Repair archive of Satin Doll Pinball by Williams. The repair notes follow:
05/27/20 The game came in with mold, rust and a black substance all over the mech-panel in the bottom. Started on the Mech-Panel - removed all relays and wiring/plugs over 90% of the wood panel. The black stuff is probably graphite powder lubricant mixed with spray oil lubricant. Graphite is extremely hard to get off of anything. It's a very stable compound. It's also a conductor, something to be avoided in a pinball machine. After cleaning we printed new coil position decals, fuse decals, coin options decals then reinstalled all parts. Adjusted all relay contacts. Lube/grease and adjust the timing motor. Two coils replaced in the mech-panel. Installed a new power cord. Replaced incorrect fuses. Rebuilt the chime unit, the rubber and foam pad had rotted away, cleaned up as best we can.
The Backbox - removed and disassembled all 8 reel units, cleaned and adjusted, replaced 1 reel coil. The player 1 ten's unit reel had a coil so burned it melted and fused the plunger into a black glob of copper and plastic. Had to carefully cut it apart then wire brush the plunger, they are getting very hard to find. The 3 stepper units where taken apart then cleaned and adjusted. The brass shafts and bearings where buffed. The relays and connector plugs were cleaned. Labeled the Point Score Adjustment wires and set the replay scores. The Pop Bumper caps look new, not replaced.
The Playfield Underside - The Bonus Stepper Unit was cleaned, adjusted and the brass buffed. The dual reset bank was cleaned and adjusted. All relays were cleaned/adjusted. The Pop Bumpers were rebuilt with rings/bodies/bases/fiber and metal yokes and sleeves. One Pop Bumper had a broken switch blade, made one out of old parts. Rebuilt all 4 flippers with paddles/shafts/bearings/fiber links/sleeves and the plungers and backstops resurfaced. Replaced 1 burned flipper coil. The end of stroke switches look recently replaced, not replaced.
The Playfield Topside - Start by soaking the Playfield with fluid for old dried out wood like this. Then clean and wax, new rubber and bulbs. Three bulb sockets were rusted out, replaced with new. The Plastic runners on both sides of the upper Playfield were broken into pieces. Replaced the runners with 13 new posts and some rubbers. Looks good, think you will like it. Original replacements are not available. The rollover buttons were all sticking, years of wax and dirt inside the plastic shafts. We soaked them in a solvent, blew them out, reinstall and adjusted. One button was white, replaced it with a red button, NOS.
The Cabinet - Glued and clamped the Backbox pedestal back to the cabinet. Clear coated the Backglass to prevent more damage. Repainted the legs. Installed new bolts and leg levelers. One leg was stripped, re-tapped hole. Install new locks.
NOTE!! THIS GAME MUST HAVE THE BACK LEGS ADJUSTED TO RAISE THE BACK OF THE GAME. THE 15 ROLLOVER BUTTONS REQUIRE MORE PLAYFIELD SLANT TO PREVENT THE BALL FROM STICKING ON THEIR TOPS. IF THE BALL STICKS ON A ROLLOVER BUTTON, THE GAME IS NOT SHAKEN, THEN THE REEL UNIT COIL WILL BURN UP. THIS IS TRUE OF ALL THESE GAME TYPES. THIS IS RARE. THE GAME WILL PLAY FASTER THE MORE YOU RAISE THE BACK LEGS.
After testing the game we found big problem: The game plays fine until the player lights the Double Bonus on the playfield. The next ball drain to the Out Hole starts Bonus Unit adding to the score but also RESETS the scores as if a new game had begun. The result is no score on the reels. After studying the game running I found the key to this was the Reset Relay. It was activating when in Double Bonus mode, it should not. I could hold the Reset coil open and feel weak pulses. After eliminating the only two devices attached to the Reset Relay, the Game Over and Coin relays. the schematic shows a Timing Motor contact in the circuit. The circuit logic indicates no-way this can cause a problem, but it is the only thing left. I removed the entire switch stack from the motor index wheel. The top switch pair and the 2nd switch pair where touching when switch was at top position. The bottom blade of the top switch was touching the top blade of the 2nd switch. This caused a partial pulse, just enough to trip the Reset Relay. Crazy hard to find. Game is ready for pickup.
