I bought my project Fire! in Allentown last week. As a total coincidence, I wrote a short essay about the game before I left, not knowing I was going to buy one. Good thing I didn't write about TZ or AFM...I would have come home broke!

Sorry for the shameless plug.

http://creditdotpinball.com/2014/04/30/featured-game-williams-fire/

Took good photos during tear down but not good enough apparently. Can anyone tell me where these go? The were in a bag with hardware for the clear plastic horseshoe ramp.

Edit: I think I got it. They run along the inside of the ramp.

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they look like the Gates for the 2 Horeshoe Multipliers at the top of the playfield under the Building Entrance

Sure wish someone would remake the buildings, would sell a lot of em!

The buildings on my current project are decent. The one above the skill shot had a hole busted in it (how? I'll never know) but when tearing down the playfield, the busted piece was jammed under one of the ramps. AWESOME LUCK! I was able to repair it. Other than that, I just have a corner that was melted a bit by a too-near bulb, but only the plastic, the sticker covers up the melted hole. Would love to hear suggestions on how that building was broken like that...and see pictures of other damaged buildings!

Hey toyotaguy, what's the ETA on the next set ball lock supports??

Rob
creditdotpinball.com

FIRE00.jpg

Maybe someone can help me with a high res scan ?

Fire! project on pause. I bought a new Rottendog MPU through K's Arcade as the one that came with the game was caked with corrosion. Once the board was installed, everything worked except the left ball lock kicker. Would not fire in test or gameplay. Coil was switched out to a known working one, no change. That particular coil is wired in series with the under-PF relays, no issues there. Coil grounded via lug, and coil fired. Transistor grounded, and coil fired. All signs point to a problem upstream on the brand new board...which happens, I guess, but its complete balls and just my luck.

I have packaged it back up and sent it back to Jim at Rottendog at K's request rather than trying to monkey around with it myself...hopefully he stands behind his product by tracking down the issue or replacing the board. My biggest fear is that I missed something and its in the machine and not on the board, but I had two independent, respected techs weigh in on the issue and tell me the problem is on-board somewhere past the transistor. Oh well, wait and see I guess.....

Rob
creditdotpinball.com

I would guess the playfield was raised with the ball still in the machine. I just got a project machine myself that was missing key (and since it was a completely unexpected find...I didn't have my tools to drill lock). Luckily the back box was unlocked and I could remove bolts to fold down head. But, I was scared to death that when we turned the machine on its back for transport up the stairs that this is exactly what would happen. I got lucky, but can see this easily happening.

On the assembly line!

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Rottendog boards are a crap shoot at best....They are NOT Tested on the line Prior to being shipped from the Manufacturer to Jim, and Jim does not test them either so it's a 50/50 chance that you will get one that works 100%. Bought a Taxi MPU from Mad Amusements ( $ 450 + Shipping ) and it had 3 Bad Transistors that had to be replaced before it would work correctly. Unfortunately it was cheaper for me to fix them myself rather than pay the Shipping back to Mad & then him Ship it back to Rottendog for a replacement ( which could Also have Bad Components! )......

Hi all,
anybody know why all of a sudden I can't adjust any of the settings on my fire?
All the switches work and it lets me adjust just a few things like the 5 ball game setting but it won't let me adjust all the other settings. Also my player 4 display stopped working any suggestions on what to check?
Thanks Jeff

Sounds great, glad another run is happening!

Awesome. I'm in for a set. This is going to be a million dollar Fire! once I get done with it. That means its a keeper, right?

Rob
creditdotpinball.com

My Fire is having a new CPR playfield and plastics installed as we speak.
I found 2 new buildings at Allentown.
Got the reinforcement ramps as well.
Cabinet is being restored and cleared.
New rubbers, chrome balls and LED's.

Pics soon.

Woot! Woot! CPR playfield arrived yesterday.....just in time for the long weekend!!
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Looks Great, Hope You're Happy with it......

Supports arrived safe and sound. Solid construction. Thanks!

Rob
creditdotpinball.com

Just picked one of these up and noticed that the hydrant plug doesn't raise after a mini orbit. Any clues? Rules are factory reset. Comes up on the regular orbit, no problem...

Mini-orbit?

Nevermind. According to manual its called the horseshoe. Looks like one gate is working. The other is not (causing the error)

Will Pinball Side mirrors for Williams games fit my Fire! ?

Alright guys, sorry to be a pita, but now i'm looking for the gate switches in the horseshoe. The manual lists them as SW-1A-171, but i can't seem to find the match. Anyone with experience on swapping these switches?

I just got a Fire pin. I'm looking to change the message the previous owner had scrolling on the display. I have the manual but it doesnt make any sense to me. Please help me. Thanks, Mike

You want to go into the diagnostics. Find the option for "Custom Message". from there set the option to "change" - advance and it will take you to the screen to change the message.

Chris

Anyone have one for sale around the Orlando, Fl area? I just got a Sinbad and want a Williams Fire. This game is so sweet.

Happy to join the club, just bought a Fire this week. Having a great time with it. Does anyone know where i can get these replacement decals? Every pin store online seems to be out of stock. All i can find are full sets of decals for about $60 but i only need these in the pic .

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I'm in the club as of 1 week ago. Woo hoo! I bought the CPR plastics and playfield, just IM'd ToyotaBoy about the aluminum. It's playing super, so doubt I will tear it up for several months, but man is is going to look sweet when it's all said and done.

Really considering prototyping some buildings with my 3d printer...

Dan

Along with the aesthetic appeal, I predict this mod will increase pinball fires in the home by 1200%, and insurance companies will start requiring an extra policy to cover your arcade

Just picked up my fire two weeks ago. Drove 10 hrs almost round trip to IA to buy it from a Firefighter. Cost me $100 in gas, and $262.50 extra thanks to the IA state PD for supposedly "failing to move over, unsafe approach" because I passed two state troopers that had someone pulled over and I couldn't get into the far lane due to traffic. That just killed the nice deal I got on the pin....ouch!

The display was out. I was told it was the plasma gas (P1 and P2 had partial working digits, P3-4 worked). I purchased a Pinscore LED replacement board with new displays (original ORG of course for Fire!). I also put in a Rottendog Power supply board (I do this on ALL my pins since it just prevents sooo many voltage issues and damage to other components over time).

Same issue! Turns out the joker had the ribbon cable reversed on the display board side (pin1 > unmarked connector). Oops! Well the display works perfectly now, and it's is nice and bright Guess I have an original PS board and an extra Sys11 display for my Pinbot haha.

I also had to manually "reset" the right ramp. After all of this and a restart, I was able to wipe the credit dot as well. Works perfectly now! Last owner carefully removed the mylar. Only damage it caused was to the decals, or a tiny bit around the edges of one or two. Full decal set purchased online. I see the beginning of planking under the surface. I am seriously thinking of stripping it all apart and having it clear coated after I carefully replace all decals and touch up any tiny edge marks. Why not? $200 for a killer professional clear coat is a lot cheaper than a Repro CSR playfield.

All plastics were fine. Has the original bell and bracket and it works beautifully with the coil assembly. I see (4) velcro pieces on the far sides of the head on top. Was there some other topper that used to fit AROUND the bell bracket on the topper perhaps? If not, someone probably stuck some things to it at some point that were removed.

Anyone find that a cleared PF makes this game too fast? That can be an issue with some.

Love it. It is a permanent piece now. Not overly complicated, but very satisfying, draws in the average players, kids, and family, but is still difficult enough for us competitive players. The sounds give it a nice antique-vintage sort of appeal as well.

It's a keeper!

if anyone ever has or comes by some deck railing plastics above outer horseshoe entrances you want to sell please let me know

I know you looked at this before but you're 100% sure the new one can't flip to fit both sides?

Just wondering if the warp was the difference before...

Dan

Anyone have a set of shop-out pics? I just bought a Fire! with a completely stripped topside and could use some guidance. Thanks!

I sent you a pm. Found some more pics, not sure if they will be helpful.

I am relatively new to Pinside but not the world of pinball collecting (my 34th year). I was toying with the idea of selling my Champagne Edition that I have owned since it was about five months old. The prospective buyer started quizzing me about black and brown playfields. I didn't have a clue what he was talking about so I started to do some research. I ended up on this forum and this thread. After digesting all the postings I have come to the conclusion that CPR and its associates are providing misinformation. My best friend in WV liked my game so much that he had to have one. He got his from Mark Hoffman in Florida. He has owned his at least 25 years. Both are unmolested originals. They both have black playfields. These black playfields that are circulating on eBay, Mr. Pinball, and various shows, all originated at the Chicago Pinball Expo around 1989 (age precludes me from remembering the exact year). Williams brought a bunch of blanks to their booth on a Saturday evening before the banquet. They were banded in groups of four and you had to buy four. I remember a few "Pinbot", a few "Space Station", and a ton of "F-14" and "Fire!". I remember Dennis Dodel, former publisher of the "Pinball Trader", won an "F-14" as a door prize at the banquet. Anyway, these "Fire!" blanks were not rejects or seconds or "B" runs. They were cosmetically perfect; they even had the mylar applied, yet they weren't dimpled. I still have mine. I have theorized that since they weren't rejects Williams did not write them off the books and throw them in the dumpster. They were trying to help out the attendees/collectors and were selling them at their cost. The reason they were all black is they only made about 250 CE models. The likelihood of needing any or many for parts sales or warranty was extremely remote, so the surplus they were sitting on ended up at Expo. The person who could shed some light on this subject would be Jim Patla. He was running the booth and the sales of these NOS blanks. Perhaps it was Williams attempt to distinguish the CE model besides just the flame tubes in the backbox. So the brown playfields were for the standard game as they matched the ugly brown cabinet and the black playfield looks so much better next to oak veneer. Also, you can't believe anything you see in the brochure. They are usually prototype games and not production models. Ask me about white bumper caps for "Eight Ball Deluxe". Until someone disproves my story, I'm sticking to it. JLC

Can anyone out there sell me a set of cabinet decals ? Ready to restore the game but hesitant on painting the cab

toyotaboy; braces fit 100%.
Work of art in my opinion.
All Fire! should have these gems.

This game is a collectible.

Awesome. I'll gladly buy 2 sets and hang on to one for a future user if it will help offset some cost.

Dan

I'll take a set

I will know within a few days if I need another set. thx

Count me in for a set please =)