Category Archives: Repair

Diagnosing Stern Spike 2 Node Board Problems With Jaws Pinball

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In this video I dive into diagnosing an error condition with a 48v node board for Stern’s Spike 2 pinball system. In this case, I have a Jaws Pro where most of the switches went out and a lot of coils stopped working. The machine says “Node 9 not found” so we’re going to take a look at what the problem is.

the fin up kicker coil was melted and shorted

The fin up kicker coil was fried and shorted.

Here is the damaged Node board 9 – there’s a driver transistor that exploded and isn’t there in the middle

corrosion on the underside of the board??

On the underside of the node board, there was a bunch of corrosion. The problem is, there’s no indication of where this came from? It’s at the top of the playfield underneath the playfield, not near any area where any cleaning solvents could lead, and I didn’t use any cleaning solvents on the playfield. It must have come this way from the factory.

Stern S.A.M. Walking Dead Pinball With No Sound – How To Fix?

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I’ve encountered an odd problem with this Stern Walking Dead pinball game. The sound completely went out. But there is not a dedicated sound board. So what do you do? It’s a lot scarier than one would think…. This is part one describing what’s going on and what I’m doing about it…

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlnmzqQ3Zy4

Will UV Gel Work To Fix Worn Pinball Playfields?

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In this video, I am testing a technique that some have been talking about, using a special gel that will cure under UV light to fix playfield damage. I’m using what’s called “Bondic.”

Note I say “infrared” but I obviously mean “ultraviolet.”

What’s your experience with this product?

Bally Embryon Pinball – First look and initial repairs

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I’m very excited I was able to pick up one of my grail games – an early 80s Bally Embryon. Here is some of my progress.

In the next video, I begin to go over what’s wrong with the game and work on it. First order of business is dealing with flippers – on these Bally games, there are some issues with EOS switches.

Next we move onto dealing with drop targets.

Walk-Thru of Houston’s Amazing “Electronics Parts Outlet”

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A place that’s been on my bucket list to check out, is a business in Houston, TX called “Electronics Parts Outlet” – located in an otherwise demure strip mall on the west side of Houston, this place is one of the premiere surplus electronics stores in the country. It also has a vibrant maker community around it. Come with me as we explore the isles and the many wonders you can find.

Bally Theater of Magic: Fixing a broken trunk and bulletproofing

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I’m finally getting around to fixing my Bally Theater of Magic pinball. In this case, as is typical, the trunk stopped working. The trunk is not working at all, so let’s find out what’s wrong and I’ll also go into replacing the trunk opto board with a new and improved, German-made board. Will this fix all the problems? Watch and see….

Part 2: Work continues on the Bally Theater of Magic pinball – in this case, we’ve figured out why the trucnk wasn’t working even after installing a brand new, improved, aftermarket trunk board. The motor driver controller was shot! Now, while we’re bulletproofing the game, this is a good time to install the special Cliffy Protectors around the trunk to make sure there’s no damage to the plafield. In this video I go over how to lift the trunk out to be able to do this, among other things.

We finally got everything working on the Theater of Magic pinball – here’s a summary of everything that’s been done, along with an odd problem I had with an aftermarket proximity sensor.