Quoted from arzoo:Wow, impressive how quickly you got the pf swap done! I've never done one before, any tips (other than take lots of pics)?
I did mine over the holiday season, and it took me about a month off/on, with a lot of time waiting for parts that I hadn't ordered beforehand. I had already gone through all of the mechs and everything was playing 100% when I first acquired the game. It was pretty much a straight transfer.
I labeled all of the lamp wiring (ie, 1K bonus, 2K bonus, etc) and installed all new lamp sockets in the new pf, so that when it was time to solder, I knew exactly which lamp the wire went to. I also installed new 5V braid for the lamps, and used the original playfield as a template. I followed it EXACTLY so that I knew that if things didn't work, that I messed up somewhere. Lo and behold, every lamp worked as intended. I had missed soldering some GI wiring, but that was easily sussed out. Use this modified wall adapter to test your GI lights
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-re-populating-playfields#post-4565582
When you unscrew all of the mechs from the playfield, and clip all of your lamp wires, slide a large piece of cardboard under everything to keep it in it's relative position. When you lift the harness/mechs away, you should be left with just the lamp sockets and braids. Once you see the entire mass come off, it doesn't feel so intimidating anymore. Go to your local Ace Hardware and get new screws, washers, etc so that you don't have to sort out and transfer the original hardware. That way if you lose some of the original hardware, you're not looking for that one screw, or one nut.
Off/on, waiting for some parts, it took about a month, with a couple hours during the weekday after work, and spending a few hours at a time on the weekends. Having all of the wiring labeled took a ton of anxiety out of it. The topside was pretty straight forward. Make sure to use washers under the pointy metal posts, and predrill EVERY hole! Get a playfield kit from Ron Kruzman and ask him to include a dremel bit for the star rollovers. A lot of clearcoat gets built up in between the star points, and you'll need to clear that out with the dremel in order for your star inserts to move freely.
Doing a second swap on Viking, it took just a couple of weekends since I had a method that was "safe" and straight forward.
Make sure the game is working 100% before doing your swap, so that way you know if you introduce a new problem, and it would be easier to troubleshoot if you knew it was working prior.
I used this picture wire for my 5V braid on Viking and it works perfectly. Can be had pretty cheap at your local hardware store.
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