(Topic ID: 96270)
Linked Games
AC/DC (LE)
Stern, 2012-
AC/DC (Premium)
Stern, 2012
-
Addams Family, The
Bally, 1992
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Avatar (LE)
Stern, 2010
-
Bank Shot
Gottlieb, 1976
-
Banzai Run
Williams, 1988
-
Batman (The Dark Knight)
Stern, 2008
-
Big Buck Hunter Pro
Stern, 2010
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Quoted from Eddie:Not a typical Post but just thought I would share what I deal with when I have to work with other "techs"
The sound board on DM has been out so someone decided they would replace a transistor and this is the result.
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Now here is the result when I remove a transistor.
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This is just a sample of what must be dealt with when not the sole tech.
Hey, Eddie! I hope the other techs there don't sniff around Pinside. If they do, I can't imagine you have many friends over there. Then again, who would want idiots like that as friends? Keep up the great work!
Granville
I have just read this thread from start to the current end, took about 2 weeks, reading a couple of entries at a time. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
I have only been into pinballs for about 18 months, since I bought an Addams Family. In that time I have had to do many repairs myself, from replacing linkages, rebuilding the electric chair bracket (the lamp holders had perished so much the bulbs continually fell out) and rebuilding pop bumpers.
Thanks for reporting all the issues and I will be paying close attention to any issues with Addams Family.
If I ever visit NYC (I live AU) I will make a point of coming in to Modern to try out the pins.
Monroe, NY
6/9
Nice slow day as there were really only three issues to address.
WH20… Left Flipper due to Bushing screw backing out and jamming the Pawl.
One screw from the bushing was missing and found in the bottom of the cabinet along with its nut and the backed out screws nut.
I took a few pics as I can never tell if the camera has enough light and is focused. Its hard to see when Im taking the pics.
The camera is horrible for taking pics in dark light, under fluorescent light, with LED lighting or in tight spaces.
TZ.. Left Flipper due to Plunger Link bolt falling out along with link bushing.
GS … Outhole coil not firing with switch haven't solved it yet without schematics but leaning towards an improperly adjusted score motor switch.
BR Right flipper sticking due to worn return spring. Didn't bother taking a pic of a return spring as it looked like a good one.
AF Replaced for EM Dipsey Doodle and AC/DC replaced for Paragon not fails just mentioning the new rotation.
6/10
Another slow day as the only issue was a ball getting stuck repeatedly on a whitewater ramp.
Its a sobering reality about the design of Pinball machines when you have to wonder how its possible that for two days in a row there are no
Breakdowns!!!!
In just about two years of operation at Modern that makes only 4 days without a breakdown thats just not tolerable for a device that is designed to make money on locations.
What if Planes,Cars,Trains or any vehicle were made that way?
What if your appliances, Phone, TVs were made that way?
What if your toilet was made that way?
The old adage "If fits not broke its not Pinball" Is a sorry excuse for MFGs poor design and craftsmanship period and I hate the term.
I can understand broken plastics but the rest??????
How much stress do the parts on your car take? Think about that and how well they last in all weather conditions to boot.
OK rant over its nice to not have to repair a machine once in a while.
Quoted from MrBally:Understandable for the machines that are 15+ years old. They were meant for 3-5 years of location use and then they were to be scrapped or placed in homes for limited use.
THe same is true for the new machines as they have the same problems with some issues more frequent then the older machines.
6/11
Just two simple flippers out of adjustment on two machines.
6/16
Was left with a note to install a new Cliffy protector in Monopoly as the VuK hole was starting to get worn.. OK no problem a straight forward job.
I remove the glass for a quick evaluation of what would need to be removed and ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT???????
Wedged tightly behind the left ramp Billboard and the POP bumper cap was
A HUGE Ball !!!!!! Why was it there ? How long has it been there? How did it get there? Its the great pinball mystery.
Actually its a nice ball ceramic or synthetic, very heavy and just smaller then a pool ball.
Mystery sphere removed and cliffy installed.
Xenon…… 2 popbumper switches had gaps too large
BR ….Blown F4 Fuse
The new Stern KISS should arrive today!!!!!!!!!!
Quoted from Eddie:Its a sobering reality about the design of Pinball machines when you have to wonder how its possible that for two days in a row there are no
Breakdowns!!!!
In just about two years of operation at Modern that makes only 4 days without a breakdown thats just not tolerable for a device that is designed to make money on locations.
What if Planes,Cars,Trains or any vehicle were made that way?
What if your appliances, Phone, TVs were made that way?
What if your toilet was made that way?
The old adage "If fits not broke its not Pinball" Is a sorry excuse for MFGs poor design and craftsmanship period and I hate the term.
I can understand broken plastics but the rest??????
How much stress do the parts on your car take? Think about that and how well they last in all weather conditions to boot.
OK rant over its nice to not have to repair a machine once in a while.
That does make me curious. Obviously pins were originally designed to a few year lifespan, because that's all that was needed, and designing to last longer would be more expensive and possibly hurt the business model.
But how would a pinball machine be designed if it was intended to last a lot longer and take more abuse without problems? Can some of the parts and mechanisms in existing machines be replaced with more durable and reliable versions?
.............Joey
Toronto, ON
Quoted from Eddie:Send a design competition to MIT or Stanford students to design and build a better more reliable flipper mech around the same price point and I bet there will be at least 20 better designs that would come out.
I suspect it could be more expensive, just as long as it's not 5x more expensive, and you'd have plenty of people willing to replace their broken flippers with higher quality ones in their home games. How much would someone be willing to pay to replace their flipper mechs with a new set that would likely never have to be replaced again (on a non routed game)? Or pop bumpers?
6/18
CSI…... upper left flipper and one again the cause? Broken coil stop.
BR …. Left flipper due to lane change switch actuator getting caught on Flipper button shaft because flipper button retaining nut backed out
to the point of falling off which caused the flipper button to shift.
TSPP… Shooter lane solenoid firing randomly due to switch actuator getting pushed below the playfield in the shooter lane. This must have been done by someone lifting the playfield and their thumb or finger pressing against the actuator. There is no other way for it to be where it was too bad no pic.
<quote>
I remove the glass for a quick evaluation of what would need to be removed and ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT???????
Wedged tightly behind the left ramp Billboard and the POP bumper cap was
A HUGE Ball !!!!!! Why was it there ? How long has it been there? How did it get there? Its the great pinball mystery.
<quote>
Hmm.... Don't you remember the Monopoly Chance cards ? chance-card-17.jpg
6/23
Mustang….. Bottom target of 3 bank targets always on due to switch out of adjustment.
Useless pic but took it anyway.
Cleaned and installed LEDs in Dipsey Doodle a really great EM.
Doodle Bug Mech about to be serviced.
Decided to install color changing LEDs in the doodle bug mech. Its a dramatic difference and really nice effect.
Its really cool how such simple change brings this great little EM machine into the present.
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Encountering strange posting issues sorry about the repeat pics
6/24
As luck would have it after installing LEDs in Dipsy Doodle yesterday and cleaning out the Doodle mech upon returning to Modern last night
I was told that DD was down.
I went over to the machine and smelled the distinct oder of burned coils ,wires etc.
Sure enough the large bell coil had burned and a fuse was blown.
The machine will no longer start up as things just don't seem to reset completely. All score reels do Zero and their switches although filthy are in the correct state.
Players do not reset nor do the player Number lights advance or decrease. So there are a few issues.
This repair will not be easy as all underplay field and back box switches ,relays and steppers are corroded in rust,dirt grime etc.
There are many wires spliced together with electrical tape etc.
Machine was brought in as working and it was, but it probably hadn't been working in years and was "Fixed" just to get into Modern.
The machine should have had all the corrosion and grime removed first as its fairly extensive.
The rust on the inside of the coin door alone is very impressive and how the machine was actually working to begin with is simply amazing.
I didn't want to touch anything other then the Doodle bug and lights yesterday as the machine was working.
I figured that in the condition that it was in it wouldn't work for long but maybe it just might last for awhile. This wasn't the case as the incessant play at Modern took its toll right away.
The LEDs still look good!
Aside from DD there were no problems to speak of.
Stern Mustang had a switch error that cleared itself other than that all was good.
Quoted from Eddie:6/11
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT???????
Wedged tightly behind the left ramp Billboard and the POP bumper cap wasA HUGE Ball !!!!!! Why was it there ? How long has it been there? How did it get there? Its the great pinball mystery.
Have you figured out the mystery of where the ball came from?
This thread is great!
It shows not only how hard you work to keep the place running, but also why location machines can be in rough shape - it doesn't take long for errors to come up.
Great thread Eddie thank you for the insightful information. I didn't realize there where so many breakdowns on location, awesome job keeping up. My home arcade seems to run in cycles...no problems for months then 2 or 3 machines at once 
Super exclusive ad from the Pinside Marketplace!
7/1
A very odd issue arises once again on TZ. Thought the issue was resolved about a year ago and now it returns.
The Right ramp Diverter fails after about 5 cycles until the gate is lifted completely by hand then it works again for about 5 cycles rinse and repeat.
The last time this happened I replaced the coil,coil stop. all three related transistors cleaned the mech etc then it worked fine until now.
Upon taking a look I saw that the coil stop had some sticky substance on it that appeared to be the residue of now gone electrical tape?
The residue also found its way into the coil stop face side
Long boring story short. Replaced coil stop,coil and cleaned mech and the issue remains but the odd part is that the coil will only fire in test mode about 5 times as well before stopping. A really odd thing is that with direct transistor grounding the same issue occurs???????
Maybe the transistors need replacing again and that after a few cycles the heat makes one go open? Just a guess .
Its as if the coil simply stops getting any current after a few cycles.
Ground wire appears to be intact and has perfect continuity even when jiggled and twisted. Will look into it more this eve.
Monopoly….. upper right flipper due to switch blade gap being too wide so that contact is never made between the two blades when button is depressed
Dumb pic as you really can't see but the blade set is the two far right blades.
7/2
I didn't get a chance to post from last Thurs at Modern
ST …..Drop target out of order due to coil stop shearing off.
Coil was dangling good thing it didn't cause a short.
Xenon……I was asked to replace the lighting flippers with standard size and found that on the right flipper switch a contact on one blade fell off of the blade. Didnt get pics as other small issues on machines arose on leave games. Stuck balls etc.
7/7
When I arrived 6 machines were down. Not only that but this was sitting on the work cart!!!!!!!!!!
BR…. Ball cup from back box VUK popper was off due to its retaining pin missing. Where did it go?
Paragon….. Both right flippers due to broken return spring which locked the plunger blowing the flipper fuse.
Upon replacing the spring I saw that the plunger end was flared out a lot requiring a fine file to remove the burrs and then followed with scotchbrite Green for smoothing and polishing.
Transformers…. Row of switches out including ball trough due to a wire backing out of a connector.
This was hard to spot as it was still in the connector. This fix took the longest of the eve about 1/2 hr
Party Zone…Game wouldn't start due to ball missing and it was missing not in the machine at all?
T2…Stand up target due to adjustment gap to big.
Xenon… Right flipper due to Flipper link retaining screw backing out.
Total repair time 1hr 5 mins It was super league night.
I was also greeted with new additions to Modern in the forms of KISS and Wrestlemania!
The History of Kiss Pinball in one spot
Awesome job on everything so far.
7/8
Too much to do to take pics
BBH….. Wire broke out of Buck switch requiring removal of said switch for the repair.
T2… Plunger coil shorted, Plunger tip mushroomed, Plunger mount was a Hack from some time in the past. Gun switch due to actuator
being bent.
AC/DC not level and leg adjusters were frozen in place due to being bent and threads stripped.
Bally Kiss not level
STERN KISS... came up with an issue related to software? The game would lock up during play.
Sometimes just the DMD would freeze and the game could still be played.
This issue was not present the night before.
On my 2nd ball about to start multi ball with 68mil showing the game locked up. Hate when that happens.
Went to clean machines and nothing in stock to clean machines!! They ran out of Novus, machines will get dirty really fast.
Eddie...just wanted to point out the other thread here. Others have been battling some Kiss issues.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/major-out-of-the-box-kiss-pro-issues
Quoted from Eddie:STERN KISS... came up with an issue related to software? The game would lock up during play.
Sometimes just the DMD would freeze and the game could still be played.
This issue was not present the night before.
On my 2nd ball about to start multi ball with 68mil showing the game locked up. Hate when that happens.
Exactly what mine and a couple friends have been experiencing with our KISS Pro machines. I have a new CPU coming in the next few days. My buddy installed the new CPU that was sent and he said his game is acting even worse now with freezing. Are you having issues when the game is first powered on? Mine usually takes 2-3 attempts before the lights and everything fires up.
Quoted from NJGecko:Eddie...just wanted to point out the other thread here. Others have been battling some Kiss issues.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/major-out-of-the-box-kiss-pro-issues
I know about that thread thanks for the heads up however I was just reporting what failed at Modern, Kiss, being just one of the issues.
So far I have witnessed two different KISS machines with issues, one at the Rock Fantasy Kiss Launch as I posted in another thread and now here at Modern Pinball. Two for Two isn't very good that is a 100% failure rate.
Quoted from Minneapolispin:Are you having issues when the game is first powered on? Mine usually takes 2-3 attempts before the lights and everything fires up.
Not that I am aware of but I can look into it when I return to Modern this eve. From my understanding Stern has already sent us a new board.
7/9
Mustang.. Slingshot rubber. Slingshot rubbers are prone to failure due to the amount of abuse they get so its logical to assume that replacing them should be expected, quick and easy right?
On Mustang you must remove the spiral ramp to replace the rubber ring as it connector wires run through the center of the Ring!!!!!!
Note wire access hole in plastic
Once again field service requirements are left off of the design board.
KiSS…. Lock up many times I took voltage readings while it was in the locked up state and they were all fine.
I took pics of the board during both game play and in the locked up state and the LED indicators showed no difference.
In the two pics posted here one is During gameplay but the back box LEDs wash out the pic. There is also a blinking LED next to the small lit LED
near the right center that the camera could not capture as the blinking rate was too fast..
The other pic is the board with the power just shut down to eliminate the LED glare. You can see one LED is still lit as a cap was still discharging.
Dr Dude …Right Flipper due to coil wires revolving around bobbin and breaking internally. No pics as this happened just as I was leaving for the night I left the repair up to the other Tech. He comes in today.
Eddie, have you considered moving over to the Titan pinball rubbers? From the few reviews, they look like they will hold up a lot better than standard rubber.
Quoted from Trekkie1978:Eddie, have you considered moving over to the Titan pinball rubbers? From the few reviews, they look like they will hold up a lot better than standard rubber.
I have no say in it I don't own Modern Pinball.
For the restoration work I do for clients I use nothing but Titan and Super Bands.
We do use Super Bands on the flippers at Modern and they are a life saver as in almost 2 years of continuous use not one has needed to be replaced.
Quoted from Eddie:We do use Super Bands on the flippers at Modern and they are a life saver as in almost 2 years of continuous use not one has needed to be replaced.
I get Superbands from PBL and I have one break a week. Do you buy them from someone else ?
Quoted from Eddie:WHAT THE HELL IS THAT??????? A HUGE Ball !!!!!! Why was it there ? How long has it been there? How did it get there? Its the great pinball mystery. Actually its a nice ball ceramic or synthetic, very heavy and just smaller then a pool ball.
Just noticed this post. I have a few of these balls, they're actually made from marble. Got them at an antiques store on Jericho Turnpike, so it's possible that's where yours came from, although how it got into a pinball machine is anyone's guess.
Quoted from jibmums:Just noticed this post. I have a few of these balls, they're actually made from marble. Got them at an antiques store on Jericho Turnpike, so it's possible that's where yours came from, although how it got into a pinball machine is anyone's guess.
That's used in drinking scotch. The granite gets frozen in the freezer and goes in the glass with the scotch or other fine liquor to keep it cold but not dilute.
7/21
T2….. Canon Error due to balls never reaching the canon and closing the switch…. Due to someones repair of the Skull and installing the wiring harness in such a way that the connectors were jamming the Drop Target down actuator blade which held the target in an up position.
No Pics as it was league night with players on both sides of the machine.
Punchy the clown… Left Lower kicker/Slingshot due to assembly bracket breaking in two. I will have to weld it as there are no replacements.
1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg4.jpg5.jpg7.jpg8.jpg9.jpg
Transformers…. Upper right playfield ball gate due to coil core too far from gate. No pics
BBH … Buck switch failed again due to being to worn. no pics.
7/22
Punchy the Clown … Right slingshot side rubber ring
SM ….Jackpot wouldn't register due to upper right ramp switch out of adjustment.
TSPP…Color DMD display still out with new board. Im leaning towards bad display
TOM…Reset due to loose connectors.
Couldn't take any more pics as the League was playing.
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