Stern Tech School: John Wick Car Target Removal

Stern Pinball·video·5m 24s·analyzed·Sep 14, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.015

TL;DR

Stern Tech School tutorial: John Wick car target removal and reassembly procedures.

Summary

Stern Pinball's educational tech school video demonstrates step-by-step removal and reassembly of the motorized car target assembly on John Wick Premium pinball machines. Kyle from Stern provides technical guidance on safely accessing the mechanism, including playfield glass removal, ball removal, and disconnection of the motor and magnetic sensor board. The video explains how the car target functions using a DC motor with gearbox, clutch, magnetic sensor for position detection, and optical switches for hit detection.

Key Claims

John Wick Premium car target assembly uses a quarter-inch nut driver and four quarter-inch head wood screws for removal from the playfield
high confidence · Kyle demonstrates and explicitly names the tools needed during removal sequence
The car target mechanism uses a DC motor with gearbox, clutch, and cam that rotates 180 degrees to move the car between two positions
high confidence · Kyle explains the mechanical operation in detail with visual demonstration of motor turning
Car position is detected by a magnetic sensor board mounted under the playfield that acts as a switch to determine which of two positions the car is in
high confidence · Kyle points to and describes the magnetic sensor board location and function
Car hit detection is handled by optical switches (optos) mounted to the playfield, with one opto detecting hits from one side and a reflective opto on a bracket detecting hits from the front
high confidence · Kyle identifies both opto locations and explains their detection functions
The plastic piece that the car rides on has a very tight one-to-one fit with the routed hole in the playfield, making removal and installation challenging
high confidence · Kyle explicitly describes and demonstrates the snug fit during removal and reinstallation

Notable Quotes

“The only thing we need to remove the car target assembly on a John Wick Premium is a quarter-inch nut driver.”
Kyle, Stern Pinball @ ~1:10 — Specifies exact tool required for the job, practical guidance for technicians
“When the motor turns, it will move to one of two positions on this magnetic sensor board here. So when the cam turns—I'll simulate the motor turning—it turns 180 degrees and then the car comes out and gives us the motion of blocking the shot.”
Kyle, Stern Pinball @ ~2:20 — Explains core mechanical operation of the car target system
“Part of the wiggling to get this out of the playfield is because of the snug fit for the plastic piece that the car rides on. Here is a very snug one-to-one fit with the routed hole in the playfield.”
Kyle, Stern Pinball @ ~2:00 — Identifies a key challenge in the removal process due to design tolerances
“The car hit detection is all done by optical switches, which are still mounted to the playfield. The position of the car is dictated by the magnetic sensor board here, which is under the playfield.”
Kyle, Stern Pinball @ ~3:00 — Distinguishes between position sensing (magnetic) and hit detection (optical) systems

Entities

KylepersonStern PinballcompanyJohn Wick PremiumgameDC motorproductMagnetic sensor boardproductOptical switches (optos)product

Signals

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community_signal: Stern Pinball producing detailed technical school educational content demonstrates ongoing commitment to operator and owner education and support
high · Full production video tutorial with step-by-step guidance on servicing a specific machine component

Topics

Mechanical servicing and maintenanceprimaryJohn Wick pinball machineprimaryMotor and sensor systemsprimaryTechnical education and operator supportsecondaryPlayfield mechanics and designsecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0.5)— Educational content presented in clear, professional manner with no opinion or emotion. Purely instructional focus.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

hi I'm Kyle with Stern Pinball and in this video we're going to take the car target assembly out of a John Wick Premium to get access to the car target. We need to remove the playfield glass, so going to open the coin door here, unlatch the front molding and set that aside. I'm going to remove the glass from the game. Careful not to scratch it on the coin door. And with the glass out we will put the glass in a safe location. And now before we lift the playfield, we are going to remove the balls. Going to manually eject them from the ball trough. Once we get all six balls out, I'm going to just stow them here in the cabinet for safe keeping. Now with the balls out, you can lift the playfield up and into the service position. For extra precaution, I will turn the game off. Although with the playfield up, the coin door open, with the interlock switch in its middle position, there's no power to the playfield, but again, extra precaution, we'll switch the game off. The only thing we need to remove the car target assembly on a John Wick Premium is a quarter-inch nut driver. The screws we're looking for to remove the mechanism from the playfield are a quarter-inch head wood screw—one in the lower left, one a little bit higher up to the right, one straight up next to this lamp board, then another one to the left and a little bit further down the assembly right here. Before removing the assembly from the playfield, we're going to want to unplug the electronics. So we have the magnetic sensor board down here. It's pretty close to the motor case, but you should be able to wiggle it out. We'll also need to remove the motor from the motor driver board. You can follow the motor harness up here and unplug it as so. Before we get the last screw out, do grab the assembly to support it just in case it shifts. Once all four screws are removed, we can start to wiggle the assembly out of the playfield. Try to get it out at an angle and then pull it up upwards, and you will find a sweet spot where it's going to want to come out, just like that. Part of the wiggling to get this out of the playfield is because of the snug fit for the plastic piece that the car rides on. Here is a very snug one-to-one fit with the routed hole in the playfield. Trying to angle it to get it out also might play with the ability of the car to move back and forth, so we want to make sure we can get the car off the overhang and out of the hole that it fits in here in the playfield. How the car target works: we have a DC motor with a gearbox. The output shaft is clutched and then it rides on this arm. So when the motor turns, it will move to one of two positions on this magnetic sensor board here. So when the cam turns—I'll simulate the motor turning—it turns 180 degrees and then the car comes out and gives us the motion of blocking the shot. So once the motor turns 180 degrees, the cam is now over the other side of the magnetic sensor. Both of these are a switch, right? So the game is looking for a switch in one position or the other. That's why it will move in and out. And at this point, the game relies on optos to tell when the car is being hit from this side. In the other position, when you're hitting the front portion of the car, you're actually triggering a reflective opto off of this bracket here that comes off the back of the car. So the car hit detection is all done by optical switches, which are still mounted to the playfield. The position of the car is dictated by the magnetic sensor board here, which is under the playfield. To reassemble the moving car target assembly, we want to snake the car back in through the hole and then gently work the assembly down. Make sure you don't crush any wires on the way back in until we have the plastic base plate lined up and the two centering studs press into the playfield like that. It will hold itself in position. We can reattach the four wood screws that were holding it to the playfield. Now that we have the car target assembly firmly attached back to the playfield, we will want to plug the motor back into the motor driver board. We'll snake that wire up here and install it as such. And we'll need to also replace the wires for the magnetic sensor board, which are underneath the motor casing here. Good job. Now you know how to service the motor in this car. Thanks for watching this video from Stern Tech School.