This is a common problem that happens with old electro-mechanical pinball machines. One minute it’s playing fine, then the next there’s a loud buzz and/or the scoring runs continuously or doesn’t score properly. What’s the deal with that? I’m going to show you one of the most common causes.
Tag Archives: em
How to work on electro-mechanical switch stacks on pinball machines
Switch stacks are the primary parts of electro-mechanical pinball machines, triggering game activity. I go over in this video, how they work, the different types of switch configurations, and how to clean and maintain them so they work reliably.
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How to remove the inside/backplane from an EM pinball machine?
Sometimes when you have to do more extensive work to relays in an old electro-mechanical game, you can’t bend over the cabinet. You need to get all those assemblies on a bench to service. I go over how you can remove the insides of a game so you can more easily access the components.
The next video in this series goes into repairing a broken latch relay.



Repairing a 1969 Gottlieb “Target Pool” Pinball Machine
Here’s an overview of a few basic repairs I made to a game that has been working for awhile, then started to malfunction and then sat for awhile. After some time going over all the game problems I do a summary of what I noticed and fixed.
Diagnosing gameplay issues on EM pinball machines (Target Pool)
This is a fun video that I think is quite informative. I go over the process of how I discovered a feature in the game was not working. It’s a good example of how even supposedly “fully-working” games are often not fully working and many people don’t realize.
So what do you do when you discover a play feature isn’t working? I go over how we can diagnose and identify/fix the problem, even without having schematics. Check it out!
What’s the deal with Wedgeheads?
One of the most sought after styles of vintage pinball machines are called “Wedgeheads.” In this short video, I go over what makes them different and special?
Pinball Stories #21 – A grail game from a special place!
I’m a firm believer of being patient in the pinball hunt. I’ve always wanted a Bally Wizard EM. It’s such a great game and has such beautiful artwork. They made a bunch of them so why has it taken so long? Because they’re an A-list game and often command A-list prices and I wanted a good deal. I waited and got more than what I wanted…
Here’s a video I did when I first picked the game up: https://youtu.be/kXVg88WqMIo