I feel slimy.
I figured I'd wait until I got a few things done around here before working on the Pioneer, but who can resist? Not me
 

I had an issue with the ball advance not working. I've cleaned up a bit of crud so the mechanicals are smooth again, then I started to try to figure out how the ball advance works so I could fix it. I wasn't too optimistic because relay logic is still hard for me to follow, but I got it fixed despite myself. EMs are so cool in that it's almost always 1) dirty contacts 2) leaf adjustment or 3) short/open wire somewhere. That I can handle, so I just narrowed it down to a half dozen switch stacks, cleaned & adjusted, and BEHOLD - one working pinball machine. Ahhh, that feels pretty good.

When I play this game it sure brings back memories. I sure wish that bowling alley never closed up. Man those were some good days.

And there lies the beauty of owning an EM. They are really easy to fix once you "get the hang of them" - Well done on the repair !