Things to look for when buying an unshopped Funhouse

astrodan88

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Things to look for when buying an unshopped Funhouse

I'm a newbie when it comes to pins. I've been into vids heavily for several years now but held off on taking the pinball plunge. But when I decided to go for a pin, I knew that Funhouse was among the top on the list. I have a chance to buy one for what seems to be a fair price for a worn but fully working machine. I haven't seen it in person yet but have been told it has wear but is fully working with no errors.

My question is: what are the major things to check for / ask about?
Thanks in advance.
 
I'm a newbie when it comes to pins. I've been into vids heavily for several years now but held off on taking the pinball plunge. But when I decided to go for a pin, I knew that Funhouse was among the top on the list. I have a chance to buy one for what seems to be a fair price for a worn but fully working machine. I haven't seen it in person yet but have been told it has wear but is fully working with no errors.

My question is: what are the major things to check for / ask about?
Thanks in advance.

The first thing you do is go to ipdb.org and download the manual. Teach yourself how to use the OP menu.

When you get there if the machine is on - turn it off and wait ~10 seconds and then turn it back on. People suck like that - they'll try to hide errors from noobs.

Now pull the translite off and verify there's NO acid damage to the boards.

When turning it on if you get a flashing error with an annoying BING BING BING noise then you've got a problem some where. If you get there and the machines on shut it off - wait about 10 seconds and then turn it on. People are sneaky like that.

Next - run through all the tests. If you get an error about super dog opto failure ignore it. It happens if a ball hasn't run through it in A amount of games.

Typical wire breakage off solenoids. It's why the test menu is so very important.

Rudy is gravy to fix if all facial plastic parts are there and not broken. If the eyes are cracked that sucks because they are near impossible to find.

Another commonly overlooked item is the hidden hallway disc. It's directly behind the ramp. Those are a bitch to replace and if they are worn you'll find sending a hot up the hidden hallway allows the ball to blow right on through. It can also cause ball jamming if it's incorrectly adjusted.

Coil sleeves will make the game play god awful slow.

Unfortunately it takes no time flat to rack up $300 in parts alone.

Lastly let me say if the playfield is fairly torn up they cost ~$700.00 to replace. That doesn't include your time for tearing it down or if you pay someone. So if the seller wants $1500 you might as well simply look for a plug and play FH at $2200. My .02
 
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What do you mean by this "Deadly" 'Coil sleeves will make the game play god awful slow'. I'am not understanding that one. Iam sure you meant "worn" coil sleeves though. Just today I popped in 2 new coil sleeves for my flippers and there strong.
 
make sure the alpha numeric display works and it looks good. they are 150 +shipping
make sure all the general illumination works or there will be a fixable problem on the power driver board

when you turn it on and its booting up it should be able to coin up and play a game. if it doesnt then it might need a battery. so, in other words, if you have to push a button inside the coin door for it to boot up then the battery is dead and it isnt remembering whatever settings you have told it to remember. open up the back box and look at the thin board on the left. you will see the battery holder. look carefully at the bottom of the holder to see if theres any corrosion from the batteries

everything else is fixable and you can buy parts for Rudy's head

the only other thing id look for are bubbles under the mylar or any obvious wear

any flaws you can detect gives you a price talk down point
:)
 
Replacing a playfield is a huge amount of work and is usually not necessary. If you want a clean pin that plays well, a little wear around the scoops etc. is not fatal and won't really affect gameplay. Collectors and perfectionists are the folks who usually spend tons of time and money replacing pf's.

Display functionality is key, as noted above, as these are pricey. Look for broken plastics, etc. Again, they usually don't affect gameplay unless the actual ramps or other ball-contact parts are broken. So ask yourself how 'perfect' you want the game to be. It is generally not expensive to get a game to play beautifully, unless the main boards or display are messed up. Flippers, bumpers, targets--these are all inexpensive to fix or adjust. Broken ramps can be a problem too, or they can be 'patched' various ways if you can't find new ones or don't want to spend the $$.

On the bright side, you really get to "know" your pin when you make these minor fixes. Heck, I spent a few weeks of spare time tweaking my last NIB pin, along with a couple of minor needed fixes. Didn't really "play" it until a month after I unpacked it! But I know where everything is and what it does now. For something as complex as a pinball machine, I don't believe in "plug and play." You should really get to know it and learn to make the minor fixes and adjustments. Otherwise, it's silly to have to call someone, wait, and pay them for minor things that take maybe 15 minutes and $5 (or less) to fix.
 
For something as complex as a pinball machine, I don't believe in "plug and play."

Complex ... lol
If a person can't find a plug and play FH for $2200 (they do exist) they're not looking in the right places.

@OP - Now please keep in mind this is a guideline and in all fairness doesn't tell anyone precisely what shape the pins were actually in.
http://www.pinpedia.com/machine/328/statistics

The key to buying any title is simply taking your time to find the right machine at the price you can afford. This title is far from rare considering there was over 10,000 of them made. Most FH's you'll find are going to be in pretty rough shape playfield wise. They got the hell played out of them. Hopefully you can find one that was either Diamondplated (those are rare) or had the factory mylar applied. When you get one and if you want the home rom images PM me and I'll email them to you.
 
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