Just thought that working at Modern Pinball NYC is the perfect place to stress test machines as they are played almost continuously.

Things fail at an extraordinary rate so I thought I would log here what causes a machine to go down so that you can have a general idea of what it takes to run a machine on location or simply wondering what might fail on your machine. I will not post cause or repair unless asked for as it would take too long.

I will start this record from What has failed since Monday July 1 hope this helps.

ACDC Canon assembly seized Avengers LE teserac? Cube cracked.
WCS Ball motor Seized
WW Switch failed
MB Switch failed
WH20 Opto switch Failed
T2 Left Flipper Coil Shorted
WOZ Light board Failed
SS Diverter Plunger spring Broke
AF L Flipper Coil separated
Metallica Ball trough cracked
TZ Shooter Diverter coil failed , Plunger Rubber tip fell apart
Kiss Spinner switch failed
FT Upper left loop gate intermittent
Numerous stuck balls and Bulbs?Leds out.
StarTrek new Stern Left Flipper coil separated.
DM Switch Failed

Yes who knows what will happen tonight !

The back of the Bobbin and its cylinder literally separated never saw it before and it happened twice on 2 different machines. Basically the coils fell apart.

Some fixes are quick Once you have diagnosed the problem correctly!

But again if its "Just a switch" Its usually in the hardest to get to area of a machine requiring the removal of half of a playfield etc. All while having customers play machines on either side of you.

On average about 4 Plungers a week fail and assembly brackets crack or break as well.

There is no way we can inventory a factories level of parts, which is pretty much what is needed, in order to get the machine 100% right away so the down time is usually just awaiting any needed part.

That said most fixes are under 30 mins closer to 20 with part in hand.

With this post in time you will get an idea of what goes and how often on location machines granted this place is not your typical location venue. These machines are played all of the time not to mention league and tournament days.

It was very nice meeting you. I am glad you had a good visit. As for the WOZ features of the Missing Monkey and the Doors that was not from the last three days from which this post has been started. There is also another tech from Fri-Mon day times that works on machines. I work eves Tues-Thurs. The Woz features mentioned were something that he was working on. I do not know what happened as we have no cross communication ( Something that has to change) so I left them in his hands. As for the lights the issue was resolved just after you left. It was a result of the same board issue reported earlier (The Fish Board)The lights are now 100%

The Failures of 7/3 were minimal (Must be because I started this post)

BR Three Leds out
ACDC Spinner Stuck

Most common stern failures are

Ball trough Breakage and Opto boards failing both in the troughs and elsewhere on the playfields.

Flipper transistor failure is very common as well.

Slingshot Plungers breaking Common.

Flipper Return Spring Breakage

Coil Lug wires separating from the lugs.

Broken Plastics very very common (on all machines)

As I have said you will have a better idea of What fails,How often and Where as the months go on.

Tues 7-8

WCS Flipper Return spring broke
WH20 Bigfoots Hairpiece fell off!!!!!!!!!!
DM Left Flipper Broke in half, Ramp protector Broke off of ramp, Shorted switch

BR the Ball carrier was broken from the tech working on the machine last Sun. How? dont ask Im pissed as hell is all that I can say.

Wed 7/9

TSPP Shooter lane Switch , Door Lock
BSD Auto Plunger
TZ Left Flipper assembly
WCS Ball motor and Gearbox
MB Drop target GearCluster
WW Lamp Row
Punchy the Clown Apron fasteners worked loose.

AF Replacement coil 10 months old

Stern ST Original coil 6 months old

Thanks and now the ordeal begins again as they misplaced/Lost the Pat Lawlor made part. Guess Ill be starting a new post on the debacle.

7/10

An amazing pinball night as the only failure was???

ACDC LE Lightning Bolt came off of its mount. Screw backed out.
WW One Led failed and its socket mounting hole in the playfield was stripped.

Tons of play as there was a private party along with walk in customers.

Before Modern opened I completely restored extremely trashed location machines.

In the first week they were beaten to the point where they are now.

Many find them to be well above average but compared to what they were leaving my shop No Way.

MB,TOM,Wh20,TSPP,BR,BTDK,TZ,AF

The rest of the machines were set up by the machines owners' tech staff before arrival to modern.

The system I use to keep them going is very simple.

Anytime a repair is needed or typical cleaning I go over everything on both sides of the playfield and check and tighten EVERY fastener and clean the flipper and other assemblies before I put the glass back on.

All machine fasteners must be checked as much as possible especial pop brackets and ball guides.

So if I go in to change a bulb its the same process and in doing so the subways remain clean and you also catch any possible failure before it happens.

So a bulb change may take 30+mins

7/15

Another unusually smooth night.

DM Left flipper return Spring. Ball trough Opto#2

SS Outlane Switch

Still waiting for new ACDC Canon assembly

Still waiting for MB Gear cluster.

BR repair put on hold due to League finals.

7/16

DM ball trough... divots

WCS Flipper link

BR LED 555 socket backed out

On average I would say 6. I cleared 11 about a week ago not counting broken assemblies which had to be repaired as well. All in 5 hrs.

I do not count credit dots due to a ball not triggering a switch in ex amount of plays.

Which are fairly common on certain machines for ex, WH20 Bigfoot cave switch.

LOL I agree they are like a bad itch.

7/17

SS Flipper link fell apart, Coffin vuk coil failed

Stern ST New both flipper plungers failed, Drop target opto failed.

BSD wire gate broke off

MB Ramp Switch actuator Broke off, Left Loop rollover switch failed

7/22

DM Ball Trough, Ramp switch

AF Trough switch, 3 Popbumper coils had wires come off. Flipper link worn near falling apart. Numerous loose fasteners.

Mustang, GI board burned up shorted bridge burned trace off of board.

MB leg leveler came loose due to locking nut backing off.

BSD Mist Multiball failed to start.

AC/DC Lightning Bolt fell off

Transformers Loose post because mounting screw fell off.

7/23

BSD wire form broke

TSPP BackBox Light burned out.

7/24

DM Left Flipper weak,worn parts

WCS Diverter, loose mounting screws.

7/29
AF Left Slingshot, RT upper Flipper. Left Lower Flipper EOS

DM Left flipper coil stop. Ramp entrance

WOZ Light board

ST PRO Opto switch

ACDC Lightning bolt

KiSS lamp sockets

FT reset

7/30

Kiss CPU failure, Plunger, Lamp Sockets,

Transformers Coil

WOZ Lamp Board, Slingshot Rubber

Mustang 2nd failure of GI Board.

Dr Dude extra stucky Ball

Start the bigfoot Hot foot mode the ball will traverse the ramp through the cave initializing the micro switch.

7/31

BR LED

ST PRO Magnet, Opto switch

WOZ Code update issue USB port no power.

8/5

Transformers Auto Plunger pivot shaft.

WPT Coil burned up

BSD Drop Target Switch Diode , Ball trough fail

SS F103 Blown

DM Switch x2

FH Led

8/6

WPT Flipper Plunger assembly
BSD Drop Target switch Plate
FH Sensor
FT Drop target mech
MET DMD display
Parts finally arrived for MB Gear for Drop Down Bank, Cannon Mech for AC/DC, Opto for ST, Lamp board for WOZ.

Quick follow up to the WPT issues.

It appears that another "tech" at some point decided to use Williams Plunger,link and Pawls in the Stern machine.

This is what caused the two recent flipper issues one being the rapid wear and ceasing of the upper right flipper and two the coil burning up on the lower right flipper as the the assembly wore and bound up.

Not to mention improper adjustment of flipper height and Eos Switches which are really redundant on Sterns.

8/7

WCS Sound

CSI Opto

No other failures just began repairs of earlier listed failures.

8/12

FH Flipper and Fuse, Trapdoor, switch, DMD

WW Flipper , All Flashers

Dr Dude Flipper and Fuse

T2 Flipper and Fuse

SS all Optos out, F109 Fuse

Kiss Spinner Target

Transformers still awaiting parts from Stern.

Try putting in the hours I work and see if you make a dumb blunder posting late at night like I did!

Yes it is a dual Alpha Numeric Display and it still failed LOL

8/13

WW Upper flipper

Wh20 Left flipper

WOZ Left flipper

Kiss plunger

ACDC trough Opto

On the machine at modern all boards plus three more, but to be fair, the machine was one of the very first off the line and had the original bad boards it had many original prototype parts which eventually got replaced.

Three ways to solve the issue

One is rather crude and not recommended splay the connector pins then put the connector back with the added pressure holding them together.

Two replace the connectors with molex connectors

Three the sure fire approach but the most involved is to solder the wires directly to the opto boards.

8/14

TSPP reset issue

MB both EOS switches . UP /Down target bank finally repaired with new gears.

T2 plunger coil

Kiss Outlane kicker

MET auto Plunger

SS still has all optos out

Mustang Post fell off screw missing.

Its still there maybe the reasons for no failure posts by me is that there may have been failures that the other tech repaired on his shift or the fact that it is not played as much as the other machines?

8/19

TSPP Flipper base (Both coil stop screws sheared off)

AC/DC Cannon

WW Spinner switch

BR Magnet coil wire , Plunger rubber tip

MB Flipper base Coil stop screw hole stripped

MET post sheared off

SS POP switch

WOZ ball lock mech

The cannon is back.

The Monkey was on Lunch Break!

8/20

AC/DC Cannon

BR Sling Shot Bracket

TSPP Plunger Crank

MB Both flipper assemblies

Dont know from which machines but two Stern Ball Tough assemblies cracked and were left by the other tech. This has happened more than once on every Stern

Also very common are Stern coil stop screws shearing off at the head. They need to use Hardened steel for the application not the cheap pot metal screws they seem to be using. You can use Williams coil stop screws as a better alternative to the stock Stern screws. Yes they break off too but usually only after many many years of use whereby they become corroded, rusted etc.

8/21

AF Pop Bumper RING and metal Yoke, Plunger, Both flipper links

FH Multiball issues

MB Right flipper coil stop, EOS switch

BR Sling Rubber. Switch

WH20 Coil stop

WOZ Multiball Issue

ST auto launch plunger

AC/DC Switch

Thanks but I have never had the fortune to be at PAPA!

Yes happens often because the opto switch plate rubs against the opto, or the arm that activates the cannon home switch does not reach the switch activator because the activator gets bent or the arm travel is to short . Its a really horrible fragile mechanism that is not suitable for a Pinball machine I would call it a design failure for sure.

8/26

TSPP Slingshot , R Flipper

FG Shooter lane Switch

SS Left Flipper/ Both EOS switches

WW Switch

AC/DC CANNON

Transfomers Cannon ball Lock

Punchy the Clown Ball Guide

WH20 Switch

Once again these are just the bare basic failures if you need any details on a particular failure please ask it would take too long to write them all up.!!!!!!!!!

8/ 27

From now on I will try my best to take pics of the failures that take place if I have the time of course.

I also took a pic of the crowded conditions of trying to work on numerous failures as fast as possible.

You will also see things that cause the failures many being and, Im out front with it. the other tech using wrong parts or just doing things the wrong way period.

Maybe not all his fault as he may be told to use whats lying around because our inventory is a sham. Vent Vent LOL

There is a pic of WOZ Flipper Mech which you get to figure whats wrong and you will see what I mean about the other techs work!

Avengers Ball lock spring. Pic is with new spring installed on cleaned up assembly. Switch , LED

T2 L Flipper mech, F101

WOZ L Flipper

WH20 both Flippers

AF EOS switch, Both Flipper Mechs

MB Switch

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7 days a week almost non stop Im surprised they haven't melted yet!

8/28

T2... 2 Trough related issues Cracked guide, Broken One way wire form gate Both very common we go through many of each. pics attached

Shooter lane auto shooter assembly no pics.

SM Broken Plastic

FG Broken Plastic

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Marco has them

T2 was a machine brought into Modern as a last minute replacement it was never shopped or gone over in who knows how many years hence all of the problems. It really needs to be pulled and restored more than a typical shop job.

9/2

WOZ Flipper

WW Multiball issue switch related

AC/DC Cannon yet again

DM Ramp screw

WCS Lamp board connector pins

AF Up kicker due to the way the other Tech installed a switch. (To be fair to the other Tech it may not have been him as the owners fancy themselves to be techs and try working on the machines with horrendous results so I can't say who did it) Can you see what I have to deal with ?

Plunger due to Apron section over ball being bent out of shape. Only cause could be that the playfield was lifted by that part UGH!!!!!!

CSI switch

Note conditions that the machines need to be repaired under. Many things such as full flipper rebuilds done on the spot so the leagues can continue. Many times no power outlet available near the machine that needs work done. More often than not out of the parts needed for the job but they are slowly working on that.
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9/3

DM left flipper Tech left out washer on flipper link you can see the results.

WCS Opto. lamp board

SS Ball gate

FT Actuater arm

MB 4 switches, up down targets, Flasher socket, standup target. All of these issues with the exception of the flasher socket were caused once again by the other tech. Here is the sequence of events. Tech replaced the standup target by Frankie with the wrong target, The bolts held the new target assembly together stock used rivets. When the target was installed in the machine the bolts stopped the Up /Down target assembly from traveling upward. This pounding of the bolts caused the Standup target mounting screws to stress the holes they were located in the playfield to the point that the screws simply fell out. Once they did the standup target fell out shorting other switches and causing other mayhem. The fix? repair the playfield holes that are used for the Stand up target mounting screws. Reverse the bolts in the stand up assembly so they do not block the Up Down target assembly, replace some switch diodes.

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If I gave you a Million $ for every hour that it is not played you would be on the soup line!

9/4

TSSP left Flipper Base plate stripped coil stop screw holes.This is a very common occurrence.

Pic shows what was found as playfield was lifted.

WW Multiball issue

FH Mirror relight issue

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9/9

AC/DC Fixed the cannon how long will it hold up?????

Led Socket

Three bank Drop target assembly was going haywire and what would be the cause?

Lets just say the other "Tech" reared his head again with yet another of his great masterpieces. Can you can guess
what the issue was in the pic?

SM Doc Ock Magnet

Metallica switch

Wh20 Ball sticking Upper Playfield

Transformers Ball lock trough.

Gold Strike Lock Down Bar , 5 relay switches,

MB removed for Gold Strike Moderns first EM!

SS removed for Party Zone

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Would be easier beating Keith Elwin, Bowen Kerins ,Daniele Accari and Lyman Sheats 10 games each back to back or Beating Valentino Rossi in 10 races on 10 different tracks back to back.

BINGO Flipper rubber in place of the 1" ring Left target hung up on it numerous times throwing the sequence out of whack

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All machines get the same amount of play new, old is doesn't matter.

The question of new Stern parts failing over Old Williams could be valid.

As the Williams parts are 20 to 30 yrs old on most assemblies (Not Flipper parts) with the same amount of playtime as New Sterns.

Outside of flipper parts and plunger wear between the two companies which is fairly the same the issue is the mfg process of the main assemblies.

For instance Stern Ball troughs and other assembly brackets fail to cheap spot welding plain and simple.

Stern could ask the MFGs to use larger weld beads and or bracket supports and this would solve the issue for a minimal cost.

I have had to weld numerous Troughs and brackets from Stern and very few from Williams given the age of both it raises questions.

For example here is a pic of two more Stern Brackets needing re-welding these two make about 10 this year which is almost 1 per month.

Stern Auto plunger pins are another weak point that should be welded stronger as they fail often.

In all I would say I have welded up 20+ Stern parts as compared to 2 Williams parts and one I reworked stronger as There were no replacements to be found when it failed but now it is obtainable. The Scared Stiff Crate Door lock plunger.

I have made this suggestion to the owners but didn't get feedback. From my understanding one of the owners Steve Epstein of the Broadway Arcade had said that the BA was used back in the day by the Pinball MFGs for just that purpose. So maybe History will repeat itself.

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I would say the early hours. I am there only on Tues ,Wed and Thurs from 5pm- until Im too beat to stay.

Those times are also League nights so its really packed.

So I couldn't really say when the quiet times are as there are Parties on weekends along with other customers.

9/10

FH Rudy's face , Popbumper switch

BR Pop bumper and its related switch both have issues.

Dr Dude GI went out

Today there was a wonderful surprise visit to Modern Pinball by Non other than George Gomez, designer of my favorite pin RFM, Gary Stern and Jody Dankberg.

Fortunately they arrived during a very rare lull at Modern the first that I have seen and less than a half hour after they left it was Grand Central Station as usual.

George had nothing but nice things to say about the machines he saw at Modern.
It was too bad that we just removed MB just this past Monday in lieu of Gold Strike (MB is to be placed on location elsewhere in Manhattan).
I restored the MB at Modern and would have liked to have heard what Mr Gomez thought of it.
Mr Stern also appeared to be pleased with Modern and the conditions of the machines so I guess we are doing a good job.

Some things revealed to me during our small chat gave me the impression that Stern not only wants to be a pinball manufacturer but the best pinball manufacturer. Ill leave it at that.

Disclaimer : I am an extremely objective person and did not say that just because they visited.

Needless to say it was my best day working at Modern Pinball so far.

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9/11

New machine brought to Modern! A Gottlieb Bank Shot in Beautiful condition.

The machine had two fails. It did not score on any switch.

The tens chime didnt chime.

Causes were the 100 pt relay or "M: relay was out of alignment (Not the switches but the actuator) it took awhile to figure this out as it was my first time working on a Gottlieb EM no schematics either.

The chime coil had a dead short so one is on order.

Black Knight lock switch fails , Ball trough switch fails

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9/16/14

BR Fuse, POP transistor not related to fuse issue.

BK GI due to some techs connector hack

AC/DC Mini flipper rubber the first broken rubber at Modern and it was not a Super Band but standard stock Rubber. Super bands are going in.

Mini playfield switches.

ST Stand up target. Note in pics a lamp board had to be removed to access the stand up target mounting screws another, slowing down of a repair for operators. It was hard to get a clear pic so the lamp board looks like there is clearance but I am actually holding it slightly above its mounting holes.

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9/17

Dr Dude Crash test dummy stiff limbs, Flipper coil wire.

BK Ball Lock issues, Lamp socket issues

AC/DC Drop target
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9/18

Bank Shot

Add a ball Issue, numerous lamp socket issues. Typical with old lamp sockets they are loose as the insulation dries out and shrinks not to mention corrosion. About 10 sockets were bad but instead of replacing them with new parts ( My choice) I jumpered a wire (in red in the pic) to the afflicted sockets. In hind sight I could have simply soldered the orange wires directly to the base but thats what happens when your in a rush and going on 14 hrs of work.
Either sandpaper or use a file on areas to be soldered then clean with alcohol for the solder to take
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Avengers Drop target bank,

Star Trek Drop Target

BK POP Bumper

9/23

AF POP switch

BR Slingshot Switch

BK2K Lock issue board connector related.

FH Outhole switch, Balltrough bottom track, Ball trough One way gate. Filthy Subway. DMD Ribbon cable

Remember to clean your subways and the assemblies attached to them not to mention the underside of the playfield where the subways are attached!

In the pic with the Outhole switch look up to the upper left and note that one screw is holding the bottom of the ball trough. This caused many issues as the trough bottom shifted which in turn caused the outhole lock switch actuator to jam against it and bending it to the point of it being very weak. With the trough askew the wireform one way gate fatigued from being out of alignment and broke. All for the loss of a screw the war was lost!
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9/24

No time for pics today

TZ Shooter Diverter

Transformers, Ramp problems

Avengers, Ramp problems

BK Sound board

ACDC Ball trough

Mustang Ball Trough

TOM Eddy board

You can find me at MPNYC Tues,Wed and Thurs from 5pm till?

I would be more than happy to go over some things you may have questions about.

That would be a good conclusion but as I have posted before the 1 owner fancies himself to be a "tech" and the other thinks he knows how to tinker. So there are three putting there paws into the machines
that don't belong not only are they mechanically inept they are technically inept as well.

Either you have it or you don't and no amount of teaching will help.

The Transformers ramp issue in my earlier post was again the result of one of the three musketeers which one? I have no clue.

9/25

AF Popbumper, Filthy Subway

Was told that on AF the upper left POP wasnt working. Went into switch test and depressing the skirt
did nothing. I figured just the switch out of alignment. Sure enough upon raising the playfield the switch blades were making contact. A quick adjustment and in test mode all was good but was it?

Every time the pop popped there was a very odd rattling sound of metal.

I took a close look at the mech and can you believe it both ring shafts had come off of the ring.

I also noticed that someone else had replaced the Williams yokes with Gottlieb Yokes and they had left the washers off of the ring shafts.

Could this have led to the catastrophic failure of the ring?

Did someone over tighten the ring nuts?

Of course out of 5 pops on AF the one that broke was the one buried under the ramp.

I also noticed a few more tech marvels under the playfield.

A switch with plane white paper for insulation and an old style plunger with the new style return spring.

I also noticed a very odd break in a coil back how did that happen?

The subway was filthy as well and dirtier than a NYC subway and thats dirty!

Gold Strike Flipper

T2 ball trough.

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9/30

No time to take more pics.
There were many issues and only 2 hrs to solve and repair them before the League started

AC/DC Ball Trough and once again Cannon

ST Ball Trough

AF Plunger

BR Plunger

TZ Proximity sensor. Ball Popper Opto, Gumball Switch

WPT Ball getting stuck under Mini playfield

PZ Lower POP Bumper

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10/1

BK2K Flipper coil/Plunger failure of both possible causes are old worn out parts with traces of oxidation, Flipper bushing missing 2 screws. Note in pic Flipper base is also missing 2 screws. Bk2k has had many many issues the main reason is that it was brought to Modern after sitting for many years in a non climate controlled warehouse all parts are Original. It needed a complete shop job before being brought to Modern but that wasn't the case. All flipper assemblies are getting rebuilt.

AC/DC Ball stuck in shooter lane, screw and washer from ramp post can be seen in the pic the screw was the culprit.

ST Drop target issues possible cause failing opto

GS weak flippers

TOM Eddy Sensor

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In the case of this sensor the fasteners became loose from vibration causing the sensor to shift. This has happened many times over the thousands of plays this machine gets. The new unit will have locktite between the fastener heads and the mounting bracket.

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All of these issues have to be diagnosed and repaired if parts are available or by other means in two hours by me so that the machines are ready for the League. Yes you read that right.

Wh20 3 Leds out

AF Swamp Kickout due to main ball catcher under the thing coming out of its holding track how that happened with all fasteners tight is very odd, this was a tough one as by all appearances it looked fine and was solid no play at all... Plunger not plunging ball more than 2 inches due to Apron plunger guide shearing at its seam then blocking the plunger.

ST yesterdays mode issues addressed turned out to be the stand up target was bent to the point that the contacts were less then a hair from touching, Only a certain vibration not any caused contact. The pic is after the blades were readjusted. This was a tough one as the switch read as good in test mode and never read as active.

FT Lamp board Pins were fine it was the IDC connector that was bad

Avengers Left Flipper

Gold Strike both lower Flippers rebuilt, POP bumper lamps out

FG Lois not registering, Leds out

PZ stuck ball

DRDude Stuck ball, Lamp board

WCS Diverter Spring and none in stock, Flipper Plunger Link

plus all these machines were cleaned.

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This goes without saying however I prefer to use Bamboo combined with carpenters glue as it is much stronger.

This was the first test done by two people on both sides of the cabinet from the coindoor to the backbox and nothing registered. This is a normal step in many steps of trying to diagnose an issue such as this.

10/7

Machines down upon my arrival to Modern.

AC/DC auto plunger, Center drop target

TSPP Auto Plunger

WCS R Flipper

PZ L Flipper

Bankshot No power to score motor

BK R and L Flippers

Only had time to take two pics one was really pointless as I took the pic after removing the flipper coil and plunger from WCS Duh! The pawl was also replaced after the pic was taken.

The other pics shows the EOS switch making contact with the Pawl of PZ .

Had to stop working on machines after only two repairs as there was a video of Modern being made. When that was done I was relegated to score keeping for league night not really a techs job. The failures will be building up
by the time I get there tonight I hope I can catch up.

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10/8

AC/DC standup target, Plunger

WH20 Reset issue

BR R Flipper/ Ball guide screw in switch

AF Swamp subway alignment

The new TZ proximity sensor arrived and look at the differences. The connector was mounted on the opposite side of the board and is a different connector. The mounting plate is at an angle as compared to the 90% of the original and it is mounted to the board with machine screws and nuts as compared to rivets. The bracket angle is actually an improvement. How can the wrong connector be installed on the wrong side? With a little rework the board is the way it should be and TZ now has POWER BALL again.

Also note the new flipper plunger,pawl and link installed on the R Flipper of BR. This has the new style return spring as opposed to the Old style that remains on the L Flipper. Eventually all of Moderns machines will have the new style replacing the old.

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10/9

TZ Bridge Diverter actuator, Coil Lug

TSPP Plunger

AC/DC Center drop target

Avengers Drop Target bank

Complaint that the TSPP plunger wasn't working correctly. Upon Lifting the playfield I was greeted with another Tech Hack! Hmmmm lets see the plunger spring has failed so maybe Ill just take two broken half springs of different tension strength and intermesh them together to make a full size spring. Why bother myself to go to the supply room and get a new one?

May I suggest that TZ owners order a few Bridge diverter actuator wires just in case for when that fails you lose huge game features! Or have wire on hand to make your own.

http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/12-7082

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10/14

TZ Right deflector assembly cracked. Filthy subways

Dr Dude POP switch bent closed

AF Left Flipper

BSD Lightning Flippers installed for the first time. Machine came with standard Flipper bats but it should have had Lightning Flippers, as it came from the factory which are just a bit smaller 1/8 inch difference. Note that the lightning flippers have more bracing underneath then the longer flippers. The machine was designed for use with the standard size Flippers so they are the flippers I would prefer to have used.

The Walking Dead arrives on Wednesday. The Stern launch party trophy is part of the swag the factory sent us.

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Just finished welding up the TZ bracket and thought I would show how I reenforced it with a much larger bead not just a spot weld.

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10/15

TZ coil wire, Switch

WCS Diverter spring

BSD EOS switch

FH Display

Numerous Stuck balls on different machines.

Big failure…. the no show of TWD should arrive tomorrow!

While replacing the Deflector and actuator in TZ I cleaned the subways. This is a task that is done routinely on the machines at Modern.

Clean those subways it helps to keep your playfields, the switches and especially the optos clean.

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10/16

TWD arrived and had an issue with the plunger. It was installed to far towards the center of the cabinet causing the plunger to strike the auto kicker on its left side to the point that the plunger wouldn't plunge. The unit had to be removed and realigned. Note in the pic from within the cabinet the two holes which lock the assembly in place. They are too far to the right so new holes had to be made to lock the unit into the correct place.

It also had its left flipper stick up due to the left button being out of adjustment.

Many lamp sockets dislocated maybe from shipping?

Numerous loose fasteners. All Pop bumper housings and lockdown bar stay were the most egregious and some connectors.

TZ coil wire, Opto switch

FH display time for a new ribbon cable!

In the photos are of one of the owners Steve Zahler in orange shirt and Francesco La Rocca Staff member and tournament organizer extrodinaire both are Highly Ranked players.

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Miller Maxstar 152

http://www.millerwelds.com/om/o206e_mil.pdf

10/21

I dont know what if anything failed today as I took off for my B-day

One bit of interest however is that TWD had 547 plays on it by Sat eve closing time. The machine was powered up for the first time on Thursday at around 6:30 pm. Most plays by people that did not know it was a new machine just another in the lineup!

I dont know of anyplace where machines get played as much as at Modern. TWD had more plays then a lot of machines at Expo which ran for more time than we had TWD.

10/22

T2 Reset issue

TZ coil, Blown fuses

BK trough switch

BSD lamp connector burned, Drop target due to techs switch hack. Wrong actuator was hacked and would snag on the Drop targets E Clip post. This is getting really old.

Dr Dude Popbumper switch

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10/23

FG Ramp, After removing broken ramp assembly I saw totally unacceptable filth. Time for a real cleaning. Beer can screw missing.

Kiss Switch cap

FH lamp socket

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10/28

5 machines down upon arrival! Too busy to take pics but I did get one in.

BR Transistor, Fuse

SM Transistor

BSD Lft Flipper Mech

TZ Transistor

TSPP mini flipper coil

Why does Stern use hot glue on the ribbon connecter between boards?
Yes they can come loose in shipping and during gameplay vibration but so can the other connectors.
Its really a time waster in the field when trying to do board work.
Maybe its just the situation at Modern where machines are right next to each other and you can't pull them out for servicing so trying to remove the hot glue becomes a real task.

I do find however that the easiest way to remove it is to use very long thin needle nose pliers and grab a bit of it and wind it off by rotating the pliers. It usually comes right off very cleanly. That is if you can reach it!

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10/29

TZ All opto switches. 10 opto board entered the Twlight Zone it simply vanished. Where did it go?????????

FG New ramp installed , Can screw missing did it enter the twilight Zone too? The can screws back out very often but never disappear had to use a screw other than stock. Locktite is not a good option for this particular application but thats another story.

ST upper flipper coil lug

PZ flipper coil wire

CSI auto plunger fell apart this is the second auto plunger of this type that has completely failed will take pics tonight.

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10/30

TSPP Upper right flipper transistor This makes the 3rd flipper transistor this week not counting 3 more from location machines that were brought to me for rework at Modern. All Stern Flipper transistors. One way to help with this is to not only replace the shorted transistor but to use a more robust one and to also remove caps C52 and C53 from the driver board.

BR Ball lifter Magnet Switch

WH20 Reset due to loose connector

CSI Auto shooter arm This is the fourth auto shooter arm failure and the third from a Stern machine

The pivot post needs to be redesigned or reinforced where it meets the main arm body.

The Weld simply fails and the pivot post detaches from the arm. If you have a machine with this part I would recommend that you inspect the pivot post weld. The Pivot post has the E clip on the end holding the assembly to the shooter arm holder for lack of a better name. I didn't have time to take more than one pic of the unit, so, in the pic you can only see the arm. The pivot post with Eclip still attached fell into the cabinet. The hole in the Arm is where the post was attached.

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