KISS
Bally, 1979Just got my first pin, (from a Pinsider!) a KISS, and I'm pretty danged excited..... But I am a complete novice to pin ownership, so I have a bunch of questions, as I get used to it and do some modifications.... Don't wanna cheese anyone off, so could someone direct me to the correct forum to ask my questions. (and boy oh boy do I have questions!!!!)
Thanks in advance!
Right here is just fine, I would click the edit button and just revise your title to saying something like "Tech help needed for kiss pinball" or something like that instead of making a new thread about it.
He posted under generic tech, its probably fine there. If you wanted to get specific you could have chosen "early solid state" but you were close enough.
Welcome to the addiction. 
Try running searches first, you'll almost always find what you're looking for. That said, I don't find the sites search feature all that powerful (I might be using it wrong?), so I just run my search questions, "+ Pinside" in Google with better results.
Quoted from ek77:Enjoy your game do not buy to many games to fast and remember it is only pinball.
LOL!
Once you have one, there will be more on the way!
Welcome to the club. Now get some LEDs for that Pin and play it!
Wow man I post that, turn my head and look at all the replies, you guys are awesome!!!!
First of all, sincerely thanks all, for making me feel welcome, I'm pretty excited about this new thing I have......
Paratrooper, nice call, the one thing I have done is replaced all the playfield lights with LEDS and WOW, it's so vibrant, like night and day!!!! More on this later...
Once again folks, if it sounds like I am a newbie..............It's because I am, but I take criticism well, so if you think something, please, lay it on me, I am learning new stuff all the time....... And I'm gonna make some mistakes.....
Ok, here goes.....
Firstly, I have an issue with static/feedback from my speaker, so bad I have to turn the machine off when not in use...... It ONLY happens seemingly when the high score flashes alternatingly..... So I get a low frequency sound for about a second and a half then a higher one for the same duration, one sound for high score, one for last game score...... Exactly same sounds for exactly the same duration constantly....... I doubt it's the speaker, and I grounded it using the braided ground wire, so I am not sure what it is. Someone told me to replace the speaker, and i will, but I doubt this is the fix I need.....
By the way, I am not too sure about a lot of the teminology, so please bear with me.....
As I said, I change the playfield to all LED (the ones UNDER the P/F only), but the cluster in the middle, all mounted on one board where KISS is spelled 4 times, my LEDs are pulsing..... Not all of them, but almost all of them. Only ONE other LED did this, the 2X green one just to the right of the area I am referring to. I removed and reseated the LED and it's steady now. Does NOT work with these other ones though.....
Plumb tilt does not work..... That's pretty much all I can say, if I roll the little plumb ball I can make it tilt, but it's so far from rolling to the spot to tilt it, it will never tilt. And the other tilt, the centred activator, that has to touch the outer ring to tilt, also works only when I do it manually, and even then it's not very sensitive...... The sensor that detects major movement and ends the game works just fine....
I was going to ask about making the right coin slot able to accept our (Canadian) dollar coin, and even bought a coin mechanism for dollars, only to realize that the dollar will not fall out of the chute, as it's too big. Am I right to assume our "loonie" is bigger than the old Susan B Anthony???? I am guessing there is nothing I can do about this..... I may try to exchange the dollar mechanism for another quarter one.....
OK, the A B C D on the right side, and I am sorry I have no idea what they are called, they are not drop targets, the springy ones..... They are not very responsive. Seems only hit and miss whether they will register a hit.... The K I S S in other places do this as well, but with much less frequency...... And if it matters, it actually seems like the harder hits register the least (I hope this makes sense)......
I have to change the light under the Ace Frehley pop bumper, and it looks like the whole thing has to come off to do this.....Anything I need to know to do this, AND would an LED work here (would it make it better/brighter?)
I also replaced most of the lights behind the backglass with LEDs (ran out 3/4 of the way through) and I do like the look, but I noticed that the KISS at the top has the older style lights, but they are a different kind, sorta frosted, and a lot brighter, what are these called? I probably could have used this type for the whole backglass, as they are better than the regular bulbs.......
On the topic of lights, the ones above the playfield could use replacing as well, but it looks like LEDs won't do here, what is the best option for these?
I know I will have many more questions, and I am indeed grateful in advance for any help you can provide, I am really digging this thing, it's a lotta fun, and I am looking forward to learning and getting more experience with this stuff.....
Finally, a general question..... If there is anything I can do to make this thing better/cooler/more awesome I'm all ears ...... Thanks again!
Op,
I like your attitude and I know it will go a long way here with everyone. Welcome to the club and enjoy the hobby.
Quoted from New_Pinhead:As I said, I change the playfield to all LED (the ones UNDER the P/F only), but the cluster in the middle, all mounted on one board where KISS is spelled 4 times, my LEDs are pulsing..... Not all of them, but almost all of them. Only ONE other LED did this, the 2X green one just to the right of the area I am referring to. I removed and reseated the LED and it's steady now. Does NOT work with these other ones though.....
The early Bally Light Driver board (lower left in the back cabinet) was not designed for LED's. GI (General illumination) will be ok, but all feature lights run through this board. Alltek systems makes a replacement (just plug it in) for the light driver board. $99. So either you switch back to incandescent bulbs for the feature lights or go the Alltek route. Oh, and on KISS there is also and Auxilliary Light board and you will have to replace it as well... another $99.
Now the good news. The LED's for the feature lights really don't make that much difference. However, upgrading the GI (the basic lighting of the playfield and back box makes a very dramatic difference. The letters KISS in the back box are actually feature lights so those will have to be incandescents. I'm a big fan of cool white frosted LED's for the GI lighting. See attached...may take another photo when the sun goes down.
IMG_0510a.jpgCheck that your machine has a good ground on the plug. I had a pin that hummed loudly until I found that the ground on the end of the plug had been snipped off. Once I got it to ground correctly, the hum went away. This may not be applicable to your machine, but is a cheap thing to check and rectify. Congrats on your new machine.
Welcome new pinhead. Most important thing is just to have fun. Don't have a KISS pin but others will chime in here. Nice choice for a first pin. Congrats! SpOoKy
Quoted from New_Pinhead:OK, the A B C D on the right side, and I am sorry I have no idea what they are called, they are not drop targets, the springy ones..... They are not very responsive. Seems only hit and miss whether they will register a hit.... The K I S S in other places do this as well, but with much less frequency...... And if it matters, it actually seems like the harder hits register the least (I hope this makes sense)......
If you look down into the switch, you will see the "points" that come together when the target is struck. The gap between those points can be adjusted..... maybe between 1/16" and 1/8" If the gap is not the problem, then the points are likely just dirty. If you take a business card and cut it into strips say 1/2" wide, you can use it to clean the points. Simply insert between them, press them together and rub the paper back and forth. You could also just use printer paper folded a few times. You would never want to use any sort of file on this type switch...just paper. The only switches you would actually use a file or an abrasive are the larger contact switches on the flippers or the contacts activated by the flipper buttons.
I hate to be repetitive, but you all are awesome, I appreciate the input.
Freeplay, where do I get the 2 boards I need to replace? I don't know Alltek Systems (or anything else hehehe )
Your playfield looks awesome, what kind of lighting are you using above P/F? I'd love to get mine to look like that......
Ball_Less, I'll be checking that in a minute or two, thanks for the heads up, wouldn't it be awesome if that solved my issue????
Spooky thanks again for the welcome, I am indeed enjoying it, which I am sure you gathered already
Quoted from New_Pinhead:I have to change the light under the Ace Frehley pop bumper, and it looks like the whole thing has to come off to do this.....Anything I need to know to do this, AND would an LED work here (would it make it better/brighter?)
The lights in the pop bumpers are the same as all the others.... just a different type of "socket". Since the game affects whether the pop bumper is lit, they too are also going through the Light Driver Board. BTW, it will not hurt your game to run LED's on any feature lights, but you will most likely see pulsation. The sockets in the pop bumpers can be troublesome. Most often the socket does not hold the bulb securely. Can be remedied by squeezing with pliers... be gentle and only do it with the machine off....easy to short the socket while you are trying to "adjust" it. If you have LED's in the pop bumpers and they work, then just go with it.
Quoted from New_Pinhead:Just got my first pin, (from a Pinsider!) a KISS, and I'm pretty danged excited..... But I am a complete novice to pin ownership, so I have a bunch of questions, as I get used to it and do some modifications.... Don't wanna cheese anyone off, so could someone direct me to the correct forum to ask my questions. (and boy oh boy do I have questions!!!!)
Thanks in advance!
This depends, are you a WOZ lover or a WOZ hater? Just kidding, never answer this or it will get nasty quick and so far this is a great thread. I like your enthusiasm for sure, I wish I could be of more help, but I'm not all that technical.
I hope you have room for all the rest of the pins, you can't stop the illness, no way to only have 1 or 2, or...
Quoted from practicalsteve:Right here is just fine, I would click the edit button and just revise your title to saying something like "Tech help needed for kiss pinball" or something like that instead of making a new thread about it.
Hey Steve, I can't find edit to change my title..........What am I missing?
Thanks for the reply!
Quoted from paratrooper:LOL!
Once you have one, there will be more on the way!
Welcome to the club. Now get some LEDs for that Pin and play it!
Do NOT tell my wife that...........Do you know how hard it was to get this one??? I did things I am not proud of to get this permission...
Quoted from TimeBandit:» YouTube video
You know, after a while, you know what's coming................And it's still funny!
Quoted from danisme:This depends, are you a WOZ lover or a WOZ hater? Just kidding, never answer this or it will get nasty quick and so far this is a great thread. I like your enthusiasm for sure, I wish I could be of more help, but I'm not all that technical.
I hope you have room for all the rest of the pins, you can't stop the illness, no way to only have 1 or 2, or...
Sounds like my not knowing what WOZ is may not necessarily be a bad thing?
Wait, are we talking about Steve Wozniak?
WOZ stands for Wizard of Oz. Back to your pin, the targets you refer to are called "stand up targets". For especially dirty contacts, I will use a business card dampened on both sides with alcohol. With the game off, insert the card between the contacts and push gently on the target and move the card back and forth several times.
The tilt with the ring is called a "plumb bob". You can also try cleaning the ring and the weight with alcohol or any good degreaser/cleaner. You can also adjust the weight higher up on the rod to make it more sensitive. The switch tilt is called the "slam tilt" and is not really needed in a home environment. Most collectors just bend it back so it won't make contact. The other tilt with the rolling ball is also meaningless. It is designed to tilt if someone lifts the front of the cabinet.
Someone smarter than me will need to chime in about your sound problem! 
Quoted from LOTR_breath:I will use a business card dampened on both sides with alcohol
Good advice on the alcohol. You will use it for many things on pinball machines... Like cleaning the playfield with Magic Eraser and alcohol, cleaning/scrubbing circuit boards. But be careful when using Magic Eraser....it's really like using fine sand paper. Always use the highest percentage alcohol you can get. Locally I get 99%, but 90% is still good...stay away from the 70% stuff.
Quoted from LOTR_breath:WOZ stands for Wizard of Oz. Back to your pin, the targets you refer to are called "stand up targets". For especially dirty contacts, I will use a business card dampened on both sides with alcohol. With the game off, insert the card between the contacts and push gently on the target and move the card back and forth several times.
The tilt with the ring is called a "plumb bob". You can also try cleaning the ring and the weight with alcohol or any good degreaser/cleaner. You can also adjust the weight higher up on the rod to make it more sensitive. The switch tilt is called the "slam tilt" and is not really needed in a home environment. Most collectors just bend it back so it won't make contact. The other tilt with the rolling ball is also meaningless. It is designed to tilt if someone lifts the front of the cabinet.
Someone smarter than me will need to chime in about your sound problem!
Ahhhhhhhhh, it's making sense now..... When I was a young punk (a long time ago) we actually would lift the machine and I remember that would tilt it. This explains the ball one, so not needed. The Slam also makes sense, I will bend that one back. The plumb one is still a mystery, but I will clean it and see if that improves the responsiveness. Thanks!
Well.............. That didn't take long......This is an S.O.S.........
So, I cleaned those contacts this AM...... And changed some switches for credits per coin, and tried to fix the tilt (didn't work, no idea what's going on there still)..... And here's what happened when I put it all back together to test it.....
1. The pop bumpers register score when hit, but do not "pop"
2. The left side targets do not pop back up after all 4 are hit. They also do not pop up when the machine starts.
3. The ball return......doesn't...... At start of game or after a ball is finished, the ball does not pop back out.
4. the "kick" bumpers (Is that what they're called?) do not kick.... I am pretty sure they make the sound and count the score, but they do not kick the ball.
I think this is everything. Note that all of this happened at the same time. I did turn the machine off while doing all of the maintenance, so I am bewildered here.
Can anyone help? I am out for the rest of the day (at the in-laws alllllll day yayyyyy) but will be back late this evening, so I will get any responses on my phone and will respond, but can't try any fixes until I get home.....
This is hilarious, I was as careful as I could be and still managed to screw something up hehehehe.
Once again, thanks in advance for any help.....
Quoted from PinballOrphanage:This is what I did to mine for fun
Creativity is a good thing!kiss ebay 002.JPG 657 KB
kiss ebay 006.JPG 671 KB
kiss ebay 029.JPG 730 KB
OH MAN!!!!! your machine is awesome...... I you don't mind, I have some questions for you, I will message you later. Suffice to say, that's a beauty!!!!!!
Yes, you have a blown fuse almost certainly. Ck your game for a card, usually in the backbox, that lists the fuse values and locations. If you don't have a manual yet, download it for free from IPDB. The solenoid fuse is most likely going to be a slow blow, between 3-5amps. If you look closely, the values are usually printed on the circuit board.
http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=kiss&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick#1386
Download the English Manual, 12MB file.
It's not a fuse on the rectifier board or you would not be able to boot and start a game with the 43V line completely dead. Check the fuse under the playfield, should be between the flippers. It's a 1A slow blow. Also check the fuse clips and make sure they are not oxidized and the fuse snaps in solidly.
Also, do not work inside the machine with the power on. The coils and lamps under the playfield are hot all the time and it's easy to short things out. When you work under the playfield always check everything you touched to make sure switches, lamps, solenoids and wiring are not shorting to each other before turning the power back on.
Quoted from WOLF:As usual, solid and sound advice. And I see you got a new doo.
You like?
Lovely..........Just lovely.......
Got the fuse tested, it turns out the only fuse I wasn't able to find is the fuse I need, and tomorrow's a national holiday.....
Anyone else familiar with this 3/16amp fuse? No one I have talked to is familiar with it...... And I can't fint anything lower that a half amp.....
Suggestions anyone?
Thanks!
Quoted from New_Pinhead:Anyone else familiar with this 3/16amp fuse? No one I have talked to is familiar with it...... And I can't fint anything lower that a half amp.....
It is often marked as .187A fuse, so you might have to ask for that.
https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/products.asp?cat=124 for a mail order source.
Yup, that looks like the one. Bummer it looks like I won't get one before tomorrow's holiday, I wanted to do some more work on it. Got me the new Ultimate lamp board and I wanted to install and test that. Also in Canada, there's no telling how long it will take to get that fuse shipped here.
Thanks!
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