind please sir 
5 months later
Quoted from Grizlyrig:epeabs on ebay right now. Maybe try them?
-Mike
[quoted image]
If you’re going to clear coat your playfield, don’t use these, they are about 1mm thick
1 month later
Quoted from SpaceAce:Hey @schwaggs, Actually, it doesn't make any sound at all for between 20-45 minutes (silence), then all at once, it comes in (both voice and sound effects). But it's like little chirps at first. Like... you will get a glimpse of sound here and there. And then when it finally decides to kick in, it's all within about 5 minutes, and then it plays perfectly. I am working recapping and reflowing it tonight. I am not sure if I will get it finished tonight or not (because I really want to play it some more). I found a couple posts about how to troubleshoot it this afternoon, and hopefully between that and your suggestions I will figure out something. I went to Fry's tonight in search of sockets, but I am not paying that much. I will get it from Mouser, or Amazon r something.
Digikey is also a good place
3 weeks later
Quoted from epeabs:Some pix of the pop bumper set up.
[quoted image][quoted image][quoted image][quoted image]
Black Knight VS UFO!
1 week later
Quoted from sethbenjamin:Yep, I did the same. But for some reason, they are underpowered. Can barely make it up the right hand ramp, and can't make it around the spinner ramp at all. Somehow they aren't getting full power.
Yes, just trying them out while in switch test, since the flippers have power during the test.
All the switches are working, nothing stuck, tested them all with a ball. Have 3 balls in the trough.
Yes - all solenoids work. But press "start" and nothing happens.
It is showing 60 credits on the game, for some reason. I can manually hit the switch and add more - just did, now it's 61.
But when I go into the settings and go to #18, which shows zero in the player one display, I can't change it because...the start button isn't working. Same if you try to change setting anywhere else, like 3 ball vs. 5 ball. Nothing from the start button.
I reiterate, the button functions when I'm in switch test mode, I get the sound same as the rest of the switches.
This is making me crazy.
Double, triple check that the balls in the trough are fully pressing on all 3 switches.
is there a coil lug or a switch leg touching something in the cab on a sidewall when the playfield is down in the cab?
1 month later
When you lay the playfield down, lugs from a solenoid aren’t touching anything they shouldn’t be are they?
It happened to me once, took me a while to figure it out... I had a lug barely touching a part close to the plunger, and it kept popping a fuse.
2 months later
Quoted from BrewersArcade:Well with the new Black Knight just announced by Stern...will it increase or decrease the value of this classic?
Neither I would think
2 weeks later
Quoted from PinballConspiracy:Like higher pitched speech from the Knight.
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.
2 years later
I’ve used magic eraser (melamine) and rubbing alcohol, or mist’n’shine you can clean the swirls, but they will never go away unless you clean them perfectly and then clear coat .
I’ve also used sprayway glass cleaner and magic eraser
Be very cautious
If you rub too much or too hard you will remove paint, then have to touch up
Doing any of the above will remove most of the clear that is over the paint.
Finish by cleaning with naphtha, then wax.
Good luck, I hated this part of black knight , nothing ever turned out perfect
Promoted items from Pinside Marketplace and Pinside Shops!
Vista, CA
You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider chosen_s.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
Reply
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
