And here we go with another acquisition. This was a game I initially turned down, but then the owner dropped his price into the area where it was worth the hassle for me to get. At first I wasn’t that excited about it, but like most Gottliebs, they are more fun and interesting that it appears at first glance. Here’s a “first look” fresh from a some guy’s house. The game was not working properly when I picked it up so it’s going to need some work to get running.
Since this is a “First Look” on this machine, I’m embedding a playlist which will be continually updated with all the work I do on this machine. You can watch the first few, or keep watching to see more work done on the machine (at least as far as I’ve filmed and published so far).
Thanks for watching!
– Mike
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I really enjoy watching your videos on the Top Score machine…thanks for going to the trouble…oh, and the dog’s really cute! I had a ‘Soccer’ EM machine which I bought from an amusement arcade for $200 back in 1980 when I was 15. It started playing up with a lot of the same issues you’ve had with this machine as it had the balls in the backboard set-up. As I didn’t know how to fix it and couldn’t afford a technician…my mother ended up giving it away! Anyway… after all these years, now I’m looking to buy another machine and I feel much more confident after viewing your vids… Eddie K (Forestdale, Australia)
Thanks for the kind words. I’m thrilled whenever anybody enjoys my work and am glad to help!
HEY, NICE VIDEOS.
IVE GOT THE SAME MACHINE. MY DAD GAVE IT TO ME NOT TO LONG AGO, IT HAD BEEN SITING IN HIS PARENTS GARAGE FOR YEARS SINCE HE WAS 13 OR SO.
IT WAS WORKING JUST FINE WHEN I PLAYED WITH IT THE FIRST TIME. SECOND TIME I TURNED IT ON AND THE LIGHTS JUST FLASH OVER AND OVER AND WONT START UP.
ANY IDEAS ON THE ISSUE?
ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
First step is to check and make sure all the connectors are properly seated. I should probably do a story on a “machine checklist” that people can run over to check general machine issues.
I just found your videos on your top score machine. I have that exact same machine I came across really cheap($50). It isn’t in working condition but is in pretty good shape. Should be a good first time project. I did get a hold of a copy of the schematics for the game. I’m sure your videos will come handy along the way
Sharpie
gotta love $50 pinball machines! good luck with your restore!
greetings
i have spent the better part of an hour watching all your videos on the gottlieb 300. very complete except, of course, on the problem i seem to have, all the CHIMES. i have had this 4 player machine for maybe 20 years and it generally has worked well. anyway it has been sitting for maybe 3 years, turned it on the other day and it fired right up, everything worked except for NO CHIMES at all. i have the wiring diagram and the instruction manual and have studied them but cannot figure out where to look for the relay…………………..any ideas would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance. greg
First thing to do is take a look at the chime unit and look for a loose/broken wire. Check to see if the chime plungers in the coils can move freely. If you have never heard the chimes, it’s possible they may have been installed wrong or upside down (I’ve seen some people take the plungers and put them in backwards to in-effect “turn off the sound”). If you want to see if you can make them sound, the relays that fire them are in the backbox and correspond to the same relays that fire the 10-100-1000 point reels on the score reeels.
These are some great videos and are very helpful. I recently came across one of these machines in my area and while making the decision to buy it I came across your videos. Watching these made me feel more comfortable and helped lead me to the decision to buy it. I do have one question you may be able to lend a hand with. The main issue my machine has is after the ball drains and it is time to kick out the next ball it doesn’t seem to quite have the power to do so. You can see it pop the ball up but it can quite get all the way into the metal track that feeds to the plunger each time. Sometimes it takes 7-8 tries to get there. So it sees to be doing what it needs to but maybe not with enough force. Or maybe something as simple as not lining up properly. I hope I explained that well. Any thoughts you have would be appreciated
Hi, this series has been very helpful. I have the same game and have 1 more issue I can’t seem to resolve. Plays well in 2 player mode, counts the balls 1-5 for both and ends the game correctly. In 1 player mode it counts balls 1-2 then stops counting and ends the game after 6 balls. any thoughts?
Thanks
Great website. Sorry I did not look at all the articles. You may have covers this previously but, lets give it a try. ( Maybe you can refer me to a specific article / month ).
I have a Bally’s Strikes and Spares. I had it repaired about four years ago. Worked great. Not much play has occurred since. It has been moved / shimmed across the floor to install new flooring. Now it does not completely fire-up. Lights come on. After about 5 minutes of being ” Dormant… it lights up but no action ” within 5 seconds it it goes back to dormant. I pull / reinserted all circuit connectors. Now it lights up and stays on but, the flippers / bumpers do not work.
Any suggestions ?
Thanks,
Doug
It’s really hard to diagnose that but my first thing would be to ask if you still have the battery on the board? If that’s leaking, that can cause all kinds of problems.