huntybunz
4-digit display
The second problem with the machine is my own damn fault, because I was trying to fix too many things at once.
This is the 4-digit display in the apron, that shows your remaining balls and credits. When I first started up the machine, this was working fine, but there was a piece of green transparent plastic over it that had come loose. Also the ball return wasn't working. So I took off the apron to fix the plastic overlay, and also take a look at the ball return.
In the process of fixing the ball return, and also testing the rest of the components, I fired a few balls and let them roll down the playfield. One ball rolled down the left outlane, and without the apron to divert it toward the drain, it rolled right underneath this display. I reached in to fish it out, and pressed it up against the backside of the board, shorted a whole bunch of circuits, and got a mild electric shock. A few seconds later, the display read EE:EE, and faded out, and that lovely black spot appeared in the top right corner. It hasn't worked since.
Fortunately, they're only $28 at Pinball Resource.
It's especially sad because a lot of the stuff I've read about Gottlieb System 80 games talks about how hardy these displays are, and how even though there are a lot of other electrical and design problems with these games this is the one thing Gottlieb got right, and unless you do something really dumb and negligent they'll last forever.
Oh well...
4-digit display
The second problem with the machine is my own damn fault, because I was trying to fix too many things at once.
This is the 4-digit display in the apron, that shows your remaining balls and credits. When I first started up the machine, this was working fine, but there was a piece of green transparent plastic over it that had come loose. Also the ball return wasn't working. So I took off the apron to fix the plastic overlay, and also take a look at the ball return.
In the process of fixing the ball return, and also testing the rest of the components, I fired a few balls and let them roll down the playfield. One ball rolled down the left outlane, and without the apron to divert it toward the drain, it rolled right underneath this display. I reached in to fish it out, and pressed it up against the backside of the board, shorted a whole bunch of circuits, and got a mild electric shock. A few seconds later, the display read EE:EE, and faded out, and that lovely black spot appeared in the top right corner. It hasn't worked since.
Fortunately, they're only $28 at Pinball Resource.
It's especially sad because a lot of the stuff I've read about Gottlieb System 80 games talks about how hardy these displays are, and how even though there are a lot of other electrical and design problems with these games this is the one thing Gottlieb got right, and unless you do something really dumb and negligent they'll last forever.
Oh well...