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lyonpinball

Pinball repair, service and restoration in the UK

The dreaded “Finger Test” on vintage Bally boards. The dreaded “Finger Test” on vintage Bally boards... and why I’m NOT fixing this one. 🛑

A client recently sent me this MPU board because his is fixing a Nitro Ground Shaker and the CPU is not working. As soon as I pulled it out of the box, I spotted two major problems.

Problem #1: It’s the wrong board.
Nitro Ground Shaker requires a Bally -35 MPU to run its code. The board I received is an older Bally -17.

Problem #2: The Augat sockets.
These early -17 boards used Augat sockets which, frankly, weren’t built to last 40+ years. To check their condition, I always do the “finger test.” If I can pull the chips out easily with my bare fingers (like in the video!), it means the sockets have lost all their grip and tension.

The Verdict:
Could I make this work? Yes. But it would require desoldering and replacing 6 IC sockets, cutting traces, and adding jumpers to double the memory capacity just so it could pretend to be a -35 board.

The labor cost alone makes this a bad investment for the client. My advice to him? Don’t fix it. It’s far better (and cheaper!) to buy a proper -35 replacement board online, or keep this -17 exactly as it is for a future older game restoration.

Sometimes, the best repair advice a technician can give you is telling you when NOT to spend your money. 💡

Need honest, expert diagnostics for your classic pinball? Let’s talk.
🔗 lyonpinball.co.uk

#pinball #pinballfix #pinballuk
Star Trek: The Next Generation gets a color upgrad Star Trek: The Next Generation gets a color upgrade near Oxford! 🪐✨

I was called out to a local snooker club (Oracle Pool and Snooker) to look at this absolute Williams classic. The original dot matrix display had suddenly gone dark.

My diagnosis confirmed the worst: the high voltage section on the WPC driver board had completely failed (a very common issue on these 90s machines!).

Instead of trying to rebuild a notoriously delicate high-voltage circuit, we opted for a modern, reliable, and stunning solution:
What we did:
🎨 Installed a brilliant PIN2DMD color display, which runs beautifully without needing the high-voltage section. It looks incredible!
⭕ Replaced several old rubber rings where the ball was trapping.
🔩 Spot-soldered a loose wire on the right flipper’s EOS switch to ensure strong, responsive shots.
🕹️ Calibrated the coin mechanism for 2 x 50p plays.
🔇 Set the game to minimum volume to respect the focus of the snooker players.

The Enterprise is now fully operational and ready to transport players on a colorized adventure.

Need to modernize your classic pinball? Let’s talk! lyonpinball.co.uk

#pinball #pinballrepair #pinballuk #oxford
Full Stern lineup service at @kongscardiff 🚀 We j Full Stern lineup service at @kongscardiff 🚀

We just finished a major overhaul on Jurassic Park, Star Trek, and James Bond 007 (Dr. No). These bad boys were in serious need of some TLC after months of heavy play.

What I did:
✨ Deep playfield clean & wax (They are playing FAST now!)
🔧 Fixed switch errors on Jurassic Park.
💡 Revived the dead backbox lighting on Star Trek.
📡 Performed necessary software/code updates on all three machines to the latest Stern versions.
🔩 General adjustments for optimal gameplay.

These machines are now dialed in and ready for action. Why the big push? Because Cardiff has a brand new Pinball League launching very soon at Kongs! 🎰🕹️ Good luck to all the competitors. @cardiffpinballleague 

Is your venue’s pinball lineup looking a bit tired? Get in touch at lyonpinball.co.uk for professional, on-site servicing.
#pinball #pinballuk #cardiff #kongscardiff #pinballrepair
The ultimate lucky find! 🎰✨ I took a trip out to The ultimate lucky find! 🎰✨

I took a trip out to Pontypool to service this Gottlieb Class of 1812. The owner had dreamed of having a pinball machine for years and was incredibly lucky to be gifted this one from a garage clearance!

It had been sitting for years gathering thick dust and the pinballs were completely rusted, but underneath it all, it was beautifully preserved.

SWIPE to see the before and after! 👉

I gave it the full Lyonpinball treatment:
🧽 Deep playfield clean & wax
⭕ Brand new rubbers
💡 Targeted LED upgrades
🔩 Rebuilt the shooter mechanism (new springs & tip)
🎱 Fresh, shiny pinballs
🔧 Adjusted a few switches for perfect gameplay.

It’s now playing fast, looking great, and making its new owner very happy. There’s nothing better than bringing a forgotten machine back to life. 🧟‍♂️🦇

Got a dusty pinball sitting in your garage? Let’s get it working again! Link in bio. 🔗

#Pinball #PinballRepair #Gottlieb #pinballuk #pontypool
🧟‍♂️ Resurrecting the Dead: WPC CPU vs. Battery Ac 🧟‍♂️ Resurrecting the Dead: WPC CPU vs. Battery Acid

Sometimes, old alkaline batteries cause absolute devastation. This WPC board (Williams/Bally) looked like a complete write-off due to severe corrosion.

🔧 The Surgery:
1. Chemical bath to neutralise the acid.
2. Removing the rotten components.
3. Installing high-quality sockets and replacing 6 logic chips.
4. Micro-surgery on the back to rebuild broken tracks (swipe to see the jumper wires 👉).

💡 The Reality:
Is this always cost-effective? Honestly, not always. The labour hours vs. the cost of a brand new board (ÂŁ200+) is a fine balance.
As a tech, my philosophy is simple: If the original hardware can be saved, I have the skills to do it. But I will always be honest with your wallet—if the repair bill would exceed the cost of a replacement board, I’ll recommend the new one every time.

⚠️ Pro Tip: Check your AA batteries! If they leak, they eat through the circuit board in weeks.

#pinballrepair #pinball #pinballuk #electronics #pinballrepairs
Workbench Diary: Logic problems require logic solu Workbench Diary: Logic problems require logic solutions 🧠🔬

This Data East Star Wars CPU board came in with a serious issue: R2-D2 was going crazy and multiple coils were locked on solid. ⚡️
Diagnosing a board like this goes beyond just checking fuses. Using the logic probe I traced the fault “upstream” to a failed 7408 TTL chip that was stuck sending a permanent signal to the drivers.
The Fix:
I carefully desoldered the old failed chips and the burnt transistor and put new ones in place with new sockets too. 
This not only fixes the immediate problem but “future-proofs” the board, protecting the delicate tracks and making any future maintenance a breeze.
Now testing 100% perfect on the bench and ready to head back to its owner.
📦 Did you know? You don’t need to live in Cardiff to use my services. You can mail in your circuit boards for repair from anywhere in the UK!

#pinballrepair #pinballuk #pinball #starwars
Holy loose screws, Batman! 🦇🔩 Visited the new UO A Holy loose screws, Batman! 🦇🔩
Visited the new UO Arcade inside Urban Outfitters Cardiff today to rescue their Batman Forever pinball. It was suffering from weak flippers and constant ball jams.
The Fix:
⚡ The Power Issue: It wasn’t the fuses or the transistors! The high-voltage interlock switch on the coin door was failing, cutting power to the flippers randomly. I fixed the switch, and the full 50-volt power is back!
🔩 The Gremlins: The ball kept getting stuck in weird places. I went on a hunt and found not one, not two, but THREE loose screws floating around the playfield!
1️⃣ One jamming the inlane.
2️⃣ One jamming the ball trough kicker.
3️⃣ One hiding in an outhole.
I removed the debris, gave the dirty playfield a deep clean and wax 🧼, and now the Dark Knight is defending Gotham properly again.
Swipe ➡️ to see the culprits!
#pinballrepair #cardiff #batmanforever #pinballuk
Waka Waka! 🟡👻 A true arcade icon needed some help Waka Waka! 🟡👻 A true arcade icon needed some help in Bristol today.
This beautiful 1982 Bally Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man was suffering from a “dead” right flipper. It could barely push the ball up the playfield.
The Diagnosis: On these classic early 80s machines, the full 50-volt power of the flipper goes directly through the “End of Stroke” (EOS) switch. Over decades, this high voltage creates arcing, essentially pitting and burning the contacts until power can no longer get through.
The Fix:
✅ Used specialized tungsten files to properly dress the pitted high-voltage contacts (crucial not to use standard sandpaper on these!).
✅ Correctly adjusted the EOS gap for maximum power and safety.
✅ Re-aligned the flipper bat, which had dropped low over the years.
The Extra Mile:
The machine hadn’t seen a cleaner in years and played slow and sluggish. I couldn’t leave it like that! I gave the whole playfield a deep clean and a fresh coat of wax. 🧼✨
Now it plays fast, furious, and just like it did in the arcade. Turn sound on for that classic sound! 🔊
#pinballrepair #bristol #pinballuk #pacman #retrogaming
One of the best calls you can get: “I have an Adda One of the best calls you can get: “I have an Addams Family, bought it 20 years ago”. The owner didn’t realise he was sitting on a pinball treasure! 💎🖐️
He called me out to Cheltenham because of a “Factory Settings” error and dead door buttons. Usually, that means dead batteries. But when I opened the backbox, I found the “Silent Killer”. ☠️
Even though the game had a remote battery holder (which is good!), old alkaline damage had been left behind years ago. Corrosion doesn’t stop; it creeps. It had eaten through the CPU traces, the button matrix chip, and was even climbing up the EPROM legs. 😱
The Fix:
✅ Swapped in a pristine, fully rebuilt CPU board.
✅ Checked the 5V line... it was sagging at 4.8V (guaranteed reset zone).
✅ Pulled the Driver Board and replaced the 5V and 12V capacitors. The 12V cap had actually leaked too!
✅ Now running at a rock-solid 5.1V. ⚡
✅ Installed LEDs in the backbox to save the stressed GI connectors from heat.
Finished with a playfield detail and new rubbers. The game is fast, bright, and electrically bulletproof again. Saving history, one board at a time. ⚡🔧
#pinballrepair #theaddamsfamily #pinball #pinballuk #pinballfix
✨ New year, first job of 2026 ✨ Starting the year ✨ New year, first job of 2026 ✨
Starting the year working on an amazing classic: Gottlieb Capt. Card 🎯

Gottlieb single-player card games are simply the best. This one took me up into the mountains near Llandeilo, with the whole valley covered in snow ❄️ — not a bad way to start the year!

After some heavy Christmas action (lots of kids playing 😄), the game stopped resetting. A quick check of the reels and relays pointed me to the culprit: the reset relay — in this case a latch relay — was sticking. A small adjustment to get it moving and clicking properly, and… problem solved ✅

The game now plays like a charm. Finished off with a good clean and a few new rubbers, and it’s back to playing perfectly.
Most important part: one very happy owner again 😊

📸 In the pictures:
• The snowy mountains
• The Captain Card
• A short video of the game running

#Pinball #PinballRepair #Gottlieb #PinballUK #empinball
🛠️ Playfield Protector Install – The Addams Family 🛠️ Playfield Protector Install – The Addams Family 🛠️

I was called to help with the installation of a playfield protector on this beautiful Addams Family pinball machine. The owner noticed the ball was jumping slightly when rolling over some inserts and didn’t want the playfield to wear any further—so a protector was the solution.

I actually like these protectors and think they’re a great idea when preserving an original playfield 👍

We spent about 3 hours on the install, mainly because we had to remove the Cliffy protectors first… and one of them really didn’t want to come off 😅 But in the end, it was totally worth it.

The owner loved the final result:
✨ Super shiny
✨ Brighter playfield
✨ Smooth and fast ball movement

Another classic protected and ready for many more games! 🔥

#pinball #pinballuk #addamsfamily #pinballrepair #pinballfix #cardiff #wales #pinballmachine #playfieldprotectors
How frustrating can it be to buy the pinball game How frustrating can it be to buy the pinball game of your childhood… all the way from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 

You’re told “the game is perfect” — but the moment it arrives, you realise something’s very wrong.

As soon as you press the launch button, the start button activates too.
Not exactly playable 😅

I was called in to track down the problem in the switch matrix.
The owner and his brother had already found a loose wire, but something still wasn’t right.

I disconnected the switches and tested the board.
Using a logic probe, all row pins should be pulsing — but two rows were stuck high. Strange, especially since only one row was misbehaving.

Just to be sure, I checked the diode on the launch switch — all good.
Next step: remove the board and test the usual suspects — transistors and resistors. Also fine.

That left one likely culprit… the PIA.

On the bench, the CPU was running, but the PIA outputs were not pulsing as they should (see video).
So I installed a socket and replaced the PIA.

Back on the bench — pulses restored ✅
Board back in the machine — BOOM! 💥

Game working perfectly again, and one very happy owner.

📸 Photo: the game
🎥 Videos: PIA testing before & after, plus the game fully working

That’s why proper diagnostics matter — and why “it works perfectly” should always be tested 😉
#pinball #pinballfix #pinballrepair #pinballuk #pinballlife #pinballtech #electronics
GoldenEye 007 Repair Mission 🕵️‍♂️⚡️ Today I retu GoldenEye 007 Repair Mission 🕵️‍♂️⚡️

Today I returned to a GoldenEye 007 machine I had serviced some time ago. The owner reported that the ball wasn’t always launching, and suspected the trigger switch was failing.

Once I arrived, I played a test game and noticed something else: the ball in the lane wasn’t consistently activating the lane switch. It was sitting too high and too stiff, which prevented the game from recognizing when the ball was ready to launch.

I entered the diagnostics menu, tested every switch, and confirmed everything was working properly. The trigger can only fire when the lane switch is activated—so that was the real culprit.

A simple adjustment to the ball-lane switch was all it needed. After that, perfect launches every time! I finished by giving the playfield a good clean so the machine looks sharp for the holidays. 🎄✨

One satisfied owner—ready to enjoy their game for Christmas!

#Pinball #pinballuk #pinballfix #pinballrepair #007
 #goldeneye #pinballlife #pinballtech
Twilight Zone Repair Today 🌀🎯 I worked on a Twili Twilight Zone Repair Today 🌀🎯

I worked on a Twilight Zone that had a very common issue: random resets. Honestly, about half of the Williams machines I see lately have this exact problem. And once again, the culprit was the same tiny part… the C4 capacitor.

A lot of people replace the big filter capacitor and the bridge rectifier on the 5V line, but they forget about that little C4 cap—yet it’s often the one causing the resets. I also swapped out C2, since that one can cause trouble as well. After that: problem solved, no more resets.

On Twilight Zone, connectors are usually another weak point, but in this case they were still in good shape.

I added a quick video too—sorry for the quality—but you can see the game flipping with zero resets. When these Williams games can’t hold a stable 5V, they reboot, so checking the caps, connectors, and sometimes the voltage regulator is essential.

This time it was just that tiny C4. Amazing how often that little guy gets overlooked!
#pinball #pinballlife #pinballfix #pinballrepair #pinballtech #twilightzone #pinballuk #bristol
Here you can see this Bally Driver Board simulatin Here you can see this Bally Driver Board simulating a coil activation.
Last week I went to check out a Globetrotters machine with a drop target coil that wasn’t firing. I was in a hurry that day, so I grabbed the driver board and brought it back to the bench for proper testing.

On the bench, the coil transistor refused to activate — even though it tested “good” with the meter. A nice reminder that a meter test isn’t always 100% reliable! Sometimes a transistor can pass the test and still fail in real use.

To be sure, I checked the transistor array and the connector… everything pointed back to the transistor itself. Swapped it out, and boom — problem solved.

Now you can see it working perfectly in the video.
Board reinstalled, and the owner is enjoying their fully functional Globetrotters again!
#pinball #pinballrepair #pinballfix #pinballuk #ballypinball #pinballtech
Last week a client from Cornwall contacted me abou Last week a client from Cornwall contacted me about his Banzai Run that wouldn’t boot. Since he was quite far away, I suggested we try some remote troubleshooting first. After he sent me a video, I immediately noticed the problem: the blanking LED was staying off when it should be on.
Without blanking, the game simply won’t boot.

He posted the CPU board to me, and once it arrived on the bench I started digging in. As you can see in the photos, the battery holder had some corrosion, so I removed and replaced it—luckily the damage hadn’t spread beyond the holder.

The real issue turned out to be with the blanking circuit. Tracing the signal led me to a faulty 7404 TTL chip, which was interrupting the blanking line. I pulled it out, installed a new socket, and problem solved. The board is now booting perfectly again (photos included!).

I’m also posting a video where my tester confirms the 7404 was indeed bad.

Board is heading back to Cornwall now—hopefully the machine will be up and running again very soon! 🎉
#PinballRepair #BanzaiRun #WilliamsPinball #TechLife #pinball #pinballuk #pinballfix #pinballlife
It’s pretty common for my clients to have a game r It’s pretty common for my clients to have a game room… but this one really surprised me — he has a full bumper car ring inside his house! 🤯 How amazing is that?

Right next to the bumper cars sits his Bally Hang Glider pinball. The machine was alive, but with issues: it wouldn’t reset properly, the score reels were acting up, the player unit was randomly jumping players, and can’t play with the 4th player. 

So I dove in. First step: track down the score reel issues. I found a bit of everything — two reels were sluggish and not rotating well (full teardown, clean, and a better spring fixed that), two were misadjusted and not detecting numbers 1–8, and another two were stuck on 9. All sorted. ✔️

Next, I set the game to free play, just the way the owner likes it. Then I dialed in the coin/player unit so all 4 players work correctly again.

Of course, EM games love surprises… While testing, the whole game suddenly stopped. Tracing it down led me to a loose wire in the bonus unit. Took me a while to find it, but quick fix, and we were back in business.

I really love these old machines. Just look at that artwork—everyone on the beach staring up, amazed by the hang glider. The coolest guy on the sand. Pure late-70s charm. ☀️🎨

EMs can be tricky to fix on location, but fortunately I got this one fully sorted in few hours. Always satisfying to bring a classic back to life! ⚡🎯

#pinball #pinballfix #handglider #pinballrepair #empinball #pinballuk #pinballlife #pinballtech #ukpinball
🔥 This week’s fix: Williams Firepower in South Wal 🔥 This week’s fix: Williams Firepower in South Wales! 🔥

This machine was booting but with issues: had no sound, no memory, and pressing the flipper buttons sent the whole game into chaos—or straight into a reset.

The interesting twist?
The owner had already tried to save it by installing all new boards: Rottendog CPU/driver, refurbished power supply, and sound board. But even with all that, the game still wasn’t behaving.

First stop: sound.
The refurbished power supply looked good—voltages checked out. But the sound board was completely mute. Even a dying board usually makes some noise… but this one? Nothing.
Turned out the speaker itself was dead—only the second time I’ve seen this in 20 years! Luckily, the owner had an old spare. We plugged it in and finally got sound… sort of.

Next discovery: the refurbished sound board had been set up for a different game. A quick jumper change and—bam!—proper Firepower sound restored.

Then on to the flipper reset issue.
Usually it’s a broken coil diode or power supply trouble. The supply was fine, but I did find a broken diode on one of the coils (check the pic). Replaced it… but the resets continued.

That’s when I remembered: the newer Rottendog CPU boards can have a weak ground connection. A well-known issue. So I added a jumper wire to improve grounding between the CPU and power supply and—bam again!—problem solved.

And the missing memory?
Simple: dead battery.

The owner was so happy to finally have a fully working Firepower that he sent me home with a jar of homemade plum jam. 🔧💜

#pinball #pinballfix #pinballrepair #pinballuk #southwales #firepower #pinballtech #pinballlife
🎯 On-Site Pinball Repair Day! This week I visited 🎯 On-Site Pinball Repair Day!

This week I visited a fantastic business in England that has an amazing playroom with two pinball machines 😍

I was called in to bring two classics back to life — Frankenstein 🧟‍♂️ and GoldenEye 🕶️

🧠 On Frankenstein, the game kept tripping fuses at power-up. The culprit was a big inrush current! I installed an NTC inrush limiter and replaced the weak plug fuse — problem solved ✅

While testing, the flippers felt weak and a few coils weren’t working. All the fuses looked fine, but one of them tested bad — and was also underrated (3A instead of 5A). ⚡ A good reminder: never trust a fuse just because it looks okay — always test it! After fitting the correct fuse, everything came back to life. Then I gave it a full clean and wax so it plays and shines like new ✨

🎯 On GoldenEye, it was a similar story — a blown fuse and high inrush tripping the breaker. Added an NTC limiter and the issue disappeared. I also noticed the playfield pitch was too flat (around 5°), so I adjusted it to the proper 7°. Now it plays fast and smooth — just how Bond likes it 😎

📸 look the NTC installed in the game 
🎥 look the pins then running 

Always a pleasure to keep these classics running strong — and what a great place to work in! 🎱🎮

#PinballRepair #PinballRestoration #PinballTech #FrankensteinPinball #GoldenEyePinball #PinballMaintenance #PinballLife  #PinballServiceUK #PinballUK #Pinball #Pinballfix #snowbusiness
🧩 Testing a Williams WPC CPU on the bench using an 🧩 Testing a Williams WPC CPU on the bench using an ATX power supply and a logic probe.

Each column line should pulse — but one wasn’t!
After tracing it back, one chip had a pin not doing a proper connection.

A quick resolder later, all columns are pulsing perfectly again 🔥

This shows how you can bench-test WPC CPU boards without needing a full game setup — super handy for diagnosing switch matrix issues.

#PinballRepair #Pinball #Willimspinball #electronics #pinballuk #pinballfix #pinball
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