Bally Kiss pinball machine

I got this Bally Kiss pinball machine in for repair.

The owner told me it often does not boot up.
(Only G.I. worked when powering up.)

When i tried to start it up, it worked.

I removed the solenoid board for capacitor change because it still had the original capacitor on it.
I also replaced the E710 transistor with a new LM323K.
On the backside i also did the improvements for the ground and +5v lines, so they does not have to leave the board just to return from another pin on the connectors. 🙂
This mod helps with securing the ground and +5v on the board.

After the repair i tried starting the game again, and it worked this time too.
I checked the +5v line on the MPU board, and it was +5.01v, great.

I powered off the game and tried to start it again, but this time only the G.I. turned on.
The lamp on the MPU board did not turn on.
Tried a second time to start it but with the same result.
Checking power on the rectifier board showed that all DC voltages was cut in half.
Incoming voltage to the rectifier board was ok.
So i removed the transformer/rectifier board and put it on my bench.
To remove the transformer i had to cut the wires on connector J3 because they were soldered directly to the board by a previous owner..

When trying to measure the “big” resistor (600 Ohm) it was open..
This resistor seems to be unobtainium so i had to use one from one of my spare parts rectifier boards.
I also replaced the four diodes on CR1-4 with four new 1N4004. (Standard size for the game)
I would have used the beefier 1N4007 instead, but i had none left of these in storage.
I also put in new header pins for J3, and re-pinned the connector.
Testing the rectifier board on the bench showed that all voltages were in spec.
The transformer were remounted.

I have now started the game about 15 times since these repairs and it had worked every time, so hopefully the booting problem is now gone. 🙂

I also noticed in the lamp test that a couple of the controlled lamps did not work.
Two bulbs were out but four other lamps were ok but would not turn on.
I removed the lamp driver board and put int on my bench.
Testing the board showed that i had to replace four transistors, and now the missing lamps are ok.

Bally Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine part 4

The pop bumpers were cleaned and reassembled in the game.

The coin door were very hard to open/close, somebody seems to have kicked on it at some point.
After correction the coin door works fine again.

There were no lock either, so i put a new one in.
Looks a bit better than that hole… 🙂

I tested the game a bit, and had to replace the left flipper button.
It felt like there were some bubbly tape on it, but it turned out that the button has been burned with a lighter..?

I also took the shooter rod out and cleaned it.

I playtested a couple of games every morning for two days, and then there were a problem with the top right display.. 🙂
The lower digit was suddenly missing.
I changed the IC on that display board and repinned the connector and the problem were solved.

Now all that is left is to play the game a couple of times every morning for a couple of days to see if any other problems show up.

After that it can be returned to its owner.

Bally Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine part 3

The power supply board were next.
Most connectors were soldered directly to the pins on the board.
One of the three rectifiers were previously moved to the backbox with wires.
And one of the rectifiers on the board were broken, so i decided to replace them all.

All fuses were replaced with correct values.
(As always several fuses were way to big…)

All the connectors has now been replaced, and the wires are repinned.
(The rectifiers and heatsink are not yet replaced in the picture.)

A few before and after pictures is also in this post.

MPU-board had acid damage as they usually have.
A bit of cleaning together with vinegar hopefully prolongs the boards life.
There were many chips on the board that was bad and had to be replaced before it booted again. (CPU/PIA/5101/6810)
A new battery holder were placed in the backbox.
Reflowed the connectors.

All plastics were cleaned. (And the playfield.)

All bulbs are replaced with #47s, and all of the rubbers are now replaced.

The fuse holder under the playfield was broken and replaced together with a new fuse.

Capacitors were replaced on the sound board, and U11 were socketed and replaced with a new 86L93.
Reflowed the connectors.
(The sound board was making no sound at all before, but now it is up and running again.)

A few switches on the playfield were showing as stuck in the self test, and required new diodes and capacitors to get them going again.

The solenoid board required another chip to be replaced before all coils were functioning again.

The lamp driver board also required a new chip and a new transistor before all lamps worked as they should.

Two displays were dead.
Reflowing all of the displays pins and replacing the usual resistors that often goes bad made all the displays working fine again.

Getting close now… 🙂

Next are the pop bumpers..

Bally Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine part 2

Solenoid board ready for testing.
IC in U4 (CA3081) were dead, and had to be replaced.
(I took a used one from one of my spare solenoid boards and mounted it in a socket.)

Capacitor replacement : Done
Transistor checks : Done
Reflowing connectors : Done
Voltage checks including HV-section : Done
Future proofing grounds : Done

Bally Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine part 1

I got this Bally Harlem Globetrotters pinball machine in for repair.

The owner had it for at least 10 years, and it was not working when he got it.
(Only G.I. worked when powering up.)

Before first start up, i will need to do a couple of things as usual :

1, Power supply (Check fuse ratings, connectors, reflowing connectors, voltages.)

2, Solenoid board. (Capacitor replacement, transistor checks, reflowing connectors, voltage checks including HV-section, and future proofing the grounds.)

3, MPU board. (Acid damage repair, reflowing connectors, testing on the workbench.

4, Visual check of the underside of the playfield. (Coils mostly, including checking for shorted ones, but also if there are something missing or things that seems broken.)

Silverball Mania update #1

It is now up and running, but with one of my other working MPU boards that were on stock.
I have started to work with the MPU board that was in this game.
(Acid and component removal.)

The solenoid board was repaired, the only damage was the high voltage section.
All transistors were bad and the resistor at R51 was torched, so all components in the high voltage section were replaced.
I only kept some of the resistors that were still ok.
The capacitor for the high voltage are still the same because i don´t have a new one on stock, but will get it asap.

The capacitor for the 5v were replaced, and i also did the “future proofing”.
(Adding ground jumpers for the capacitors.)

All the #44 bulbs were replaced with new ones, and all the rubbers are new.

All the plastics were cleaned and polished.
(The playfield also got a light cleaning.)

The rectifier board needed a new fuse holder for the GI.
I also cleaned the header pins, and replaced the plastic connectors terminal pins.
(The cleaning of the header pins is a temporary fix, i still need to replace all three of them when i receive the new ones that i ordered.)

Two displays were replaced with working used ones.
(One of the two bad displays blew the fuse in the high voltage section, and the other one was simply not working.)

Things that still need some attention :

The lamp socket at the left pop bumper needs to be replaced.
It has a voltage drop between the underside and the socket on the top side, so the bulb will not come on.

The lamp socket at the last letter A in “MANIA” have a bad connection.
Needs to be cleaned or replaced.

MPU board needs some components and traces replaced due to corrosion from the battery acid.

The three .156″ headers on the rectifier board needs to be replaced with new ones.

Bally Silverball Mania pinball machine

I bought this Bally Silverball Mania pinball machine (Made 1980) two days ago.
It was listed as non working.
It stood in a corner of a garage and has probably not been working for several years.
All the rubber bands has dried out with cracks in them, and one flipper rubber had snapped off and was just laying there semi-attached.
When i prepared it for transport and was to take out the ball, it was missing. 🙂

The MPU-board seem to still have it´s original battery.
(Yes, it has leaked.. 🙂 )

I will not even try to power it up in this state.
Firstly i will have to check all the boards, and replace burnt connectors etc.
(Voltages, capacitor changes, solenoid board upgrading and so forth.)

All this is coming, so just wait for it. 🙂

The playfield doesn´t seem to be badly worn, with just a few small areas where the wood is visible.
The top glass seems to be in good shape.