Noobie repair tips - Dirty Harry

[Wintonmartin]

Hi guys

Fairly new to pinball. I have just bought a Williams Dirty Harry and used to have a Gameplan Sharpshooter which I tuned up a few years ago. It was all a stab in the dark on the SS and I got it working pretty well but the DH seems a little more complicated.

DH is in general working order and I've done some basics like change lamps, cleaning and a couple of plastics. Even changed a burnt out connector (J120). But, I've noticed a couple of niggles that are beyond me and looking for some advice.

The gun doesn't always catch the ball and sometimes rolls out. It will stay at 90 degrees. Is there a magnet that catches the ball too?

The top gate also sticks and sometimes stays up.

Is there any tips for servicing coils?

I also need to change a couple of targets and bullet plastic but these appear to be riveted on. Any tips on replacing?

Does anyone have any other general advice that would be helpful to a noobie?

Thanks

 

[Spandangler]

Hi mate.
If you search pinside you’ll see lots of threads with the ball rolling out of the gun. There is lots of advice there. Can’t say I’ve ever had that problem on mine though so can’t suggest a fix. Suffice to say you’re not the only one and it’s common place on DH.

As far as coils go. The coils themselves will generally either work or not. The linkages and sleeves however are serviceable parts and can be stripped cleaned or even better replaced. You can easily buy new plungers, links and sleeves from pinball heaven, pinball mania etc... Nice strong flippers and pops can transform the game if they are sluggish.

My game has been tombstoned for a year so can’t think what sort of gate it is. If it’s just gravity controlled simply bend and tweak it until it moves freely (do not use oil or anything) or if it’s a coil operated gate, check the spring isn’t catching anywhere.
it really is case of just tinkering.

Targets. Don’t mess about changing the plastic target plate which is riveted on. Change the entire assembly. About a tenner from the parts suppliers. 2 screws and a 3 wires to solder. Five minute job mate.

Hope that helps mate

 

[johnwhitfield]

The gun is a well known problem. The ball often rolls out when it rotates downwards.

if i remember correctly it is normally caused by the ball entering the gun slightly too fast. I think the solution was to slightly pinch the wire form leading to it to slow the ball speed as it entered the gun. Check the thread on pin side first though before trying this.

 

[Wintonmartin]

Hi mate.
If you search pinside you’ll see lots of threads with the ball rolling out of the gun. There is lots of advice there. Can’t say I’ve ever had that problem on mine though so can’t suggest a fix. Suffice to say you’re not the only one and it’s common place on DH.

As far as coils go. The coils themselves will generally either work or not. The linkages and sleeves however are serviceable parts and can be stripped cleaned or even better replaced. You can easily buy new plungers, links and sleeves from pinball heaven, pinball mania etc... Nice strong flippers and pops can transform the game if they are sluggish.

My game has been tombstoned for a year so can’t think what sort of gate it is. If it’s just gravity controlled simply bend and tweak it until it moves freely (do not use oil or anything) or if it’s a coil operated gate, check the spring isn’t catching anywhere.
it really is case of just tinkering.

Targets. Don’t mess about changing the plastic target plate which is riveted on. Change the entire assembly. About a tenner from the parts suppliers. 2 screws and a 3 wires to solder. Five minute job mate.

Hope that helps mate

Hi Pal

Cool, I'll check out pinside!

I'll take a closer look at the linkages and sleeves to see if there's anything wrong with them. I was thinking proactive maintenance as opposed to reactive but I'm worried about opening a can of worms after looking at the assembly in the manual. I think the gate is just gravity reset and is sticking so I'll just check for cleaning and make any adjustments.

I've had a look online and the only place that stock the whole target assembly is a place in Oz for $30. The bullet that's mounted near the gun needs changing and this is also riveted on. The same place does the whole rail with the bullet mounted for $50!! I'm a sucker for a challenge and all 3 parts are less than $10. Wish me luck.

Thanks for all the info matey

 

[Wintonmartin]

Hi mate.
If you search pinside you’ll see lots of threads with the ball rolling out of the gun. There is lots of advice there. Can’t say I’ve ever had that problem on mine though so can’t suggest a fix. Suffice to say you’re not the only one and it’s common place on DH.

As far as coils go. The coils themselves will generally either work or not. The linkages and sleeves however are serviceable parts and can be stripped cleaned or even better replaced. You can easily buy new plungers, links and sleeves from pinball heaven, pinball mania etc... Nice strong flippers and pops can transform the game if they are sluggish.

My game has been tombstoned for a year so can’t think what sort of gate it is. If it’s just gravity controlled simply bend and tweak it until it moves freely (do not use oil or anything) or if it’s a coil operated gate, check the spring isn’t catching anywhere.
it really is case of just tinkering.

Targets. Don’t mess about changing the plastic target plate which is riveted on. Change the entire assembly. About a tenner from the parts suppliers. 2 screws and a 3 wires to solder. Five minute job mate.

Hope that helps mate

Hi Pal

Sorry i have a new fault. I've done as much as possible and at a loss. Wonder if you can help.

When the game is started the warehouse popper fires around 8 times. When the game is in play and the ball is fired into the warehouse it wont register and it will wait the machine to fire all solenoids. If you allow the ball to drop into the trough the game wont end and then the warehouse will do its thing (sound and lights, then fires the solenoid) then ends the game.

I've checked the switch matrix and it says the switch is open. Manual says OPTO usually closed.

I thought it was as simple as cleaning the IR switch and it opened and closed on the switch test but now it does nothing.

I put my meter on the IR and got open circuit (not sure what reading I should get)

Could the IR be faulty or there more to it than that?

Thanks in advance



This time

 

[CHRIS B PINBALLS]

Faulty opto more than likely the transmitter for what they cost I would just change them both
Make sure a wire has not come adrift you can test the transmitter (white opto) with a camera if you point it at it you should see it giving off lite or with a multimeter set to dc you should get around 1.3 volts
You can also test the receiver (black opto) by shining your mobile phone torch in to it or tv remote control do this in the switch test and see if it’s activated

 

[Wintonmartin]

Faulty opto more than likely the transmitter for what they cost I would just change them both
Make sure a wire has not come adrift you can test the transmitter (white opto) with a camera if you point it at it you should see it giving off lite or with a multimeter set to dc you should get around 1.3 volts
You can also test the receiver (black opto) by shining your mobile phone torch in to it or tv remote control do this in the switch test and see if it’s activated

Turned out it was a loose connection. Hadn't realised there was a transmit and receive.

Great info on how to test. I remember this one.

Thanks for your help