Action Pinball - Technical Articles

Technical Articles

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Technical Articles Index

- NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER REGARDING ALL TECHNICAL ARTICLES ON THIS SITE -
Many of the Technical Articles on our site contain information and directions involving electronics and circuit board repair. They are authored with the assumption that the reader has adequate experience and knowledge required to do the work being described.

If you do not feel qualified, or are in any way uncomfortable doing any of the work described in any of the articles, then we strongly recommend enlisting the help of a qualified repair person or shop who can do the work for you. It may save you cost, time, and further repair work.

We (Action Pinball & Amusement, LLC) are not responsible for any damage to you, your game, or your property, from doing any work on your game related to any of the articles listed on this site.

Parts & Supplies: Free free to contact us if you have any questions about parts that we sell which are mentioned in any of our Technical Articles.
Technical Help & Questions: We do not provide remote assistance with diagnosing and repairing games. We are mainly a parts supplier and do not have the time or resources to provide such services. Here are some other options you can explore for help:
- Our Repair Services: If you have a game that you may want us to service or repair, please see our Game Service & Repair page for further info.
- Do-It-Yourself: For information on working on your own game, you can find some online information at these sites: www.pinrepair.com, www.homepinballrepair.com, and www.pinwiki.com
- Other Sources:
  - Online troubleshooting with Skype or Zoom: Randy Fromm
  - Online pinball forums: www.pinside.com
  - Pinball circuit board repair shops: See listings on our Service & Repair page.
  - Find a local pinball repair person or company in your area: See "Service Outside Our Area" on our Service & Repair page
  - Find a local TV/VCR repair shop for general electronic repairs: Do a Google Search

General (All Makes):

Battery Replacement: How to replace the memory-backup batteries in your game.
Flipper Upgrades: Upgrading your outdated flippers to modern units.
Game Power Conversion: Converting your game for use with power/voltage in a foreign country.
LED Lighting Guide: Helpful info on selecting LEDs for your game.
Microswitches (large)- How to Open: YouTube video on how to open large microswitches for swapping wireform actuators.
Reset Problems- Common Causes & Solutions: If your game resets/reboots on it's own, this info may help!
Roll Pin Installation: How to install roll pins in coil plungers.
ROM Chips: Details on ROM chips (updates, unique ROMs, and custom ROM revisions) can now be found on our ROM Chips Page. (Other ROM chip tech info below, arranged by manufacturer.)
ROM Chip Installation: Step-by-step instructions on how to replace ROM chips in most games (now with pictures!)
Rubber Ring Cross-Reference Chart: Cross-reference of manufacturer's part numbers to actual rubber ring sizes.

Bally / Stern Solid-State (1977-1985):

Bally & Stern Fuse/Rectifier Board Voltages: Good place to start when things don't work: testing for vital voltages in these games.
Bally & Stern Solenoid Driver Board Modifications: Fix the weak points on these boards 1977-1985.
Bally & Stern Dual Flipper EOS Switch Wiring: Proper wiring for the EOS switches on dual (upper & lower) flippers.
Bally & Stern General Game ROM Chip & Jumper Info: General information on ROM replacement on Bally & Stern boards.
Bally -17 MPU and Stern MPU-100 Modifications and Jumper Settings for EPROM Chips (2716 and 2732)
Bally -35 MPU Board ROM Chip Jumper Settings
Bally Squawk & Talk Sound/Speech Board ROM Chip Jumper Settings
Stern MPU-200 Board ROM Chip Jumper Settings
Bally ROM Part Number & Game Chart Listing of factory ROM part numbers and their corresponding games.
Stern Game ROM ID Chart: Chart of factory game ROM ID numbers for ROM chips in Stern pinballs and shuffle alleys/bowlers.
Reset Problems- Common Causes & Solutions: If your game resets/reboots on it's own, this info may help!
Replacing Backbox Fluorescent Tube with LED Tube Instructions for installation of kit # FLUOR_12_LED_KIT for Centaur II and Eight Ball Deluxe Limited Edition

Data East, Sega, and late-model Stern:

Display ROM Chip Jumper Settings: Jumper changes used when switching between 1 and 2 chip display ROM sets.
MPU Board Revision Listing: Boards used in different games, and ROM jumpers.
Ball Auto-Launch Assembly Replacement/Upgrade: Replacement tips for old obsolete worn out/broken auto-launch mechanisms.
Replacing Backbox Fluorescent Tube with LED Tube Instructions for installation of part # FLUOR_24_LED

Gottlieb:

Gottlieb Rubber Rings: A chart of part numbers and corresponding sizes.
Gottlieb ROM ID Chart: A chart of System 1 games and their ROM ID numbers.
Early System 80 MPU Board PROM to EPROM Conversion: Details on modifications for conversion.

Williams Early Solid State (1977-up):

Dead Williams Games (Level 3 - Level 7): Common failures and solutions.
Williams Display Power Supply: High voltage transistor replacement info.
Level 7 MPU Board ROM Jumper Settings: Jumper settings (and map) for ROM chips in the different Level 7 MPU games.
Sound Board Jumper Settings: Jumper settings for sound ROM chips in the different Level 6 and 7 MPU games.
Firepower ROM Chip Problems: Common problems with factory chips and a solution!
System 11 Games & MPU Board Revisions: Chart showing which game(s) used which of the 4 different System 11 boards.
Reset Problems- Common Causes & Solutions: If your game resets/reboots on it's own, this info may help!

Williams/Bally WPC Pinball (1990-up):

Free Play Setting (Video): How to turn on/off FREE PLAY setting, and how to make other common adjustments in your WPC game.
Reset Problems- Common Causes & Solutions: If your game resets/reboots on it's own, this info may help!
Twilight Zone Proximity Sensor Mods: Three mods you can make to your TZ trough proximity sensor to help it run more reliably.
Twilight Zone Sound Board Interface Error (9.2 or 9.4H roms) Possible problem when updating to 9.2 or 9.4H game rom.
WPC MPU Board ROM Jumpers: Changing game ROM jumpers on WPC MPU boards.

Pinball 2000:

Fan Replacement Upgrade- Pinball 2000: Upgrade the fans on your CPU and Power Supply.

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