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MM help please

domlouis

domlouis

Registered
Joined
May 28, 2014
Messages
1,666
Location
Derby
Hi all,
I have a problem with my MM where a part seems to have become disconnected from the rest of the playfield. It still works but it is completely loose. Hence I need to re-attach it. Simple. But not as access is near impossible.
Anyway the part is shown on the attached document (not sure its name).
Any view on how it should be attached? Can't even see, let alone work on it.
And any view on how to get to it???
Thanks.
Dom
 

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The bolt?
It secures the back box to the cab. The carriage bolt screws into it from the other side. Access is a bastard. Maybe more accessible with pf raised.

Or if it’s not the part you’re referring to, ignore me :thumbs:
 
That's a picture of it. Any better?
 

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Do you mean the thing over the lane which has a flap on it :hmm:

If it is there is 2 screws which screws it to the playfield just the other side of the lane guide in what I call no mans land ;)
 
Yes that's the one carl.
Any idea how I get to access no man land???
 
Not had the pleasure of working on one unfortunately ,I take it ,it is in the top right corner ,does the Playfield slide forward ?
You may have to take the ramp off or lift out the Playfield to get to the back corner :(
 
Ah ah. No chance.
Yes it is the top right corner. I'll have a good look tomorrow night to see how to get to it. It would be good if it is just held by two screws as I had envisaged it might have been welded or something.
But I think you are right, I'll have to remove something else to get access to it. Won't be easy.
Any special technique for lifting the playfield out???
 
Lol ;)

If it is the pivot type ,lift straight up and unhook it and rest it back down on the underside of the hooks , now lower the Playfield down and slide a bit forward on the underside of the Playfield , just enough so you can put you hand at the back . Now you will one hand at the back and one hand at the front ( apron ) now lift out and stand it up . Easy if there is two of you ,but not if it's just you . I find it easyer taking out then putting it back in ,now that's a ball ache :(
Always a last resort in taking a Playfield out for me !!

Good luck :)
 
Right. Managed to have a look tonight. Carl, you are right, it is held by two screws into the playfield. Except one is missing. And the other loose. That explains why it is all over the place. And access is under the right ramp. Looks like a nightmare to remove. And none of my spanner set are working to undo the screws to free the ramp. Not really noticed that before but I suspect it is metric vs imperial. I'll get a new set of imperial spanners then.
Also I have a switch fault. No 68. Same area but just below. No loose wire connection to the switch.... What else could it be? Switch itself? I can hear it clicking happily.
Also spent some time cleaning the playfield. What a joy to remove layers of dirt. Love it.
 
I take it you have put it in swicth edge test and only one swicth not working !!
May a bad connection on the board or a wire off another switch which feed's this switch !!
But than again there's switches don't last forever ,
Check the two points above first and if still does not work fit a new switch in ;)
 
Not had a chance to have a look recently..too busy with work/family stuff.
Few things to sort out:
- re-tighten screws for that bracket on top right hand corner (received my new spanner keys this week so see if I manage to fix the it without taking the ramp up)
- switch fault to sort out
- one of the slingshots isn't working
- need to install cillfy type protector on merlin hole (got the part from the US somewhere)
- get a new colour dmd and fit it
I'll update with progress .... when there is some.
 
Yippee. Managed to tighten the screws without removing the ramp. Result.
Onto the next job.
Received the merlin hole protector. Oh that won't be easy to fit. Pinbits website says a 30 min job. More like 30 hours. Emailed them to see if there is a video available showing what to do. I'll try to take a before and after picture and post here.
Anyway another question. Noticed that several screws with hex head (1/4 inch) are missing. Best place to get some?
 
Pinball mania ,Pinball Heaven My pinball ( Jim on here ) 1 stoppinball Pinball daze
Got some dirty ones you can have what length do you need ?
 
Don't worry carl. Thanks for the offer. I am thinking of getting andy to have a look at it anyway. Faults seem to appear quicker than I can fix them. I just need to get another pin currently at my work back home and I am sure this will need fixing too. Then I'll get Andy to look at both.
I'll buy some screws and new balls from him.
Thank you for all the help and advice.
 
Alright..managed to get back to this tonight. New balls, new screws, new foam on target. All these little details make quite a big difference.
Now I have a couple of switch problems. When testing the first one, it doesn't register. If you look underneath, this is what it looks like. Look at photos. It looks to my unexpert eye that someone soldered all the wires arriving at the switch together.. . Why do that? Does that not make the switch permanently closed?
 

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It looks like the lugs have got bent and are touching? If so they can be gently bent back up.

Does the switch show as on or off in switch test?
 
Does look like it has been knocked , you could bend it back just a bit and if it works ,then I would redo the connection and ft a new diode to it :thumbs:

If press the switch by hand can you here it click ?
 
Yes it clicks but does not register. I'll try to separate the lugs to see what happens. What miffed me was that it looks like someone bent them and then soldered the wires. One big mess.
 
If the white and green are touching or joined then you’ll have a host of switch confusion as you’ve got a row and column connected without a diode. Separate the lugs. It looks like that switch is close to the playfield latching mechanism. It may be that it is hitting the pivot point when the playfield is lowered. Make sure it cannot contact anything in the way down.
 
Hurrah..you are all geniuses. Separated the lugs, turned out they were not soldered just pushed together. And Andy was right, the switch had caught the pivot point and that had pushed the lugs together.
Tested it in menu and all back to normal.
For the first time since..... i got it, mm is fault free.
Replaced the balls with some shiny new ones. Playing great.
Next challenge is fitting a protector on Merlin's hole. Got the protector from the states. Looked at it and thought: this will be a pig to install. Anybody done one before?
 
Installed one once and took it straight back out. Looked awful and made the shot harder. Good luck
 
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