Hot glue works great for holding 555 bulbs in sockets. It offers just enough "stick" to hold it in but allows you to remove it if you need. I did this on my AVLE sling bulbs and never had a problem since. I used a toothpick to put a dab between the bulb and socket so I didn't risk melting anything with the hot glue gun...

Oh yea, I almost forgot....

I'M IN THE CLUB as of last weekend

I love the flow and cheesy music. Really wish they would have used the movie soundtrack but Arnold's real voice will have to do...

An when will we get a software update for this thing! The white targets play no role when the ball is in play. They should update the code to make them do something, maybe like the F-14 white targets... (kidding of course)

Anyone have a donor playfield or know someone that I could contact that would be willing to share the metal bracket across the targets below the H/K ship? Mine is missing...

Hey Joe, I checked their site in my search earlier this week and they do not have it on their site. Do you think this is something they have but don't have on their site and I should email them?

THANK YOU JOE!

I looked at Marco many times and never saw it there for some reason! DOH!

Finny - Awesome job on the T2!

How was the playfield on your machine? Did you have to level any of the inserts before CC? My rectangular inserts are very slightly lifted and will be leveling them in the next few months before they get too bad. Unless you have some tips, I will be following Vid's guide when leveling them.

Sure thing... Its quite long but has lots of great information for someone that has never restored and clear coated a playfield (like me). http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration

image.jpg

I have a question for you Terminator fans! I ordered a new skull for my game from Australia and the one I received is slightly different than the one that came on my game (see picture). The new one is slightly narrower, the nose area is smaller, the teeth look smaller and the general markings are different. Did I get a cheap knockoff or is my old one the cheap knock off?

Also, anyone know what I can use to fabricate a new mounting bracket? One of mine is missing and I can't find one in stock anywhere.

Finally, what's the best process and paint for painting the teeth?

Thanks for the feedback guys. I found the ship and skull on pinball inc's site look closer to the ones I have and decided to get them and sell the others. Yes, I'm just that anal...

If anyone wants this set of ship and skull, pm me and I will sell them for $75 shipped. They are $90 with shipping on eBay.

I just picked up a skull and ship from Pinball Inc and they are spot on mold wise. The black highlighting is weak but its not that big of a deal on the ship. I touched the entire skull with a black paint pen along with a white paint pen for the teeth. Matched the highlighting from my factory skull. Turned out great.

If you get a new ship, might as well get one of these too: http://www.pinbits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=13_41&products_id=348 The protector fits fairly well. The holes were not spaced pergectly and the outline does not perfectly follow the ship but it is close and will somewhat protect your $50 ship.

Also, careful with the ship mounting screws. Its easy to chip the chrome paint in that area.

Hey T2 owners.... Whats the deal with the clear plastic triangles that are on the ball guides at the top of the playfield? Any idea how they are supposed to be arranged and the purpose they serve?

You order the clear one and ask for the orange one in the notes.

I got the clear one and its really nice. I was a bit freaked out that it looked like it was cut out with an exacto knife but that was the frayed protective plastic that you peel off. Once peeled off, the protector is perfectly cut.

Anyone know of a source for the metal ring that goes around the back of the skull? Mine is missing along with the clear plastic piece that's to the left of the skull but I have a source for that piece.

Anyone parting or parted out a machine that has this metal piece?

My standard incandescent 555 bulbs faintly shine through my translite at the top.

I don't think we met yet. I would love to start a local group where we take turns hosting a weekly get together to play each others games!

I LOVE the Avengers. It's a tough game. Not from a "drain monster" perspective but you have to be accurate with your shots.I have mine set to Extra Easy so its still fun for the family and it allows me to get pretty far into the modes.

Its the animation where the T2 logo is banging together on the DMD. I have my attract sounds set to NO and mine still makes that one sound too.

I'm running L-3 sound and L-3 CPU ROM. That is the latest sound ROM but there is a L-8 CPU ROM out there. I wonder if that fixes this issue?

dupe

Hey T2 fans!

Does anyone have or know where to find a file to print out the drop target decal? Please PM me if you do.

Yep, mine does that too...

Hey T2 fans.

My T2 drop target under the skull will regularly let the ball pass through the target into the VUK.

In other words, start with the target up and hit it with a direct shot. On mine, often times the target will drop and the ball will continue past the dropped target into the VUK in one shot.

Can you drop the target and load the VUK in one shot?

I suspect this isn't normal but what causes this? A worn drop target plastic?

L-3 sound ROM file and L-8 CPU ROM file is on IPDB

http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=terminator&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick#2524

I couldn't open the CPU ROM the last time I downloaded it so you may have to see if John has it... I do not.

Problem I had with the file on IPDB is that it would not unzip when I tried it last month.

I just tried it again a minute ago and it WORKED! Looks like they put a new file out there. The file name has changed.

Profanity is not in the L-8 roms. You need to get a special sound and CPU rom that is based on the L-3 roms from what I understand.

The head split is in the L-3 roms too. Never did get a good description of the changes between versions.

Yea, I can confirm it is in L-3 as that is what my machine is running and it does the head splitting animation.

I have not watched all the attract graphic to know if there is a skull and lighting animation in there... I will pay attention to the graphics next time its on

Try bending the tab on the micro switch on the trigger (inside the cabinet near the trigger handle) so that the trigger activates it sooner in the trigger pull action.... does that make sense?

Checking the wiring on the trigger switch to make sure the solder joints are secure.

Follow the switch wiring back into the harness and see if there is a connector in line. I don't think there is, but doesn't hurt to double check. If there is one, unplug the connector, inspect the contacts and plug it back together. Check if this improves the situation.

If these don't work, I would replace the switch. They do indeed wear out eventually.

Sounds like a plan. I may be having some other pinheads over in the coming weeks to try and convince them that the Avengers is a fun pin, when I do, I will be sure to look you up!

NICE! Congrats! Feels good to figure it out!

We7313,that part has been missing from my machine since I got it. No negative effects to being it removed for me...

+1 - they look pretty cool in T2 Pops. Not to dim and not blinding...

yep, red LEDs under the red cap.

Jive, that is a head scratcher... When you replaced the switch, did you replace the diode? Did you install the orientation of the diode correctly (check the other switches in the row or column and verify the white band is to the same color wire as the other switches).

Jive, yours is wired just like mine. Lets check if the switch is working. With the machine off and your meter set to continuity (or ohms of you don't have continuity on your meter):

You should have 0 ohms across the 2 end terminals of the switch with the switch not activated and open with it activated (careful of the polarity of your meter as you could read 0 ohms because of the diode if the red and black are one way or the other).

You should have open across the 2 close terminals with the switch not activated and 0 with it activated.

Have you checked the batteries that you removed from the game when this happens? If the batteries are dieing quickly (within months), it is most likely the blocking diode that prevents the batteries from powering anything other than the memory. If the batteries are good, it is most likely the contacts on the battery holder or solder joints as others have said.

The Dot Matrix Driver board is where most of the heat comes from. The resistors and transistors in the high voltage power supply get very hot. You really don't have to have a fan, the boards have survived for years without one.

If you want to add one, you don't need much air flow to make a big impact on temps there. Just get the quietest 40mm 12v fan you can find/afford. You can power it off the 12v connectors on the driver board.

Go into settings and disable GI power saving. The driver board is trying to dim the LEDs after the GI power saving timeout period but the circuitry used on the WPC era boards cannot dim LEDs very well.

If you want to keep the dimming function, you can get Herg's GI-OCD board. I wouldn't recommend spending the money for one for T2 as it doesn't make much use (if at all) of GI dimming during game play (looks to be simply on or off, NOT dimming). The GI-OCD board is really helpful on games like STTNG that make use of GI dimming during the game.

Yep, I got that same "official" molded skull and ship from Mr. Pinball. They suck if you ever saw the real one.

The only place to get accurate skulls and ships is the old Pinball Inc now Starship Fantasy. The painting on them is not quite as good as factory but with a little touchup, it looks perfect! At least the mold they use is the same as the original skull.

http://www.starship-fantasy.com/ramps/Terminator-2-Skull

http://www.starship-fantasy.com/ramps/Terminator-2-Hunter-Killer-Ship

Here is the bracket if you don't feel like making one. You still need a couple 555 sockets to rivet or screw to this bracket. http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/01-10280

The lamp and switch assembly (the white part in loscanones's picture) attaches with a couple latches to the button assembly (the black part). Gently pulling and rocking it back and forth will pull it off.

Push the 2 small white tabs that are right up next to the black cylinder and pull.

As posted in this thread several pages ago, if you want accurate replacement ships or skulls, I can confirm the Pinball Inc. (now Starship Fantasy) are as close to the real deal as you can get... http://www.starship-fantasy.com/ramps/Terminator-2-Skull

The Mr. Pinball and Marco ones USED to be the bad ones (don't know if that's true any more)

Great Plains Electronics is a great source for replacement ribbon cables if your turn out to cause more problems. They also have lots of other common parts too.... https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/products.asp?cat=52

If reseating the cables made the DMD work again, yes. The buzzing is fairly normal for some DMDs, unless it is very loud.

You should post a new thread in the pinside Tech: Modern Games forum to see if someone has ideas for you. You will get a lot more eyeballs on the question and maybe someone has seen this before.

Agrred, it's not a must have for me... Might be cooler if it was lit up with a shooter lane LED mod.

Try repeated testing of the solenoid in test mode and then repeatedly testing the gun trigger switch and the trough switch. You might be able to figure out which of the switches is not registering every time or if the coil is not firing every time.

I suspect the trough switch is not registering every time the ball rests on it which then prevents the plunger coil from firing.

I would doublecheck the wiring for that coil (make sure power is getting to one side of the coil and that you have solid solder joints). Then if you verified Q58 is good, I would check Q57 (pre-driver).

I have blue on my start button, looks great!

I ordered black rubbers but have not installed them yet to see how they look...

Scott - the one LITZ has is available here and elsewhere on the net. http://www.pinballdecals.com/PartsByGamePages/T2_Page.html

Not a cheap mod by any estimate...

WELCOME TO THE CLUB!

H/K - http://www.starship-fantasy.com/ramps/Terminator-2-Hunter-Killer-Ship
Skull - http://www.starship-fantasy.com/ramps/Terminator-2-Skull

Lots of discussion on this earlier in this club thread. There are a couple different molds being used to make the ship and skull. The one Starship uses is closest to the real thing to me. The black painted accents can use some touching up but the molding is spot on.

Agree! Love to see how many alternating ramp shots I can get in a row! It's a great game to practice your rolling ramp shots!

I added four 5050 LEDs to provide blue under-glow to the H/K ship protector from Pinbits. Ran a wire down the H/K mounting wire and connected it to GI under the PF. It lights the center of the PF nicely.

I believe mine has security Torx bits. Not sure of the size... Maybe one if these: http://www.amazon.com/Torx-Driver-Security-T-10-T-40/dp/B0002SPLQ8

Hopefully someone can chime in and confirm the actual size for you...

I don't think that yellow post sleeve is correct, it should be a black sleeve like the one next to it. I don't recall there being any yellow posts on T2.

also check the diode on the board for that socket.

If you are using LEDs, try a known working incandescent.

Scampcamp, Both of the pictures you posted are how my T2 was before and after I shopped it. Only difference is I used black rubbers...

On the lane guide next to the skull, there is a small ring on the top star post (like the other lane guide posts) and the larger ring on the bottom star post. Without it, the ball will go into the bulbs to the left of that area.

Also, the rings on the metal posts on the right of the pops look correct except that there should be double rings on each of the areas.

NP! Also, I do believe you have to remove the right ramp to get to all the rubber parts under the plastics. You need to remove the plastic above the rings and I don't think you can get them off without taking the ramp out...

Actually, if you look closely, there are 3 double ring star posts in that area among the metal double ring posts....

Agree to disagree... T2 looks much tougher with black rings! Tough guys don't wear white!

Thanks for posting that these hit ebay! Someone that got one in the loot crate posted theirs a while ago and I could not find one at the time. I was able to find one BIN today for $11 with shipping, not bad! You might be able to do better if you waited for an auction to close. There are a ton of them out there now...

The auction I got included the CPU but there are several on ebay that only list the skull. So check carefully.

There are 2 screws that hold the target bracket to the bottom of the playfield that can loosen up. Sometimes, in machines this old, the screw holes in the wood playfield can get worn and stripped out preventing the screws from tightening. If the holes are stripped, grab some wooden toothpicks or wooden matches, put some wood glue on the toothpick, stick it in the the stripped hole and break it off. Then screw everything back together.

Also, you can take a shot at tightening the target switch stack to the bracket. Some are riveted together, some are bolted.

Mine like that is broken too. Just be aware that most T2 repro plastics out there at the moment do not have the correct fluorescent red ink. It is a flat red. On this piece, I don't think it will matter as much as the red part is way in the back.

Thats the beauty of the Pinsound board... you can use whatever sound clips you want for any event. You can put the original callouts back in and keep all the awesome soundtrack work that Endprodukt put into that mix.

Its just that compared to the high fidelity stereo soundtrack, the original mono, low bitrate callouts will sound like they are coming out of a tin can...

The Pinsound board appears to be crazy expensive but the fidelity and audio tuning options are awesome. You really don't need a speaker upgrade or sub-woofer (although, one still would help with the bass extension). You have total control of the backbox volume, bass and treble and the cabinet speaker volume, bass and treble. Made the stock speakers in my DE SW sound like a high end audio equipment... well... almost.... I do not feel the need to upgrade the speakers at least...

So for those of you willing to spend $150 or more on upgraded speakers, you may want to give the $340 Pinsound board a try first... You will get the benifit of better amps and more tuning options plus, you can (if you want) easily change out parts of the game's soundtrack.

Not normal at all, especially the consistency you are seeing it. Since you have confirmed the machine is level left to right (you did measure this on the playfield, NOT the glass, right?), it must be due to the specific setup of your machine. My machine will hit the center target on the bank of 5 then hit somewhere on the bank of 3 targets.

1) You can try and adjust the front-to-back pitch a little lower. This will effect other aspects of game play so if you like the way it plays when the ball does not go SDTM, you may not want to try this option.
2) Check the rubbers where the ball feeds through before it goes SDTM. On mine, the clearance is tight and the ball slows down as it squeezes through that spot between the targets the the rubbers next to the right ramp. Is the ball slowing down there on your machine?
3) Try adjusting the mechanics of the shooter mechanism to lower its power slightly. Not sure what this adjustment would be, you will have to just have a look at it. Slightly less launch power should make the ball hit the 3 bank instead of shooting over it.
4) You can change the trajectory of the ball out of the shooter lane to possibly stop it from going into the pops. You do this by adjusting the curved metal ball guide that is on the outside end of the shooter lane. You remove the plastics above and remove the screws holding it to the playfield. Sometimes just pushing the lane guide one way or the other as you tighten the screws back down will be enough to change the trajectory of the ball. Other times you will need to remove the lane guide and bend it to make a change. Of course, changing the launch trajectory will avoid drains on launch but may still result in drains as the ball exits the pops during other parts of the game...
5) Purposely change the left to right pitch. Basically tip the machine slightly left or right to make the ball roll onto a flipper. This would be my last resort as it isn't the correct way to setup a machine.

VERY cool! Looks like you invested quite a bit of money and time in that beauty!

Whats with the gizmo under the plastic safety guard on the bottom left of the base cabinet?

Welcome to the club! You have a nice looking T2 there!

You really can't move the gun manually, the gearing is just too high. You should start by dissasembling the gun mechanism, cleaning and lubricating the shaft that the gun pivots on that runs through the playfield. This is notorious for needing cleaning and can actually bind up the gun motor. There are some good threads on here that describe how to dissemble the gun mechanism, just search for them.

If you really need a new motor, prepare yourself as they are pricey...

You can download a PDF version of the file here: http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2524 The diagram of the drop target is on page 2-23.

For the target not staying up, you should look at the latch on the target itself and the mate to the latch on the frame of the assembly. Part numbers 03-8033 and 03-8034

The switch is part 5647-12693-31 and there is supposed to be a diode on that switch. I suspect someone cut it off at some point to stop the switch from registering when the drop target stopped staying up...

Yea, that is pretty jacked but not surprising for this title. These machines ran for years on end and those connectors were engineering poorly (right at current carrying capacity, etc). Get your soldering iron out and some heatshrink tubing to make those wire extensions solid. Make sure to use 18ga wire or better. Replace the connectors with Molex .156 crimp on connectors. Great place to get them is Great Plains https://www.greatplainselectronics.com/categories.asp?cat=37

I would recommend the Trifurcon crimp on connectors Great Plains part number 08-52-0113

To do it right, you should replace the header pins on the driver board too (also available at GPE).

Just be aware that the slings on ebay do not have accurate colors. The fluorescent red (orange) isn't fluorescent.

Agree that you should be able to power the boards and maybe the lamp matrix with the PC power supply. You would have to power the GI with the transformer (AC) as those circuits use SCRs to turn the lamps on and off. Also need high voltage winding from the transformer to power the DMD power supply as well as the solenoid power.

You COULD get a GI OCD to power the GI from a DC output of the PC power supply.

Thanks for linking your resoration thread in the club thread. You did a GREAT job!

Wow, that is one awesome topper! Put me on the list for one, depending one what the price comes out to be.

+1 that is the best place to get one...

Mine hits the center target too. If it bugs you, you can try and loosen the screws holding the metal ball guide on the outside of the shooter lane, slightly bend the curved part, reattach and test.

Bad wiring harness with a broken wire that only breaks when the cannon is swung out from the home position?

Go into test and try firing the solenoid with the cannon away from the home position.

Did you replace the diode on the trigger switch? Have you used your meter to verify the switch is closing when the trigger is pulled? Carefully inspect the wiring to, from and around the trigger switch.

If the holes are indeed stripped, easiest way to repair is to use a wooden match stick (or round toothpick), put a dab of glue on the match stick, jam it in the hole, break the match off flush with the top of the hole and screw it back together.

Not sure which with which molds the Marco parts are made but there is a visual difference between the starship parts and some of the others out there. If I were you, I contact starship and would wait until they are available from them.

If you can't wait, I'll sell you my brand new h/k ship and skull with painted teeth for $60 shipped con US. The skull was installed but removed almost right away. They both are from the less detailed molds. PM me if interested. Send me your mobile number if you want pictures.

Wow, that is one for the record books!

HUO, routed, whatever. Condition is king. Check cab and PF art for fading of the fluorescent ink. Check that the inserts are level (they like to raise or sink on T2). Check the cannon operation is smooth and swift. Check the cabling as it connects to the driver board for hacked up and/burned connectors.

On the PF? For touch ups, I would just match what's there. Trying to repainted all that color on the PF will be a huge job!

To improve the quality of the Arnold callouts when played through the pinsound board, you have to improve the quality of the source material which means re-recording them. You could use the originals with the pinsound board but the quality will not improve all that much.

Also, many of the things Arnold says in the pin, are not in the movie.

Nice! Love the black and the black rubbers. I always thought white rubbers looked out of place with this theme.

Does it take any effort to push the flipper bat back down? If it just needs a little nudge and it drops back down, you have a mechanical issue and like TheOnlyest said, you need to look at the items he mentioned with the addition of the plunger and coil stop may be mushroomed. I would just rebuild both your flippers if you are so inclinded. All the parts you need are in this kit http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=980

Sorry man! Check the wiring that you messed with to ensure nothing is shorted then start here: http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Switch_Matrix_Problems

Problem with repro decals is that they are typically inkjet printed which cannot print flourescent colors unless the operator has a high end printer that supports custom colors. Even then, I'm not sure if flourescent inks are available. If someone would make screen printed decals, like are available for some arcade titles, we could get the accurate colors. I saw one guy that had all the florescent parts cut out of florescent vinyl that he painstakingly applied over the inkjet printed background.

I have never been able to find cabinet decals with the correct florescent ink. If someone made them, I would consider restoring my faded cabinet.

Have a look here: http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Switch_Matrix_Problems

T2 has large inserts that are known to lift or sink so look for that. The paint on the teeth insert can flake off. Someone made a decal to cover the area to make it look better. I don't think the problem with the teeth is all that common.

Good idea not trying to repair the GI connector on the WPC board if you don't have experience. When they get fried like this (as they all almost always do), the circuit board heats up and circuit traces typically come off the board when you remove the connector requiring trace repairs. If you go to LEDs, you might be able to only replace the pins and not the connector.

If you can't find someone local to repair the board, PM Andrew (barakandl) he does repair work and has a good reputation here.

Anyone looking to add T2 to their lineup or upgrade, I found one for ya!

http://www.frontgate.com/refurbished-terminator-2-pinball-machine/842429?SourceCode=ZZ51120&cm_mmc=Comparison+Shopping-_-Google+Product+Listings-_-NA-_-NA&intlShippingCtx=US%7CUSD&CAWELAID=120245420000026090&CAGPSPN=pla&CAAGID=30091807409&CATCI=pla-92109443849&catargetid=120245420001070758&cadevice=c&gclid=Cj0KEQjwxqS-BRDRgPLp0q2t0IUBEiQAgfMXRDkibsEkLMOFR0-qnZdFUhVrZQSGWxUvyOAJSPlvF1YaAlLv8P8HAQ

Mine is broken too. Too bad the readily available replacements are $$$ and don't have fluorescent ink like the originals.

I wish someone would make decent reproduction plastics for T2.

Cool! Thanks for sharing. I too am in the LED ship mod camp. I built my own can't imagine the game without LED and flashers in it!

Ummmmm.... $100 each? WOW.

Yes, the GI connectors and related connector on the driver board are notorious for being burned or hacked up on this game and others of this era.

I never used those type fuses. Typically glass fuses are used - like this https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-5-0-amp-250v-1-x-slow-blow-fuse-4-pack?variant=20332268165

Totally probable that the alligator clips on that mod are what blew the fuse. You need to make sure they are carefully clipped on. You need to make sure they are not touching each other and that each clip is only touching one lead of the bulb socket.

You can contact the usual ROM sources to see if they can do the patched ROM. I would start with johnwartjr

Looks cool, love it! Where did you get the translight?

The original sound files with Arnold's voice only sounds marginally better with the board. To take full advantage of the board, you need higher fidelity sound files. There is a higher fidelity package someone made with an Arnold impersonator. Its cool but it doesn't sound right to me. Do yourself a favor and listen to the sound packages available for T2 before you spend the money.

Wow, and I thought I was OCD! Very nice looking machine!

Incredibly naive point of view. The line supply is not the only dangerous source of voltage in a pinball machine.

Very tempting! My PF isn't the worst but am really excited to get new, color accurate cabinet decals.

Yes they are interchangeable but I doubt that problem is with the actual DMD. You most likely have a bad ribbon cable leading to or from the DMD controller board. Can you borrow the cables from another machine to test? Look carefully at the pins to get them lined up properly and make sure you have pin 1 aligned on the same side of the cable (easiest to put the red tracer on the ribbon towards pin 1 on each board).

Congratulations on the fix! Glad you are back up and running!

Yes, the timer is standard. You only have so long to hit the skull.

I don't recall the 3rd multiball taking more than one shot to enable but its not something I see very often....

I second this recommendation. Great quality and price from Comet.

Definitely pick up some white LED flashers to replace the incandescents. It makes the game over light show a little more awesome, even more strobe light-like if that makes sense. Don't forget about the flashers in the backbox!

No soldering needed. All the GI bulbs are #44/47 bayonet type bulbs like the one on this FAQ page. Just push, twist and pull.

http://www.cometpinball.com/category-s/1858.htm

+1 as I shopped mine, I reflowed the solder on all the header pins on all the boards. No problems with random bulbs going out. If it has LEDs, you may have to check the LED wires are in the correct position on the 555 sockets too.

If you use Mylar on the wear spot, clean and wax the game first, then apply the mylar. This will make removing it a little easier someday.

When you say shutdown, do you mean it went blank then restarted like the game was just turned on?

The troublesome thing is when you turned it off, it wouldn't turn back on. This could be so many things. If you want to try and fix it yourself, I would start here: If that doesn't work, I would start a new thread for help:

http://pinwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Williams_WPC#Game_resets