Alrighty, confirmed that the 50v fuse was blown on F5 on PPB. Replaced with CN2 on Flipper Board plugged in. Blew the fuse on power up. Replaced F5 fuse again, unplugged CN2 on Flipper Board, powered up and immediately blew fuse.

Per the link I mentioned above, seems this indicates there's a problem with the other coils' circuit, not the flippers.

My next step is to remove connector J8 on the PPB, the return for that circuit. If the fuse still blows there's probably a ground short somewhere. If not, there's a problem with a coil, diode, or transistor most likely.

Edit: I disconnected J8 and the fuse did not blow - probably no ground shorts. I'll pull the PPB and test Q4 transistor. Wiring at coils looks good at first glance, but could definitely be coils or diodes causing the problem as well.

Nice work! Do you hear or see anything specific coil lock on or does it just blow?

I watched the fuse and listened at power up. It blows instantly, and the general pop at power up masks any noise, if a coil did attempt to fire briefly. Next step to test all associated transistors to those coils. If I find a bad one, I'll replace it and test the associated diode/coil to make sure it's good(or replace).

Lit up the “1” and “3” saucers!

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Now that looks awesome. Did all you have to do is add a light?

Thanks!

Yeah, really pretty easy. I had some spare lamp sockets around and I just found a place to screw them in underneath (I drilled a small pilot hole first). Then just found an GI to tie in to. The ones I picked were further away but had some easy wire to grab on to. I used cool white LEDs to light the yellow saucers.

Hi guys,

New to the club! i’ve been owning my LW3 since a couple of months.
I used to play LW3 loads when in high school back in the 90’s and so it’s a great joy to now finally own one at home!

A couple of questions however as my pin has started to send weak signals in the last few days after working absolutely fine until then (bought it from a pro and so was completely serviced):
- my right flipper sometimes just shuts down for a second or two in the middle of a ball, very weird and of course sometime happens at a bad time and makes it drain the ball... any idea what this might be?
- now my real issue: since two days the machine has just gone super sensitive and just warns and then tilts ON ITS OWN « just like that » on every ball. For the record I never nudge the machine: it just keeps tilting on its own and so it is unplayable right now. What’s happening?? Do you know of this issue? Is it software related (and can be erased by rebooting) or is something wrong underneath??
Is there something I can activate/de-activate for it to stop doing that?
this is crazy, all was good and then all of a sudden since yesterday, the pin just sends a « warning » and then « tilts » right after and almost immediately after the ball is in play...game is totally unplayable right now.

I dont know what to do... any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks guys,

Guillaume / Paris Pinball Addict

Quick update on tracking down my LW3 issues. Replaced the Q2 and Q3 transistors that were bad . Also replaced the corresponding coils/diodes on kickback and VUK. F5 no longer blows and those coils work yahoo! Left flipper worked, Right flipper wasn't working correctly. The transistors and SCR on flipper board were bad. Flipper would be fine at boot, then when you flip for the first time it would stay up. I replaced flipper coil diode, tested coil, and ended up buying a new solid state flipper board to speed up the troubleshooting/repair process. I now have a flippable playable game which is fun! Just have some various adjusting to do. Thanks to cabuford for lending his power supply to help turn this from a non booting mess to a flippable game!

I do need a kickback nylon plunger tip - does anybody know what part that is? Do you buy just the tip, or a whole plunger and shaft? Marco wasn't able to help when I called them. Edit: think I found the part. $20! Lot to play for a little plunger, but guess it's better if the kickback works.

Does anyone have a high res scan of a LW3 flyer they'd like to share?

Hello all, picked up a LW3 last weekend. Its a great game and good value for the money. It has some minor issues I want to take care of. The DMD has some lines out, shooter switch in the trough is broke. Needs a shop and LED treatment, some touch up paint, new plastic beacon lens and then some mods. Is there anyone that makes a color DMD yet for this? I saw there was someone who was in the process of making one, however I don't see any for sale. Looking for some good mods to do. I am not very good at it yet, my highest score is about 115,000,000. Definitely enjoying it so far. Love the gun modes and fight mode.

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Congrats. LW3 is a ton of fun. Great music, lights, fun shots, fast orbits with spinners, and actually pretty balanced rules I've found

Not a ColorDMD, but if you get a Pin2DMD and my files, you can have the game in color. Ironically I was hired by Randy to color this game for ColorDMD but the job offer was withdrawn.

Some pix of it installed (in this thread)
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dataeast-leathal-weapon-3-lw3-club-join-if-you-have-one-or-haf-one/page/8#post-4299172

the WIP thread:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pin2dmd-colorization-of-lethal-weapon-3

and the files:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pin2dmd-release-for-lethal-weapon-3

I'm going to check out a lw3 today what do i need to look for and whats a good price? I've played it and id really like to scoop it up but i don't want to overpay

Under 2k if a nice example would be a good deal now a days. 1400-1600 maybe if it needs a complete shop job.

Look for broken plastics, drop targets, bullet targets, broken beacon. Playfields are usually nice and ramp is all metal so not many worries there.

One of the best attributes of this machine is its durability. There is not much you really have to worry about with all ramps being metal and all proprietary components being pretty much protected from the ball. I paid $860 for mine about 10 years ago, did about $600 in LED upgrades, mods, repair, and replaced busted coin door and topper police beacon, power supply, etc. and its like brand new. Not exactly sure what the playfield surface is made of but it is literally flawless and I'm pretty sure my machine sustained very heavy use back in it's days in the wild.

... bottom line is once you own it there is very little risk of big future expenses to maintain it imo.

I went $1600us(ish) and it needed nothing soo...

This game went on the chopping block a lot for me in the past but its still here. She got me through some rough times so i think its a sign haha.

Make sure the gun works, and siren if there is one.

Plastics are probably busted everywhere but easily replaceable.

There can be loud humming issues or spiratic audio levels on DE.

My police beacon is starting to act up. It acts like it has a hard time spinning and sometimes just sits there illuminated by not rotating. Any ideas? Should I pull it apart and try and clean it or should I just try and find a replacement somewhere?

I would pull it apart and clean it. If it is the original topper the plastic cover is unobtainable. Worst case, you could buy a light off of amazon and just use the mechanical parts inside and keep your OEM look with the cover.

With my old power supply the speaker hum was present but tolerable. Last year I put a rottendog power supply in my LW3 and speaker hum could be heard from across the street. I ended up using an ATX power supply from an old computer (mounted in the cab) to independently power the sound board and there is ZERO hum and sound is crystal clear and crisp. There is an active thread dedicated to DE speaker hum which is very helpful.

My beacon was toast when I bought my machine. I purchased an actual beacon from a Auto Zone. It plugs into a car cigarette lighter port so its 12v DC. I wired up a relay to the circuit that gives power to the original beacon and then used a 12v DC power supply (unregulated wall wart) to power the new beacon. Yeah, its not the original beacon which i get may be a turnoff to some folks, but its bigger, brighter, faster and works like a charm.

On a side note, I installed a smaller mini police beacon on back right corner of the playfield that turns on and off with the main beacon on the back box. Looks cool to have an animated toy on the playfield in my opinion.

.... the thought crossed my mind to use one of these instead of a mechanical beacon but I like the look of actual moving parts.

ebay.com link: Car 16 LED Red Blue Police Strobe Flash Light Dash Emergency Flashing Light

The original is 12v. I replaced mine with a $20 one from amazon. Wired it direct. Works great.

I did the same thing, wired in place with the same fuse , works like a champ. Lights up the whole game area when its on.

Did anyone ever find a fix for the LW 3 hole? Every time I manage to get a shot to actually go up there there is normally a 50/50 chance that the ball will bounce back out. I tried putting some of that foam target backer material on the metal in the back to try and slow the ball but I think it may of made it worse.

Also another burning question maybe its a Sega/Data East thing. I remember when I had my Baywatch when you first turned it on, the hoff said something ( I don't remember what) but whatever he said was cut off. With LW3 when I turn it on, it tries to say back in action or something like that but it only gets out back in ac..... than it just cuts out. Any ideas why this happens?

Another question. On the upper top left of the playfield all the way up, there is a section of plastic which covers two GI bulbs. My plastic is two layered for some reason and has a clear plastic overtop of the colored. There is also a post sticking up. Did the game come this way and if so why. Are they worried about the ball jumping out spinner lane for some reason?

Normal.

For the 3 saucer, put drop dead foam back there. Helps a lot.

I did one of those blue pads but not along the whole back. I have it only half the back which kinda bangs the ball towards the whole.

Also, and this is big. There’s the metal guide to the right of the hole and another guide to the right of that. There’s an empty space inbetween. I buy one of those big blue pads in between those so there’s less vibration.

Lastly, the good above the hole I bent down to prevent against excess vertical bobble.

Basically you have to pull the plastics and bend and brace stuff to give the ball as little opport to bounce around as possible. This also helps to slow the ball so it has less energy by the time it hits the saucer.

It took a lot of experimentation but I have a pretty high success rate now.

Thanks guys, I pulled the plastic last night, bent the roof over the kicker down so the ball barely clears and put a couple rubber rings on the post that is directly to the left. I have a much better success rate now with it. I think it only popped out like one time out of about 20 shots and I think that time it didn't even make it to the hole because of a weak shot. Also I pulled apart the topper and rubbed the bottom of the rubber spinner pad that the motor contacts to rotate. So far it has been spinning great. I still may get a new topper because mine is cracked and faded though.

any lethal weapon owners have there knocker working in there game ...my came with one but can't seem to get it working ...when game is turned on the knocker will fire continuously

Hi CLub!

I will show last version of my custom cards. I will start for "rules" card.

I hope you like!

"Lethal Weapon 3 Custom Pinball Card - Rules 2" (DATA EAST). Designed by Zona Arcade and Mikonos.
https://www.zonaarcade.com/fotos/capturas/Lethal%20Weapon%203%20Custom%20Pinball%20Card%20-%20Rules2.%20Mikonos1.jpg

Details in "Lethal Weapon 3 Custom Pinball Card - Rules 2" (DATA EAST). Designed by Zona Arcade and Mikonos.
https://www.zonaarcade.com/fotos/capturas/Lethal%20Weapon%203%20Custom%20Pinball%20Card%20-%20Rules2.%20Mikonos2.jpg
Lethal Weapon 3 Custom Pinball Card - Rules2. Mikonos1.jpgLethal Weapon 3 Custom Pinball Card - Rules2. Mikonos2.jpg

*I take bigger screenshots and photos, click to enlarge images (and click again on display image mode if it is necessary) for avoid blur effect of pinside´s miniatures.

Regards

Just a little busy for me.

Looks cool but yes a little cluttered with the text over photo imo. If you made a version with a solid colored background and colored text I'd definitely use it. The color version looks a LOT better than the original black and white if you ask me.

Thanks for your feedback!

I choose this background like tribute to original movie cover. I think is not a bad result, but it can improved, I will try ahead again.

Regards

I like how each header has an arrow to the shot. The background is definitely busy, but workable. Maybe throw in a white rectangle behind all the text and drop the opacity down to 70%. You'll still see through, but give more definition to the text.

New owner checking! Spain re-import here. Got one cheap and it was working with some issues. Family had it in their home and just wanted it out as the kids don't play it anymore. Decent shape was shopped out in 2008 it looks like. I just ordered some new drop targets from Marco along with some new slingshot plastics. There is one plastic broken I can't find on the left circled in the pic below. If anyone has a good one for sale let me know. LED's and rubbers are next. I'm missing some PF GI so I'm sure I'll be rebuilding those connectors next. I uploaded some pics on my Flickr page have a look! I've been playing it and I'm liking it so far. I'll start reading from the start here to learn about it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/phillyturbosix/albums/72157698576278700/with/45520672994/

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Congrats on getting a LW3! One of my favs in my collection. That plastic is broken on almost every machine, I had to make my own to replace it. You can get a full plastic replacement from CPR. The GI connector is prob burned up, don't forget to change the pins on the board also or it will burn up again in no time. Friend of mine changed just his connector and was ruined again in a few weeks. Good luck have fun!

And it's done! Complete full rebuild of everything on the power supply. GI connector burnt up. Just the top part of the GI was barely working. trifuricon pins on a new molex now with LED's should fix that forever! New rubbers, drop targets, new plastic on the left and slings. Have a look at what I did to protect that plastic on the left kick out. 2 of those plastic o-rings sandwiched together. That should protect it. I added a few of those here and there to protect some other plastics as well. Only problem is the thing plays like a rocket now! So fast the ball is smashing into everything! It hit the glass one time though it was going to shatter another time the ball hit the side of the cabinet I though it was going to bust through! Fun to play that fast for sure and I totally understand why almost all the plastics are cracked or broken! Here she is... enjoy

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That part was an option to install it....
Many operators never bothered to use that part...
No time, did not under stand the consequences, did not know what it was.
Or, just did not care. Just like the playfield Mylars.

Oh yea mine did not have that and that's an air ball area for sure!

Sorry if this has been answered before, but I couldn't find it by searching.

Why does the pin feature ZZ Top and C&C Music Factory? They weren't on the soundtrack for LW1, 2 or 3?

No big deal, just curious. Thanks!

Sony! Bay-be, Sony!

Im in just picked up a lw3 needs a shop job right flipper is stuck up half the bulbs are burnt right slingshot doesn’t work targets are all cracked and broken and half my gi isn’t working did come across a burnt wire in the gi plug looking forward to getting it back up and running

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Wrong thread!

Hi all
Just about to join the club but the machine needs a decal.
Which new decals are you all preferring, blue or black version?

Black if I ever have the time I will also do it in black.

Just added the TNT button cell battery board to mine. What a great inexpensive little board and great mod to keep that battery acid off the boards! Took me about 10 mins to install it and no more leaking AA's! Here is the link get yours today! https://www.tntamusementsstore.com/wptnt/product/franks-famous-battery-board/

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Oh nice instruction cards as well. Thanks for sharing I like em!

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Do you have a template for those instruction cards? I really like them.

I found them in this post actually on one of these pages. Printed them out, laminated them, and cut them out.

Just made my first mod ever!
Thanks to a post topic from 5 years ago:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dynamite-diy-mod-for-lethal-weapon-3

My wife enjoys playing LW3 and she loves the new addition!

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