(Topic ID: 213538)

Gottlieb King Pin Questions

By bimber

5 years ago



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  • 10 posts
  • 6 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 3 years ago by HowardR
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#1 5 years ago

Hi, this is my first post. Just bought my first EM and am looking for advice. There seems to be a a plethora of info online (except for the actual schematic), but I'm not sure where to start. Any help would be great. Here's what I've got so far:

What works:
- I get credits when flicking the coin mech, lights on the back box and the kickout holes at the top of the playfield work. Drop targets reset and credits decrement when the game starts as well. Score motor reacts on game start (I observe motion), but score is already at 00000 so I'm not sure if score actually resets.

What works not:
- I have no lights on the playfield (but I do on the backglass), and no response with flippers or bumpers. Top kickout hole activates the score motor, but no score is registered as a result. Ball does not return to plunger when drained. No chimes for anything.

To my limited understanding, it seems like the issues are location-related (all lower 2/3rd of the playing field). That would suggest a blown fuse or short? I got continuity from all the fuses that I found (although I'm not sure if the correct fuse is in place as the fuse card is missing). I count six fuses: Two behind the playfield (top right), main 5A and three by the score motor . Am I missing one?

These are fascinating machines and I'm hoping I can learn a lot here. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Also looking for a lockdown bar.

Thanks in advance.

#2 5 years ago

Your first post, welcome!
I'll need to see a high quality scan of the schematic from e.g. Staples ($2) or Kinkos ($6)

#3 5 years ago

Welcome to Pinside! You'll find alot of helpful people here, and as Howard says, the best way to get specific help solving game issues is to go to PBresource.com or Marco.com and buy a schematic. Then get a high-res scan and people can help you better.
For starters, and while you're waiting for your schematic to arrive, in the head of the game, take take door off and you can bend close the middle switch on the credit unit (the one that has the credit wheel on it that you can see from the front of the game) to set the game for free-play (keeps that switch from opening when the wheel gets to 0 credits), which should prevent you having to flick the coin mech and just push the start-button instead (see photo below with red circle in it).
You should also check to make sure the game is not in "TILT" -- meaning one of the tilt, slam or anti-cheat switches is in the wrong position. There's one inside the coin door, one on the side of the cabinet inside (with a metal bob hanging from a rod), one on the bottom-board inside the cabinet, one under the playfield, and one inside the head. Let us know if you need help locating these. If one of those is causing the Tilt Relay (located on the me) to pull bottom-board of the game to pull in and not release, then the game won't reset and start. If a game is in TILT, the kickout holes will still work as will the lights in the head, but no flippers, etc.
Then check the Jones Plugs (see top photo below if you don't know what those are) that connect the playfield and the head together -- as that also could be what's causing the "location-related" problems you're describing, if it's not the TILT issue (one or more could be unplugged or not making connection). There are some in the head, and then down under the playfield there are some in the back of the game and also one in the front of the game that connects the coin door. Make sure are all of them plugged in, fully seated, and clean. You can carefully remove them from their sockets if they are plugged in and clean them gently with a wire brush to remove corrosion and dirt.
For safety, unplug the game while you work on the Jones plugs.
And if you're totally new to EMs (we were all totally new at some point), PLEASE take the time over a couple of sittings and read this. http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index.htm (Read Part 1 all the way through Part 4. Over time, you'll want to re-read parts of it as more and more of it start to make sense).
It's worth its weight in gold and will help you a ton. And we're here to help!
King Pin is a great game!
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Added over 6 years ago: earlier I had a typo that said "(located on the me)" and it should say "(located on the bottom board of the game)"....Just FYI.

#4 5 years ago

Most excellent first pin purchase.

1) Its a very good game
2) Its a “simple” game and you will be off and running fixing parts quickly

General advice that no one has mentioned

The first rule of pinball repair is don’t “fix”
things that are not broken. Unless and until you have reason to believe a part should be adjusted- DONT. It’s hard to resist and yes- at some point you will probably dive off the deep end and start cleaning and generally adjusting all sorts of stuff. However- for that process to result in a working game requires some skill and knowledge (little skill- a bit more knowledge) about how that game and games in general work.

Don’t be afraid to post pics of pieces of the game to confirm what your about to adjust is indeed the right part. No one knows what any of this stuff is until they ask questions. So ask away

Finally- I will repeat one piece of advice. Order a schematic now- don’t do anything else before that!

Good luck and have fun

Good luck- I think the advice to check tilt and tamper switches is very good.

#5 5 years ago

Also- if memory serves there is a fuse under the playfield near the back. Hard to see unless you get the playfield up and look for it. Check that one too.

#6 5 years ago

Thanks for all this. I’ll be looking into everything mentioned and post what I find soon. I’ll be ordering the schematics as well.

#7 5 years ago

Good advice! Made some progress. Cleaned all the Jones plugs and checked tilt/slam switches. Found that both main cabinet and backboard tilt switches were open. Made a temporary fix via a little foil and it looks like I have some life. The first couple of games seemed to get stuck and I needed to turn the game off and then on again, but as things warmed up and the metaphorical dust shook off, I was able to play through a couple of games. Tested all the targets, bumpers and lane switches and everything registered. Chimes worked (one of my biggest reasons for going EM). Biggest issues that I can see so far is I'm still not getting lights on the playfield (I do see some lights go on when I manually trip associated relays, but not during regular game play), and the scoring reels are pretty rough (having trouble advancing, etc.).

Rufessor- You are correct, and in fact there are two fuses back there.

Speaking of fuses- The fuse label for the three fuses by the scoring motor is missing. Anyone know what the correct rating for each is? I'm getting the feeling they may not be correct. All I could find online looks like 10A, 15A 10A (left to right).

Waiting for some polish and rubber kit to come in. More later and again, much thanks!

#8 5 years ago

A schematic will give you the info on what is powering the PF lites and about the fuses.

Here is some reading for the reels: http://www.pinrepair.com/em/index2.htm#reels

2 years later
#9 3 years ago

I have a question, when play is in process on a kingpin machine if you put the machine into tilt does it only tilt the ball in play or the whole game ?
Raff

#10 3 years ago
Quoted from Raff:

if you put the machine into tilt does it only tilt the ball in play or the whole game ?

This from the King Pin manual. Also, looking at the schematic, the Hold relay (R) can only be reenergized by the Start relay (S).
So King Pin tilts the whole game.

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