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Star Wars Pinball Overhaul: Episode 1

Cary Hardy·video·23m 59s·analyzed·May 16, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Data East Star Wars pinball restoration begins with diagnostics and power supply connector repairs.

Summary

Cary Hardy begins restoration of a Data East Star Wars pinball machine, starting with comprehensive diagnostics and board-level repairs. He identifies several issues including loose leaf switches, missing components (knocker assembly, tilt bobber), corroded power supply connectors, and burnt-out bulbs. He systematically addresses each problem through soldering, connector replacement, and pin cleaning, demonstrating troubleshooting methodology and repair techniques.

Key Claims

  • Data East fuse holders and connectors are a chronic problem requiring systematic replacement on older machines

    high confidence · Speaker identifies corroded fuse clips, discusses replacing all four fuse holders on flipper controller board, describes connector corrosion as 'ring of fire' that worsens over time

  • The Internet Pinball Database is one of the best resources available to pinball hobbyists for manuals and repair notes

    high confidence · Speaker explicitly states this while printing manual from IPDB for reference during restoration

  • Testing machine functionality at 100% before major disassembly enables better troubleshooting by isolating which repairs caused new problems

    high confidence · Speaker emphasizes this as standard practice, stating 'always try to get machines working 100% before you start tearing things apart'

  • Leaf switch vibration issues on this Data East machine were caused by contacts being too close together

    high confidence · Speaker demonstrates the problem with playfield up, shows diode issue and vibrating leaf switches that need separation

  • Fuse holders must be installed in correct orientation or fuses will not fit properly into slots

    high confidence · Speaker provides detailed explanation and demonstration of proper orientation during reinstallation

Notable Quotes

  • “That data East hum is a little bit louder than I would like it to be so we'll work on that later”

    Cary Hardy@ 0:43 — Initial assessment of machine condition and prioritization of issues

  • “Data East at its best. Oh, man. This is what you get, guys.”

    Cary Hardy@ 8:39 — Commentary on chronic Data East manufacturing quality issues with corroded connectors and fuse holders

  • “the worse they get the hotter they get the hotter they get the worse they get so it's like a ring of fire that is gets worse and worse”

    Cary Hardy@ 12:17 — Explanation of accelerating corrosion failure mechanism in power supply connectors

  • “always try to get machines working 100% before you start tearing things apart so I know that I did the issue”

    Cary Hardy@ 7:27 — Core troubleshooting methodology emphasizing baseline functionality testing

  • “so you can install it two different ways but it's only going to work one way”

    Cary Hardy @ mid — Practical repair instruction about fuse holder orientation

  • “I don't buy multiple sizes of these because you're going to have this situation... just give me this, and then I'll dwindle it down to the size I need”

    Cary Hardy@ 13:27 — Practical inventory/procurement philosophy for connector replacement

Entities

Cary HardypersonStar Wars PinballgameData EastcompanyInternet Pinball DatabaseorganizationWilliamscompany

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Internet Pinball Database recognized as essential resource for hobbyist restoration and repair work

    high · Speaker explicitly calls IPDB 'one of the best resources we have available to us hobbyists' and uses it for manual printing and service notes

  • ?

    product_concern: Data East connector corrosion and fuse holder degradation identified as systemic manufacturing defects requiring wholesale replacement on aging machines

    high · Speaker describes 'ring of fire' corrosion mechanism, demonstrates multiple severely corroded connectors, explains Data East fuse holders as chronic problem requiring replacement on flipper controller boards

  • ?

    technology_signal: LED conversion mentioned as future upgrade to eliminate recurring connector corrosion issues on older machines

    medium · Speaker notes 'once we get all leds on this then we won't have to worry about these connectors going bad ever again' referring to backbox lighting

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.072

0:00
And welcome to episode 1 of the Star Wars Overhaul. This is where we last left off whenever I made the video showing you that we were going to be doing this game. I have now plugged the machine in and we are going to turn it on and see what we get. Okay, well we obviously have the There's no balls in the game So it's doing all that stuff
0:41
My goodness that that data East hum is a little bit louder than I would like it to be so we'll work on that later but for now I need to make sure or find out what is working and what is not working at this time and then so we're gonna go into test mode we're gonna go into switches looks like we already going through a track mode it's going to diagnostics by hitting this button into the in position first and then we're gonna hit this button and then we're gonna depress the spittle button and that will get need to go forward by pushing the black button and I want to go to so motor is up shift is in down position right return yeah pinball is missing motor that's that right there shift down that's that so pinball missing motor up right return okay so let's progress I don't want that no I know the laser kick works I know the motor works all right so switch test this is what we want and it was saying right return okay so that's already a switch that's gonna have to be played with but every other switch probably works. Another good way to test this now this may be a little unorthodox to a lot of you people you may not like what you're gonna see here but this is surprisingly a very good way to see if you have any loose connections or finicky something it's out of place.
2:51
And along with the cabinet, give it a good little tap on both sides, maybe even a little shake. That's pretty good. So looks like there's nothing like loose connection wise. That's mechanically definitely going to need some help. all the switches.
3:21
What the heck? Okay. Okay, we're going to have to look at that. It's like I hit it. Okay, so that's like hitting multiple times. So something is vibrating and we're going to have to look at that, write that down. But I think every other switch should be good. So we're going to go through that and make sure all the switches are working. But so far we've got this and the anomaly that's going on right there. In order to work on this I'm going to have to get the playfield in the up position. So let's get it off the playfield jacks. Play field is up. Here is that right. And that, my friends, is the problem. So nothing. Have that diode touch that side. there we go so we'll reflow that and as far as what's going on here with these switches it is basically just the vibration from the contacts because if I was to just hit it and it just vibrates don't know if I can focus that camera on those contacts but they are very close and once you hit that it just vibrates and hits that switch over and over again so we're going to separate those leaf switches a little further apart so that vibration doesn't do that that's definitely going to be racking up some points more than likely unless it's coated otherwise but so reflow that and then i think we should be good on all the switches then so as i'm going to be going through this game and doing everything i'm going to be doing what the heck they had right here.
5:28
But as I'm going through checking everything, this is something that I do as I print out the manual using the Internet Pinball Database, one of the best resources we have available to us hobbyists. And there's sometimes, depending on the manufacturer, but there's a notes page that you can use. Otherwise, I'm just going to use the back side of this and just write down things that I know that I'm going to need to purchase that I know is broken or things that I know that I need to repair as I just going through this machine doing what I doing So we just going to start going through and seeing what needs to be purchased like I can already see I missing my tilt bobber so does that even work are we still in test mode we are in test mode so So there in turn, okay, there we go. Just not a good enough connection. Must be a little bit of oxide built up around the rim right there. Or this thing itself is kind of just not, okay, that's kind of loose. There we go. That wasn't making a good connection. Okay. So just need a new tilt bobber and set screw for that. And this is Data East so I'm going through all the boards. More than likely changing the majority of the fuse clips if not all of them. So chances are I'm going to have to replace all the fuse clips on that board right there for the flipper controller board. and like I said it's gonna be going through writing down things that I need to purchase or repair while I'm doing this but I think I'm gonna start with the boards actually so now I know that the game is a hundred percent functional I know that everything I do going forward is that they're going to help it or hurt it but at least I'll know that it's something I did in the process of doing what I'm doing. So that's why I always try to get machines working 100% before I start tearing things apart so I know that I did the issue. So I can at least look back and step back and go, okay, what did I do? What did I do here or there that could have caused this or whatever kind of thing. It's a really good thing for troubleshooting because a lot of the times when you go about fixing certain things, you create problems in the process. So always keep a mental note of what you've done or not record video or take a lot of pictures and everything just to make sure that you can go okay i did this to this so let me go back and check around there to make sure i didn't mess anything up in the process make sure no wires are touching where they're supposed to be or not supposed to be rather little stuff like that just things that do food for thought guys oh just basic troubleshooting tips right there all right let's start digging in all right so I've already wrote down that I'm missing a knocker assembly. I don't have that on there for whatever reason. It's missing. The wires are there. Tilt bobber and set screw. And now I'm moving on to the flipper controller panel. And I can already see that, yes, I'm going to be replacing. Look at that. Data East at its best. Oh, man. This is what you get, guys.
8:45
Well, that one's actually got good contact. That one's actually pretty decent. What about you guys? Usually you can just push these in. and that one's kind of loose yeah I bet these are pretty crap yep there it is yep good old data east so definitely these two these two might be okay but you know what if I'm going through the trouble of replacing these two I'm going to go ahead and replace all four of them that's why you always need to stock up on these babies whenever you own data east so i'm going to use my handy dandy little de-soldering tool out with the old in with the new and i may even go through it again just to make sure everything looks good when it comes to reflowing but overall this looks pretty decent but that's definitely not going to work all right old ones are out that took maybe i don't know three minutes to get all those out with that great little device over there now i'm busting out my soldering iron and installing the new ones Now something that you can take note of is that these fuse holders guys are only good if you put them in the correct direction. So just make sure you install them to where the fuse is going to go in because you can install it two different ways. but it's only going to work one way. If I was to install it like this, then that fuse is not going to slide in because these are in the way. So just make sure that you have them in the correct orientation whenever you're installing these on your boards. So one of the tricks I use when installing these, instead of just one at a time, I go ahead and attach the fuse holders to the fuse I'm going to be using and go ahead and put it into the slot it needs to go into.
10:36
And then I can turn it over and begin soldering. It's very less, it's less likely for this thing to just fall through when I've got four of them attached versus just two of them. Makes it easier to control and deal with. So that's just one way to go about doing it. All right, we've got all new fuse holders and fuses are reinstalled now it's time to of course last but not least check your work so i'm going to be making sure i've got continuity throughout and then this thing is going back into the machine it's going to lower the play field down and i see that missing a bolt on this side and this one's also missing a bolt on this side i don't know why but i'm guessing i don't know i'm gonna go i've got hardware for it but that's something that i'm going to replace now. Alright so I've got it all the playfield back down. I am noticing that I have no GI on my back box. So let's try moving around some...uhh... barely touched that one and we've got that and that one's looking pretty crispy so I'm just gonna go ahead and pull this power supply. Okay good this is a newer power supply so chances are I shouldn have to replace anything on this one this is a rotten dog but connector wise that a different story holy hell yeah i say it a little crispy all right so uh what's what's bad about when you get connectors like this is that the worse they get the hotter they get the hotter they get the worse they get so it's like a it's a ring of fire that is gets worse and worse so yeah we're gonna be replacing this entire connector right here uh i don't see anything wrong with this one right here
12:34
and those are your two most problem childs when it comes to this particular model we'll see what this
12:41
12 pin looks like it looks like let me freeze frame it right here to show you that there's a pin that's not completely seated in this connector. This is called foreshadowing.
12:56
It just needs to be cleaned up inside there. Other than that, should be good to go hopefully for the power supply. So I've got the new connector, but as you can see,
13:10
the new connector has got just three more slots than we need. So technically, I mean, I could just keep it the way it is and just install it with three pins hanging off, but no, never. So let me show you how I go about getting this down to the correct size. I don't buy multiple sizes of these. No, because you're going to have this situation. I don't want like, oh, I need a 9-pin connector, a 10-pin connector, a 12-pin connector. Like, no, just give me this, and then I'll dwindle it down to the size I need.
13:44
All right, so I don't have to keep track of it too much. I've got a marker basically highlighting which ones need to go. I've got the good old grinder right here.
14:11
Difficult to do with one hand because it's on wheels. so it's rolling as I'm trying to push it into this damn thing. I'm going to give you this visual right here so you can see that it will eat it up.
14:44
All right, that's pretty much it. Now the connector just cleaned up a little bit. Is the correct size I need it to be? So this is my method about doing this is that I do one wire at a time. Basically I just go ahead and cut it and then I have all my tools right here ready at my of disposal that I'm gonna need and then I insert it into the new connector and then move on to the next one and then eventually this will be the new connector so the tools that you're gonna need maybe this set that to the side definitely going to need your crimper this is what I've used right here you You got your 0.5 and your 10, your 1.5, or I guess it's 1.0.
15:41
Then I use these for my wire strippers. And then, of course, your replacement connector. So let's say you just clipped this off from right here. Clipped it off. I need to get some bare wire showing.
16:01
that's all you're gonna need right there let's get a new pin just like that and now the flat portion right here that is going to be protruding through this portion right here so we're just gonna slide that in oh slide that in like that and this is the challenging part of it to turn it so I can get it through there sometimes it'll slide in with ease other times not so much if you don't get it all the way in then it just slides out so almost got it to snap in but this is where these tools come in handy grab my small screwdriver kind of push that into place down further there so that's all nice and snapped into position not going anywhere and you are gonna have a really good connection going forward nice and clean And just rinse and repeat that all the other pins one at a time
18:07
And here we have old and busted. A little bit crispy there and new hotness. So now that should just go. mmm oh that was nice and snug that was beautiful I'm gonna I'm actually gonna plug these in and turn this machine on now to see what it looks like make sure that back box is all fully lit and all my GI is still going that should be all good to go all right so is it different strand so those are are those all different flashers it looks like the GI is all lit but everything on brown and white line is not so gonna be checking I don't think it's gonna be this connector this connectors nice and snug and everything's all beautiful but I am gonna have to check this particular line right here to see if we have anything else causing an issue oh whoa whoa whoa
19:58
okay well I'm gonna be careful with this connector that was not good I'm not sure the camera caught that or not but so okay so I'm gonna have to do something with this god let scared the hell out of me so I'm gonna be checking this I'm probably gonna end up pulling the power supply to make sure we don't need to have anything else reflown but uh yeah it's definitely up here should be working this bulb's probably just burned out nope that's the brown and white one or no brown and white's all good i guess these bulbs are just burnt out let's just check here maybe that bulb is bad yeah okay that's the only problem i was starting to wonder i was like doesn't make any sense should be good to go so and once we get all leds on this then we won't have to worry about these connectors going bad ever again just so happens there was a bunch of lights already down here and i was able to replace all the burnout bulbs so there we go back box is all lit up and now the connection is nice and solid at least on the one that i rebuilt but i'm definitely going to be pulling this board and i'm probably going to be checking everything else to make sure that we've got a good solid connection because this is our main thing that we need to make sure we've got good contact with and then we'll move on to other boards as i was pulling the connector out i think i found the problem this pin right here was barely in there and i bet it'll just come right yep so i'm going to reseat that down there but i'm still going to pull this board and uh just check everything while I'm at it so when pulling the power driver board on this all my fuse holders are really good and I'm looking at all the pins on the board for all of these connectors and this one right here is a little questionable so we're gonna get these pins all cleaned up I think the rest of these are pretty decent yeah so we're gonna get this connector all cleaned up right here this these pins and that should be all the work that we got to do this board I've already had to replace a couple of the tip 36 C's from a previous work on this machine but I think this is all I got to do on this particular board. And to go about doing that I use just some low grit sandpaper. This is actually 220. I usually use a little bit higher grit but you know what I wanted to get it done a little bit faster. So just running across these pins and I've got both sides looking pretty good so should be a nice solid connection on all of these pins so this board should be good to go