FT - Parts: "Twister" by SEGA Pinball (Harrison, TN)

Fatsquatch

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After investing a year-and-a-half and precisely $1,731.72 in the purchase and restoration of my Twister, I'm ready to pass it on to someone else.

The game had been heavily scavenged when I purchased it; from everything in the backbox (including the DMD), to several pieces on & under the playfield, to cabinet pieces like the shooter assembly, transformer, legs and playfield glass. I have invested a lot in bringing it back to life (with a ton of new & used parts), and have damn-near succeeded in getting it to 100%.

One of the legs is bent a little (and they all could use a repainting) and there's an exit gate assembly (part # 515-6490-01-41) missing on the loop ramp (not sure how it even affects the game), but otherwise, the machine is solid and plays fine.

The only outstanding problem left on the game is that a fuse will blow during the start of multiball. The skill shot works fine, the upper orbit magnet works fine, and the magna-disc will spin throughout the game... However, at the start of multiball, the magna-disc will grab and hold the balls when they come out of the wireform, but after a few seconds, the 3A magna-disc fuse will blow under the playfield. I just recently hired a tech to go over the machine, and he has verified that the wiring is good (he straightened out all of the dodgy bits), the magna-board and Whitestar boards are good, and the magnet coils are good, but he could never track down why the magna-disc keeps blowing that one fuse. All he can tell, is that the magna-board is not sensing the balls when they're being held on the disc during the start of multiball (even though it does on the skill-shot), and instead of the magnet pulsing (or "strobing") as it's supposed to, it just holds steady, overloading and popping the magna-disc fuse.

It did this with the original magna-board and original PIC chip, the original board with a new PIC chip, a brand new magna-board from Marco (with new PIC chip), and the new board from Marco with another new PIC chip directly from Stern. The PIC chip controls the sensing and whatnot of the magna-board, so the issues seems to be there, but after an original chip and three new replacements, I'm done buying these things. (Yes, the machine and original magna-board had the Stern-recommended service updates applied, and the new board from Marco came with the updates already installed.)

After the fuse is blown, the game is still fully playable (and the disc will continue to spin), but none of the magnet features will work until the fuse is replaced. (Sometimes you'll even get through a couple multiball sequences before the fuse will blow.)

Even though I'm at the finish line with this game, I'm throwing in the towel and would like to pass it on. Surely to God there's someone out there who can resolve this one last nagging problem.

I figure I'd likely do better trading the machine than selling it, so if you're interested, just let me know what ya have to offer.

The game will come with the new magnet board from Marco (with the new PIC chip from Stern installed).

Other than around the very edge of the magna-disc hole, the playfield is in excellent shape.

Some of the NEW parts I've installed:

  • New Dorothy canister
  • New magnet driver board
  • New metal Sensor Ball "Flight"
  • New repro manual
  • New magnet coil on disc
  • New rubbers across the entire playfield
  • New game and display ROMS (latest version)
  • New flipper coils
  • New Molex/Trifurcon connectors on magnet board
  • New Backbox Lock (complete assembly)
  • New targets for T-W-I targets
  • New custom light sockets for T-E-R targets (a workaround for the missing lightboard)
  • New roll-over drop target
  • New shooter rod (entire assembly)
  • New auto-launcher (entire assembly)
  • New switches and diodes (far too many to count)
  • New Opto Board Set - Receiver/Transmitter
  • New Premium Ultra-Gloss Pinballs from Pinball Life
  • New flipper plungers & links
  • New fluorescent bulb
  • New transformer/wiring harness connector
  • New relay board for fan toy
  • New clear flasher caps
  • New bulbs (across the entire playfield)
  • New pop bumper cap
  • ...and a bunch of other stuff I'm not recalling right now.

Pictures can be seen at Picasaweb.

 
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To be clear, I'm also willing to trade up (Twister + cash) if the machine being offered interests me.
 
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