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Repair guides

Everything on this site about repairing and maintaining a pinball machine, in one place. Written from the machines of the collection, mostly Williams, Bally, Gottlieb and Data East of the '80s and '90s. Start with the FAQ, then the guide for your system.

Articles

  1. Repair FAQ: the 15 most common questions

    The 15 most common questions: will not start, a coil that does nothing, a missing display, fuses that blow, the battery, safety while working.

  2. Repair guides by system: Williams 3-7, Bally, System 11, WPC

    What breaks and how it is fixed in each generation: Williams System 3–7, Bally -17/-35, System 11, WPC.

  3. How a pinball machine works electronically: CPU, switches, lamps, coils

    The theory: how the CPU reads the switches, lights the lamps, drives the coils and the displays.

  4. Tools and measurements

    Multimeter, soldering iron, logic probe: what you need and which measurements point to the fault.

  5. Maintenance: playfield, rubbers, flippers

    Playfield, rubbers, flippers: cleaning, wax, flipper rebuilds, what to replace and how often.

  6. Lamps, part 2: LEDs

    LEDs instead of lamps: what you gain, what to watch for, flicker and ghosting.

Tools