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Tag: surf champ

Repairing a flipper coil

Published November 14, 2018

I didn’t test my coils before before installing, so that was dumb. When looking up test procedures I saw a note about fixing coils so I went ahead and tried that, managed to fix one of the broken ones. Installed it, and had the same “flipper don’t work” experience. Installed a known working coil, and it still doesn’t work.

Surprise, jackass! You’ve been wiring the flipper wrong from the beginning! This is a case of moving too quickly and not taking enough process photos during teardown. SLOW DOWN.

Surf Champ is now working properly, and I repaired a couple of plastics and installed lexan washers to keep them from cracking or breaking again. I lubed the spinner, and did some light cleaning. Unfortunately, when it was all back together I found another couple of bulbs that need socket fixes but I’m moving on for now. The pop bumpers are strong and responsive, so I passed on rebuilding them too.

The game is playing better than it ever has before. I adjusted the playfield angle to about 4.75 and with the right coils installed, it’s like a dream. Reminds me that someday I hope to do some light restore to the playfield and clear coat it. The geometry of this game and the mix of shots is so satisfying. Of all my games I have the least amount of money into this one, but it’s absolutely a favorite.

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Hotwiring old flaky bulb sockets

Published November 13, 2018

A number of sockets on Surf Champ were flickering or not even working. Thanks again to pinside for the recommended fix – which involves soldering the bracket and the barrel together, and then moving the wire connection from the tab to the “tit” of the socket. I did 16 sockets – the top lane rollovers (which weren’t working at all), the bonus counters, and a few others. Shout out to pinsider Don_C for his comprehensive notes on the subject which I used as a guide for my work. I ran out of flux during the process but was able to eek out the last few sockets with some extra patience and cleaning. Plugged in the machine and the lights are all working perfectly!

I also switched out the flipper coils back to original, and remembered why i replaced them—they are broken (doh)! I’m putting in a Pinball Resource order this week for new ones, but luckily i’m able to cannibalize the coils from Team One so i can complete Surf Champ this week.

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EM playfields are heavy

Published November 12, 2018

Gearing up to do some work on Surf Champ. I’m going to switch out the flipper coils (back to original), and while I’m at it I’m going to fix a bunch of bulb sockets. May possibly do a pop bumper refresh but I’m not sure if I have the requisite parts on hand for that.

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Putting in pinball work

Published July 28, 2018
  • Fixed a GI issue with Taxi, got it cleaned and leveled
  • Leveled, cleaned, and replaced bulbs on Sinbad
  • Leveled, cleaned, and switched out flipper rubbers on Surf Champ
  • Cleaned Shadow and replaced a few flashers
  • Cleaned, leveled, and finally put the right shooter spring on Blackout

Tomorrow I’ll go through Funhouse and that’ll mean I’ve got 8 machines nicely dialed in.

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