How to Open a Pinball Machine

"How do I open a Pinball Machine?" is a question we get asked a lot!

Most people who have a Pinball Machine at home don't know how to remove the Playfield Glass, or open up the Backbox, so this guide will teach you exactly how to do it.

But why exactly would you want to open a pinball machine? Good Question!!

There are a few main reasons to open your pinball machine: to change blown globes, replace broken rubbers and to clean the playfield. Doing these things will keep your pinball looking great and working properly.

Opening a pinball is also essential if you want to do your own repairs or transport your machine.

Do make sure you turn the power off to the machine before performing any maintenance or touch anything under the playfield or headbox. There are some high voltages in these places, and you will get an electric shock if you are not careful.

So, lets begin...

Open the Coin Door

This is really the first step in opening up your pinball. Once the Coin Door is open, you have access to everything you need to open up the rest of the pinball.

    

The above pictures show the front of the Pinball Machine. On the left the coin door is closed, on the right the coin door has been opened.

Now that the Coin Door is open, we have access to the lever mechanism for the Lock Down Bar, and also the Backbox keys should be hanging up on the inside of the Coin Door.

Remove the Playfield Glass

To remove the Lock Down Bar (The metal bar at the front of the machine that the Playfield Glass sits under), locate the lever usually located to the right hand side just inside the coin door. (On Pinball 2000 machines, this lever is located on the left hand side)

    

The above pictures show the Lock Down Bar Lever being moved to the left (left picture) in order to remove the Lock Down Bar itself (right picture).

Once the Lock Down Bar is removed, the next step is to slide out the Playfield Glass.

Now that the Playfield Glass is removed, we can move on to...

Lifting the Playfield

Why lift the Playfield?

There are many Controlled Lamps and Flashers that can only be accessed by lifting the playfield. Also, you may need to replace a Switch or Solenoid (Coil), and this is your only access.

To lift the Playfield, place your hand in the centre of the Apron and lift... (shown below)

Now that you have lifted the playfield, you need to rest it somewhere. You have two main options... pull it out and rest it on the brackets (if the playfield will - some don't, so you need to use the Playfield Rest Bar located on the right hand side of the inside of the cabinet - used like the bonnet or hood of a car), or lift it right up and rest it against the Backbox.

    

That's all for Lifting the Playfield. Now we move on to...

Opening the Backbox

You will only need to open the Backbox to replace blown Backglass lamps and flashers, replace blown fuses, or to access any faulty circuit boards.

First, you will need the key for the Backbox. This is usually located on the inside of the Coin Door (shown in the "Open the Coin Door" section above - look at the right hand picture and locate the copper coloured key).

Once you have located the Backbox key, you need to find the Backbox Lock. This can be in a different location to the picture shown below, depending on the manufacturer of the machine, and the era is was manufacturerd in.  The most common locations for this lock are: Either the left hand or right hand side of the Backbox in the centre or near the top, on very top of the Backbox in the centre, or on the inside of the top of the Backbox as shown in the picture below...

Once the key has been inserted into the lock and turned, you are ready to remove the Backglass. Lift the Backglass up from the bottom, and then pull out from the bottom.

The next step is to open the Backglass Lamp Panel. This is only needed if you have to access the circuit boards or fuses. All the Backglass lamps are located on this panel and can be replaced as necessary...

Removing the Display Panel

This part is more focused on pinballs manufactured from the early 1990's onwards, but does apply to some of the earlier pinballs...

For easier access to the circuit boards in the Backbox, you can remove the Display and Speaker Panel. This is done by lifting the panel upwards, and then out. You can lay this panel down if you do not want to disconnect it. As shown below...

    

And that is it... You now know how to open a pinball machine and access all the main areas...