First post... first pin. Got an LW3 about two weeks ago. It's in good shape and just sorting out a few little things on it.

I'm new to owning these, just not new to playing. Was hanging out in poolhalls and arcades right in that early 90's sweet spot of Williams titles like The Getaway, Funhouse and Diner. I never played LW3 back in the day, but wanted to get started on the owning hobby so here we are!

IMG_1671 (resized).JPG

Can anyone help me understand if I'm doing something wrong using Adjustment 35? I am trying to turn off the flash lamps.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/adjustment-35-is-supposed-to-turn-flash-lamps-off

Glad to hear that works for you. I wonder if this was a feature that didn't work on earlier ROM sets and then got sorted out later on with one of the more recent ones? I think my code is still the original from 1992. I do have a couple of Rottendog boards in the game though, including the big MPU one.

Hey, back to this flasher on/off feature business... I have tried again to change this adjustment and the flashers are still going strong. Any chance you might be able to do a couple quick gameplay videos for me of your machine? One with the flashers off and another with them on? The flashers are most noticeable when I play when multiball is lit. Not just after you get it into saucer 2 and start multiball, but the little build-up to it when you're trying to get the ball into saucer 2. The flashers flash with the music and it seems well timed to blind you a little just as you go to shoot the ball into saucer 2.

Would love to see some comparison vids of how this looks on other machines. I'll try and get my own video of this same part of the game and post it here.

...oh, and would my machine being programmed for "multiball" and not "triball" have anything to do with it? I don't know why or where you would select it to say multiball instead of triball. Mine has never said anything other than multiball. My serial number sticker says the game was originally for South America, so maybe that got something changed in the way the game was put together or programmed? Identical like snowflakes these machines are.

Here is a little gameplay video I took a while back. I've done a bunch of work on the game since this was taken, but not to the code or flashers. Mostly just flippers, plastics, slingshots, etc. This is what I mean about the flashers being blinding. They pulse on and off wicked bright and distracting and I'd love to get them turned off. Or dialed down somehow. Or maybe just unplugged?

I also found these two pictures showing the code I am running. One shows the display message and the other the CPU. Both indicate 1992. Does that help figure anything out?

IMG_1675 (resized).JPG

IMG_1676 (resized).JPG

Ok, so I think it's more than just my flasher bulbs. I took the backglass off and then removed the nine flasher bulbs from the backbox. Figured I would start a game and see what kind of difference that made. Here's another video of the backbox lighting in action. Strobe action and you can see why this feels blinding. It is all the backbox lights coming on and off in rhythm to the music. And especially distracting when mutliball is lit (which it does on my machine when ball 3 starts if you haven't already had multiball).

Does this still seem like the game is acting normally? Do all the games do this with the full compliment of backbox lights strobing on and off like they are in the vid?

Thanks for the help. Funny how certain game makers were known for certain things. DE def has the rep for lots of flashing lights.

I did go ahead and pull out a bunch of the GI lights in the backbox and it made a difference. Will likely pull out a handful from the playfield too. Plus consider those other options you mentioned. I still like the game and how it plays. Just need to get the lighting balanced out in a way that suits me.

https://www.ipdb.org/files/1433/Data_East_1992_Lethal_Weapon_3_Instruction_Card.pdf

Someone just pointed out to me the other day how the LW3 playfield is basically the exact same layout as Terminator 2. I said to him "nah, how can that be? They weren't made by the same company?" He kept saying it's true and I for sure thought he was talking about a different game and got them mixed up. But he was right. Look at what shots you have on those two games and you'll see it. Imagine the Terminator skull and toys removed and it becomes pretty obvious. Hey, imitation is the greatest form of flattery, right?

A Toronto pinball owner swapped out a few original DMD's on his machines with the PIN2DMD ones... and he was selling the originals for $100 each. I bought one from him for my Lethal Weapon oddly enough as my top row of the display wasn't working. If he still has any of them left, that could be another option for you. I know he has decent access to shipping things around the major cities. I would bet Ottawa is one of them.

Same here! Had never played it or really even heard of it back in the day when any of these were new. Learned on it as an owner and I gotta say, I like it. Fun modes and gimmicks and animations with tricky but not impossible shots and things to progress through. I'm sure if this wasn't the covid-era and I could have people over to play it, they'd enjoy it too!!!

IMG_2843 (resized).JPG

Nice line-up there too!

Oh man, high prices North of the border is right! Covid influenced or whatever it is, you might as well double whatever these numbers are they're talking in USD by the time it's the same thing in CAD. This LW3 you're talking about here with the cabinet damage and no boot up would be $3,000+ easy in CAD. Good ones with everything sorted out and working well are minimum $4,000.

It's like aspiring to live in a million dollar home... in Toronto. Oh, so you live in a 500 sq ft sh!t hole then?

Our health care is free, but holy fack is everything else expensive!!

Have a look at the grommet that should be in that flipper assembly and it is what the "elbow" if you will, rests up against. This will dictate the rest position of the flipper and then that will then dictate how far the flipper travels. I would want both flippers to be "even" more so than "correct".

Did you replace with new the coil stop in those flipper coils? You should see the end of the plunger bang into the coil stop before the plastic joint piece bangs into the lug end of the coil.

Post some pictures of underneath as it'll be easier to explain that way.

Please post some photos of what your flipper assemblies look like from underneath.

As far as I know, there's not an exact setting for this. It is related to how well you're playing and have earned those extra balls. Get the extra ball more often and eventually it offers it to you less often. There are various settings for replays, extra balls and the like and it seems to come out of a combination of those. I've never figured out which one directly controls the ramp extra ball award. Mine had always given it out on the 3rd shot, then sometimes it went to the 7th and then the other day it came on the 17th. It seems to also change more depending on whether you're running Free Play or not.

The LW3 pop bumpers use coil AE-23-800 with the diode. I just noticed one of my three pop bumpers has a 23-700 coil with unknown condition/rating of diode. I was replacing the skirt on this one because it had a chip in it and that's when I noticed. This pop bumper never seemed to work very well and I thought it might have been the alignment of the skirt and how it was engaging the leaf switch underneath. I think it is more about this coil being the wrong one now. I could get it to pop occasionally when the ball hit it, but never repeatedly. The coil sleeve in it wasn't perfect looking, but didn't look too bad and slid in and out reasonably well. I'll replace this coil with the proper one, I just don't have one on hand right now, not until I put another parts order in.

How would you expect a 23-700 coil to behave in these pop bumpers when it was supposed to be a 23-800? The 700 coil is a little underpowered compared to the 800? Or is there more to it than just that?

Looks good in colour!!

Hey dude, yes, this is yours. "Colorization by Malenko" comes up during attract mode. This is the 1.60 version I downloaded from the PinUniverse site. I saw mention of the 1.75 version, but couldn't find it anywhere. I think that one is still a work in progress, right?

I don't have the Chad code on my game. As far as I can tell, it is version 2.08. A few of the boards in my game got switched out to Rottendog ones and I think this would have been about the time updated ROM's got put in.

Is this 1.60 version the best one for me to be using with what I have? I noticed on a couple of the attract mode animations that the timing gets a little odd like when it is scrolling through the instructions screens. Like "shoot LW1, 2, 3" or "pull the trigger to shoot bad guys" or "use the flipper buttons if you get in a fight". I can try and take a video of what it is doing if you'd like?

I agree this seems odd, yet mine is pretty much the same. I don't feel like it's wobbly, but the rear levellers are almost entirely out and the fronts are pretty much entirely in... and still it seems to only get it to 6 degrees or a little bit more.

I'm interested in what other LW3 owners have to say here too.

It could be related to some kind of manufacturing issue where the holes and brackets inset in the cabinet weren't always put at the same height.

Until I got my Stern World Poker Tour, I hadn't realized how much different the hole location on the rear of the cabinet is compared to the front. And it was because in the WPT manual, it specifically says to start by having all four leg levellers in all the way and that should give you the right 6.5 angle right off the bat. When you know the legs are all the same length, you see how they did this by having the top of the rear legs mount lower down than the front.

I think you're right about it being a Data East thing and it's not as dramatic on Williams or Bally of the same era.

Question about my LW3 but it probably applies to other DE games of the same design...

My sound is good and is fun to play when cranked. The main adjustment is still that stem mounted on top of the power supply box. It goes into a potentiometer if I’m not mistaken. On my game the amount of turning from quiet to loud is really small. Like there’s hardly any room to adjust at all. And some of those in between adjustments when you turn the stem get crackly.

Is this normal? Or is this a common problem with a common solution? It would be nice to fine tune the volume a little bit better.

Giddyup... that's legal here.

So this bad boy here is what I need??

https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/123-5000-02

Does anyone have a rubber ring on their right outlane post? The majority of balls when I play go down the right outlane versus the left or middle. I find if it gets over to that right post without much energy, it has nothing to bounce off and just dies and drains. I thought a small ring on that post might give you something to work with for nudging. Anyone do that or have a ring on that post?

Any chance you gotta pic? Or know what size you used?

I think doing this in combination with where that adjustable outlane post is to the right of the post we're talking about would give a player the chance to bump the ball out of there.

GI is fused on F1, F2, F3, F4 on the PPB board. Sorry, not sure which of the four is for the lower GI.

I would take the backglass out and lower the speaker/DMD panel down so you can see behind it. Might just be that one of the connectors isn't connected anymore. Post pics if you're not sure what you're seeing.

Mine looks like this back there...

IMG_3065 (resized).JPG

Do you have a similarly looking circuit board that came off the back of your original DMD? You will need to reuse it. The PIN2DMD still needs whatever it is that that board does. Yes the connections are slightly different and it gets powered differently. I got my display supplier guy to make me up a special little harness for that power wiring that lets you connect to the big connector up on the leftside of the backbox circuit boards while still plugging in the original connector on top of it. Then that power plug comes down and feeds into the circuit board you put back on the new display. I believe my ribbon cable went into the new display just like it did on the old one. It was really just the power wiring that changes.

Looking at your photo, that wider ribbon cable is for something else.

IMG_3065 (resized).JPG

IMG_3067 (resized).JPG

That looks really good.

Out of curiosity, how do they ship this kind of thing?

I get a little confused with the terms backglass and translite and what thickness these are and whether it's the thin thing that could be rolled into a tube (like a poster or art print might be) or whether it's the thick one that would have to be shipped in a large square box?

When the seller says it is 3 mm thick, does that mean this is the one you use directly in the backbox by putting the four plastic trim pieces along the sides? Or is this the one that you put behind a clear sheet of glass (or plexiglass) and then hold it in place to that glass using the four plastic trim pieces?

I would like to get a replacement for my LW3 and my current one is the kind where the image is put right on the glass itself. So I couldn't reuse it. I could take the plastic trim pieces off and reuse them, but not the glass part.

You are missing the ball deflector. The manual calls it out as part number 535-6017-00 and with a quantity of 2, so if you want a comparison, you should also have the same one at the back of your #3 saucer.

They get mounted under those screw heads your ball is nestled up to.

I don't see this Lethal Weapon one specifically, but another about the same shape and size would work fine.

https://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=ball+deflector

Here are a couple pics of the one in the #3 saucer. I don't seem to have any pictures of my #1 saucer handy.

IMG_1866 (resized).JPG

IMG_1867 (resized).JPG

IMG_1868 (resized).JPG

IMG_1869 (resized).JPG

Just noticed your DeLorean avatar… you have one of those too? You on DMCTalk?

I have a PIN2DMD in my LW3 and am very happy with it. The playfield and game itself has a lot of vibrant colours and the red, white, and blues are pretty dominant. The colouring Malenko did I think works really well with everything.

I don't run the Chad code so I'm not familiar with what these quirks are.

I have purchased rubber ring kits for all five of my games from a few different suppliers and my general impression is that what is included or not included in the kits is all over the place. I got thinking I would take the time to photograph my own games with plastics removed and other similar shots showing where things go and then list all of those rings to say exactly what they come with.

For whatever reason, all the original manuals didn't list every last rubber ring used in the game. Many of the tiny rings used on the little posts to keep the ball from getting stuck places aren't listed (on the Getaway for example). And on a game like Funhouse, you can adjust a post or two to make the outlane gaps bigger or smaller and this will actually change which size of rubber ring you use. Then on a game like World Poker Tour with the upper playfield, the sides are created by rubber rings stretched over posts and depending on which size you use and how tight you make them, you can dramatically change how "bouncy" and random that whole upper playfield is.

For now I kind of just accumulate rings of different sizes and use them when I need them.

You should hear it go whenever you earn a replay, special or match. I don't believe there is an adjustments setting to turn it on or off. You can change the replay prize to extra ball, and then that will often set-off the knocker when you get there.

The knocker itself is located on the cabinet floor just to the left of the big speaker. It bangs back against the small divider piece of wood behind the coin tray. Maybe one of the coil wires came off? You can try it in test mode under all coils test.

IMG_1921 (resized).JPG

Does this help? Zoom in at the top of the photo. It's the clearest photo of the wire colours I have (which they are all green wires with different striping on my game, no white wires connected there).

IMG_1643 (resized).JPG

Depends how laid back your flippers are at rest. Check under the tips of them to see where you are relative to the alignment dots. If you want to do backhands (on any game, not just LW3), adjust the flippers so they are a little more turned up at rest and you'll hit backhand shots easier. You'll tend to change how well you can hit other shots from that flipper though so it's a trade-off.

Anyone got a video clip showing this #1 saucer ejecting it SDTM? Mine doesn’t do that. Maybe there’s a subtle variation on alignment or coil strength or something that could be adjusted instead of needing the ball save feature?

Haha, I won't be... but the guys losing the ball right down the middle might want to! I'd like to see how this is though. Mine comes down in a way where you need to be careful on how you play it, but it always gives you the chance to play it. Never comes out and completely avoids the flipper. Games doing that sound like they have something out of adjustment on or under the playfield.

You could try and score the end of the flipper shaft where it is being grabbed by the assembly if it's too slick. Like something to provide a little friction for it to grab onto.

Take a picture or two of your assembly and post here. Maybe something isn't right that you don't realize. Mine looks like this.

IMG_3063 (resized).JPG

IMG_3064 (resized).JPG

The attached addendum to the manual explains the change in flipper return spring brackets.

LW3 Manual Addendum.PDF

I have these available. I bought the whole plastics set even though I didn't really need to (many of my originals were still fine, like these, but I replaced them with new anyway).

Let me know your Zip code and I'll try and get an idea of what it would cost to send them to you. I was thinking just a simple bubble mailer envelope and regular mail.

How much would you say is reasonable for both of these two plastics (not including the shipping)?

IMG-5553 (resized).jpg

IMG-5554 (resized).jpg

Cat plastic piece...

Cat plastic (resized).jpg

Was looking at this on my game and don't think I know what you mean by cutoff billboard. Which plastic piece is it you're thinking of? Pic?

Mark... helicopter plastics on my machine are attached like this:

The holes in the two plastics pieces are staggered yet the hex spacers and plastic spacers and screws would all be the same height/length. Know what I mean?

Hex spacers are approx 1" in length and the little plastic spacers between the two plastic pieces are 1/2" or maybe less, like 3"8". Another one of those things where I doubt the "originality/correctness police" are going to dock you points lol. I'd say if you got 1" hex spacers female on each end (8-32 I would assume but might be 6-32) and then 3/8" plastic spacers along with screws that are say 1-1/4" thread length, you'd be good.

IMG_3433 (resized).JPG

Jeez dude, you sure you couldn't have found a smaller thumbnail? lol

Mark,

Here's a couple pictures of how mine are. These photos aren't very good admittedly as it's hard to focus on things underneath as I'm sure you know.

And the sketch, which may not be how LW3 is wired, is what I found when redoing stand-up targets on a Funhouse. Similar pattern and direction for the band on the diodes? Maybe, maybe not.

IMG_1930 (resized).JPG

IMG_2221 (resized).JPG

IMG_2993 (resized).JPG

IMG_3040 (resized).JPG

IMG_3041 (resized).JPG

IMG_3042 (resized).JPG

Superdog switch wiring sketch (resized).jpg

Here's what my flippers look like underneath for comparison. And the flipper board too. Anything unusual about your board? Some of the fuse clips on these boards from Data East get flimsy over time and break off or stop making good contact. A few on mine were soldered in place with the fuse when I first got it.

IMG_1606 (resized).JPG

IMG_1692 (resized).JPG

IMG_3064 (resized).JPG

lol, sorry. I looked at that after I wrote it and thought you might have been trying to replace the holder and not the bulbs themselves.

Not sure what the code is off hand. Let me see if I can help you figure it out.

Looks awesome!! Nicely done. And wow, that gun came out really well. The little gun barrel shooter cover on the inside of the glass too. Sweet.

This could be something unique to just my game because of a wiring issue or mix of bulbs, but the three bulbs on top of the ramp entrance ghost on my game.

These are the "looping", "jackpot" and "victory" lights and they go red, green, yellow left to right. My red one on the left actually flickers in unison with the start button lol.

I only just noticed it the other day oddly enough and the reason was I had always had incandescent bulbs in there with the little rubber bulb covers on the ends. I tried the same wedge based LED's I have in all my other machines and realized they ghost.

Soon as a put an order in for bulbs that specifically include the non-ghosting resistor in them, I'll swap out and see if anything changes. Same thing happens on my ramp entrance on my Getaway. Pretty much no where else though, so maybe it's Gremlins and not Ghosts

Exactly the same on mine. Right side has it but left side doesn’t. The little pilot hole is there though on the left. Actually, my game has a similar small pilot hole for what could be a centre post between the flippers but I don’t think it was meant to have one of those either.

Could someone post some pictures of what the official, original dome and mechanism look like? Installed and / or uninstalled.

Something else that happens in the game regardless of what your settings are, is that the better you get and the more often you get the extra balls, the less often it will award them.

Default settings and no history will give you light extra ball after 3 shots up the ramp. Sometimes it'll go to 4 or 5 shots up the ramp and then it will settle at around 7 ramp shots. I've never found the exact setting or math formula responsible for varying it as I wondered about that too. Best I can tell is that you can't alter it to stay the same.

You pretty much have to take it as a good sign that you're having good games and it's making it harder for you.

Maybe something related to you moving it recently then? Like a rogue screw or small washer that rattled loose and is stuck somewhere under the playfield shorting out a couple of switches?

I replaced my volume adjustment pot last year with this one: https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/123-5000-02

Here's some before and after pics of the wiring connections.

IMG_3457 (resized).JPG

IMG_3459 (resized).JPG

No strategy, just button mashing. Press them quick and repeatedly. That's all there is to it.

May the Schwartz be with you!

No fancy connector on mine...

IMG_1649 (resized).JPG

Those car lighter plugs also usually have a fuse in them.

That's the correct plastic on the right outlane guide. Not from Baywatch.

Here's a few pics.

And once you've seen it, you can't unsee it... is the totally out of place 10' long metal Johnson coming from Danny Glover just below that right flipper!

IMG_7052 (resized).JPG

Lethal-Weapon-Pinball-Flyer (resized).jpg

lw3plas01 (resized).jpg

Do any of these help?

IMG_1613 (resized).JPG

IMG_1690 (resized).JPG

IMG_1928 (resized).JPG

IMG_1929 (resized).JPG

IMG_1930 (resized).JPG

Hey Slizzap,

Welcome. And all good questions. I'll try and answer a few of them, easy ones first maybe...

Ok, so the last two photos of your #3 and possibly superficial posts... those are definitely supposed to be there. They are intended to stop any errant air balls (of which there are many on this game as it sounds like you already know) from getting stuck. Those two spots stop the ball from getting wedged in between the side of the cabinet and the plastics or flasher dome, etc.

The wire gate leaving the number three hole is an interesting observation / question too... because I have that exact same hex bolt on top of mine. And not sure why... may be another thing to limit where errant balls could get wedged. Stay tuned on that one as I'll keep looking...

I get far too many rejects out of hole #3 too. Not anywhere near as high as 90%, but probably 2 or 3 out of 10 I'd say. Definitely enough that when I shoot for that hole I try and baby it in there by either trying to hit it soft or glance it purposely off the sides as it goes up into the catch.

When you mentioned taking off the plastic and looking to see if you could add some padding to the bracket, you do indeed have a bracket, right? Your photo has it removed, which I think you just did to show that post without a ring, but wanted to confirm.

I think I put a rubber ring or post sleeve on that post up in there too. Not clear to me whether it is technically supposed to be there or not. I'll look into that one a little more as well...

The two outlanes are different on my game as well. Right side has a post with a ring like yours, however, the left side does not. It could though as the tiny hole is there for it. I think I have tried one in there at times as it can go down that left outlane a lot when you play and the kickback is not always lit to save you. Again, not sure on that for certain either. Hopefully you asking gets a few more of the LW3 veterans to chime in.

That centre plastic you mentioned is part of the full replacement plastic set. I have a attached a photo. It is the one in the upper left hand corner. I'm not sure what the specific part number is for ordering it separately, or who has them for sale.

lw3plas01 (resized).jpg

I have my LW3 right beside my World Poker Tour (Stern 2006). I'll try and get a photo for you showing the legs. Stern legs are two inches longer and the holes to mount them are higher up on the Stern for that reason. I think it would make your LW3 noticeably higher. Like gigantic looking even. The mounting holes and shape are fine, the issue is the length.

It just starts over again at the 5 million award and then the 10, 15, etc. Kind of like beating Nintendo Kung-Fu back in the day where Thomas rescues the girl from Mr X. Oh hey you saved her, congrats, now go do it again lol.

I'm glad to hear you're enjoying playing the game after you got it finished. I still enjoy playing mine. Rare bit of uniqueness with all the different modes and mini-games on the display or otherwise. And for sure rewarding and entertaining getting all those saucer modes finished. I gotta try and focus on getting the orbits and uzi clip modes done as I rarely get through all of those in a game. Not sure I've ever gotten both of those main modes done together in a single game.

I think the consensus on the extra ball taking more than just three ramp shots is that you’re playing better and it’s making it harder for you. I don’t believe there is a setting to specifically adjust how many ramp shots are needed or to force it back to just three.

Straight from good ole SEGA / Data East circa 1998...

sb108 - rebuilding flippers.pdf

That document is a 4 page PDF. Click on it to open. Or go grab the original if you’re inclined. I believe I found that on either ipdb.org or PinWiki.

You could easily have more than one issue here. Could be software and the new Rottendog board and/or regular playfield switch and coil issues.

For the left saucer and the trough kickout, I would recommend checking the switches to make sure they are working correctly. If a saucer isn't kicking out the ball when it is supposed to, but will during a ball search, I'd be inclined to think the game doesn't know the ball is there AKA the switch isn't working.

You can test that switch with your finger or the ball or perhaps both. Both might be better as you might realize it is occasionally getting hung-up on the side of the saucer plate plastic or the metal arm that kicks the ball out. Easy enough to see from underneath the playfield too. With the exception of a wire having fallen off the switch, it should be purely a mechanical adjustment.

Same for the trough switch(es). Make sure those are working correctly. The game software isn't at fault if the playfield switches aren't working and can't tell the game where the ball is.

This is unlikely to explain any of that random rebooting or sounds you're hearing, but would be good to check the easy and straightforward stuff first and eliminate it.