Hello. I'm sure there have been other posts about hacks people have found in their games. I guess I could have looked a little closer before I bought this game but I got a good price on it, and I feel confident with early Bally SS.

I saw these two "bodge wires" made out of lite extension cord wire, leading from the left leg of c23 on the solenoid driver board to lower right side of BR2 on the Power transformer board, and another one from TP5 SD board to TP3 of Power Tx board. It seems these are to make up for a shredded molex plug on J20, the plug is literally in 3 pieces- but what are they trying to accomplish with this? The machine was running when I began my investigations.

Other than the two major bodge wires, there is another one I haven't traced yet from the huge transformer to somewhere on the power to board.

I noticed the seller had the game set for extra balls instead of extra games. I don't think I've ever seen that actually set. So when the knocker never went off I didn't think much of it. Of course when I re-attached wires to said knocker it was locked on. Well, at least he didn't burn that coil up. I've replaced Q3 in hopes of fixing the knocker lock-on.

I'll re-pin the wires to J3 plug, and hopefully make that whole again and see if it works without the two bodges to the SD board.

This all seems to surround the 11.9v +/- connections between the Sol Drv and the power board, Shredded J3.

C23 says it's a 20v. This bodge from negative side of C23 to BR2 negative It appears to be for the damaged A2J3 on the power board, this is for the -11.9v unregulated.

The other one- TP3 power board to TP5 SD board is the +11.9 v unreg, again for the damaged A2J3 plug.

Now looking at the pics more closely, I see a combination red, and Orange wires soldered to TP4 on the power regulator board! Orange and red are the colors for pins 10&11 of A2J3 again, the crux of the problem here. Hopefully these are still also attached to J3- but If they aren't there, I guess I know what they did with them.

Anyone see any flaws in my Diagnosis? All this bodge to get around just re-pinning a molex connector. Well, I guess it's better than the solder all the wires to the pins trick. At least this is fairly reversible.

Thanks for listening! Please let me know if I've gotten my wires crossed here- so to speak.

Pics to follow. Please forgive the dodgy photography- I'm about as good as a photographer as this guy was a pinball repair guy!

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Replaced the pins in the power board. I saw something that said the power "unit" was easy to remove, but dAmn! 6 bolts just for the shroud around the transformer, and another 5 maybe to get the rest of it out of there, and finally the 3 to take the Bridge/heat sink off of it mount.

When Inreplace the heat sinks, I am pretty sure o don't have any heat sink compound. Is that a necessity? Will the little bit that's left work?

I wasn't aware of a ground mod for the Bally's- but I've been bout of action for a few years. I know that a gottlieb pracuztically won't run without. Ground mod. But I suppose it makes some sense, I've seen Bally's blow out on a Burnt GI plug a few times.

I got about 5 pins into the 20 pin molex. Methodically piecing back together the wires he had pieces together with that brown ext cord wire. Christ speaker wire even!

Next maybe I'll do some d10 rims, and maybe some stylish white led displays. Possible one of Vid's polished hoops for the horseshoe.

Thanks for your help.

Okay well I think I know a guy a work who probably carries the stuff on him all the time. Hahah.

As for power section, I think it should be solid now!

Okay- I'm re-pin in A2J3, female side - the plug. And as stated they had re-wired many of these with lamp cord wire here and there since the previous plug was toast.

I'm putting in the pins, as best I can, one by one, and I go past pin 8 an orange wire, but then pin 10 is also a orange!! Can this really be so? One is a heavier gauge wire than the other- and I THINK that the heavier one is a dual connection from the back box GI- I traced the heavier one and it SEEMS like it also ends at the same place as #11, a heavier red wire. I already pinned the larger one to pin 8, but even though it looked like the one that was still half way attached to the plug, I think that's wrong, and the thin gauge orange wire should go to pin 8, and the heavier one should go on pin 10 next to the red one.

Anyone have a closeup if A2J3 so I can put my mind at ease about this? I think I'll try to trace the thin one which seems like it goes to the sound card.

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A few more pins up I get to pin A2J3-10. On the old one there is no wire! The diagram says it's a 53- white with a yellow stripe. I can't seem to find this anywhere. It says it goes to "SOL. BUSS". The solenoid Buss? I'm guessing it's under true Playfield on the common side of the solenoid string? I haven't pulled the glass off and searched down there for it- but I don't find it either hanging, or in the bundles of wires going in this direction.

TIA!

-Bdpinball

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That's what I thought about the orange wires.

Knocker is in the cab.

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Turn it On am there is an ominous humm from the cabinet. Off with the power.

Only J2 on the rectifier board- voltages are not perfect.

TPs are as follows:

1. 5.4 actual 3.21
2. 230 actual 157
3. 11.9 - 11.6
4. 7.3 - 7
5. 4.3 - 4.65

1 & 2 bother me. 3, 4, and 5 seem okay to me.

I suppose if CPU doesn't get its proper voltage, and won't boot, sound card could make a hum like that. Btw- they humm isn't the humm of a stuck solenoid. I don't hear a pop when I turn it on. I'm familiar with that.

Guess the rectifier board needs some help. If the voltages are dead, it's the Wheatstone? What component cause low voltage?

So am I correct about the low 5v?

It kinda sucks because the game worked save the flakey Gen Ill lights when I started.

I'm a little scared to turn it on with that humm- although I guess since none of the voltages are way high, it doesn't seem like anything is going to blow up, I guess just better safe than sorry.

-bdp

If you look at my pic of the manual page, it shows pin 13 as being 53. But I'm wondering if you might be right about a mistake. Why can't I find this wire anywhere in head?

By the way, all I get is a dim led on the cpu. She doesn't flash at all. Just on dim bulb. Heh

Okay- I had things working well- cleaned Playfield replaced nasty/miscolored rubbers, Adjusted some non-making switches.

I think I mentioned a stuck on knocker. Replaced q3 with a TIP102 (man it's nice to still have all These parts laying around so I don't have to wait for them to come In the mail! That was always the worst part about this hobby, and having only one game- nothing to play while waiting for parts)

Things were great for a day. NOW I notice the knocker isn't working again! Grounding the tab doesn't produce a knock.

Schematics show both Q3 (knocker) and Q4 (outhole kicker) share the same U1- a 3081- of which I don't have one. Anyway, since the outhole still works I'm going to bet that U1 is okay- maybe my TIP102 went bad? I see a resistor and a cap in circuit there- something makes me guess it's the TIP102- just because I've seen that component go out more times than I can count.

Ideas?

-BrianDPinball

I'm on it! Report soon!

-dpinball

It's intermittent. It's working (the knocker) but it seems to give out. Then, I test power at the knocker, and it's for 43 volts or whatever. Ground it, and it goes off. But it's just so strange. It will stop
Working, then it'll start again! Iffy things like that sound like A connector to me.

I'll keep you updated!

Well, electronically speaking the game works very well. A few switch adjustments, like the hoop so it goes off when it should, and not when it shouldn't.

But now it's exhibiting some behavior when the ball goes from the shooter lane past the first gate. It seems the last guy moved the gate up about an inch from its original position. Why would someone do that?? And, the position they've put it in is either too close to the ball passing, or possibly the gate is bent down too far. Either way, the ball is deflected off the base of the ball gate making a horrible clunk, and sometimes not continuing through the gate.

Here is a pic of the gate, you can see the former holes it was located in. Or at least a I think that's what has happened. Reasons? Fixes?

I'd like to post the video of the deflection but it's not very good- even when you slow it down frame by frame you can barely see what's happening. This ishow you.
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Now I've looked at the situation from under the Playfield and I think I know what happened. One of the tnuts seems to have fallen out, our stripped out, or gotten lost or something and they didn't have a replacement so their answer was just to use wood screws. <shudder!!>

I'll try to put it back to factory tomorrow and see if the behavior at the entrance goes back to normal.

-bdpinball

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At least they didn't use bent over nails!!

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The whole. Game has been rigged any time it was "Fixed!" Home use only can cut both ways!

Been having two problems
Lately, the ball
Is still jumping and hitting that gate- less now but it still happens. Also, the rubber that goes on the upper right side of the hoop seems to be getting sliced by the right lower edge of the hoop. I put a smaller rubber on that set of stand up pegs, and put a single O on the stand up next to the hoop where the slicing seems to be occurring. Anyone else had this problem?

Finally, there is a problem where tha ball
Had worn a groove along the top of the Playfield. It's enough to stall
The ball and keep it from
Falling down to the rest of the Playfield. What to do? Try to fill it with something? Sand it a little so it won't be so pronounced? Seems like the guy must have used a rusty ball or something to get such a trough worn like this.

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My friend Lee replaces Playfields
All the time, but wow- transferring all
The stuff from one Playfield to a new one seems just like spocks brain- sounds easy at first but a little ways into the transfer- I'd be freaking out!!

I guess I just never had a Playfield with this kind of wear- usually the owner keeps a new ball in it, and keeps grit off the Playfield! Think how long it must have been abused to get a groove like this!

I'll definitely look into the milar situation. I just don't have any experience with that. Always time to learn though!

I'm afraid of getting bubbles, or ripples in the Mylar- like you said if you have to remove it you're likely to remove artwork. A touched up Playfield always looks tacky to me. Although maybe if it was done well
I never noticed! But if you notice it - it's tacky! I feel like better left alone.