EM Pinball Machines - Please help me learn!

Guru-420

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Hey everyone! I recently got 2 EM pinball machines for FREE... of course they aren't working, but thats half the fun... o.0

On both machines, I seem to be having a similar issue, but I will focus on one of them to try and keep everything straight. I do have a decent amount of electronics knowledge, but not much experience with EMs or older technology...

Here's the deal, my Gulfstream pinball is now fully functioning, but when I start a game the machine does not seem to be able to identify when the score is at zero. Sometimes it'll stop at 140, 420, 640, 720... once it decides on the random number it feels like stopping at, it plays and scores properly until the game ends. Then you hit the credit button and it picks a new random number to start with and goes from there.

Any thoughts? A lot of the steppers and relays are still clearly marked.. please help me! I have a group of arcade collectors coming by for SuperBowl, and I would like to have this recently shopped machine available for play.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can offer. :D
 
the old "this old pinball" DVDs from marvin3m.com are decent.
the best resource is probably the games.rec.pinball newsgroup on google.

there is an EM series of t-shooting documents somewhere out there based on info by Clay, I think the original site is long gone.

I don't know those machines but the score reels have a switch that helps know when to stop that commonly goes out of adjust.
 
The best advice I can offer is clean the contacts. Also after only owning EM pins it is funny how playing the game constantly can fix alot of issues. When the game is not played for a long period of time then fired up I will notice problems, after 10 or 15 min the problems seem to go away. It is usuallt because the contacts move and work off the oxidation or any build up. Just go over your steppers, relays and contacts and give them a cleaning. I know some people use sand paper, some use erasers, do some googling and see what works best for you.( I don't use any cleaners on steppers or contacts.)

Toby
 
Best to clean the stepper and make sure it is moving freely and not catching. As stated above, there is a contact for 0 position, check that and make sure it is clean and adjusted correctly.
 
Thanks for all the quick responces! Both of these machines came out of the homes of elderly folks that had kids at one point, but I know they both have sat non-functional for years. It's unbelievable how much tobacco and oxydation I'm cleaning off this machine.

I have to ask, please don't rip me apart for this one... these old EMs have a massive amount of contact switches, relays, etc. Are you all suggesting I go through and clean every single one of them?

I also have another question... I know I will probably need to clean and adjust the stepper. How do I know where the stepper is, how do I adjust it, and how do I know if it is in the proper 0 position?

I'm at home today, cleaning and polishing the Gulfstream, and would LOVE to try and get this worked out.. :D
 
I understand there are alot, but yes clening them all will make a huge difference, I asked the same thing once and everyone tore me up. LOL Start the clening where your troubles are: Score Reels and Point Stepper probably ( Just guessing from what you said).
 
It's an awesome piece of reference material. I'd recommend printing it and study whenever possible like in the john and such.

Yes, there's a zillion switches and they're probably all a bit cruddy. I use 500 wetsand paper stuck to double-sided tape and cut in narrow strips.

Your Gulfstream has a whole mess of stepper type units as well - ball count, number match, coin unit, player unit, and all them score reels.

Be careful with the score reels - the wires to the 0-9 switches were often poorly soldered and fall off when handled.
 

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yah, and contact cleaner. don't be tempted to just spray everything. it is bad form, plus a fire hazard due to all the sparks an EM makes. that's in the DVDs, too.

in the DVDs it says basically don't mess with switch adjustments unless you have a reason because they probably don't need it.

your score reel thing will have you in the backbox, not the body under the playfield.
 
Thanks for all of the info and encouragement. A lot of this is just me feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of contacts, parts, pieces, etc. Experience has taught me the biggest hurdle is rolling up your sleeves and being OK with breaking something. It's all a learning experience, and the more you do it, the less daunting the task will seem.

Thankfully, I do know a few of the basics already. I know not to use lube (unless she asks for it.. j/k) as it can cause a fire. I have also cleaned contacts in other leaf switches before, and use a very gentle touch and usually 2000 grit sandpaper to buff more than grind.

It looks like the scoring steppers should come off pretty easily. I will start there and see if that helps. :)
 
good luck. i finally got tired of the EM hassles personally.

i had a gottleib flipper clown and the worst part was the score steppers under the playfield. it was impossible to keep the fingers and contacts properly aligned. 3 screws held pressure against the bakelight disc. I tried everything including different hardware, loctite, etc.
finally got sick and tired of the constant messing after every 20 games.
 
Well, as much hassel as the EMs have been for me thus far, my SS pin is even worse. First I threw a chip error on the MPU, and after fixing that it looks like the power supply just went. Add in the playfield has more wear than these EMs do and I can't seem to find a donor playfield for the life of me (Six Million Dollar Man). Besides, a $20 solinoid is a lot more affordable than a $300 altek MPU replacement.

Eventually, these free machines (that are already costing me a ton of money to repair, lol) will be heading to my folks place up north to the gameroom there, and will be getting a ton of love and play again. They fit with the old school feel of the property, and will be more appreciated than they will in my collection.
 
Flex Stone.

When it comes to cleaning an EM, that is such an invaluable tool. It'll make cleaning all those contacts so much easier and quicker. They are made just for that purpose. Since you have two EMs that've been sitting, I'd recommend ordering six of them.
 
I would say its a bad idea to start adjusting/cleaning all the switches from the get go. More likely to create more issues this way.

Instead, start by cleaning all of the stepper units. Read the pinrepair guide posted above for the proper method of cleaning.

Once you have all the steppers cleaned and re-lubed, then try and play a game. If still having issues, then this is where the schematics come in handy and you can narrow it down a little easier.

Good luck!
 
oh, and the most important tip....when it comes time to order parts from Steve Young's site. try at all costs to not have to talk directly to him on the phone. you will regret it. He don't take kindly to them wet behind the ear greenhorns, it'll make you feel about 2 inches lower than dirt. :)
 
Thanks for the heads up. I'm still overpaying for what I need via ePay... Seems like everytime I need something, Marcos is sold out, and I get tired of "hunting" to save a dollar on a spring...
 
Best advice...

Be patient and have fun. When you get the right switch adjusted (finally) on the right stack (finally) and the ball ejects to the shooter lane...you will definitely feel like you have accomplished something big!

EM's are a lot of fun to play and keep running - we're all here to help.

Your score reel problem sounds like one of the zero position switches on the reels themselves. Clay should have you covered.

-Scott
 
I personally like working on EM's a get a better feeling of accomplishment once I finally beat it (repairing it).

My suggestions:

- Do not use any kind of contact cleaner.

- Do not just simply go through a clean all the switches, easy to screw them up - if anything get a good flash light a just look at them and just check that they are not missing any of the contacts on them or are really burnt.

- Take apart the steppers and clean them - if you grease them us a good quality lithium and very little (just a light film). I use 400+ grit sand paper or just an eraser - IPA (Isopropyl alcohol) is good for general cleaning and leaves no film (use on a cloth and wipe)

****IMPORTANT**** pay attention to how the stepper is aligned BEFORE you take it apart - mark it and take pictures. Some it doesn't matter, but the step up/step down ones like some ball counters it makes a big difference.

The problem you are having would just be limited to that score reel, no need to mess with anything else.

The rule I learned the hard way with EM's is, if it's not broke, don't fix it.
 
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