(Topic ID: 172178)

How do I replace bulbs in the backbox on Gottlieb Spirit of 76

By joatmon

7 years ago


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  • 11 posts
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  • Latest reply 7 years ago by joatmon
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#1 7 years ago

I want to replace light bulbs in my backbox but don't want to take off the actual brackets and remove everything if I don't need to. With the back door off and the lever opened all the way at the top, the mechanical panel only tips back about 3/4". The backglass moves with the panel but the assembly is stopped at the top by two metal L-brackets that are between the panel and the glass. I can't remove those brackets with the panel closed or in that position. If I remove a scoring reel so I can try to push the glass forward as I tip the panel back, it doesn't move away from the panel at all. Am I missing something that is holding the glass to the panel or do I need to remove the bottom brackets that the panel is supposed to swivel on and take out the entire assembly?

#2 7 years ago

Isn't there a channel at the bottom that the back glass should sit in, preventing it from moving with the light box?

#3 7 years ago

I have no idea what is going on with this, but it's a standard Gottlieb backbox. The glass should not move with the lightboard, and the lightboard should tip back all the way to the L brackets on either side of the inside of the head.

You might want to post some pictures of what you're talking about.

#4 7 years ago

Sorry, I attached the images when I wrote the post and they were there on the preview so I'm not sure what happened to them.
At first I thought it was stopping because the glass was pinched on the bottom as the board tipped back but then I saw the brackets at the top and the glass is definitely hitting them and stopping it all from tipping back any more. It's hard to see much because the lightboard is the same width as the glass and sits tight on the bottom but looking at the sides, there doesn't appear to be any special channel that the glass sits in, just maybe a spacer bar near the bottom on each side to keep the glass centered.
I just didn't know what I was possibly missing since I don't see anything around the edges of the glass (like tape or another clip) holding it to the lightboard.

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#5 7 years ago

I bet it's the gooed-out foam holding the glass to the wood...

#6 7 years ago

I was thinking same as Frobozz in wondering if the anti-rattle strips had "stuck" themselves to the rear of the backglass?

#7 7 years ago

So that means there is foam padding around the outside edges of the wood to protect the glass and hold it tight to the front of the cabinet and that has stuck to both surfaces as it aged? Best bet then (or maybe the only option?) is to take the bottom and side brackets off and slide it all out from the bottom and then carefully cut the foam from the wood along the edges? There is some minor flaking on the glass so it may make sense to pull it all out and deal with that as well.

#8 7 years ago

No, the foam strips are scattered about the interior of the glass. You can usually tell where because it discolors the paint on the glass - look for lighter-colored rectangular areas on the glass.

#9 7 years ago

Thanks. I'll tear it down and post what I find. Given that I apparently promised to sell this machine when I bought my EBD, I have to sneak time in late at night when my wife doesn't notice that it takes away from time spent on other projects! The problem is that after I cleaned the playfield, replaced the lower bulbs, put in new rubbers, and rebuilt the flipper assemblies with all new parts including coils, it's looking really good and I want to keep it! When I made the promise, it was dirty, sluggish, and half lit so it wasn't that great to play.
I told her I forgot about the promise and will find a nice place in the rec room next to the other machine. In the meantime, I just wanted to address issues in the upper cabinet including the bulbs and maybe using krylon to stop the flaking - thus the attempt to open it up.

Thanks for the help!

#10 7 years ago

The anti-rattle strips can be seen in this link to a photo from the ipdb.
http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1893&picno=48991
They seem to be placed somewhat randomly in different places on different machines.

#11 7 years ago

I unscrewed the female jones plugs (they were attached to the actual cabinet but the wires all go to the lightboard), removed the lower L-brackets and swivel brackets, and carefully started pulling the board out from the bottom. Almost immediately the glass popped free. I had bounced the glass as hard as I dared against the top brackets yesterday with no success so I was surprised how easy it came off this way. I had visions of needing to use a long blade to separate the glass and wood wherever there was foam.
The foam was in pretty much the same places as in the link posted by Runbikeskilee but thankfully it must have done the goo-ing awhile ago. Although the foam was stuck on the glass and the wood, in all but the top center piece it was dry now and crumbly and came right off the glass by just rubbing lightly on it. The top piece doesn't really look like foam anymore and I can't rub it off - it is much harder and more closely resembles the texture of thick double-sided tape. That was obviously the piece of foam that held it together.
I want to thank you all again for your patience, information, and quick responses!
Now I need to get a lot more bulbs than I thought were behind the glass!!!

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