Having some trouble with the ball release of my SMB. Every other game or so, it releases 2 balls for Ball 2, and then auto-fires them off. Has anyone had this happen before with their games and have any tips on a fix?
Then if I let the "extra" ball drain immediately, it will release another ball, like a ball save - which this game doesn't have.

Thank you so much for the reply!!! I took the apron off and found that after a ball drains, the kicker is kicking that ball into the next ball in the trough so hard, it falls back down the trough...only to be kicked back into the ball again, which starts the reaction where the mechanism releases the second ball. Is there any way to dial back the speed at which the kicker hits the balls down the trough to slow the ball down?

I think it's still there. There is a little metal wire piece that is bent across the trough between the kicker and the resting balls. When I took the apron off, I saw it looked like the previous owner had tried to strengthen that piece with electrical tape on the side. But the tape wasn't attached to anything anymore so I took it off. The drained ball hits the other balls so fast, it just goes back under the gate and falls back down the trough. Maybe my gate isn't bent the correct way?

They don't show the trough in the manual so I'm not sure if this piece is really the trough gate or if it's even installed correctly. I'll crack it open and take some pictures to post as soon as I can. Thanks again for your help!

Just an update. Did a little work on that trough gate, and haven't experienced any more issues! Now to work on my sound board...The music cuts out after about 3-5 minutes of play, and only intermittent sounds will play after that. I found another forum thread from someone with a similar issue with their SMB so I am going to follow the steps over there and try to get my sweet Mario tunes back!

There is a set of Super Mario McDonald's Happy Meal Toys coming to the U.S. soon, which might make decent playfield toys. These are already out in the U.K. Check out Luigi in the yellow pipe!

More info here: http://nintendowire.com/news/2017/04/06/mcdonalds-latest-wave-super-mario-bros-happy-meal-toys-coming-north-america/

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I scored the Mario and Luigi. If I find a second one, I'll let you know! Good luck with the search!

Hallmark is also releasing Super Mario ornaments this year (Mario, Yoshi, and Luigi) - probably too big for the playfield, but I just wanted to share: http://www.hallmark.com/search?q=super+mario

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Looks great! I have to give you old-school gamer props for going with Mario's NES color scheme. Did you add LEDs behind the translite? It really pops!

That's understandable! That's the color scheme most people are familiar with and it would match the rest of the art in the game. Maybe just use the red/brown for the video mode sequences? Either way, it looks awesome!

I have a chance to meet Charles Martinet (the voice of Mario for decades) this month at a convention. Thinking of bringing my translite for him to sign, but I can't find confirmation that it is actually HIS voice in the game. It sounds an awful lot like him, but I have never seen the pinball machine listed under his credits. Does anyone know?

Just wanted to report in that I put my Super Mario out on location about 2 months ago or so, and for a 25 year old machine, it handles the public like a champ. Everyone loves the music and callouts, and it is holding its own against the modern Sterns in our lineup. A few people have said they remember seeing a Super Mario Bros. machine at their local pizza place or roller skating rink, so I am glad to bring it back out so they can relive those memories.

I like that mushroom cap! Mario kills it at our location, and keeps pace with our modern Sterns even at 50 cents a play. My only complaint is we are having trouble getting people to realize where the start button is located. Had to make a sign for the coin door!

Welcome to the hobby Jonebone! I hope you find one too. It was my first pinball machine, and it was a great starter pin, plus the family really enjoyed it. I put it out on location now because I was getting too used to the shots, but I don't think I could ever get rid of it. It's an awesome piece of Nintendo history.

Maybe PBR Resource? Where do you usually see the cracks? Now I want to check mine. I was having ball trough issues early on so I was always taking the apron off. I always see a lot of fade in the decals on the apron.

My right side gobble hole upkicker switch stopped registering. Does anyone know where to find a replacement? Issue started because I had to take the subway out to remove a blockage (one of the figures I added came loose and got stuck). When I returned the subway to its original spot and realigned the castle opto, the switch at the gobble hole stopped working.

Is the preferred pitch on SMB's the standard 6.5 degrees? I ask because mine is around 5.5, and even raising the leg levelers in the back up to the max, I couldn't hit 6.5 per my leveling app. I suspect the wrong leg levelers were installed at some point. Also, the upkicker in the upper playfield is having trouble getting the ball into the wireform, probably because the pitch is too flat.