You have to unplug some connectors at the rectifier board in the cab and feed the wire harness up into the head.

Bally/Stern just didn't have those every connector going through the neck needs to be disconnected from the board it plugs into.

I don't separate them unless I absolutely have to. I undo the head bolts, lay some cardboard down on the cabinet, put the head face down on the cabinet (tight against the neck) and strap it down to the cabinet. If you have to remove the head to get it in the vehicle or down stairs, etc., then you have do disconnect the harnesses from the boards and feed them through the neck in the cabinet. It is a pain.

Operators still move them that way. Less work & less risk mostly to connectors.

At least with this era of Bally/Stern pins, the connectors are keyed. A connector will only fit on the pins that it was designed to. On Williams games several connectors were the same size and keyed the same. You could reconnect the connectors incorrectly on a Williams pin and destroy a board. When I bought my Barracora I had the seller ship as schudel5 mentioned, connectors still on the boards, but head detached.

I prefer disconnecting and removing the head on this era of Bally/Stern. Makes moving the cab easier without the head on especially in tight spaces or going up/down stairs. Like bluespin said, the connectors are all keyed and unique. Hard to mess up. To make it really easy, label the connectors before removing them so that it's even easier to plug back in. Don't forget to unscrew the ground wire in the head.

I always carry a black sharpie in my took kit for that reason when chasing a new pin. Somehow it always seems like the seller has created a narrow hallway, a hairpin turn, or built the house after putting the pinball machine in the place of pickup. . . necessitating the removal of the upper cabinet.

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