Author Topic: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)  (Read 562 times)

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Offline Bubbatom

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Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« on: December 10, 2014, 11:57:44 PM »
Hello everyone! This'd be my first post on the Aussie Pinball Forums!
I've been experiencing a few problems with my first pinball machine, a Bally Black Rose, and posted the following over of pinside.com earlier today. Thought I'd re-post it here as I am a fellow Aussie myself;


Recently I picked up my first pinball machine, a majestic Black Rose! I'm 17, still in school and had been saving up for a machine ever since I re-discovered the wonders of it. Two days ago one popped up on "Gumtree", an Australian website similar to ebay. It was in decent shape, fairly cheap for an Australian machine ($2550) and not too far away from I lived so I thought I'd check it out, though the cabinet was pretty faded.

I ended up buying it, it was in great condition as it was a home use machine. Upon taking it home and setting it up, I did have several gripes with it though and was wondering if some of you friendly pinsiders could give me your opinions on fixing some of these problems (surprisingly, the cannon is in decent shape, and the fact that the ball is sometimes effected by the grooves on it doesn't really bother me as much as the following):

- The first thing I noticed was that the plunger seemed either a bit weak or was not hitting the ball in the center. On a full plunge, the ball can make it into Davy Jones Locker to load the cannon, but cannot go the whole way around the upper loop as it does on other machines. The problem may even be that I need a different spring in the plunger to get it all the way around that loop?

- My second issue that also has to do with the plunger is that if the plunger is pushed forward a couple of centimeters, the ball will roll the same distance up the shooter lane and stay there, unable to roll back without taking the glass off. The ball will usually sit a couple of millimeters out of reach from the plunger. A real pain!

- The last and possibly the biggest problem is to do with the multiball. Instant multiball, achieved by hitting the ball to broadside while the "multiball" light is lit, works fine. It traps the first ball in broadside, releases another into the shooter lane and you have yourself two ball multiball.
The conventional multiball is what does not work properly. Lighting the locks is fine, but when you shoot to the Pirate's Cove to lock the first ball, a second ball is not released into the shooterlane as it should. The game goes into multiball mode anyway, despite there being only one ball in play, offering the same scoring, etc.
While I am not sure as to the reason why a second ball is not released, I believe it has something to do with the two switches inside Pirate's Cove. Whenever a ball is shot into the Cove, whether to start multiball or not, the kicker shoots the ball out but then goes off two more times, despite nothing being there for it to kick! I have noticed that the left switch in the Pirates Cove stays down during and after the ball is in there, but comes back up half way on the second kick from the kicker and then all the way on the third. Sorry, if that's a little hard to understand!

So, if anyone (especially those with a Black Rose) has any ideas on how I could fix these problems that'd be great and much appreciated! The problem with the multiball is the one that makes me want to pull my hair out the most! I haven't included photos, as I reckon these problems are pretty self-explanatory, but if anyone wants some, I'll be sure to add them!

Thanks for your time, Tom

Offline ralph67

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Re: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« Reply #1 on: December 11, 2014, 02:02:26 AM »
With the multiball issue i would Do a switch Test.  check all switches are working and none are stuck on. If you have the manual use the test button inside the door and go into the switch test mode. good luck. And the pics never sent , you may need to resize and retry to send them...
One-Ball!

Offline pinsanity

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Re: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« Reply #2 on: December 11, 2014, 02:12:40 AM »
The plunger housing itself is probably out of alignment and may need adjusting so that plunger rod itself is aligned and sitting dead centre where the ball sits in the shooter lane.

You can adjust it by lifting up the playfield and using a screwdriver, loosening the screws holding the plunger housing in place inside the cabinet and then re-tightening them. It will be a bit of trial and error of raising and lowering the playfield to do a visual check until correct.

Also the plunger spring itself may be the wrong type (not enough tension) and that may be causing the ball not to launch with enough energy to make it all the way around the loop.

The manual says the spring is a blue 10-148-3, but you could go for a red higher tension spring.
http://www.rtbb.com.au/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=spring&osCsid=19b50d5fe5c9c4559d182f5fb5e95499&x=0&y=0

Did the machine come with a user manual? You can download one for free here in PDF format under documentation:
http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=black+rose&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick
« Last Edit: December 11, 2014, 02:19:27 AM by pinsanity »

Offline 4_amusement_only

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Re: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« Reply #3 on: December 11, 2014, 03:57:56 AM »
Reminds me of myself. I too was 17 and my first machine was Black Rose  ^^^

Yep plunger alignment and increase spring tension. Make sure rod is clean.

Offline Bubbatom

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Re: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« Reply #4 on: December 11, 2014, 11:40:44 PM »
I'll give the red spring a go! The current spring certainly does seem pretty weak compared to other machines I've played.

As for multiball, I've had a good look, and it appears that the end of the wire (right side) on the left switch in Pirates Cove is getting caught on the upper side of the hole where it is positioned. The kicker must be vibrating or bumping the switch back into place, but for the several seconds that is down more than it should, it is probably what is preventing a second ball from being loaded into the shooter lane.
This may prove to be difficult to fix, as the plastic covering the Cove is not going anywhere and I'm not 100% sure how I would go about fixing this from under the playfield.

Thanks for all the support so far guys! Internet is a wonderful thing!

Cheers, Tom

PS: How does the postage work / how much is the postage on items from rtbb.com.au?

Offline pinsanity

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Re: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2014, 03:49:27 AM »
From the website:
"Once we receive your order we will email you a shipping quote."

Add some other parts to the order to make the shipping cost worthwhile. (New rubber kit, new steel balls etc).  ^^^


Greg from RTBB is a trusted, well regarded parts seller and there will be no problems.

Offline Bubbatom

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Re: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« Reply #6 on: December 12, 2014, 11:15:54 AM »
Would you recommend this website above all other Australian spare part websites pinsanity?
It does seem like a fairly well-maintained site with lots of parts at decent prices. I've just gotta decide what else I would like from there!


I managed to fix the multiball problem! I loosened a screw holding the switch in place and then made a minor adjustment to the positioning and viola! Multiball is fully operational!

Thanks for the help guys, especially regarding the plunger and that red spring I'll need to buy!

Offline Tank01

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Re: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« Reply #7 on: December 12, 2014, 02:20:03 PM »
Well done on the multiball fix, very rewarding fixing your own pin. +1 for Greg at RTBB, Many seamless transactions and very easy to deal with.

Offline Bubbatom

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Re: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« Reply #8 on: December 12, 2014, 03:42:46 PM »
That's good to hear! I'm making a list of rubbers, balls etc to buy from the site! The black rubbers currently on the machine have really dirtied it up, so I think I'll buy some white ones.

Offline MartyJ

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Re:
« Reply #9 on: December 12, 2014, 07:22:28 PM »
+100 on Greg @ RTBB. Have spent thousands there over the years and trust him 100%

Offline Strangeways

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Re: Fixing a few issues on my first pin (Black Rose)
« Reply #10 on: December 12, 2014, 07:31:52 PM »
RTBB is APR's preferred parts supplier. Absolutely no issue - buy with confidence !
Aussie Pinball - Proud to be Australia's Premier Pinball Forum

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