Any time you hit the Bigfoot Bluff shot when Hotfoot isn't running he diverts the ball to the Whirlpool, so almost any time you hit that shot which is often at least if you want to collect Whirlpool awards.

Does anyone know the part number for the upper playfield post that divides the Bigfoot Bluff and Insanity Falls ramps? I can't find it shown in the manual. I stripped the mounting screw for the whirlpool sign that screws onto it (the last thing I had to do to finish my upper playfield rebuild...). Thanks.

Here ya go: https://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/02-4659-1

Thank you! I'm betting (hoping) it threads into a T-nut? Uh oh, I found a photo of a used upper playfield and it looks like it is a regular nut--bummer.

All I can say is take your time and work methodically. It took me a lot of work. I even sent my boards off for servicing (glad I did but it was not a PCB problem). In the end it was good old logic and process of elimination that got it done. Satisfying fix though!

Yep, anytime he diverts the ball and some other times too (if you boff your last ball he'll turn and laugh at you occasionally) his head should turn counterclockwise to face you and then back the other way when he's done. Sounds like you have an issue with the bigfoot motor, driver board or elsewhere.

You probably know this but if not....put the game in switch test mode and bang on the playfield with the palm of you hand and see if any switches are activating. It may help to try this with some other commonly closed switches closed such as the ball locks which would indicate a switch matrix issue.

What is a good touch up paint for this machine?

I had Keller restore one for me years ago and it needs some attention.

Thanks

Bigfoot should also turn his head both ways when you first turn the game on. It’s a self test. If that doesn’t happen you probably won’t see him in action during the game.

There is also a bigfoot test sequence in the service menu.

Looks like your board may be damaged from leaking around the C2 electrolytic capacitor. If you're comfortable soldering, you'll need to remove that cap and all the other corroded components and replace them and repair any corroded through circuit board traces (check them with a meter, even if they look good). Look back though this thread, as I think fixing this has been covered here or elsewhere on Pinside.

Edit:
Found the thread. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/white-water-bigfoot-problems

Whitewater Ice Blue mountain sets - finally back available after several years ...

http://www.planetarypinball.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PPS-03-87XX-5&Store_Code=PP

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What do you use to paint these? I got a missing mountain mod that is bright orange and I need to change it to the regular brown. Any kind of paint that you recommend?

I went into switch test mode, banged away and nada... hit the switches, nada, pops, nada..

slings? ding ding ding. I noticed hitting the right sling would cause the whirlpool exit opto to blink. But then, I noticed hitting the left sling would cause the lost mine opto to blink. I also noticed that if I held the sling switch down, the corresponding opto (next on the same row in the matrix) would trigger.

This was clearly not some flaky part, I figured I had wired something up wrong when putting this beast back together and I did.

Both slings had the wire on the wrong side of the diode. ooops!

Oh well, at least I didnt pull my hair out too long on this one. Appreciate the tips.

Mine was also touching the glass when I completed my restoration recently. I was concerned about it scratching (it's invisiglass) so I moved it down slightly (by dremeling new mounting holes) and I actually dremeled down the very top peak a little bit (the part that was hitting). I used zip ties instead of screws to help alleviate any pressure/twist on the ramp. I also have a zip tie keeping it close to the wire form which also gave me a bit more space. Kind of a pita, but I made it work.

Yup! no prob

(I still need to have my wife touch up the paint on the top)

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arcadenerd925... your White Water looks great. Did you power coat your blue at Mass Brothers or somewhere else?

In my opinion; a couple tips / suggestions on your zip ties to hold the boulders;

1) They make them in many different colors... maybe they have a dark brown
2) If you decide the zip ties are permanent way of attaching them to the rails... take your dremel and cut off the original mounting holes, up to your new mounting holes. It should take away the large visible looking unpopulated hole/tab

Looking forward to playing pinball with you and the guys, as soon as this covid crap lightens up.

Kerry

Thanks Kerry, I hadn't event thought about colored zip ties. I am going to give that a try. And yes, for sure looking forward to playing some pinball when things settle down. Stay safe.

The armor I got is actually candy chrome (powder over chrome) that I got from Chris at Hotrodarcade, I love it.

More details in my restore thread: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/whitewater-my-second-restoration-attempt

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Hi All,

I would appreciate if someone with more experience could validate my thinking... =)

I have had some issues with the Disaster drop main switch (c7/r5) randomly triggering during gameplay. Working through the switch matrix I have found that when the Right Trough switch is triggered (c7/r6), if I activate the Left Ramp Main opto (c6/r6) this also activates Disaster drop main switch (c7/r5).

I have desoldered and confirmed that the diode is working on the Right Trough switch and I have completely replaced the Disaster drop main switch and diode. I also know that there's a potential issue with the opto board, considering that it's the Left Ramp main opto that triggers the Disaster drop main switch. But, this only occurs when the Right trough switch is triggered. In the switch test, everything works, including the Left Ramp main opto as long as I don't also trigger the Right trough switch...

Is there any way I can confirm that the issue lies with the opto board? Or do I just have to buy some LM339s and replace on the board as next step? What makes the issue worse is that it's intermittent. I can play the games for hours with no issue, then all of a sudden, the disaster drop switch randomly engages again.
Thanks!

/Stefan

I had a similar problem and replacing the LM339 chips on the optoboard on the underside of the playfield solved my issue. Fortunately, mine were already socketed from someone previously so it looks like the problem occurs somewhat frequently.

Ah, yeah, just had a look and I'm not that lucky.. mine are straight on the board. Well.. I guess it's time to put some sockets in now. =)

This thread also helped me figure that out in case it's something else for you: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/switch-column-not-working#post-5624948

Ah, excellent troubleshooting info, thanks! I have ordered sockets and a bunch of LM339 chips. Should arrive nxt week.. will provide an update once replaced. =)

Anyone happen to have their Bigfoot assembly detached and could take a few photos of the Opto interrupter piece attached to the bottom of the motor shaft (between the opto board and motor casing? The part in the manual is 03-8698 Actuator Opto Switch. Don’t see a replacement part anywhere so I need to recreate this from scratch. A few photos by a tape measure or with calipers would be welcomed. Seems like it would be easy enough to 3D print.

This is a simple disc. I can't tell you the exact diameter, but you can easily measure the distance between the opto and the center of the shaft.
Wall thickness is about 2 mm, height is ~ 10 mm.
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Thanks for the quick photos @davi! That’s exactly what I needed. I’ll be able to measure to the Optos to get the appropriate diameter. Looks like the interruption fin goes around the disk at about 225 degrees. There is a flat-lock face ground on the shaft to Keep the disc secure, I’m assuming the relative position of that in relation to the disc/fin wouldn’t matter as the Opto board will take care of the necessary motor rotation.

Another view, this is how the cut look like.

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When Bigfoot looks to player's direction:
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Speaker lights in WH20... Thoughts? anyone who has them, feel like sharing some pics?

I figure since mine is already rather blingy, why not go all out, lol.

Awful.

Cringe-worthy

Never seen them in a wh20, might be ok with blue or ice blue.

What’s the verdict on replacement ramps and boulders from Starship Fantasy or Marco? They are essentially priced the same considering shipping from both. Are they the same quality? Seems like most posters were saying Starship, but I saw some pretty badly painted boulders on this thread that may have come from Starship that needed some help, and looking to avoid that.

Starship ramps are great.

The ramp maker is Starship - great quality. Also true for boulders (paint color is too dark). I don't know who is the maker of the ugly white boulders.

My understanding is they are the same thing.

Yes, I believe that Marco simply buys them in bulk from Starship Fantasy.

I bought a new set of boulders from Starship and was quite happy with them. Yes, the color is a bit darker than original, but when they are lit they seem to look even better than the original.

Eventually I will get new ramps as well, but that will have to wait a while.

Thanks all! Appreciate the opinions! Darker is fine, just didn’t want the “chocolate covered mountain” effect. Not even worth stumbling on to the icy whites.

I'll add my pics too, not sure if you need them or not now.

It's hard to see but in the "above photo" the plastic edge starts about 1 o clock and go clockwise around to about 8 o clock (it ends at the plastic seam in the bottom).
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So I took a look at my WW and WH2O and discovered neither one had a one way gate.

So time to make some. In case you never seen the Marco kit (12-WS-KIT, wire bending starter kit), the jig is useful for making your own gates and other wire forms.

Not the most elegant gate for WW but it works.

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Well you incentivized me to look and i'm missing mine also. I wonder now how many of us have actually been missing the gate and never even noticed.

that's funny, my gate was missing, too. Balls kept hopping back to the bottom of the trough until I made a gate. I like that wire bending tool, I'll have to look for one (or make it myself).

I can't believe I was 0 for 2 on one-way gates. Got the White Water finished also. It took a couple of practice runs to get the first one done for WW but the second for WH2O went a lot quicker.
The Jig worked well for forming the wire gates but to get the tight 90 degree bends, needle nose pliers work well.
You can eyeball the bends so that the gate hangs level or if you're really a perfectionist there are calculator guides available for bending wire like this one:

https://www.rc-airplanes-simplified.com/wire-bender.html
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When I bought my WH2O it also came with a set of new boulders, they all had the same problem as many others have pointed out, they are painted way to dark and differ quite a bit from the original plastics. I knew I had read about someone using liquid to remove some paint in an old post somewhere, so I decided to test that out myself.

I took some different liquids on a rag of cloth (one at a time ofc) and swiped on a boulder until I found something that worked. Unfortunately I cannot remember exactly what liquid worked best (this was a few months ago) but I think it's what we in Sweden calls "T-Röd", an Ethanol based liquid. I initially tried to apply the liquid using a brush but it didn't work that good, the friction from the cloth was needed to get the color off properly.

New untouched boulder, looks like a dog turd:
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"Fixed" boulder, much better:
After2 (resized).jpg

New untouched:
Before1 (resized).jpg

"Fixed":
After1 (resized).jpg

Rags after moderate wiping, see all that brown paint I removed. I could have continued but I was afraid of removing too much paint so stopped when I thought it was good.
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As the last step I washed the boulders with tap water for a few seconds to remove any remaining liquid; not sure if needed but can never be too careful. Now the replaced boulders match the other original ones much better (not a perfect match but much closer anyway) and it took maybe 30 minutes in total.

Much better!