# Johnny Mnemonic Pinball Restoration: Episode 1

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2020-10-04  
**Duration:** 13m 52s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7_qxYh0KaQ

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## Analysis

Cary Hardy documents the restoration of a Johnny Mnemonic pinball machine, beginning with battery replacement and corrosion cleanup. The episode covers initial diagnosis of factory reset errors, flipper rod replacement, switch adjustments and repairs, and testing of basic game functions. The machine is generally in good condition but requires thorough cleaning and component replacement.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Factory settings restore error on startup is caused by battery leakage — _Speaker identifies battery issue as root cause of factory reset error message; cleaned corroded battery with vinegar bath and confirmed continuity_
- [HIGH] Battery corrosion is alkaline base damage, not acidic, requiring weak acid (vinegar) to neutralize — _Speaker explicitly explains chemical process: 'battery alkali is actually a base so this is actually a base damage. So to neutralize this we need to introduce an acid'_
- [HIGH] Machine had a broken spring on one coil assembly preventing proper function — _Speaker identified broken spring under playfield that prevented coil from working correctly_
- [HIGH] Left flipper was non-functional due to missing rod — _Speaker found left flipper rod missing, replaced with spare part; right flipper was functioning_
- [HIGH] Rubber rings on slingshots are deteriorated and need replacement — _'These rubbers are like really loose and blown out on both the slingshots'_

### Notable Quotes

> "battery alkali is actually a base so this is actually a base damage. So to neutralize this we need to introduce an acid"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~2:30
> _Technical explanation of battery corrosion chemistry and appropriate cleaning method_

> "and this is why I hoard parts. To be able to fix stuff like that"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~18:45
> _Commentary on parts hoarding as practical restoration strategy_

> "I was like, of course. Wouldn't have it any other way"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~25:15
> _Reaction to switch breaking during adjustment; resigned acceptance of additional repair work_

> "after playing one game on here everything feels like it needs to be tightened up it just things just feel loose"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~30:00
> _Assessment of overall machine condition revealing loose components and structural issues_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Cary Hardy | person | Pinball restoration technician documenting Johnny Mnemonic restoration process |
| Johnny Mnemonic | game | Pinball machine being restored; subject of video restoration documentation |
| Johnny Mnemonic Pinball Machine (restoration subject) | product | Specific machine unit undergoing restoration and repair |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Battery corrosion and replacement, Flipper mechanism repair and replacement, Switch adjustment and replacement
- **Secondary:** Playfield cleaning and maintenance, Mechanical component testing and diagnostics
- **Mentioned:** Parts inventory and hoarding strategy

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — Hardy maintains professional, methodical approach throughout restoration with occasional frustration at component failures but ultimately optimistic about machine condition and functionality

### Signals

- **[product_concern]** Machine exhibits multiple mechanical component failures including broken flipper rod, broken coil spring, and deteriorated rubber rings (confidence: high) — Multiple failures identified during initial diagnostic: missing flipper rod, broken coil spring, loose/blown out slingshot rubbers, loose overall structure
- **[technology_signal]** Johnny Mnemonic machine exhibits factory reset behavior on startup due to battery leakage, requiring diagnosis and correction (confidence: high) — Battery corrosion confirmed; vinegar bath cleaning performed; system tested and verified after battery replacement

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## Transcript

 All right, Johnny is in place. Still got to work on this one. But one of the first things upon the purchase of this was whenever you would turn it on, you would get factory settings restored. And what is the number one culprit for that? batteries. So we're going to take these batteries out, see if this can be cleaned up and still use. Hopefully we don't have a lot of alcohol damage to where we can no longer use this. All right, let's get this going. All right, we've got the batteries out and it looks like we've only got damage on this middle one right here. All the other ones look nice and clean. Now how we're going to clean this up is by using a very what's the word looking for a weak acid so we're going to be using some vinegar and I'm even gonna have this a little bit diluted as well now people think and want to call this battery acid damage no the thing is battery alkali is actually a base so this is actually a base damage. So to neutralize this we need to introduce an acid. So I'm gonna give this a vinegar bath and let it soak for a little bit and then I'll be using this brush right here to see if we can get it all cleaned up. Alright so let's get over look on the current condition of this machine now this is a pretty dirty machine upon going over it while I was playing it there was a couple of things that I know are gonna need to be fixed like I was wondering why this wasn't working all the way and there's a spring broken down there for that coil the glove 100% works took everything over here this dumped out gave me a multiball the way it needed to so that was a plus there's not a lot of major wear around the holes right here the out hole. The plastics look to be in pretty good shape. I'm not seeing any major breakage or damage or anything like that. It's just really dirty right now. So overall I'd say this machine was kept in pretty good conditions for a long time. It's just pretty dirty. We're going to see if we can rectify that. I'm not seeing any wear on the play field as of right now I seeing a lot of ball trails but I thinking this should clean up pretty nice let take a look underneath all right we got her up now the first thing was the left flipper wasn working and that why that not working i want to say i may have that piece that we need right there because this all is intact it's all good it's just it's missing the rod right there so I think I may have spares to get this thing to where I can actually fully play it but right flipper work just fine the slingshots I believe these all functioned well they're gonna need a cleaning obviously I think a lot of this is just gonna need to be going through and cleaning when it comes to this game like up underneath that it looks pretty bear when it comes to what's going on because a lot of this game is above the playfield rather than underneath it now you've got the buck and everything down here and I want to say right here yeah that one's got the broken spring on so that one's not gonna work the way it should that one's working and has all the components in it but I want to say that's looking pretty good got all the stuff over here looking pretty good now Yep, there was no keys for this machine. This was already gone out. I didn't have to drill anything. And they didn't have any keys for the backbox. And then you turn the machine on and you get notified that the factory settings have been restored and those of us know that that's a battery issue. Then you start to worry, do we have battery leakage? the leakage made a lot of damage to the MPU or anything else that's wrong back there but you can't get into the backbox whenever you're buying a machine that is a scary thing but luckily these were only like finger tight and I was able to loosen them up and get in there about having to damage the lock or any other part of the machine which gave me the ability to see that there wasn't a lot of damage back there Alright, as of right now that's about as far as I can get on showing this game. I mean, I can, yeah, it will be turned on. There's no batteries or anything, which that's no big issue, but yeah, let me get that battery board all cleaned up and then we can turn it on. And there you have it. Just using a nylon brush with the vinegar bath. up pretty good there you could see like any other kind of damage like rust or any kind of corrosion damage you're still going to have like some pitting and stuff like that where the damage was at but we are definitely getting continuity so this should work just fine so let's get some batteries in there and get her all hooked up and then that'll be one less issue that i've got to deal with Alright batteries are installed let boot her up Now we gonna get the factory settings restored error because this is the first time it been booted up with the new batteries all right so let's set the time and date and then we'll reset it all right so now the date and time have been set set on free play let's boot it up now See if we still get that error. Nope. Alright. Looking good. Let's put some balls in there. Alright. Balls are in here. Let's start a game. Alright, so one thing to note is that these things are like really blown out. These rubbers are like really loose and blown out on both the slingshots. Like, scared me. But during the testing process, everything worked. Unlock mode activated. Shoot for the right triangle. See if the magnet works. What are you doing? I'm making a long-distance phone call. and it launches out of there. But, yep. That is where we are at. Game works. Ah. Okay, and this is why I hoard parts. To be able to fix stuff like that. So now I should have two fully functioning flippers and be able to play this game. Alright let's do this. Alright I turned the machine on it seems like we've got another issue. Let me show you what we're talking about here. So the game's powered on. Look it's pulsing. I turned the machine off. Now if it was a board issue turning the power off should have caused this thing to go back out so this tells me this thing is dirty yeah so let me take this off get it cleaned up and see what we get under further investigation I see that the reason why that thing's even shooting is because that switch needed to be adjusted that switch is all kinds of crooked right there so it thought that there was a ball see things there's a ball there and then wants to shoot out but the other issue is that this thing is still dirty I guess so I'm gonna have to clean it anyways but I'm gonna fix that switch right there all right so I've got this cleaned up as well as adjusted I think it mainly just needed an adjustment more than just a cleaning I still got the switch broken because I want to see if this thing still gets stuck There we go That what I was trying to do Alright back off So now it no longer gets stuck. Now I can adjust the switch down here and then hopefully then we should be good to go. Attempted to adjust that switch. Bitch snapped right off. I was like, of course. Wouldn't have it any other way luckily all I got to do is just replace this top portion right here the switch with one design for rollover and then we should be good to go I don't know spoke too soon last time new switch nice and clicky looks to work let's boot this sucker up again see if we have any other issues Alright, let's see what this error is. If it's the same one I saw earlier. All in hand. Okay, well, that's probably something that just hasn't been hit in a while. I don't know. We'll figure it out. That doesn't make any sense, though. Since we just booted it up. Alright. Alright. let's play some games after playing one game on here everything feels like it needs to be tightened up it just things just feel loose like this lid's loose i mean it seemed like whenever it was hitting ramps that things were not in all the what I don't know it just feels a little flimsy right now I don't like the way it feels hopefully that will change after uh get everything taken apart put back together again all right so finally got parts in uh some of these I'm not going to bother replacing yet I'm not going to replace the sticker on the spinner don't need to I bought this don't know why but but I did I just need to replace the cam lock for the backbox I have some extra springs right here because I had to replace the one down here on this one so now that one actually works it's intact before it was not it was broken off the other ones on here work so that was the only one that I had replace I'll replace that one and I replaced my trough switch not trough my shooter lane switch with the appropriate one so now this should work the way it's supposed to and yeah that's it for now all right we got the new cam lock in there all right so that comes all the way out lock take the key out no longer have to worry about that

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: f90dd3f2-91bb-4865-8c0e-b3e7362c07b0*