Corvette shop job has begun!

It has begun! The ginormous Corvette shop job has started, only to be interrupted for a week of vacation.

Williams released bonus service docs specifically for removing and repairing the 2 big toys, the racetrack and the LT5 engine.
In tearing down Corvette the first thing is of course the race track on the right, and this comes apart readily for relatively easy maintenance.

The racetrack has one main connector at front and some easily accessible ones at the back, and minimal screws.  Very easy to remove.

But for me the big thing is getting the LT5 engine out. I had spent about 200 on a loaded replacement ramp and was eager to get it in.

The old ramp was busted at the entrance left side, although mostly hidden by a makeshift piece of metal, and busted at the upper right. The upper right break meant that there wasn't anything to secure the top gate to, so a prior owner had connected it to the pit stop upkicker wire frame with a cable. It was a bit messy but mostly worked.

So I started the steps for taking out the Lt5.  If you check the IPDB page, there is a PDF there called "Unit Disassembly For Repair #16-9887", and it is a cool document because it has the step-by-step instructions for taking out the racetrack an the LT5.  The instructions for the racetrack worked out great for me, so I thought "OK, let's get to these LT5 instructions!"

As it turns out, things weren't so straightforward for the LT5.

Here is the engine unit from below.  A number of connectors to be removed, and at the top left you can see the dedicated control board.  The two bolts at the top secure the whole unit to the playfield.

With the engine plastic removed you can see the large unit.  To the left you can see how it goes behind the back ramp.  On the right you can see how the gate had been somewhat attached the VUK wireframe for stability.

One step was to remove the pit upkicker wire form, but that involved removing it from the left wireform, which is connected by an inverted bolt that is nearly impossible to get to, so best take out the upkicker wireform and the attached left wireform.

Here is that annoying bolt, seen with the wireform flipped over.  So annoying to remove these as installed, so I just take out both wireform parts and leave the bolt connected.

both the left and right ramps connect to the slings, so be ready for the whole thing to need to come apart.

One other thing the manual neglects is that you have to detach this spring that connects behind the back of the playfield.  This controls the back gate on the LT5.

One instruction was then to take 2 screws off the ramp that runs along the back.  You know what?  That is nowhere close to enough.  You CANNOT get out the LT5 unit with the ramp along the back!

But then on close inspection, you notice that the back ramp is a single piece of plastic with the right ramp!  It's a huge thing.

BUT, you cannot get that plastic going anywhere unless you take off the right wireforms, which, LUCKILY, come apart rather easily after you take down a few screws and the right sling parts.

Once loosed, both wireform parts can be wiggled out of position with a little elbow grease.

That leaves us in this position:

both wireforms have been removed

Next up, to get the big plastic away you have to remove the diverter (in upper right) by detaching the pin underneath the playfield.  There are a few connectors to also remove.  One problem is one connector is fed beneath that far-right Skid Pad ramp, so you need to remove three screws to loosen that ramp to get the connector out and the major plastic assembly out.

With the major plastic ramps gone, we can FINALLY remove the LT5!  (There is no reason really to remove the Skid Pad from the playfield)

LT5 unit remove, with the ramp detached from the mechanism

closer look at the mechanism, which balances and aligns via 4 solenoids and a control board, plus optos.

New ramp on the right with many of the pieces already transferred over.  The left's entrance is broken, shielded by the makeshift piece of metal. Also that upper right post plastic is smashed off the old one.

While we're here, best to take a moment to install a Cliffy on the pit hole:

wear all around the hole

most of the damage is hidden by the cliffy

What else?

One minor thing to work on was taking apart the exhaust pipe kickback, cleaning it, and adding LEDs.

Oh yeah, I was replacing all lights with LEDs as I went and here is to hoping I NEVER have to do this again!  ;)

This part is really easy to access with the left wireform off.

And one last thing I noticed, there was a tragic accident in applying the Skid Pad decals, I assume from the factory.

Alas, trying to take this off and redo it is not a job for me.  This machine needs new decals on the side of the cabinet, perhaps a new decal at the back, and someone who does that can take care of this.  :)

can you see the issue?

ugggggh

So that is how it sits!

I found that the the left up-kicker wireform had a single weld that had come loose.  That has now been sent away for re-welding.
As well there are new plastic tubes for the engine, but some of the grommets are missing, so a makeshift solution for that will be required as well:

only the left hole has a the black grommet here...

Raven: investigating board issues, starting ground mods

I brought in some help tonight and we looked in to the persistent issues.
As I suspected, the driver board had ISSUES.

Look around you.  Look around you.  Can you see it?

Oh, here it is:

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR FACE?

Pop quiz, pinball hotshot:  are transistors supposed to crumble?


..



....



....................




Answer:  no.





Here are some quick notes about the board:
Q22 is L21, the spinner light, which I think is accidentally always ON.
Q35 is L24, the 1X light, and via manual ground testing works fine.
Q46 is L45, the right-bank center lamp.  also operates fine via a ground test (and that is ground transistor manually to verify the device driven by it is A-ok)
Q48 is L47, right ramp exit
Q52 is L51, left ramp exit

Q35 is listed as MPS-A13, but the other above 4 are MPS-U45 (which also reads 8532 on the component.)

Oh but what about the lower right solenoid, you might say?
(yes, you might say this.  Technically true)
Q63 is an MPS-U45 pre-driver for the larger 2N3055 transistor Q64.  We grounded Q64 and the solenoid fired just fine.
But the funny thing?  Testing later, the lower right sniper solenoid fired just fine!  Was it a bad transistor, or just some cracked solder that shifted when we touched it in our test?
Best to reflow that once we have the board out at a later date.

This is all useful stuff for prepping a shopping list.


In the meantime?  Work has been started on the ground mods.

alas, there has to be a better way.  Alas oh Yorick...

Also did work on the upper right drop:  It wasn't registering at all, but now it is.
As well I got the plug changed.  The old one had the ground plug RIPPED OFF, so now we have a proper 3 prong plug attached to the game.

I do need to get on the parts soon, because the game is currently unplayable.  I took a mild emery board to the EOS switch on the right flipper and the contacts readily fell apart, so that flipper is currently useless.

you could also use a new spring, and to not have your diode by the coil stop.  Just saying.

Introducing... Eight Ball Deluxe!

Only once did I have a proper taste of the SS machines...  and Beat The Clock just wasn't for me.
But here we are with a wonderful example of the iconic classic, the machine that would set a high water mark against much of the 1980s...
EIGHT BALL DELUXE!

Glory!

This game is oh so much fun.  A great ruleset, especially consider how it is set up.
For example, get A and B rollovers, then C or D to drop 2 targets.
Collect the 8 ball, then you can spell deluxe to reload the drops during the same ball.

This is a tournament play classic:  The drop target resets fully, then individual drops return the drop bank to the position you left off last time.
Perfect.

And you better damn hope you clear a rack on your first ball or else you're playing mad catchup.


This game was graciously lent to me by a friend who just happened to have doubles.  A good problem to have, and a generous game to offer!

Very little wrong with it, but of course I can always fine-tooth comb some issues:
- the "game over" lights on the backglass don't light, transistor issue
- drop-bank ball #13 doesn't light, also transistor I think
- backglass lights should be swapped for warm #555 bulbs so as not to bake the (NEAR MINT) backglass unneccesarily.
 - inlane clear plastics are makeshift and warped, and should be replaced so the ball always returns smoothly to the flipper (shades of my Corvette issue!)
- right slingshot would fire and stick out
- plunger spring is a bit broke and should be replaced



Here are those inlane plastics.  I think they have been replaced once before with something, but I should try and get some cleaner and smoother plexiglass or lexan forms in there, tracing from a better copy and then adjusting...

ball bump!

bumpity bump on the little lip

I assure you that is not supposed to stick out.  Turns out it just needed a new coil sleeve and general cleaning.

This will have a lot more satisfying punch with a new spring

Oh, and you know what the only downside to this pin is?  The head is massive.

So that's a normal sized head, with an extra large trim at the front.

Yep, that means this great pin is relegated to the exiled "4th position" in my lineup for good due to the size.
Don't worry EBD, you know I still love you.

Raven: pops and lighting

So all 4 pop bumpers were out, obviously some major power issue with it since I had replaced all of the fuses and found only one was blown.

I also noticed that the lighting rows up to the ramp was not lighting at all, nor the circle of red lights in the middle of the playfield.  No way those 16 or so lights all happened to be burnt.


When changing a few lights under the playfield, there is no way to miss the under-playfield board holding a few smaller circuit boards.

pop bumper control boards

auxiliary lighting board

Oh wait...  so both the extra lights AND  the pop bumpers are out, and they are both on this board?  TOTES SUSPICIOUS.

Here's the schematic confirmation:

from the "Playfield" schematics page of manual

At the bottom we can see that +5V DC comes from the A1J6 connector on the control board, up in the head.  It is most probably that the auxiliary lamp driver and pop bumper driver boards just aren't getting that.
Checked with the DMM, and zero volts between the +5 and ground pins.

Up in the head I noticed the A1J6 connector was JUST slightly askew of perfect.  I removed it and placed it back on, powered up, and problem solved.
All 4 pops now work, as do the light strips.
Well, the red lights in the center only have 2 lights working.  I wonder if the rest are all just burnt?
But hey, progress.

underside of the lighting circle

the light strip to the ramp/orbit on the left side.

Introducing... Raven!

Arena is out, Raven is in!  As far as I can tell this game is basically Firepower with the useless multiball nonsense removed.  ;)
Yes yes yes, this game has a reputation.   Fuck the haters, I think I'm going to like this one.

On initial inspection:  there is no ground prong on the plug.  oopsies!
Left flipper has some movement issues.
A number of the standup targets need serious adjustment in relation to the playfield and surrounding plastics.  This might also mean flattening some distorted plastics.
The ramp and chopper are there intact, so that's always a good sign.  I can't imagine any NOS for those kicking around...
Playfield itself has some raising around the inserts, which I can't really do much about.  But it still has the mylar, so all in all decent condition.  Minimal broken plastics, too.

Tilt bob missing, rolling tilt ball also missing.
Subwoofer detached...
I also didn't know which pole to attach the speaker cable, but sharp-eyed pinsiders helped me with that.  Thank goodness for technology.  Sometimes I should photograph stuff right in front of me just so I can do a better digital zoom and check out details in ideal lighting.


Turned it on, and yes I know it's a touch of a risk considering the ground is gone...
30% of the lights are out.  Display seems great.  Plays well, and even the chopper works.  Held my breathe until I saw it's blade spin when the spinner is active.
Pops are out, and that's most likely a fuse issue.  I should get on top of inspecting the fuses, first and foremost.  I can't imagine this game, in the shape it is now, is properly fused.  Prove me wrong, Raven.  Prove Me Wrong.


FUSES:  THEY'RE WHATS FOR BREAKFAST.
(No really, sit down and eat yr damn fuses.)

I dove in to the fuses and immediately found this:

Notice anything?

yeah... nope.  Let's get a better F4 in there.

Lots of incorrect fuses found:
F11 was 5, should be 1
F10 was 3, should be 1
F9 was 8, should be 1
F6 was 10, should be 7.5
F12 through F15, bumper fuses, were each 3-4, but should be 2.   I only had 3A fuses, so I will have to order a bunch of the 2A ones.
F15 was blown.
F16 was 5, should be 2.5


SOUND:  gimme, please?

With the speaker attached (see above,) I turned it on and only heard background music.  Nothing else.  No sounds at all when you hit targets.  That can't be right, can it?  *quickly checks youtube play videos* yeah no that's not right.

But first I wanted to plug in the subwoofer.  I quickly noticed that the positive wire was plugged to the negative node.  Ummmm not sure if this sub will actually be any good then, but let's try.  I swapped that wire, and hooked up the ground to the minus sign node.

Then, to the manual to check on sound.

yes, this is an actual line from the manual. 

SOUND BOARD HAS BEEN PROGRAMMED FOR SOUND ONLY!
GEE THANKS!

but then there is this part:

So on the sound board is a 4-bank dip switch.  Only one option for toggling though.  Both position 3 and 4 were in the same position, so I adjusted them and lo and behold the sound effects were on.
This begs the question: WHY HAVE THE TOGGLES FOR 3 AND 4 IF THEY AREN'T TO BE SWITCHED?  bah, whatever.  The sound are working now and they are awesome.


OTHER ISSUES

Bottom right sniper doesn't raise
Upper right sniper often doesn't lower
All of the effects lighting (strip up to ramp on the left, center circle of red lights) doesn't work at all.
Pop bumpers are all out
Slingshots need major adjustment
did I mention so many lights are out?

Time to get to it!

Arena: done

I had dallied on finishing up Arena since I wanted to have it around for the Pinball Women Ottawa meeting here.  It didn't get a lot of play, but I couldn't, in good conscience, install the NOS ramp and then invite others to play it.
Event came and went, and now it's time for the new ramp to shine!

old ramp vs new

With the proper entrance actually there the ramp shot is a lot more satisfying and the ball isn't prone to wacky airballs, flying off and smashing in to other hard-to-find pieces.
In the photo above the decal, which was ordered from The Pinball Resource, has not yet been affixed.  Decal set also came with new drop target stickers, but those didn't need to be changed.

Here is to hoping maybe some day some enterprising restorer will be able to epoxy the entrance on the old ramp!

Installed!

Now there is one thing I left hanging with this game:  the Pit plastic is missing.  When I got this machine, there were two UGLY and crude pieces of plastic near the bottom of the Pit / bagatelle playfield.  I couldn't get rid of them fast enough.
I was lucky enough to have my pleas on Pinside answered by member 80spit, who was able to provide me with scans of the upper playfield plastics.  As it turns out there are just 2:  one tiny one in the upper left corner (which I didn't need) and one MASSIVE one that covers the bottom arc, as well the upper right.

I was never able to find a way to print a plastic so large, so that part of the project goes unfinished.  Instead, I release the scans to you, fine pinball community!  Hopefully someone else will be able to utilize these scans and reproduce the plastic, even just in a basic manner.
Large Pit plastic part 1
Large Pit plastic part 2
Upper left Pit plastic

These are the original scans, not compressed in any way.

Finished up with another light cleaning + waxing.  Now to get this back to the owner that graciously lent it to me, and see what is next in line!

Sinbad rollovers wires touching lamp wires

So I guess I gloated a bit too quickly in my last post:  while I had gotten through the final repair, a new thing cropped up:
When the lights stopped rotating for the skill shot and settled on a hole, the right most rollover would be triggered with a DING and of course that means the ball save timer has started.
I assumed that while the playfield was up and I was swapping LEDs that I had bumped the switch and it was closed always.  Checked the switch and the gapping was fine.
So what was different?  I noticed the wire bundle going to the lights was touching the wire from the switch. 
They weren't shorting, the wires were all insulated, but I imagine the wire used for the lower-power switches is less insulated, and having the light wires up against it caused some leakage and a false positive.
I bent/redirected the wires away from each other and voila, the problem went away.