So I just got my first ever pinball machine, T2! Woo! I'm looking forward to learning a lot in this hobby.

Sadly, my 2nd game in, and I already have a problem. I wanted to play a little before having a problem!

So first, as I shot under ramp in the upper left, the ball got stuck on a wire. D'oh. I turned it off (because I didn't think I should leave it on when removing the glass), pulled the glass back, unstuck the ball, and tried to move the wire out of the way. I then turned it back on.

Unfortunately, not there's something sticking out in the initial shooting lane (probably wrong terminology). I'm not sure how to fix that without breaking anything -- I'm guessing pushing it down probably isn't the right answer. :/ Help?

t2-ballstuck (resized).jpg

Not sure -- whatever default was when I got it (Gwaxt72 shipped it with legs on). Seems fast, but I'll try to figure out how to calculate that (and I guess I really should try to level it too -- not sure if it's level or not :/ ).

That said - I fixed my first problem! Thanks, LTG -- I was a little nervous taking the glass off (especially after reading this thread.... https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/tempered-glass-tips ). But I did it, bent the wire a little bit, and started the machine up -- took a few ejections of the ball, but then it finally pushed it down even further and now it's at a good location and seems to work. I tested it a couple dozen times with no problems. My first pinball repair (baby steps, I know).

Then it was a little scary putting the glass back in... But that's done too!

Still not 100% fixed. The switch wire doesn't seem to always go back down, and the plunger sometimes gets stuck in the wire, so I'll have to look at it a little closer later - good to know it's a generic issue though.

LTG: I'll probably take you up on that at some point, once I'm out of my aircast and can sit in a car for that long!

I'll definitely look into the level and the pitch very soon. So much to learn, but it's exciting!!!

It was shipped with the legs already on.

The picture kinda sucks but the wire is definitely higher than any of the other switches. If you zoom in, you will see that it is halfway up the ball.

I will try to measure the pitch tomorrow but I think it's fine - game plays fast.

For those who asked, I just measured (using a cell phone app) and the pitch is between 6.5 and 7 degrees, so that's good.

The switch by the launcher does move fine when I press it with my finger. It just looks like it's standing up too high, so I think I need to bend the wire a little bit so that it's lower profile? It's almost entirely in the playfield right now, which doesn't look anything like any of the other switches/wires. In addition, the plunger (is that what it's called?) occasionally gets stuck in the wire, pushing it to the side. I figured out how to see under the playfield now (just lift!), so will need to see what I can do.

I realized today that the right most red target to the right of the skull (below the bumpers) doesn't register when it's hit. The light underneath it looks to be blinking very faintly and very quickly as well. I'll have to see what it looks like underneath the playfield tonight, but if anyone has suggestions on what to look for, that'd be great.

I wanted a machine that helps me learn -- this is definitely it!

EDIT: The right most red target still doesn't work, but now if I hit the left or center one, it automatically lights up the right one.... :/

It looks like there's a period after "Free play" when I'm playing, but not before. I'm assuming that's what you mean? I'll have to run the tests when I have some extra time later today, thanks!

Probably a stupid question, but I'm new to pinball ownership and don't want to screw anything up...

The rubber on my right bumper snapped off last weekend, so I had to place an order for more. I just got the order today and then realized I wasn't 100% sure how to put the new rubber on. On the surface it seemed simple -- remove 5 screws, pull the Terminator hand off, then just wrap the rubber around the bumper and put the hand back on with the 5 screws. I took a picture to highlight what I'm talking about.

I started unscrewing one of the screws and realized that it's REALLY long and goes all the way through multiple levels, so that's why I was a little concerned -- I still think that's all there is to it, but figured I'd ask, just to be safe... Thanks!

20170503_170327(1) (resized).jpg

Thanks - will see what I can do tonight. I already had to take the Hunter Killer ship off in order to re-seat the metal guide in the ramp (whatever it's called, it popped out, scratched my playfield a little and wouldn't go back into the hole properly without taking it all apart).

I ended up having to take off the "hand" plastic, then unbolt the ramp so I could get the rubber underneath everything, but I got it done last night so I was pretty excited. However I'm having trouble getting the screws that go through the bumper/hand back in -- the screws are fine, but the nut that's supposed to connect underneath is a pain since you can't actually see underneath the bumper to screw it back in (it was hard enough getting the needle nose pliers under there to hold the bolt when undoing the screw). Am I missing something obvious or do I just need to keep working at it? (it still plays well with just the screws going in, but I want to put it back the way it was).

Anyone install the ColorDMD yet? I want to buy one, but can't decide between LED or LCD. I'm leaning towards LED, but wondering what others think.

Yeah, that too...

Why did you pick LED for T2? Did you try it with your LCD too?

Just ordered the LED ColorDMD last night. Will post a video when I get it if nobody else does beforehand.

I received the LED ColorDMD yesterday -- great service as I just ordered it on Friday night! I tried getting some good video, but apparently when I'm being recorded, I play like crap.... So here's two gameplays, but I didn't hit everything. Of course as soon as I turn the camera off, I get 164M, hit the chase loop a few times, get Payback mode a couple of times, and hit video mode as well, so... Sorry. Maybe I'll try again later.

Installation was really easy as well. The only part of the instructions that were a little confusing was about connecting a ground wire to the "bare metal" -- took me a few minutes to realize that the bottom two corners where you screw the DMD have the powdercoating removed so that it's "bare metal." I'm a little slow... Otherwise, I was done in probably 10 minutes.

Yeah, that happens to me from time to time. I wouldn't say regularly, but maybe once every 15-20 shots.

Had a weird bug pop up on the game today and was wondering if anyone else has seen this. I loaded the cannon and got multiball twice. I then loaded the cannon again, it told me I had to hit 3 targets (so far, so good). I made my shot, managed to hit two targets with one ball, so it said I had 1 target remaining. I load the cannon again and it says I have 255 targets to hit! Umm... But only one target was blinking, so I thought no big deal. I load the canon again, and this time it says 254 targets to hit, and there are NO blinking lights.... Uhh.... Unfortunately, after the ball launched, it went SDTM so I didn't get to try again.

Anyone else see this and know what caused it?

Thanks for that link, guys! I've encountered the "lock with 0 seconds" bug before, but the 255 targets thing basically means you'll never get a chance at a Jackpot/Superjackpot, so really sucks.

Still not sure what caused it. Maybe it thought I hit three targets, but the one target was still blinking, so maybe not. No idea.... At least it wasn't just me.

I posted a couple. Don't remember where, but here's the links again:

I bought the LED one because it felt more true to the game. I saw LCD on a Metallica (set without dots) and I just didn't like the look. I absolutely LOVE the ColorDMD with T2 though! Definitely worth the money. The only issue is that I spent so much time admiring the screen for the first few days that I couldn't get any good scores. I'd take my eye off the game to admire the color and BAM, lost the ball.

The drop target is the one that leads to the skull. Hit that target, database turns on, and your next shot to the skull locks.

Does anyone know if there's a place to buy decals for the canon? Mine are peeling off and look a little worn. I've seen the chrome edition ones, but I'm looking for original colors.

I don't know, you can get a ton of points in Payback Mode.

Hey Alex, where'd you get those glass covers for the machines? Looks awesome and I'm like to mimic it!

Where and how? Details!

You have to hit alternate ramps, each 5 times (so 10 shots total). If you can combine payback with multiball, you can really rack up, assuming you can keep track of all of the balls. (I usually can't LOL)

I can never hit that loop consistently... I've owned the machine since early March, have played probably 800 times since then, and I just hit it three times in a row for the first time last week... It really gets some speed going, especially on the second hit!

Me. Love it! I posted a video when I first put it in many pages back.

That translite is a "Chrome" alternate. There's some similar style decals for the side of the cabinet as well.

https://www.retrorefurbs.com/shop/terminator-2-chrome-alternative-pinball-translite/

T2 has both a latch AND bolts inside the head.

I have this problem too. It only happens probably once every 15-20 games, so I've never looked into it. Thanks to Archytas, I will probably try to do that (I need practice soldering) in the near future.

I had some coworkers over last night, and my group would agree with this. I have Metallica and T2. I was told that MET has too much going on and it was too fast, whereas T2 was simpler and more fun. Glad I have some variety for folks.

I know what you mean. When I'm in the zone, I can hit the ramps 10 times in a row to activate Payback mode and it's awesome. In theory, Metallica should be similar. Maybe I just suck, but they feel completely different. I think the issue is that in MET, the shot is just harder to hit cleanly, whereas in T2, there's a wider range to get the ramp? I'm not 100% sure, but I've never hit more than 5 ramps in a row on MET and it's frustrating because it seems like it SHOULD be the same...

My pinside secret Santa gave them to me - they look cool, but I haven't installed them yet. Need to get on that.

Probably easier for you to just bring it to an office store (like FedEx/Kinkos or whatever they're called now). I just printed it on my company's color printer, cut it out, and put it in. Looks great. Could maybe be better on cardboard stock or something, but whatever.

I really like those flippers - they look cool with the clear rubber.

I was thinking about replacing my playfield with a new one... After seeing these pictures, I'm glad I didn't! I'm with Breaking_Dad -- I was super proud when I rebuilt a flipper on T2... :/ What you're doing looks way too intimidating.

I have a ColorDMD and like it. It's not amazing, but it's definitely an improvement.

Here a couple videos I made when it first came out.

I think I have some loose wires somewhere as a few of the lights don't stay on all the time, but do when I wiggle the connector. So I should probably learn how to re-do the wiring now (I bought the T2 because I wanted to learn!). From what I gather, they're just molex connectors connecting to the light boards, right? Anyone have recommendations on what tool to buy and where to buy the actual molex connectors? At first, I assume I can just snip the current molex and crimp on a new one to see if that works. If not, then there may be a break in the wire itself, in which case I should trace continuity with a multimeter and then replace the wire itself with a 22ga wire? (I bought this awhile ago in preparation: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00R5CFBC8/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title )

Let me know if I'm on the right track - any suggestions are welcome.

I'll take it if it's available - message me. Going to bed so will respond in the morning. Thanks.

Looks like I'm leaving the club... T2 was my first pin, purchased a couple of years ago, and I learned so much from it! I learned how to solder (still learning, but...), I rebuilt a flipper, learned how to clean/wax, and even more basic things like how to look under the playfield, how to look behind the backglass, replace the DMD, and more. But I've grown bored of the game (everyone said that'd happen, but I didn't believe them when I first got it! LOL), and a coworker wants a machine -- so my T2 will be someone else's first and he'll be able to learn on it like I did. It's still a little sad, though....

I'm leaning towards DI LE. If that deal falls through, I don't have any leads (but still have MET Pre and IM Pro to keep me busy until I find a third one ).

Terminator 2 has officially left the building. It's going to a good home, a co-worker who wants to learn just like I did when I bought it!

IMG_20190504_115247 (resized).jpg

There's another one on the Skynet ramp -- but it's not a forward only ramp; neither is the AI one.

https://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2524&picno=6670

Have you confirmed that you have the correct number of balls in the game? I've seen weird behavior when you have one too many balls...