# Troubleshooting a Rocky & Bullwinkle Pinball Machine - Part 2

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2022-08-08  
**Duration:** 11m 40s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYtbMKTzFyE

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## Analysis

Cary Hardy continues restoring a Rocky & Bullwinkle pinball machine, troubleshooting multiple mechanical and electrical issues including broken plastics, faulty switches, and critically, defective fuse clips common to Data East machines. After extensive diagnostics and repairs including diode replacement, switch adjustment, and connector reflow, the machine achieves full playability, leading to a comprehensive parts replacement plan.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Data East machines commonly have defective fuse clips that cause sporadic electrical issues and game resets due to poor continuity — _Cary Hardy states this is a critical maintenance step for Data East games and provides detailed troubleshooting guide based on his experience_
- [HIGH] The C2 capacitor on Data East power supplies is frequently damaged or near end of life and should be upgraded from 25V/100µF to 35V specs — _Cary identifies a shot C2 capacitor causing damage to contacts beneath it, recommends upgrading to 35V specification as preventive maintenance_
- [HIGH] Cold solder joints and poor connections are amplified in machines with shaker motors due to vibration — _Cary provides maintenance guidance recommending reflow of all connectors on power supply, driver board, and flipper controller board_
- [HIGH] The Rocky & Bullwinkle machine had broken plastic lane inserts that were repaired with glue and shipping tape, hidden by back glass — _Cary demonstrates repair of line insert on Rocky character insert using adhesive tape, notes repair will be concealed by back glass_
- [HIGH] Cary improvised fuse clip replacements using non-standard methods when stock was depleted — _Cary admits to never having done this before, states he was 'out of stock on fuse clips' and had to improvise, though specific method not detailed on screen_

### Notable Quotes

> "I tell people when they get a data East machine the first thing they need to do is check their fuse clips because they're gonna be crap more than likely"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~28:00
> _Core maintenance advice for Data East machines; reflects industry knowledge about manufacturing defect pattern_

> "with the operator mentality it ain pretty but damn it it fixed with super glue some tape for extra support around the shaft right here and then a good old-fashioned paper clip to keep it from flying off anymore"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~22:30
> _Demonstrates pragmatic field repair philosophy: temporary fixes to enable diagnosis, permanent solutions later_

> "my main goal when getting a game like this that needs repairs or replacement parts is to primarily at first get it to play i need to find out what all is broken and the best way to find out what all is broken is to get it to play"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~36:00
> _Articulates troubleshooting methodology: achieve playability first to diagnose all issues, then plan comprehensive parts replacement_

> "Faulty fuse clips will give the system inconsistent continuity causing random actions including game resets"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~25:00
> _Technical explanation of failure mechanism for common Data East issue_

> "I'm pissed off at myself for not finding it sooner but the game was going friggin nuts and I'm like what the hell happened"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~27:00
> _Emotional reaction to overlooking standard Data East maintenance step despite expertise_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Rocky & Bullwinkle | game | Data East pinball machine being restored by Cary Hardy; subject of Part 2 troubleshooting video |
| Cary Hardy | person | Pinball technician and restorer; host of video series documenting Rocky & Bullwinkle machine repair and troubleshooting |
| Data East | company | Pinball manufacturer; machines have characteristic fuse clip and capacitor reliability issues identified in content |
| Titan rubbers | product | Replacement rubber kit ordered for Rocky & Bullwinkle restoration project |
| Buck | game_element | Playfield feature/toy on Rocky & Bullwinkle machine; verified as working correctly |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Data East machine maintenance and common failure modes, Fuse clip reliability and electrical continuity issues, Capacitor degradation on power supplies, Switch adjustment and diode troubleshooting
- **Secondary:** Plastic insert and toy repair techniques, Cold solder joint identification and reflow procedures, Pinball restoration workflow and diagnostic methodology
- **Mentioned:** Field repair techniques and parts sourcing

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.65) — Positive sentiment regarding successful troubleshooting and restoration progress; frustrated/embarrassed at initially overlooking standard Data East maintenance steps; professional satisfaction with achieved playability and clear parts list for completion

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Cary Hardy producing educational video content documenting Data East machine repair procedures and maintenance best practices for community reference (confidence: high) — Video includes detailed troubleshooting guide and maintenance checklist for Data East games, formatted as instructional content for viewers
- **[product_concern]** C2 capacitors on Data East power supplies degrade or fail prematurely, causing damage to underlying components and requiring upgrades beyond original specifications (confidence: high) — Cary identifies shot C2 capacitor with damage to contact pad beneath; recommends upgrading from 25V/100µF to 35V specification as preventive measure
- **[technology_signal]** Data East machines exhibit systematic fuse clip reliability defects causing sporadic electrical failures and requiring preventive maintenance across power supply, driver board, and flipper controller boards (confidence: high) — Cary identifies loose/failed fuse clips on multiple boards as root cause of all major game issues; states this is standard practice for Data East machines

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## Transcript

All right, so I just got finished playing the game. Everything looks to be working. This tie burger is working the way it's supposed to, so that's always a plus. Buck is working just fine. Everything looks to be doing good. So now it's on to getting this all built correctly and stuff. I think this is all kinds of whacked up, so we're going to start disassembling and getting things all cleaned up and see what all is broken. I know we got some broken parts. I just hope it's nothing too major but I think there is because I know I saw some plastic parts down here we'll see all right so what the issue was back here is that we had some broken plastics and even the line insert is actually still broken but luckily where it's broken isn't a major hindrance as long as it stays in position, this thing should function the way it's supposed to. So to give you an example, and then we'll go to the next ones over here. That one's working now. all right so they're all three working so that's good i had to repair the rocky insert with glue and shipping tape and you really can't tell and you won't be able to tell because the back glass is going to be covering up that portion i think it should be okay by all means we're going to give it some trial runs and everything just to test it out but uh this i don't like how loose this is right here so I'm going to tighten this up a little bit and then I think we should have a fully functioning rocking bullwinkle let's see it with the back glass on all right well guys play testing it and I have found another issue right here that needs to be re so gonna have to repair that that is an active switch and we gonna be checking other ones because evidently maybe we got some other ones that are loose elsewhere But as of right now, let's fix that and see what we get. Well, of course, it can't be easy. Turns out the diode is bad, not just the fact that it was unsoldered. Chances are something probably made it worse. So not to mention, I guess it's missing the nut underneath the plate fill to hold this steady. Because this is about as a... Yeah, so we're going to have to adjust that. But let's remove this switch and replace that diode and give it our shot again. Okay, upon further investigation, the diode was not bad. It just had a really crummy connection. You couldn't tell, but now, see, no switch is active. and now whenever I hit this it's supposed to do that all right now let's play tested well it ain't one thing it's another evidently the switch down here is not properly set so I'm having to get the ball out by other means reaching underneath here yeah there's no way that is correct yeah something's not right there we're gonna figure this out let the plate filled up all the way so that's what is missing i saw this down here earlier and i was like well i don't know what that goes to maybe they replaced the one that i repaired earlier uh wherever the hell that one's that but uh no it goes to that one so I don't think this can be repaired but I'm gonna try anyways and see what we get all right so earlier I found this small spring on the bottom of the cabinet and wasn't sure where it went but now I know so that goes in pushes down the switch which tells this thing to eject out now it's not as perfect so I'm probably gonna have to adjust that switch to where it only clicks whenever that ball hits it right now I think it's active yeah yeah gonna have to kind of have to play with it some all right I had to adjust the switch but it's nice and clicky I'm not sure if you can pick it up on the mic but it clicks right there when it goes down when the ball lands yay all right three install this sucker and see what we got and with the operator mentality it ain pretty but damn it it fixed with super glue some tape for extra support around the shaft right here and then a good old-fashioned paper clip to keep it from flying off anymore yep all right well that idea was a bust well I feel like a dumbass because I should know better I tell people when they get a data East machine the first thing they need to do is check their fuse clips because they're gonna be crap more than likely and it's the thing that I did not do with this game because I was fooled by the power supply looking magnificent but little did I know with all these sporadic issues that I'm having that these fuse clips are absolute friggin trash these fuses literally just slide in and out that one's just sitting in there and I'm sure yep that one's just sitting in there too I'm sure all these are all right those those two up there might be okay but screw it there's a reason why I have a stock of fuse clips is for shit like this and I'm pissed off at myself for not finding it sooner but the game was going friggin nuts and I'm like what the hell happened so I'm going to bed now but uh I'll deal with that tomorrow as you can see this simply will not suffice faulty fuse clips will give the system inconsistent continuity causing random actions including game resets when you get a day to East game there are a few things that you will need to do in order for the game to work at its best. Number one is check all fuse clips. The fuses should be very snug and difficult to remove. If they aren't, replace the clips with new ones. Number two, the C2 capacitor on your power supply is more than likely busted or nearing end of life. This capacitor is obviously shot, causing damage to the contact beneath it. This made the repair a little more challenging. It should be a 25 volt at 100 microfarad capacitor, but if you can, up it to a 35 volt. Number three, when checking the fuse clips, don't just focus on the power supply. Check your driver board and flipper controller board on the inside of the lower cabinet. Number four, reflow all connectors. If there is a cold solder joint, the game will perform abnormally. Any vibration to the system will only highlight a poor connection. So games with a shaker motor will really benefit from this maintenance. Okay with reflown connections on every board as well as new fuse clips on almost every board I done something I i never thought i would do guys uh let me see if i can get a shot of this let me get a flashlight all right now i not proud of this but you gotta do what you gotta do and i was out of stock on my fuse clips so i had to do... That. I've never had to do that. I've always had fuse clips, but I've always found plenty of games that look like that, but I've never had to do it myself. Anyways, so the game is working 100% now. Everything's good to go. The thing is, guys, I know you're probably watching this and some of the decisions you're hearing me make you're like oh just do this or just do that but my main goal when getting a game like this that needs repairs or replacement parts is to primarily at first get it to play i need to find out what all is broken and the best way to find out what all is broken is to get it to play so by me rigging certain Vuck scoops and stuff like that. It's merely to get it to where I can play the game to figure out what all else needs to be replaced. Now, I've got it completely playable except for that Vuck, but I know it works. I can go through and go, okay, I need to get new this. I need to get new that. I need to replace this. So we've got plenty of plastic lanes up here and all these other posts and everything that are broken that are going to have to be replaced. I've ordered all the leds throughout the game so that's in the mail i'm going to be ordering all new uh lion and rocky the the rhino is perfectly fine so i'm keeping him but i've got new versions of these on order so those are going to be coming in and of course we're going to be getting titan rubbers throughout the game uh i mean we're at a point now where it's time to tear it all down and make it pretty while I'm waiting for the parts to come in. I think this post is going to have to be replaced. It's broken on the side. But that's what it is. My main goal is to get the game to work. Once the game is working, then I can play it and figure out what all is going to need to be replaced. And that's where we're at now. I've got my shopping list all together on what's all going to need to be replaced. And we're going to start tearing this baby apart and making it look pretty again. Outro Music

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 7c6cb7d2-835e-4894-ba5c-a1926e5dad90*