At our club, we take pride in giving classic pinball machines a second life. We carefully source older machines, repair and restore them with expert craftsmanship, and ensure every detail is fine-tuned for smooth, reliable play. Once fully refurbished, these pinballs are added to our club’s collection, where members can enjoy rare and vintage titles that might otherwise have been lost to time. This process not only preserves the history of pinball but also creates a constantly evolving lineup of machines for our community to discover and enjoy.
While playing my James Bond pinball machine, I noticed the top lane switch wasn't registering any points. At first, it seemed like a simple switch adjustment issue, but testing the switch in diagnostic mode showed it was working mechanically - the problem was electrical. Tracing the wiring back to the node board revealed the culprit: a worn-out connector pin that had loosened over time. The switch's signal wasn't reliably reaching the board, causing the game to miss every shot through that lane.
The fix was straightforward but required some patience. I carefully removed the damaged pin from the connector housing, crimped a new Molex terminal, and reinserted it into the housing to restore a solid electrical connection. Once reassembled, the top lane registered perfectly again, and scoring returned to normal. This kind of issue is actually pretty common on modern Stern machines, as their node boards and connectors can experience wear from vibration and repeated service. A good repinning now and then keeps these games playing like new - and saves a lot of head-scratching during troubleshooting.
Fixing the X-Files pinball machine turned out to be a straightforward repair . The problem began when the machine started behaving unpredictably during gameplay - cabinet hits weren’t registering. After some investigation, I discovered that the issue traced back to a few broken opto LEDs on the playfield. These opto sensors are used throughout the machine to detect ball movement without mechanical contact, so when they fail, gameplay logic gets confused.
The next step was to remove the faulty opto LEDs. This required carefully accessing the affected circuit boards beneath the playfield and desoldering the bad components without damaging the traces. Opto assemblies can be delicate, and the infrared LEDs aren’t always visibly burnt out, so each one had to be tested with a camera or multimeter before replacement. Once confirmed, I desoldered the non-working LEDs, cleaned the solder pads, and prepared the board for the new parts.
After sourcing the correct replacements (MT5000UR TLRH180P 165-5100-00 165-5052-00), I soldered in the new opto LEDs and reinstalled the boards. I double-checked alignment, polarity, and solder joints before powering up the machine. The moment of truth came when the machine booted smoothly, and all the previously unresponsive switches worked flawlessly again. Watching the X-Files pinball come back to life — with smooth, accurate ball tracking — made the effort completely worthwhile. It was a satisfying repair that not only solved the problem but also deepened my understanding of the game’s optical sensing system.
During the kids’ Halloween pinball party, my Haunted House pinball machine decided to add some unplanned scares of its own. Everything had been running perfectly at first — lights flashing, eerie sound effects echoing, and the kids lining up to play — when suddenly the game went dark mid-match. The displays flickered off completely, and the ball refused to launch from the chute. At first, it seemed like a typical power hiccup, but a quick reset didn’t fix the problem, and it became clear that something more serious was going on inside the machine.
After the guests had gone and the house was quiet again, I began tracing the issue. The machine’s boards were getting partial power, but not enough to drive the display or the ball launcher coil. I eventually narrowed it down to a rare fuse in the power circuit that had blown — one that wasn’t immediately obvious in the schematics. Even after replacing the fuse, the problem persisted intermittently, pointing to a deeper connection issue. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the fuse holder and connector pins on the control board had become oxidized and loose over time, preventing a solid electrical connection.
The fix involved carefully repinning the connector on the board and replacing the faulty fuse with the correct rated one. Each wire was crimped into a new pin and reseated into a fresh connector housing to ensure proper contact. Once reassembled, the machine powered up perfectly — screens lit up bright, coils fired with energy, and the ball launched as it should. Seeing Haunted House come back to life, just in time to restore its spooky charm, felt like a victory worthy of any pinball tech. Now it’s ready for the next Halloween party — hopefully without any more ghostly electrical surprises. 
Repairing the dragon switch on your Dungeons & Dragons pinball machine was a satisfying mix of detective work and hands-on restoration. The issue first showed itself when the switch stopped registering hits during gameplay, throwing off the scoring and interrupting certain modes. After lifting the playfield and carefully inspecting the mechanism, you discovered that the switch actuator beneath the dragon toy had become misaligned and slightly oxidized. With some cleaning, adjustment, and a bit of soldering to resecure a loose wire, the mechanism started responding again, restoring one of the game’s most exciting features. It was a moment of relief to see the switch clicking crisply and registering properly in test mode.
Once the repair was complete, you reassembled the playfield and gave the dragon a few test shots to make sure everything was working smoothly. The dragon roared back to life—its switch responding perfectly, triggering animations and sounds as intended. Watching the feature work flawlessly again made all the troubleshooting worthwhile, and it added a renewed sense of excitement to the game. Not only did the repair bring back a key part of the pinball’s charm, but it also deepened your appreciation for the intricate mechanics and clever engineering that make classic machines like Dungeons & Dragons so special to keep alive.
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