Welcome to the club! Yes, most of the the Gorgar solenoids are on one fuse and most likely your problem. While you are at it, you should pull each fuse and check the correct type (fast blow versus slow blow) and value is installed in each location. You can verify the values that are supposed to be in each spot by looking at the cards in the backbox or by downloading the manual on IPDB http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1062
While you are checking fuses, check the main fuse that is along the left side of the inside cabinet. Make sure the machine is unplugged when checking this one as some power cords are wired up incorrectly and can result in live 120V being present at this fuse, even if the machine is turned off.
It is possible the the slow blow fuse for the solenoids was weak and blew, it is also possible that a problem caused one of the solenoids to lock on. Once you replace the fuse, pay careful attention to the machine when you first turn it on.
Fuses can be found at your local Radio Shack if you still have them. Also some auto parts stores should have them. There are several online retailers that we can point you to if you can't find something.
The reason your machine is starting with 1496 is that the battery backup for the memory is not working. This can be caused by missing batteries, defective/corroded battery holder or less likely a bad memory chip or associated circuitry. In any event, you should install a remote battery holder to protect your boards from battery acid damage in the future. If the existing battery socket is ok, you can get plug in remote battery holders. If your existing battery holder is missing or in rough shape, you can solder one in if you are comfortable soldering.
Anyone know where to get replacement flipper bats for the stock mechanism? None of the usual vendors have them.
Alternatively, anyone know how to retrofit the flipper mech (without replacing the whole thing with a modern flipper mech) to use standard flipper bats? I wonder if you can replace the crank with one of the modern cranks that clamps down on the flipper bat shaft instead of the stock one with the set screws.
My years long hunt for Gorgar has ended! Many thanks to Mike (sorry man, didn't catch your pinside name)!
Does anyone have scans of the Gorgar drop target decals they can send me? If so, please PM me.
I know I can buy them but I have access to high quality decal printer and would rather make my own.
I'm hoping someone with a Gorgar could post 2-3 close up pics of the under side of the entire playfield for me to look at where a few wires are supposed to be going? Especially the upper drop target wires and the bottom(top) side..where the red wire leaves the upper drop target and continues.....i need to see where that loop ends. I know it meets up with another coil and then moved on but I'm not sure where that wire finishes (solders into).
That would be great. Thank you for your help.
Holy crap! I haven't ever gotten past 500,000! And that's with using 5 balls! Wow, I must really suck! At lease I scored 800,000 on my Williams 1976 Grand Prix!
Jason
Quoted from JohnDelNJ:Finally rolled the score on my Gorgar! Got past 1 million with the help of the bonus.
Awesome. I have done it twice and close a third time.
It's kind of a letdown though. When it rolls over you don't get the 3 free games for top score.
Jason
Hey I got my new Mayfair back glass in and the light board adjusted. My "old" back glass is much better than yours. If you want my old one you can have it.
Quoted from Travish:Jason
Hey I got my new Mayfair back glass in and the light board adjusted. My "old" back glass is much better than yours. If you want my old one you can have it.
Mayfair has original or repro backglass? I believe the ones PPS sells are repros but would like an original for mine if they are available.
I meant I got the glass that Williams did several years back that Mayfair sells. It's perfect but about $350 if I remember right.
Jason
The old glass is much better than yours with just some damage around score windows. Maybe you could stop by and pick it up one day after work. I moved off mt hope church road heading towards Burlington. You can have it no charge.
I know you all are in the Gorgar club, and obviously have bias towards it, but I want to get your opinion anyway. We are just starting our little pinball collection, and acquired a Taxi last weekend (our first table). There is a Gorgar available locally to me for 1K. Seller says everything is working great, and there are no issues. There's a bit of playfield wear around the star inserts, but the playfield looks great overall. There's a bit of cabinet wear around the flipper buttons, but nothing that lollipop rails won't cover.
My "concern" is that the game is too shallow, and that you can "get away" with flailing the ball, and that there aren't enough strategic shots to go for. Will this be a killer as far as longevity goes? Why do you all keep your machines around? For the novelty of it? What about it makes you turn it on? We have space for about 5-6 tables total, so I want to be selective about what tables we put in.
Thanks!
Gorgar is a great early ss game. Not to shallow not to hard. $1000 is to steep with playfield wear though. Probably looking closer to $600~$750. Have you checked the boards for battery damage, 40 pin connector replaced, and other issues? Condition is everything.
Quoted from Travish:Gorgar is a great early ss game. Not to shallow not to hard. $1000 is to steep with playfield wear though. Probably looking closer to $600~$750. Have you checked the boards for battery damage, 40 pin connector replaced, and other issues? Condition is everything.
Have not. The seller has good feedback from our local pinball forum. I think he's being honest about the condition of the game. It would be a lot easier to swallow at the $700 range, but if he's asking for $1000, i may have to really consider passing. There was a working semi-project that recently sold for $600. I think it had one messed up display and one of the drop targets wouldn't reset. That's probably where the pricing came from.
Quoted from FatPanda:My "concern" is that the game is too shallow, and that you can "get away" with flailing the ball, and that there aren't enough strategic shots to go for. Will this be a killer as far as longevity goes? Why do you all keep your machines around? For the novelty of it? What about it makes you turn it on? We have space for about 5-6 tables total, so I want to be selective about what tables we put in.
My friend came over and tried out my 3 pinballs. He really liked my electromechanical, but loved the rules of scoring on Gorgar. Seemed simple at first to him, almost passible as you stated, but you really have to work at your shots to get the bonus points/hitting the drop targets to light the bumpers, etc. Then the heart beat beating faster and faster the longer your ball is in play sold it for him.
Quoted from FatPanda:It would be a lot easier to swallow at the $700 range, but if he's asking for $1000
Of course he is, after you check it out this is where you offer $750. He won't come out and say "would take $750" in his ad, but if you show up with money he very well might. Never hurts to try, all you lose is a little time.
Quoted from FatPanda:Welp, guess im part of the club too!
Welcome to the club! Gorger looks in great shape! Now make him look new with some LEDs! At least I like it that way, and it helps the electric bill.
Comet LEDs come tomorrow! Keeping it simple though. Warm whites throughout, except color matched inserts. I want to keep it in the era of game. Also ordered a new speaker and Cliffy's guide rails, as the ball hops down to the flipper when coming down the inlane and it's really difficult to take a properly aimed shot. TBH, I didn't think I would play it as much as I have! It's great!
One side question, there's a lot of embedded dirt in the PF. I've read magic eraser and 91% rubbing alcohol is the way to go. Has anyone had success with this? I would test a hidden area first. I would wax the PF after I was done cleaning it. Am I tackling this correctly? Complete newbie here.
There are great videos on YouTube doing this. Magic eraser worked great for me doing the cabinet paint. Brought the white back in the paint job. I use Novus 2 on my pinball's playfield. Works very well, ground in dirt takes time, but it will come out using either your hand and a cloth or a power drill. then wax and you are golden. When waxing, best to let is sit for a while, maybe overnight. It seems like every time I wax my games, I buff it off early and notice dry wax spots later in various areas and have to take the glass off etc to get to it.
That apron cover looks food.
Where did you get it?
I looked for arcade skins on line and the only site that is found is down.
Quoted from FatPanda:One side question, there's a lot of embedded dirt in the PF. I've read magic eraser and 91% rubbing alcohol is the way to go. Has anyone had success with this?
I have tried it on my Gorgar with limited success. You must go lightly! Magic eraser will very quickly remove paint if you are not careful.
I did as much as I dared and then left it. There are still plenty of dark ball marks, specially in the yellows near the flippers. OK with me though, still looks better than it did when I got it. Take your time and be careful.
Quoted from JohnDelNJ:I have tried it on my Gorgar with limited success. You must go lightly! Magic eraser will very quickly remove paint if you are not careful.
I did as much as I dared and then left it. There are still plenty of dark ball marks, specially in the yellows near the flippers. OK with me though, still looks better than it did when I got it. Take your time and be careful.
For sure. I need to try at least a little bit though. It's pretty bad. The areas in the flames to the right are much worse. I just wanted to send my buddy an a$$ pic
You can definitely use the alcohol and magic eraser just do it with caution. I went aggressive and touched up some spots because I intended on doing a two part automotive clear coat. I figured with all of that hard work i could preserve it for good. This is only an opinion and everyone has one so do what is best for you. Just remember not too crazy if you are just waxing afterwards. I went nuts because I always loved this machine since I was a kid and wanted to have it near perfect forever and thats why I clear coated. If you ever have any questions just PM me. Good luck
Unless it has a clear coat to begin with, (like modern pins) I would advise against using alcohol. Using alcohol can and will stain your playfield, even when careful, especially in black areas. Using a magic eraser is fine but I use windex with it, it won't stain and it works great.
That's a good idea shackler. A little less aggressive especially if he is going to wax afterwards. I've never personally had any staining with alcohol but if it can be prevented then that would be better. I'm going to try it when I clean my Fireball classic. Thanks for the tip.
I was holding off until my LEDs got here and do it all in one go, but apparently, the package is stuck somewhere and has missed its target delivery date I'll have to go in tonight and see what will work here. I have invisible glass, will that work in place of windex? Simple green with magic eraser?
Hey fatpanda
I like the idea of the windex and magic eraser instead of alcohol . I've never used simple green and know nothing about it being used like that. Thats what is nice about pinside you can learn so many ways to do things. I just feel if you are going to just wax the playfield afterwards then you should be less aggressive with the cleaning. If you remove paint and have to touch it up the wax will not provide protection and it will come off over time. Just keep that in mind. Like everyone else has been saying just go easy with the magic eraser because it can magically remove paint lol. Good luck.
Chris "leckylove "
You should check out Vids guide to the ultimate playfield restoration. It is great for info about different parts of the process including yours. It was my holy grail when I restored my gorgar.
I use 91% Isopropal alcohol with magic eraser, works great and hasn't stained anything on the several playfields I have done. Cleaning is key, make sure you are constantly cleaning away the residue and do not let it dry or you will have to hit it again with the magic eraser to loosen the residue. Agree with the others that you need to be careful or you will "erase" through the paint. It is likely you will not be able to get all the ball swirls out of those legs and yellow areas before cutting too deep into the paint.
After ME, I polish with Novus 2 then wax.
I would be concerned the water in glass cleaner could contribute to planking. This is why 91% isopropal is suggested by people.
Thanks for the input! I'll go get some 91% alcohol and try a small spot. Hopefully it comes off without too much headache. I can live with some swirls. I would be just a little happier if the yellow part of the flame was actually yellow and not black with yellow specks in it
Quoted from Schwaggs:I use 91% Isopropal alcohol with magic eraser, works great and hasn't stained anything on the several playfields I have done. Cleaning is key, make sure you are constantly cleaning away the residue and do not let it dry or you will have to hit it again with the magic eraser to loosen the residue. Agree with the others that you need to be careful or you will "erase" through the paint. It is likely you will not be able to get all the ball swirls out of those legs and yellow areas before cutting too deep into the paint.
After ME, I polish with Novus 2 then wax.
I would be concerned the water in glass cleaner could contribute to planking. This is why 91% isopropal is suggested by people.
Windex isn't going to make planking happen. Maybe if you left it on..
Alcohol is strong stuff and inexperienced erasing with too much of that stuff will in fact white stain your playfield permanently.
Best advice is everything in moderation.
That is so true just take it easy on your baby no matter what you use. I've only used alcohol and successfully but it is really aggressive so just be careful. Cut you magic eraser into cubes so you can have more clean surfaces to flip to. Vids guide to playfield restoration has tons of tips like that. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask away.
Quoted from leckylove:Hey fatpanda make sure you post some before and after photos for us. Good luck
I posted a before photo just above (post by QuyN, that's me) I haven't gotten around to cleaning it yet, but when I do, i'll take it easy. If there's any sign of lifting paint, Imma stop right away!
I ordered some Novus 1,2,3 from PBL and decided to wait until I get that before I test a spot out. I supposed I have to go get some wax too, since all I have is a synthetic wax, which from what's been said, that carnuaba wax is the way to go.
Not sure if this has been posted (probably has) but I saw that Classic Playfield Reproductions is going to make some Gorgar playfiields. If anyone missed it here's the link for the preorders. Pretty stoked on this !!
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