NiCad Batteries in Pinball Machines

NiCad (Nickel-Cadmium) Batteries are the 2^nd most common battery to find in a Pinball Machine. These batteries provide 3.6Vdc to the RAM IC, which stores the information needed to be saved when the power is lost.

To learn more about batteries in Pinball Machines, have a look at our Batteries page.

As all NiCad Batteries are located inside the headbox, you will need to know how to open it up. If you are unsure how to do so, check out Opening a Pinball.

On this page, we will show you where the NiCad Batteries are located in your machine.

We have circled the NiCad Batteries in RED for easy identification of the batteries.

So, click on the board generation of your machine to find out where they are, or just scroll the page...

A. Hankin and Co. ('78 - '80): Hankin MPU
Bally (late '76 - mid '89): AS-2518-17, AS-2518-35, AS-2518-133 & A084-91786-AH06 (6803)
Game Plan ('78 - '85): MPU-1 & MPU-2
Gottlieb (late '77 - late '89): System 1, System 80, System 80A & System 80B
Stern Electronics ('78 - '84): MPU-100 & MPU-200
Zaccaria ('78 - '87): Generation 1 & Generation 2

A. Hankin and Co. "Hankin MPU" Pinball Machines

The Hankin MPU hardware machines were made from 1978 until 1980 by A. Hankin and Co., (Australia). Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Bally "-17", "-35", "-133" and Stern Electronics "MPU-100" & "MPU-200" Pinball Machines

The "-17", "-35" and "-133" hardware machines were made from 1976 until 1985 by Bally.
The MPU-100 and MPU-200 hardware machines were made from 1977 until 1984 by Stern Electronics.

As these boards are all very similar (Stern Electronics actually reverse engineered the Bally MPU!), we only need to show one photo to cover them all...

Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Bally "A084-91786-AH06 (6803)" Pinball Machines

The A084-91786-AH06 (6803) hardware machines were made from 1985 until 1989 by Bally (Midway). Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Game Plan "MPU-2" Pinball Machines

The MPU-2 hardware machines were made from 1979 until 1985 by Game Plan. Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Later MPU-2 machines had added circuit boards, so the backbox layout was changed. Here is a photo showing the new location of the NiCad battery:

Gottlieb "System 1" Pinball Machines

The System 1 hardware machines were made from 1977 until 1980 by Gottlieb. Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Gottlieb "System 80" Pinball Machines

The System 80 hardware machines were made from 1980 until 1982 by Gottlieb. Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Gottlieb "System 80A" Pinball Machines

The System 80A hardware machines were made from 1982 until 1985 by Gottlieb. Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Gottlieb "System 80B" Pinball Machines

The System 80B hardware machines were made from 1985 until 1989 by Gottlieb. Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Later System 80B machines had the backbox layout changed. Here is a photo showing the new location of the NiCad battery:

Even later System 80B machines had the backbox layout changed to acomodate the new display. Here is a photo showing the new location of the NiCad battery:

Zaccaria "Generation 1" Pinball Machines

The Generation 1 hardware machines were made from 1978 until 1981 by Zaccaria. Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Zaccaria "Generation 2" Pinball Machines

The Generation 2 hardware machines were made from 1982 until 1987 by Zaccaria. Here is a photo showing the location of the NiCad battery:

Go back to the top of NiCad Batteries.