Quoted from Vinnypin:Hi Guys,
Been fixing pinball games for many years now, but most of my experience has been on Solid State machines. Over the years I've worked on many EM games as well, but I've always kinda muddled my way through a repair, and with the help of forums like this one, I'm happy to say, I've always been able to conquer any issues these games have had, even if I wasn't quite able to read the schematics well enough to track down the issues all by myself.
Lately, I've been working on a customer's Gottlieb Bowling Queen, circa 1964 I believe. It's a single player Wedgehead, and the 2nd of it's genre I've worked on. (the previous being an add a ball version of Palace Guard).
This game had only minor issues, all of which I've been able to solve and/or fix. Typical stuff like stuck playfield switches, a reset issue, sticky stepper units, etc. Remarkably great shape otherwise, I've come to notice some things I'm not familiar with.
For instance, now that the game is working properly, or at least enough for me to check all the features. I've checked the plum bob tilt mechanism. It definitely "tilts" the game, the light comes on, the playfield lights go out, and the game loses power to the flippers. However, what I thought was strange, was that it took ALL of the remaining balls to return to the trough before I could get the game to come back to life, and that would be starting a whole new game. Does tilting this game really forfeit the rest of the game??? I've never seen that before, and I figured it was like any other game I've played, and it should only be the ball you forfeit. Please correct me if I'm wrong, and the game is actually doing what it was desgined to do. Again, this is the plumb bob tilt that I've actuated.
Also, being that there's no power switch to the game, (turning the game on requires plugging it in, and then starting a game via the coin door start button.) That works fine. But how do you turn it off? The schematic shows a "turn off button" and if it's what I think it is, it's a small switch in the bottom board, towards the front of the game. Of course, if I manually actuate it, it DOES turn the game off. But it seems rather inconvenient to do so.
I recall reading somewhere along the way that on some early games you had to "kick" the underside of the cabinet to turn it ON. Did I have it backwards? do you give a good hard rap to the bottom of the cabinet to turn this game off? (reason I ask is that it works, but I wasn't sure this was by design or just an accident). Seems rather cruel to smack the game just to shut it down.
Lastly, what's the light socket for on the front of the bottom board inside the cabinet. Doesn't seem to go to any circuit, and it's always on. Is it just general illumination for the inside of the game? It's right by the total play meter, so I'm thinking it's so the operator can check to see the totals?
Thanks to those that know better, I'm striving to continue to learn myself!
Vinny
When you tilt on any ball the game is over. Hitting the machine underneath or even on the sides activates a leaf tilt and ends the game too. Light inside is for the total meter plays. Hope this helps you my friend
