I picked up a Funhouse and the steps ball gate doesn't work properly, it stays stuck to the coil. Either the spring is too weak or the coil's core has become permanently magnetized, or possibly current leakage through the related transistor? Seems the spring might be good idea to replace first.

Anyone know the part or suitable replacement for the spring on the gate assembly? Or if the whole gate assembly A-14018 is available anywhere?

GateAssembly-A-14018 (resized).JPG
GateAssemblyBack-A-14018 (resized).JPG

It's definitely not shorted. It works in test and de-energizes, just doesn't return after. The force required to return it is definitely too much for the spring that is there. The reason I'm thinking about the whole assembly is the metal guide that swivels the gate is worn open a little, maybe contributing to getting stuck in the energized position.

That's the right image: you might be thinking about the upper ramp diverter. This is the lower gate at the outlane.

Oh, nice catch. Now that I look carefully, it looks like the orientation was changed too: maybe that was done purposefully for this reproduction part so that the notch was no longer needed.

I'm going to try a thorough cleaning, but I suspect the weak spring and wear in the lever's hole are the problem.

I took it apart, and yeah, the coil side of the plate was pretty dirty. With the plate removed, I also tested the coil core and it is permanently magnetized: with the machine off it still held my test clip. Between the gunk and magnetism it gets stuck. I cleaned it and put a piece of mylar on the plate to break the contact tension, and now it works perfectly. There wasn't actually much wear in the lever hole, the dirt just made it look like that and spring still felt strong.

I wondered about that, thought the coil was so little it should last a long time, but thanks for the tip.

Doing final go-through on the Funhouse I picked up. There is an unconnected 3-pin molex under the playfield by the white / top-right pop bumper. I identified that it is the same as the GI used on the backbox for Rudy, and meter verifies that. I'm guessing there's supposed to be a spotlight on Rudy's face in sync with the backbox? Can someone tell me where it mounts and with what hardware / hex post? Or is it something else?

Yes, that's what is missing, thanks. It doesn't look that effective though: I think I can do better lighting the whole face with a spot on the plastic behind the red pop.

If it's fixed, why are you calling it a project? Just because the head's a little rough? I wouldn't call it a project.

It's hard to say without close ups of the playfield, but it looks decent from that distance. I'll throw out $3400.

I just finished restoring my project FH. The mystery mirror scoop really takes a beating, both coming in and hitting the bottom: there's quite a sunken indent at the bottom. There was also duct tape at the top which I assume was to lessen the blows. I cleaned it up and tightened with new screws, but the scoop worked loose after some play. I redid the screw holes and now it's nice and firm. But I'm wondering if it will last the way it gets blasted: the machine is playing pretty fast and strong with flippers and mechs rebuilt.

Do people do anything to dampen the blows to this scoop? I was surprised there's only two screws holding it and am skeptical it will hold over extended time.

I redid the holes with 2-part wood-filler epoxy and then re-drilled them. I still want to deaden the blows it takes though: next time I need to order stuff I'm going to try to find a suitable one of those blue rubbers that are found at the end of ramps.`

For playfield touch-up, fortunately I only needed blue for a little wear at the scoop. At first I had difficulty finding a match as many acrylic blues are too flat. But Delta Creamcoat Select "Riviera" that I got at Hobby Lobby is a close match. Just need to mix in a darker blue to make it a touch darker.