Where are you shopping for them? The only place that I know of that sells them is MAD Asumement, but they are out of stock.

I have been using CF a lot for my other hobbies and I do not think it is the best choice for pinball applications. While it had great tensile strength it handles abrasion very poorly. With the ball hitting the inside edge of the CF cliffy constantly it will wear in no time. Sure it will not warp or bend but it will show wear very soon. Not quite sure why Cliff is giving it a try as I am sure complaints will be coming in over time. Go for the meal ones. I have bought them myself. BTW Quite a big job to install them!!

I have been using CF a lot for my other hobbies and I do not think it is the best choice for pinball applications. While it had great tensile strength it handles abrasion very poorly. With the ball hitting the inside edge of the CF cliffy constantly it will wear in no time. Sure it will not warp or bend but it will show wear very soon. Not quite sure why Cliff is giving it a try as I am sure complaints will be coming in over time. Go for the meal ones. I have bought them myself. BTW Quite a big job to install them!!

Been talking to cliff rinear, who I believe makes cliffy's. Are you sure about the cf? Sounds like it is the only material that doesn't warp over time, or at least that what I'm told

Trying to find a replacement goalie online as mine just broke. I was told Marco sells them but they are out of stock. Also, I seem to remember some previous posts about where to find them but can't find those either. Please help

Not super cheap... but you can get both the plastic and goalie here: ebay.com link: World Cup Soccer Goalie Plastic Decal Mr Pinball Licensed Manufacturing

else, if you can salvage your sticker, and just need the plastic, marco DOES have the plastic, they are just out of the sticker.

I spoke with Cliff last week via email and I decided that if some of the SS cliffy's are warping, then the Carbon Fiber alternate would be the worth the trial.

Once I get those in (should be within the next week), I'm doing a complete teardown and install of those and some LEDs. I'll keep this thread posted with any CF issues (abrasion or whatnot as described above). However, if you don't see a reply from me, it's because the CF is working as intended.

I would love to see any photos you could provide of the CF before installing (the parts) and after. I am interested in these as well.

Hi, just got one of these. Are insert decals available? Anyone have scans. Need todo some decals

Never have seen them offered? Tried a search and nothing? Strange.

Picture below of partial shop and LED install. Cliffys are in the mail and should be here any day now. I will take closer pics of the scoops once I have the Cliffy's in hand to do the full before/after.

Also, to all WCS owners, I had a small "whoopsie" last night and I wanted to see if anyone else has had to come up with a solution. On the soccer ball mount you see in this picture when I tried to unscrew the ball, the screw on top of the ball had a ton of resistance. Eventually it snapped. The ball came off with the screwhead, washer, and half of the screw's threads.

But the rest of the screw is in the square post. My thoughts are either try to bore out that material and replace with a glued dowel that I can screw into, or simply instead of the screw use adhesion around the circular base and on top of the square post. Thoughts as to which will be less horrible?

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I have a replacement ball from Marco and I didn't even bother with the top screw. The ball isn't going to fly off (at least mine doesn't).

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Wow, I didn't even notice my Marco replacement doesn't have the top screw location!

That makes me feel a lot better. Also it's a bit relieving to know that my replacement isn't the only one where the black ink appears to be bleeding. Damn good QC they got there for their $45 rubber ball replacements!

I agree. Doesn't anyone have a scan?

My replacement soccer ball from Marco seems fine. No hole in top but easily made a hole lol. Works much better than the dried out old one.

Is there anywhere you can get a complete set of replacement ramps?
Only place I've found the main and right ramp is Pinball Spare Parts in Aus...

Ramps have been "coming soon" for quite a while. But I actually believe that to be true now. Larry at Starship should (hopefully) have them ready to go in the not so distant future.

Wow... Your soccer ball from Marco has a lot of over-spray on the black paint. Not sure where they get these from, but they should really take a little ore care when spraying the black through the stencil. For what those things cost, they should be perfect! Mine was even worse when it arrived, but Marco replaced it with a new one that was much better. I kinda wonder if there is a way to remove the over-spray with a solvent of some kind.

In regards to the screw, mine does not have a hole either, nor is it needed. It's easier to take off for more thorough cleaning. They quickly get that dark ring around the bottom edge.

Mine also has substantial bleed and I also noticed mine and the one shown above also stop the black artwork on the bottom 1/2" of the ball. Surely it's probably because this ink is crap and will smudge further if there's ball contact. But for the price of FIVE ACTUAL SOCCER BALLS, you'd think it would be a fit, form, functional, AND cosmetic replica.

CF (Carbon Fiber) Cliffy Update time as well!

Got them in the mail last night. Installed the 6pcs. I had one small issue I'm working out right now (completely unrelated to the new CF material for the saucers) so I'm going to wait until I have that resolved before I post all pics, but even from this quick snap I took this morning, you'll see the CF not only looks nice, but substantially better than the wear that was showing previously.

Played a few games with them last night and nothing seemed to be more difficult to hit with the protectors on. After 1 night, I'm thrilled with their look and benefit. More pics to come when I have everything ready to go.

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I'll claim this is a reserved space for my future pics, but yeah it was a dupe post.

NEED HELP!

On power up, I am getting a "OPTO TROUGH BAD" message. I do not want to panic, and assume it's my Opto 7 board.

Here's what I have done:
I tested the switches in test mode, as I stated above
I re-seated all of the connectors
I removed the ir transmitter board from the trough and viewed the ir emitters through my phone, using the camera
I used the test mode to determine if the opto switches are all working

Here's what I know:
I get the error above on power up, and the machine does not function
I first got the error, but it started working again, then died, then worked, now it does not work at all.
The red led is lit on the opto controller board (hanging vertical under the left corner of the playfield)
In my switch tests, it is changing the states for ball 1 through ball 5 from closed to open, as I drop in each ball.
Switch 36 is always open (should normall be closed according to manual)
Viewing the ir emitters through my phone shows they are all working
Flipper buttons work, and register in test mode

My theory:
I believe that switch 36 "ball stack" should be closed.
I suspect that the 6th opto switch on the trough, which is interrupted as the ball gets pushed up the plunger, is not working.
If the above is true, I have already learned that the emitter is working, so the receiving diode is probably bad, or a bad solder broken loose by vibration, or possible it is not aimed properly.

What I need from YOU (the group):
Since I am not clear on what "normal behavior" is for these opto sensors...
Can someone please go into switch test mode, so you can see the matrix, go to switch 36, and see if it is open or closed. Then, either kick a ball up, or stick a finger down there to see if the state of 36 changes.

Also, if you have any other ideas, theories, or things I can try, please, please let me know.

Attached is an image from the manual, showing the photo sensors (a mirror of the ir emitters). I suspect sensor Q1 is bad (upper left corner of image).

Any and all help appreciated. Thanks in advance.
-Dana

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Mine is always closed. When a ball is lifted up it switches to open. If you've verified the led transmitter is indeed working, then I would focus on the alignment of both it and the receiver.

You can also test the receiver by going into the switch test and shining one of the leds at it while you have the transmitter board off the trough.

I recently had a problem with my ball trough opto and it ended up being a bad receiver opto. I reflowed the solder on that opto and it ended up fixing the problem. This was of course after replacing the trasmitter opto and trying a dozen other things...

SOLVED!

It was NOT the trough at all. I had my trough dismantled, testing the ir emitters and photo sensors on the other side. Re-soldered the Q1 sensor, which I suspected was bad, but no fix.

I thought about it a bit more, and knowing that these are all on the switch matrix, I decided to pull the main connector from the optical controller board. I took a short piece of wire to use as a sort of jumper test on the disconnected harness, knowing from the manual that green/orange was common. I jumper'd to white/brows (trough 1, switch 31) and it triggered in the diagnostic mode. The same for 32-35, but nothing for 36! A-HA!!! So, now I know the culprit wire is white/blue, or, ROW 6 in the matrix. I started testing other switches in that row and found that most were not working, until I got to the left striker target (between spinner and left ramp). I looked under the playfield to find that one of the white/blue had broken off at that target switch.

I re-attached the wire, and powered on. I was able to test the Q1 sensor, which was not working. I re-assembled the trough (there was nothing wrong with it) and it's ALL good as new, used.

Lesson learned: Before you panic, and suspect bad components, go through ALL of the switch diagnostics, because the issue is *probably* a broken wire. After all... The thing is old and brittle.

Thanks for the all your help and support. I have hopefully learned enough that I can one day help others if similar situations arise.

-Dana

Anyone care to share instructions/schematic of bulb position for the GI lights?

On my way to order LED lights and figured many of you already researched the amount and "color styling".

Nevermind, I searched the thread and used a combination of Jeffsgames list and gut feeling from google search. Cold white, purple, red and some green will be my GI.

How do I remove the main back and side plastic ramp? I've unplugged all the connectors underneath and removed all visible screws and washers. Do I need to remove this diverter also? If so how?

The last locking screw on it on top wont move at all. It's rusted. The first bottom one was tough.

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Remove the diverter by removing the cam on the bottom of the pivot rod, under the table. After the cam is off, it should just lift out.
If you are having issues with rust, spray some liquid wrench, wait about 4 hours, spray again, and again 4 hours after that. Let it sit overnight, and you should be able to get it apart. Once apart, you can soak the rusted parts in 50/50 white vinigar and water, and all the rust will come off with a soft brush.

When you re-assemble later, consider some nylon washers for spacers, to make the diverter swing more freely. I did this on mine, and it made a big difference, plus, my diverter was scraping on the ramp.

Thank you, I will take a look.

I am thinking of powdercoating the ramp and the cabinet hardware. Did anyonelse make that and which color did you choose ?

I'd like to see options also.
I just started a restoration and decided this is a great game to get creative with as far as colors, (as long as its tasteful. Hope I don't screw it up).

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Just got all my Mike Chestnut brass installed....no way my pics can show how beautiful this combo turned out:

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Wow that looks great, i decide to make the cabinet hardware black and the ramp and coin toss yellow.

I agree that the coin toss in yellow would look fantastic!
I am not clear on coloring the ramps... Won't that block a lot of view, and create shadows when the ramps are not clear?
I saw a machine a while back where the legs and rails were done in a teal, that matches the sides, and if I recall the soccer ball had the same teal on the pentagons, with black pin-striping around. It looked really good.

My weekend project was to fix my ball trough, as it kept getting stuck. Ended up having to use a large, curved file to smooth the track. It ends up with little dips under the balls that keep them from rolling down.

I also changed all my rubbers from black back to white, and I added those disc style led's on my pop bumpers. I was happy with the single bulb from above, probably more than the discs, but I like how the discs have 4 downward white leds that light the post, and help to brighten up that part of the play field, as you can see in this picture.

One other thing I finally fixed... I had cleaned and sprayed my flipper linkages a while back, and my right flipper became so powerful that the ball kept catching air on the left ramp, and either hitting the back of the cabinet, or flinging off the ramp and coming down on the pop bumpers, or other things. It was out of control. I ended up taking my reed switch tool and bending the contacts inward, so that the cam closes the circuit earlier in the rotation, which puts the flipper into low power a few ms early. This reduced the power and now it's under control. Good to know the overhead is there, for when the flipper gets old. Also, this coil IS the blue one that belongs there, not a yellow (more powerful).

Am I completely crazy? Or is fixing WCS even more fun than playing it???

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The pop bumpers illumination looks great, where did you get them and exactly what type are the LEDs? I've bought a few different style LEDs for there, and none give the lower illumination like yours. Thanks!

I mean the metal ramp and not the plastic ramps. I got two new ramps, the rest i have to flamepolish

I would like to see before and after on the flame polish, and maybe some tips/action shots of that. Mine are getting a little foggy on the bottom, and I have heard of this method, but I know it can be risky, if you do not know what you are doing. I have a small heat gun (embossing gun), that I have used for taking scuffs of the sides of the panniers on my motorcycle, and it worked great for that. Never done it on clear plastic before.

I got these, in green, though white might actually look better. The down lights are white, regardless.
ebay.com link: itm

I couldn't figure out how to get the diverter apart. Should it just lift straight out from the top? I even tried to remove the coil and spring which pivots the arm but that didn't help. Maybe mine is just stuck from dirt and rust? I'm afraid to apply any larger force.

The assembly schematic doesn't quite help me.

Thanks! I knew Art was selling these, but haven't needed any other LEDs so I haven't placed an order with him. I'll have to do it now.

I have not taken mine out, but did have the spring go missing so I've fooled with the mechanism before. It really looks like it should pull straight up once the cam the spring attaches to is removed. Or if you were able to remove the two screw on top and take the c-clip off off, it should drop down thru the playfield. I looked at the shaft and only see the c-clip and white plastic "washer" on top of the ramp, and a white plastic washer and the cam below the playfield. It looks like the rod just hangs from the c-clip. Unless someone else added something else to the rod on yours. The rod itself I can move side to side and up and up without disconnecting anything, like it is hanging. Here's picture of my cam, good luck!

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Should be one of these allen keys on the shaft if I recall

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That IS the cam I was talking about. There IS a hold with the set screw, on the cam, opposite the arm. In the photo from the post above, you can see the set screw in the hole, right by the purple reflection, just to the right of the cam.

Also, in the photo above, there is a huge gap between the cam and the nylon bushing. I recommend that you put a few nylon washers inbetween, and snug it up with the cam, to keep the rod from moving up and down. Since I added them on mine, it seems to work better. It is also important to have a thick washer on the top side too, to keep the diverter from scraping on the ramp, as it did on mine from before I owned it. I saw this washer present on another photo above, that shows the diverter.

Anyway, the set screw is in there... I promise!

Oh, and if the set screw is off, and it won't come apart, just shoot some lubricant in the hole, wait a minute, and give the diverter a good yank from the top, and it should come out. However, the rod from the solenoid is going to fall out, and you need to not lose the spring recoil spring. Take a couple pictures before you take it apart, so you know HOW it all fits back together.

Here is an actual mechanism showing the Allen key

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I'm stupid. I never looked for a screw of any sort. Especially not the little black allen screw on the side. I just figured that it "popped" apart.

I think I need better lighting too.

My rod is snug and tight, I don't have the same gap as pictured above. lol Thanks guys

I am installing cliffies and noticed an additional post hole. Can you guys have a look at your machine and let me know if there is supposed to be another post.

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Thanks Skypilot!