Hi, noob to Pinball

[EMP]

Hi everyone,
Just bought my first Pinball about a month ago, it's a non-working (yes, I did know it wasnt working when I bought it ) 1978 Gottlieb, Hit the Deck.

I have been told by a very good source that Pinball info will be a great place to share information and learn about the world of Pinball.
I'm currently in the process of finding out exactly what needs repairing on my machine. It is quite tidy for its age, needs work on the electrics, the playfield and back glass also need some attention. My first aim is to get it working then look at the cosmetics.
The one part I am having trouble locating is a high power contact and nylon contact spacer on the Score motor. It is the contact that operates two Sequence bank reset coils.
So, any pointers on the best places to find information on here or if anyone knows of somewhere in the UK that might have these hard to find parts, it would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Taxiturn]

Hi EMP,

Welcome and what a lovely and rare machine you have there.

For old Gottlieb parts, Pinball Resource is the boss. They are based in the US and if the part you need is unusual you may have to bite the bullet and import. Once you’ve found the part numbers you need you can Google it to see if any UK sites have them listed or ask in the “Parts wanted” subforum here, and somebody might have one in their workshop.

By way of example, the Pinball Resource page for relay parts is here: https://www.pbresource.com/relay-GTB.html

Do you have the schematic for your machine? Gottlieb schematics are all copyrighted, so if you don’t have one then you might wish to order one of those too. Pinball Resource have this in stock at a price, along with freely downloadable flyers and other literature if you scroll down to your machine on here: https://www.pbresource.com/pfplayfEM.htm

Don’t hesitate to post any issues in the “Technical queries” subforum, plenty of members here with decades of experience who may be able to help you.

Best,

Simon

 

[Moonraker]

I second what Simon says about pbr being the best for parts, however they have a minimum order amount due to the UK tax system. So https://pinparts.co.uk/ and https://www.pinball.center/ tend to be preferred for smaller purchasing quantities. Oh and having a schematic is a must for EM owners.

To get you started in getting your machine to work, I would head over to https://www.pinrepair.com/em/index1.htm

Good Luck!

 

[EMP]

Hi EMP,

Welcome and what a lovely and rare machine you have there.

For old Gottlieb parts, Pinball Resource is the boss. They are based in the US and if the part you need is unusual you may have to bite the bullet and import. Once you’ve found the part numbers you need you can Google it to see if any UK sites have them listed or ask in the “Parts wanted” subforum here, and somebody might have one in their workshop.

By way of example, the Pinball Resource page for relay parts is here: https://www.pbresource.com/relay-GTB.html

Do you have the schematic for your machine? Gottlieb schematics are all copyrighted, so if you don’t have one then you might wish to order one of those too. Pinball Resource have this in stock at a price, along with freely downloadable flyers and other literature if you scroll down to your machine on here: https://www.pbresource.com/pfplayfEM.htm

Don’t hesitate to post any issues in the “Technical queries” subforum, plenty of members here with decades of experience who may be able to help you.

Best,

Simon

Hi Simon,

Thanks for that, I have already discovered PBR and as you say I may have to bite the bullet and import if the have the part.

Yes, I do have the schematic and also a parts manual, which is really helpful but does only show part numbers for the complete switch stack and not the individual contacts.
I have seen just the Tungsten contacts available, so could look at that route. I shall continue my research, thanks again for your help.

Regards,

Guy

I second what Simon says about pbr being the best for parts, however they have a minimum order amount due to the UK tax system. So https://pinparts.co.uk/ and https://www.pinball.center/ tend to be preferred for smaller purchasing quantities. Oh and having a schematic is a must for EM owners.

To get you started in getting your machine to work, I would head over to https://www.pinrepair.com/em/index1.htm

Good Luck!

Thank you, and thanks for the links.

 

[DAD]

Hi @EMP ,welcome to the forum.

Simon is right that Pinball Resource is the best place for EM parts. However unfortunately since Brexit they have a minimum order value of $200 so unless you have a lot of requirements (or are travelling to the US) you may need to find someone to share an order with

It's very unusual to need to replace score motor switches What has happened to cause this?. If you can't find a new replacement for what you need and you can be specific, I can probably pull a secondhand one off an old score motor for you. Whereabouts in the country are you?

You will find the majority of members of this forum are interested in the later Electronic games, with only a limited following for EM games so you might like to check out other info sources too.

I've just seen that Peter has pointed you to Pinrepair - that is definitely the bible for fixing EM games.

In my experience the best place to get answers and support on tricky EM questions from people who actually understand what they are talking about is the EM forums on Inside https://pinside.com/

For a whole raft of helpful ((if somewhat long winded) repair videos check out the Goat Shed https://www.facebook.com/groups/582691718587932/?ref=share

There are a number of other pinball repair groups on Facebook too, but they tend to have a more limited membership and the answers you get are often opinions and suggestions rather than authoritative answers

Good luck, and keep us informed how you get on. It would be nice to play your game at a show some time soon

 

[DAD]

Sorry, my link for the goat shed videos should have been https://youtube.com/@goatshedempinballrepair8545?si=blPaB358SnvMHRVa

 

[pinballtoys]

in the UK Andy has some of the common em parts & schematics
https://pinparts.co.uk/pinball-parts/ols/categories/em-parts
if it's not on his website it's worth asking him in case he has the odd part laying around
Bob

 

[EMP]

Hi @EMP ,welcome to the forum.

Simon is right that Pinball Resource is the best place for EM parts. However unfortunately since Brexit they have a minimum order value of $200 so unless you have a lot of requirements (or are travelling to the US) you may need to find someone to share an order with

It's very unusual to need to replace score motor switches What has happened to cause this?. If you can't find a new replacement for what you need and you can be specific, I can probably pull a secondhand one off an old score motor for you. Whereabouts in the country are you?

You will find the majority of members of this forum are interested in the later Electronic games, with only a limited following for EM games so you might like to check out other info sources too.

I've just seen that Peter has pointed you to Pinrepair - that is definitely the bible for fixing EM games.

In my experience the best place to get answers and support on tricky EM questions from people who actually understand what they are talking about is the EM forums on Inside https://pinside.com/

For a whole raft of helpful ((if somewhat long winded) repair videos check out the Goat Shed https://www.facebook.com/groups/582691718587932/?ref=share

There are a number of other pinball repair groups on Facebook too, but they tend to have a more limited membership and the answers you get are often opinions and suggestions rather than authoritative answers

Good luck, and keep us informed how you get on. It would be nice to play your game at a show some time soon

Hi @DAD

Lots of really helpful information there, thank you.
As for the Score motor switch that has failed I can only guess really. The nylon contact spacer has melted and the contacts are badly burnt, so either the contact has got hot and mis-gapped the contact which has then stayed closed and heated up even more because it was constantly supplying power to the two reset coils OR the contacts have been arcing when in operation and generated the heat to melt the nylon OR contact cleaner as I mention below.
Also, some of the cables around the score motor are burnt and some of the wires desoldered (deliberately or not, I dont know) but the damage does not look like overloading. Again I am guessing, but maybe some flamable contact cleaner without turning the power off. I have heatshrinked the damaged cables and reconnected the ones that were desoldered and am quite confident when I sort something out for the damaged switch I can start some proper fault finding to get it functioning again.
I got very little information about what had happened to the machine originally as the person I bought it from bought it in that condition and apart from some very light cleaning just stored it. It is probably 12 years or more since this was actually working.
I am around the Cambridgeshire/Lincolnshire/Norfolk border area.

Regards,
Guy

 

[EMP]

in the UK Andy has some of the common em parts & schematics
https://pinparts.co.uk/pinball-parts/ols/categories/em-parts
if it's not on his website it's worth asking him in case he has the odd part laying around
Bob

Hi Bob,
Thanks for that, he is the only other person I have contacted so far and he didn't have the part and didn't think any of his suppliers would either. On the upside though, I did get some replacement lane guides and other bits and pieces from him.
Regards
Guy

 

[AlfonsoB]

Welcome

Just to add.

If you struggle to find parts Its also worth puting a wanted add into the parts section here.

Parts for Sale / Wanted / Trade

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AL

 

[kev a]

Have you got a pic of the part you need? I have some score motor bits from a 68 surf side, might be the same

 

[EMP]

Sorry hit reply to the wrong message and can't seem to get rid of it so just posting this.

 

[AlanJ]

There is a Facebook group with a one drive link to lots of manuals including many Gottlieb ones. DM me if you want the link.

 

[kev a]

Any of this any good to ya?

 

[DAD]

Hi @DAD

Lots of really helpful information there, thank you.
As for the Score motor switch that has failed I can only guess really. The nylon contact spacer has melted and the contacts are badly burnt, so either the contact has got hot and mis-gapped the contact which has then stayed closed and heated up even more because it was constantly supplying power to the two reset coils OR the contacts have been arcing when in operation and generated the heat to melt the nylon OR contact cleaner as I mention below.
Also, some of the cables around the score motor are burnt and some of the wires desoldered (deliberately or not, I dont know) but the damage does not look like overloading. Again I am guessing, but maybe some flamable contact cleaner without turning the power off. I have heatshrinked the damaged cables and reconnected the ones that were desoldered and am quite confident when I sort something out for the damaged switch I can start some proper fault finding to get it functioning again.
I got very little information about what had happened to the machine originally as the person I bought it from bought it in that condition and apart from some very light cleaning just stored it. It is probably 12 years or more since this was actually working.
I am around the Cambridgeshire/Lincolnshire/Norfolk border area.

Regards,
Guy

You're not near me unfortunately but if you DM me your address I can send you what you need. I'm guessing it is one of the two outside pairs on this stack?

 

[thelab]

Parts may be available at Pinfest too!