Hello,

I need tips on removing the backglass on a recently acquired Star Wars pin. One side of the glass won't slide up enough to clear the bracket holding the bottom in place.

What happens is I unlock the backbox, and the left side of the back glass will move up far enough to clear the bracket, but the right side will not. It seems like something in the upper channel is blocking the glass from shifting up on that side. The glass moves up, but not far enough to clear the bottom bracket.

I have a pair of suction cups to hold the glass, so I'm able to use a fair amount of force in trying to move it.
https://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-half-inch-diameter-suction-cup-40993.html

Is there a way to to remove the bracket that runs over display board? Or tips on clearing that top channel holding the top edge of the back glass?

The distance the glass moves does change when then box is unlocked. Just doesn't move enough to remove the glass.

Thanks.

Thanks for the quick responses!

Turing the key definitely does something. When locked, the glass moves maybe 1/8" up. When unlocked, the left side moves 3/4", enough to clear the lower bracket. The right side moves maybe 1/4". More movement than when locked, but not enough to remove.

In terms of angle off of vertical, there is not much play at all there. That does not help.

As for breaking the lift lip, achievement unlocked. Literally the 3rd thing I did after putting on the legs and raising the back box.

Hurm. My top does not looked bowed. By look, I mean I put a level on top, and the bubble is dead center. I did try pushing the up on the lip of the back box and got zero movement. But that could just mean I need more play time to build up flipper strength.

I can think of 3 options at this point, in this order:
1: that back piece with the bracket is plastic. If I can't raise the glass, I will try to pull the bracket down. There is some play there, don't know if it will be enough.
2: there's the plate around the lock that looks like it's held in place by 2 bolts. Maybe taking take off will give me enough sight into what is going on inside where the glass should be able to move on that side.
3: back to that bracket holding the bottom of the back glass, it is plastic. I can just break that and get the glass out. ONLY after making sure I can replace that part.

I am in the fortunate position of getting a machine in great working condition. Removing the back glass and getting access to the box is something I will need eventually, but *knock on wood* I am able to play until then.

New option! I lowered the back box to see if moving the glass horizontally would be easier than moving it vertically, then I remembered there are holes in the bottom of the box. And then I remembered I have one of those tiny cameras at the end of a flexible neck for looking in walls and stuff. Maybe I can see behind the glass to see what is the obstruction.

Aaaand, not really helping. I see the back of the glass. I see the plastic lip that runs along the top of the glass. I see the wood attached to the top of the box that keeps the glass from falling back into the box.

I cannot see into the channel between that wood in back and the frame of the box, the channel that the glass should be able to slice into.

I am bothered as well!

So my scoping, while not useful, was interesting. I may post pics later, but they're not very clear. (my phone in one hand taking a picture of the 2" screen on the scope in the other hand)

I can see the center hasp (when locked). It disappears when unlocked. I was thinking/kinda hoping the lock had hasps on the sides and maybe the right one wasn't moving enough for full movement. Not sure how I'd fix that, but at least then I'd know the problem. But as you say, there's just the center hasp, and that seems to be moving correctly.

There may something in the channel that may be blocking the glass on the right side? The picture are fuzzy, but here what I surmise (keeping in mind this is my first pinball machine, and I've only seen the inside of the back box though my little spy scope):

There are 2 long strips of wood attached to the top of box that form a channel between the strips and the front of the box. The glass sits in this channel. The 2 strips run from the edges of the box, with a gap in the center around lock & hasp. I was able to get my scope in the gap and angle towards the side, viewing down the channel.

It looks like there's something at the far end of the right channel. Like a brown slug on the back of the glass. Is it big enough and the right place to stop the glass from moving enough to be removed? No idea.

There's very little play in moving the glass back and forth. I do not think I could get something like a coat hanger wire up in front of the glass and hooked down the back.

I am going to try to slide paper up the front of the glass and hopefully then around to the back. If not clearing any obstruction, at least maybe I will see it form the side to get a better idea of scale.

Tried to get regular printer paper in there. I think it just got bunched up on one side. Don't think it got over, or at least I couldn't see it from the inside. Then I tried a zip tie--trying to think of something flexible that might bend over the top of the glass, but firm enough that I can put pressure to push it through. But could not get that over the top.

In the pictures, this is how far the glass will raise with the box unlocked, left and right sides.

Left Side Raised (resized).JPG

Right Side Raised (resized).JPG

This is the thing I saw first night I put the scope in. These pictures are facing the right side of the back box. On the right is the back glass, the top is the top.
Is this tape holding the top brace in place on the glass? Something else? Something that could prevent the glass from moving?

1-IsThisSomething_a (resized).jpg

1-IsThisSomething_b (resized).jpg

Then Sunday night I put the scope back in and captured this. These pictures are facing the top of the back box. The bottom of the picture is the glass.

1-WhatIsIt_a (resized).jpg

1-WhatIsIt_b (resized).jpg

If you are curious, this is the locked box from the inside. The thing on the left is the hasp in the locked position stopping the glass. The black band running from top to bottom is the plastic lip on the glass (I think). The black box top-right corner I assume is tape holding the lip on the glass.

1-center_hasp (resized).jpg

Success!

Solution was a combination of techniques.

I was heading to bed, but had left the light on in the basement where she is staying. So when I went down to turn off the lights, figured why not give it one more try before calling it a day.

I couldn't really get a screwdriver up in there, but I could slide a putty knife between the glass and wood. It went further more easily on the left side, then I slid it over all the way to the right. Then I just kinda poked around a bit.

After that the glass wouldn't come out, but it did seem to move more than it had, with less of the edge stuck behind the lip of the speaker panel. So now I was able to pull the panel down and out enough to slide the glass out.

As for the cause of the problem, I actually didn't see anything along the top of the glass or in the top of the box that looked out of place. What I did see is as I removed the glass the light panel swung free.

Since the side of the glass that wouldn't come out was the same side as the bracket that should hold that panel, maybe that bracket was blocking the glass from sliding all the way up?

I'll do more root cause investigation tomorrow, but for now I can sleep easy with full access to all areas of my pin. I even located the CPU ROM, so I'm ready for 1.07 when it arrives. And I confirmed the serial on the CPU board matches the number in the cabinet. Not a big deal, but it is nice.

Thanks to all who commented with suggestions.

0720212246 (resized).jpg

I going with the light panel as the culprit. I suppose some day I could confirm this by putting the glass up with the panel unlatched and see if I have trouble getting the glass off, but today is not this day.

So why did poking around the top with a putty knife help? My thesis is the panel or the latch pushing forward against the glass stopped it from sliding up far enough to be removed. And in mucking about with the knife, I was pushing back against the glass to make room to get the knife in past the plastic edge along the top of the glass. Pushing the glass back against the panel moved that back so the glass could move more.

This might not be a smoking gun, but it does show the LEDs on the panel are touching the back glass. (taken prior to getting the glass off)

2-backglass (resized).jpg

That may be something. The wires and ribbon cables to the display board seem to have a habit of getting stuck under the speaker panel as I'm sliding it into place. Perhaps in transporting, with the back box down, the glass and the speaker panel slide towards the top of the box, and a cable slipped into the grove.

In this picture taken before the glass was removed, the panel is clearly not straight, a little higher on the right side, where I was having trouble with the glass.

_SpeakerPanel (resized).jpg