Hello and Happy New Year,

I'm new to the forum, and I've got a project that I'm probably not suited for, but here we go:

When I was a kid, about 10 maybe, my dad bought a Pinball Machine out of the local paper's classified ads. It was the Gottlieb's Royal Guard. He fixed it up and my sister and I played it all through my teen years. I grew to love pinball, playing any of the tables at a Truckstop nearby, that I worked at for years when I was older. My parents moved when I was just starting college, and they didn't have room for the pinball machine or a pool table that was in our game room. I was given the pool table, which I had no place for either, and promptly sold, and my sister received the pinball machine. The pinball machine sat unloved or used for probably 20 years, sometimes out on the porch, so needless to say the back glass and play surface are pretty rough (the play surface glass was always missing). I picked it back up from my sister and have repaired the old power cable, made a replacement on/off switch because the old one had seized up. I have cleaned up the unit, and the electrics and points all seem to be okay, but when I turn it on the motor cycles never-ending. The ball is in the return shoot, but I'm not sure if there are any pointers that someone can offer, or any documents on this site that may offer insight.

This may be more than I can repair myself, or is even worth saving, but it is the pinball machine that started the love affair for me, so I'd like to give it a shot.

I've attached a couple of pictures so you can see the mess I've gotten myself into!

Thanks for reading,
-Chris

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IAM,

Thanks for the reply. I do not have schematics, I'll look into getting a set. There are some papers that were in the machine, including the modes of the motor.

Take care,
-Chris

Thank you everyone for the replies. I appreciate the information; I'll start working on cleaning and calibrating the contacts. I'll search the EM forums to see the proper cleaning products and proper torque and gap. I hope to get started on that this week. I do plan on getting new lights and rubbers, and see that there are a lot of options on eBay to get the proper ones for my machine. I just didn't want to drop the coin on that until I'm sure I can make this thing work. I'm in Northern PA, just about into NY, so anybody local is welcome. We keep coffee in stock, and I can certainly find some brews. Would love to chat with fellow enthusiasts.

Side note Mopar: 1974 Satellite Sebring 2DR Hardtop with the factory 318. What are you running?

Take care,
-Chris

Poppapin,

I appreciate the offer. I've ordered the schematics and hope to start cleaning the points. Is rubbing alcohol a good cleaning product, or should I use something else? Any ideas of the proper gap? I did a quick look on the EM forums but didn't see anything specific. I have a paper that was still in the cabinet that explains all of the stages of the motor if that's helpful to anyone I'll upload the picture.

-Chris

Hey guys,

Sorry for the long delay. I got the schematics the other day, and have been reading the repair guide on pinrepair. I think the main problem is the score reels, but I haven't gotten into it yet. Water heater in the house died so I had to fix that, kids car, you know how life goes. I hope to start cleaning and testing again soon.

-Chris