Medusa playfield swap

Quoted from Arcane:
That is a refreshing sight....
I see that you installed some connectors on the slingshots and the middle ejector. You should consider doing that on the zipper flippers, as these do require some maintenance from time to time and are really hard to reach, once this heavy playfield is in the cabinet.
Yves

I previously swapped a Fathom playfield and molexed every coil. With Medusa, I probably did 50%.

With the zipper flippers, I added new coils and elected just to solder to the lugs. I may re-visit molexing the rest of the coils when I restore the cabinet.

#52 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Metal tumbled on the lower half of the playfield. Lots of micro problems with things not fitting exactly.

1. CPR lane guide holes didn’t match up. Plus, the thickness of the plastic protectors prevented the screw from biting. And the LED was too tall. I did some light dremeling and lined everything up.

2. One of the posts was held with a wood screw on the donor game and a t-nut machine screw on the CPR playfield. Rather than buy one screw plus shipping and waiting, I used a bamboo shish kebob stick and super glue. I’ll trim and drill once it’s dry.

Lower playfield:
E0031ABA-B4BE-4E18-90FD-467C36594EE0 (resized).jpeg

Lane guides:
DC53E72D-A54F-45C7-92C7-B4C45C19E03B (resized).jpeg

Fixing a wide drill hole:
64D5231F-2B76-4259-9B97-9D7A7FAC8DAA (resized).jpeg

#53 2 years ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from Mudflaps:
Metal tumbled on the lower half of the playfield. Lots of micro problems with things not fitting exactly.

Yes. There were subtle differences on my CPR Flash Gordon playfield. I heeded someone's advice and checked everything before blindly assembling using the provided marks. A number of them were off and would have caused things to not be square.

#54 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

New XPin displays arrived today

BA5CF5DD-A41F-4D43-8D94-E0CB59145D73 (resized).jpeg

image (resized).jpg

#55 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from gdonovan:
Yes. There were subtle differences on my CPR Flash Gordon playfield. I heeded someone's advice and checked everything before blindly assembling using the provided marks. A number of them were off and would have caused things to not be square.

In this case, the hole was pre-drilled. I added the t-nut to the bottom, but the donor game had a wood screw here. Super weird.

#56 2 years ago

PBB

Pinball_Basement

Blocked

3y 468

Quoted from gdonovan:
Yes. There were subtle differences on my CPR Flash Gordon playfield. I heeded someone's advice and checked everything before blindly assembling using the provided marks. A number of them were off and would have caused things to not be square.

A local seller tried telling me the CPR pf he was selling was pre dimpled so it was plug and play. Thats how you know he has no idea what he was talking about.

#57 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from Pinball_Basement:
A local seller tried telling me the CPR pf he was selling was pre dimpled so it was plug and play. Thats how you know he has no idea what he was talking about.

Ha, no. CPR is great if you have certain expectations. Plug and play is not one of them.

#58 2 years ago

BJB

BrianBannon

Pinside+ Frequent

St Charles, MO

11y 81,400 1,031 40 14

OP
Quoted from Mudflaps:
I previously swapped a Fathom playfield and molexed every coil. With Medusa, I probably did 50%.
With the zipper flippers, I added new coils and elected just to solder to the lugs. I may re-visit molexing the rest of the coils when I restore the cabinet.

In the past 17 years I have done around 20 playfield swaps on classic Bally/Stern. Suffered one broken drop target in all that time and some of these games were on location for months. If you like doing those connectors, well great, but chances of you having to remove something for maintenance in a home environment are pretty slim.

#59 2 years ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

Quoted from Pinball_Basement:
A local seller tried telling me the CPR pf he was selling was pre dimpled so it was plug and play. Thats how you know he has no idea what he was talking about.

I have over a week in a playfield swap and still not done. I know I'm a touch on the meticulous side and there is a lot going on with a Flash Gorden.. not a job for the faint hearted.

#60 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from BrianBannon:
In the past 17 years I have done around 20 playfield swaps on classic Bally/Stern. Suffered one broken drop target in all that time and some of these games were on location for months. If you like doing those connectors, well great, but chances of you having to remove something for maintenance in a home environment are pretty slim.

True. The time to solder and crimp is about equal, though. No extra effort vs. a slight reward if something happens down the line. No harm either way.

#61 2 years ago

SMK

TheLaw

Pinside+ Addict

Ann Arbor, MI

12y 162K 48,039 19 30 1

OP
Quoted from Mudflaps:
True. The time to solder and crimp is about equal, though. No extra effort vs. a slight reward if something happens down the line. No harm either way.

Fair point both ways, that's why for my next restore I will do both ways at once.

Aka half ass it

#62 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from TheLaw:
Fair point both ways, that's why for my next restore I will do both ways at once.
Aka half ass is

Ha, I’ve had that internal debate so many times. “Should I half-ass this particular part...?”

The answer is usually no... unless no one will ever see it.

#63 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

This game has a lot of red posts

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#64 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

About 75% finished with the topside. The rails were supposed to be here two days ago, but like last time, there’s some kind of Post Office time/space vortex between here and Virginia.

The rubbers may be off, so if anyone has a Medusa, I’d appreciate a sanity check. The rubber guide didn’t match the donor game which didn’t match other games I’ve seen. I eyeballed some of the rubber placement.

In the meanwhile, I can gap switches and start the apron portion.

image (resized).jpg

#65 2 years ago

TSR

TaylorVA

Reese Rails

13y 116K 8,893 11 7

Sorry for the delay on the rails, obviously out of my hands at this point, but I hate busting them out just to have people waiting on them because of USPS.

#66 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from TaylorVA:
Sorry for the delay on the rails, obviously out of my hands at this point, but I hate busting them out just to have people waiting on them because of USPS.

Again, totally not your fault! The USPS is comical at this point, though. Last time the package was ‘delayed, but still enroute.’ Same thing now.

It’s all good, as there’s tons of stuff to do in the meanwhile.

#67 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Medusa does not have an adjustable drop target plate. Because the CPR playfield is thicker, the drop targets sit lower when dropped, risking a stuck ball.

I stole this from another thread, but magnetic tape works great on the bottom portion of the drop mech. A single strip will provide the required height to ensure the drops are level with the playfield.

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#68 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Old and gross:
7B192980-7D58-4F2C-9FE0-AF39093CAA8E (resized).jpeg

New and shiny:
8C2EE075-F92D-49F3-AA2B-013090DE0711 (resized).jpeg

#69 2 years ago

pinballjj

Pinside member

Cayuga, NY

5y 62,300 943 6

Looks amazing!

#70 2 years ago

YCV

Arcane

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from Mudflaps:
Medusa does not have an adjustable drop target plate. Because the CPR playfield is thicker, the drop targets sit lower when dropped, risking a stuck ball.

Nicely done. Although at this specific location balls will never get stuck....They go way too fast.

Yves

#71 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from Arcane:
Nicely done. Although at this specific location balls will never get stuck....They go way too fast.
Yves

Good to know!

#72 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Spinner and back posts installed. While I wait for the rails, I can sand the star inserts and gap switches.

image (resized).jpg

#73 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Rails arrived today. Thanks Taylor! Like last time, they’re great.

Lots of drilling and fitting. The playfield was bowed in the middle due to the weight, so I used clamps to keep the rails level with the playfield while I drilled. We’re getting close!
F928D60A-515D-4FF6-B6BB-1E4FCDB3E279 (resized).jpeg38C85FDC-3387-41C9-87BB-579E9C9EDBBA (resized).jpegE9E346D4-B714-4B63-ABF5-7B58B72FC8C3 (resized).jpeg2EC204F3-BD35-4B7C-A3A7-FBAAF7A23244 (resized).jpeg

#74 2 years ago

TSR

TaylorVA

Reese Rails

13y 116K 8,893 11 7

Looks great!

#75 2 years ago

YCV

Arcane

Pinside member

Very sweet. What is the brand of the rotisserie that you are using?

Yves

#76 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/gauging-interest-in-all-metal-pf-rotisseries-for-18000-shipped

Quoted from Arcane:
Very sweet. What is the brand of the rotisserie that you are using?
Yves

Purchased here. I bought the Pro version and took it to my local powdercoat guy. It’s been great so far.

#77 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

All plastics installed. Finishing nails and 2-way gates added.

Star rollovers next, then switch gaps. Once those are done, I’ll wrestle with the light bar and 7-drop mech.

I expect to drop it in the cab in the next couple of days.

5BF74E56-F3AD-4BCB-9B7F-2BF43BB2FC6B (resized).jpeg

#78 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Switches gapped. Sanding the star inserts tomorrow and will hopefully fit the light bar. I think that part will be a bitch.

In the meanwhile, the game looks pretty neat lit up.

D1FD63C7-C1EF-4CC4-A351-4232164D0199 (resized).jpeg

#79 2 years ago

YCV

Arcane

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from Mudflaps:
I expect to drop it in the cab in the next couple of days. [quoted image]

It is one of the heaviest Bally Classic playfields!!!! Be prepared.....

Yves

#80 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Light bar installed. There’s about a 10 degree cant due to the CPR playfield thickness. It’s subtle, but it’s there. I’ll see how it looks in the game before I make any permanent modifications.

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9BB6C493-65D2-4852-9B74-6A02FEB8E0BF (resized).jpeg

#81 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Light bar photos as requested:

D6D4FAC6-7546-4F18-93E2-EFEAC941EBE8 (resized).jpeg

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#82 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Ready to drop in the cab. That’s a lot of wires.

image (resized).jpg

#83 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

She lived!... for a brief amount of time.

The game flipped, all inserts were working. Drop targets worked fine. No scoring. The pop bumpers and slingshots didn’t work. Sound was fine.

Then the game died. Nothing.

I’m going through the usual culprits, but I did change the power cord today. I also tripped the wall circuit, but even after resetting, no dice.

Any ideas before I start digging?

Inserts working, game flipping:
E1F3DA98-B1C5-4651-9B9A-D7C771EA31A0 (resized).jpeg

Power cord before:
E8D60C66-5019-4AD6-9FA6-4317374316B6 (resized).jpeg

Power cord after:
24A612FA-06F3-45D4-9D5D-9629C6D99388 (resized).jpeg

Backbox:
image (resized).jpg

Power Module. J5 was burned and hacked before the swap.

image (resized).jpg

#84 2 years ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

I doubt it's the power cord, it turned on after all!

I would plug in the minimum to get a boot up and go from there. Wiki has a list of connectors required for booting.

#85 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from gdonovan:
I doubt it's the power cord, it turned on after all!
I would plug in the minimum to get a boot up and go from there. Wiki has a list of connectors required for booting.

Yeah, I disconnected everything from the boards. No luck.

The filter reads 122V, so normal voltage coming in. However, my breaker keeps resetting. It’s just totally dead. Hmmmm.

But the playfield looks really nice.

#86 2 years ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from Mudflaps:
Yeah, I disconnected everything from the boards. No luck.
The filter reads 122V, so normal voltage coming in. However, my breaker keeps resetting. It’s just totally dead. Hmmmm.
But the playfield looks really nice.

The breaker for the wall outlet?

#87 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from gdonovan:
The breaker for the wall outlet?

The GFCI for the wall outlet, yeah.

This is bananas. I was ready to troubleshoot the score and coils when the whole game died. I mean I can’t get anything. Troubleshooting voltages and electricity is my kryptonite, so this is going to be fun.

#88 2 years ago

GTX

gdonovan

Pinside member

1 ) GFCI is different than circuit breaker, adds to confusion.

Try an outlet not connected to GFCI.

#89 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

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Quoted from gdonovan:
1 ) GFCI is different than circuit breaker, adds to confusion.
Try an outlet not connected to GFCI.

Same thing. No dice.

I’ll start a tech thread after doing more troubleshooting. Bummer, because when the game fired up, I was super excited. That’s pinball for ya...

#90 2 years ago

BJB

BrianBannon

Pinside+ Frequent

St Charles, MO

11y 81,400 1,031 40 14

Is it possible that some part of the solder connection for the power cord might be touching the line filter case? I don't want to pick on your solder job for the line cord, but it looks to me like a lot of solder on those tabs, and the tabs are laying down a little bit or that is how it looks in the pic.

#91 2 years ago

777

pinengineer77

Pinside member

7y 33,150 86

It is possible the MOV (brown circular device) or line filter has shorted. Suggest you check the resistance between the two MOV terminals with the game power switch off and it should be over 100K ohms. Then check the resistance between the ground connection and each of the two line filter connections. That should also be over 100K. If any of those are below 100K then pull the MOV out and measure it separately so you will know if the line filter or MOV has shorted. I would just replace them both if you find anything shorted. Good luck, the swap looks awesome!

#92 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

^^
Thanks for the tips! My soldering skills are terrible, so it’s 100% possible I used too much and shorted something out.

New 130V MOV on the way. I plan to de-solder, clean and test the filter, and try again.

If I need a new line filter, would a generic 115V suffice?

B6D9F07E-CD65-4580-AC0F-E604AE6B2C51 (resized).jpeg

#93 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

I re-soldered the line filter. Good voltage, still no power. I’m assuming I fried the filter, so I’ll order a new one and try again with the new MOV.

Quoted from pinengineer77:
Suggest you check the resistance between the two MOV terminals with the game power switch off and it should be over 100K ohms.

95K was the max reading, holding steady ~50K.

Thanks again for the help everyone.
A346CCB2-100F-46C1-9D37-354382F070BA (resized).jpeg

#94 2 years ago

PIP

Quench

Pinside member

8y 114K 8,025

that MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) looks like a common ceramic 0.05uF capacitor... Yeouch!

Have you confirmed if you're getting good voltage after the EMI filter?

#95 2 years ago

YCV

Arcane

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from Mudflaps:
She lived!... for a brief amount of time.
The game flipped, all inserts were working. Drop targets worked fine. No scoring. The pop bumpers and slingshots didn’t work. Sound was fine.
Then the game died. Nothing.
I’m going through the usual culprits, but I did change the power cord today. I also tripped the wall circuit, but even after resetting, no dice.
Any ideas before I start digging?

My way of performing a restoration is to start from the wall outlet and build everything with new components:

- New power wires
- New Filter
- New varistor
- New ground wires
- New or rebuilt power supply.
- Check voltages
- New or carefully reworked Rectifier board
- Check voltages
- New CPU board
- Connect only one connector at a time....
- Slowly bring up the system in a controlled way, knowing that all the previous work is stable, solid and a good foundation for the rest.

I still have to have a machine that did not work the first time and I have rebuilt six of the Classic Bally.

Yves

#96 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Quoted from Quench:
Have you confirmed if you're getting good voltage after the EMI filter?

120V after the filter into the tech port. Can I assume this means the filter is supplying power? Next would be checking to see if the power switch failed.

Quoted from Arcane:
My way of performing a restoration is to start from the wall outlet and build everything with new components:
- New power wires
- New Filter
- New varistor
- New ground wires
- New or rebuilt power supply.
- Check voltages
- New or carefully reworked Rectifier board
- Check voltages
- New CPU board
- Connect only one connector at a time....
- Slowly bring up the system in a controlled way, knowing that all the previous work is stable, solid and a good foundation for the rest.
I still have to have a machine that did not work the first time and I have rebuilt six of the Classic Bally.
Yves

Yeah, good call. My intent was to rebuild the cab and all hacked connections after the swap. I only elected to change the cord because the old ground plug was snipped and providing a low voltage shock through the metal.

94235104-8D68-432E-B7F2-7987FFF630CF (resized).jpeg

#97 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent

Back in business!

She’s alive, for real this time. Indeed, I likely shorted the filter with my shitty solder job. I blew the 3A fuse.

The pops and score weren’t working originally because I had a bad connection to the MPU. The wires had too much tension and pulled the connection.

Now, everything appears to work normally. I’ll still replace the filter and MOV. “It’s probably just a fuse...”

Thanks for the help everyone!

5AA9F962-1DAE-4532-A759-CA318EBD1161 (resized).jpeg

image (resized).jpg

#98 2 years ago

PIP

Quench

Pinside member

8y 114K 8,025

OP
Quoted from Mudflaps:
Back in business!

Cool, now cut that ceramic capacitor off the EMI filter. It's like a short circuit on your mains line. The game will live without a MOV til you get a proper one.

#99 2 years ago

KJS

Mudflaps

Pinside+ Frequent