The Pop Bumper

I've been fooling with the game a little bit to determine what's in working order and what is not. The third pop bumper was non-functional. Thanks to PinballLife.com, it's back up and working!

From the picture, you can see that the scoop is cracked. It leans to one side and doesn't have any rigidity left in it. As a result, when the plunger is pushed down by the ball, it bounces outside of the scoop and no longer triggers the switch which pops the plunger.

I attempted to fix the machine myself in the meantime before actually purchasing a replacement scoop. A tastespoon probably would have been perfect, but a little stiff to trigger the pop. What I fabricated (out of nothing but extra parts laying around the house) was crude and very simple. I took a piece of aluminum flashing, poked a few holes in it, and used the cap from an optical audio cable. It held together very well as the bumper popped a few times. After a few games, it just didnt' hold though. The aluminum had too little spring and ended up contacting the switch continuously, leading to a once again nonfunctioning bumper.

When this didn't hold, I attempted to temporarily fix the old one. I didn't have and superglue so black electrical tape and a zip tie would suffice. Turns out that it held once again only for a few pops, and then broke loose to one side.

I was shocked to find that the replacements were readily available though and only for 69 cents! The new one was much more stiff, clean, but still quite fragile.

Once installed, the bumper worked perfectly! It pops well and continues to pop game after game.

The Arm Nukes Hole

The Arm Nukes hole on the left side of the playboard has proven to be intermittant. Sometimes when the ball sinks, it sits there and nothing happens. Other times, it pops back out quickly. I took off the switch to see what was going on.

The camera's focus was set incorrectly, but you can hopefully see that it's a simple switch. When the ball falls onto the ring, it collapses the microswitch and triggers the event. The switch is operating cleanly. There's a very audible click heard from the unit when the ring is pushed down. However, during testing and gameplay, it's immediately apparent that the circuit is closed intermittantly. Either the switch is bad itself, most likely due to a corroded contact inside, or the wiring is bad. I believe it's the first. For $3, I can change out the switch. During my next batch of ordered parts, I plan on picking one up.

The BUG Lane

My BUG lane isn't bad, but the lane separator is. When the ball falls into the B lane, it often gets stuck between the rubbers on each side, just sitting there. Only sometimes does the machine, when going through its "where is my ball" reset, vibrate enough to continue gameplay. Other times, nothing except taking off the glass and using your finger will fix it. Turns out, the problem is a broken lane separator. Because it's not solid, the rubber between the B and U lanes moves to the left ever so slightly, enough to trap the ball there. I need a new one. Few cents for a new one. It's hard to see on the picture, but the pink separator has a crack running across the top.

The Left Ramp

Need a capping nut for this. The ramp shakes a lot when the ball drops from the opening into the left lane. It's functional and operates fine. It's just an annoyance.