This is a repair archive of a Dolly Parton pinball, by Bally from 1979.
This Dolly has all the problems found in a vintage Bally. Bad paint on the playfield was the first thing to fix. The Bally models from 1978 to 1984 all seem to loose playfield paint right in the middle of the playfield. We soaked the playfield with CP-100, several times, to wake up the old dried out wood and paint. Then hand painted it as best we can.
The backbox pedestal was broken loose in the back and the front. Had to glue and screw it down. The front board under the pedestal was split in 2 places. We placed another board behind it and glued and screwed it to the front board. Now the backbox does not act like a bobble head doll.
The floor in the bottom cabinet was detached from the right side wall. We glued and used a small nail gun to re-attach it.
Someone replaced the MPU board with an aftermarket model. That's great but the pins in the harness also have to be replaced at the same time. Since this game had so much rust we also replaced all the header pins and harness housing pins to all the printed circuit boards. This is a lot of work. Over 400 pins involved. We use square .156" header pin strips instead of the round originals. This gives better contact surface area. Only the 5 display plugs were not changed. They looked ok.
Other issues. The transformer assembly needed rework and 2 fuse clips. The sound board did not function correctly, if at all. It had very bad solder cracks on it's plug headers. Replaced all the capacitors on the sound board. Replaced the power cord with original type. Replaced the 4 drop targets and adjusted them. Rebuilt the pop bumpers with new caps, rings, skirts, bodies, metal and fiber yokes and new sleeves. Outhole coil was smoked, replaced it and repaired the driver board circuits. Two TIP122's (Q3, Q4) and a CA3081 (U1) IC. The flippers were rebuilt with new paddles, plunger and links, bearings, sleeves and re-surfaced the backstops. Removed all the disc capacitors on the playfield switches. This prevents stuck switch problems. This was a factory service notice. The little 25 volt caps short out and are not needed.
Replaced the displays with new LED type by Rottendog. Removed the high voltage capacitor and put heat shrink on the fuse clips on the power driver board. There is no need for HV on a LED system. Also replaced the LM323 voltage regulator and the 15,000uf cap, just because they are 40 years old.
Installed new legs, leg bolts and pads. New front and backbox locks. Clear coated the backglass and minor touch up paint. Installed a rear playfield plastic channel, it was missing (the cracked pedestal board fix allowed this). As requested, installed a new free play button on the coin door, turned off free play on the MPU and turned on ball count display. Made new instruction cards.
The playfield: New rubber, posts, acorn nuts, clean and wax. Everything tested and adjusted.
