Sticky Situations: Criterium '75 Pinball Updates

Update 5:

I bought one of these A-9740 coils from eBay to replace the Criterium's 9500 coil.

I was disappointed that the A-9740 was a bit shorter than the 9.500 coil. I tried installing the coil with a washer to make up for the length, but that made the coil buzz like no other. The coil works without the washer, so that's a relief.

All three star switches now light their corresponding eject hole.

When all three are lit, then two "special when lit" lights like this light up. I haven't seen that before, so that's neat.

I have to get Daphne's help to connect the colored wires to correctly win free games, but I'm ready when she is.

One of the last problems to solve is why the Criterium will not play a two-player game. I can play one, three, and four player games, but the machine skips player two. I have a hunch the problem is in the player unit. I did some soldering in there last year before I knew how to correctly solder...

Update 4:

I'm getting close. I can see this project's light at the end of the tunnel. Too bad I can't see the light under the left kicker hole.

I'll try to explain. The three star roll over switches at the top of the playfield do two things when they are activated - they score points and they light a corresponding kicker hole.

The left star switch scores a point when activated, but the left kicker hole does not light up.

That's not a big deal, but I want to fix it if I can. After staring at the schematic for awhile, I could see where I should look.

The left hole is illuminated by relay E, and that relay in underneath the playfield.

According to contacts column, relay E has 4 normally open switches (A) and 3 make/break switches (C).

This part of the schematic indicates that an normally open switch on relay E lights the bulb under the left hole. It's on the upper left of this picture. If you look at the right side of the picture you can see that a normally open switch on relay E also helps to light the left and right "Special" bulbs. No wonder they have never come on.

I cleaned all of the switches on the E relay, but that didn't help. Bummer. I manually pressed in the relay with the machine on and the left star switch activated. The left hole light and both "Special" lights came on. Since the lights worked when the contacts were manually activated, I checked relay E's coil with a multi-meter. The coil was dead. It couldn't activate the relay's switches.

Here's the dead coil. This side looks pretty good.

The other side - not as much. The coil's wire has been broken.

I tried unwinding the coil wire one turn and soldering to the wire in the proper place, but the coil is too corroded to work. You can see the corrosion when the paper label is removed.

I need a new coil. My problem is that no one sells a replacement for a coil marked 9500. I tried Pinball Resource, but I was denined. Marco doesn't sell one, either. I found one 9500 coil in Canada, but the seller didn't reply to my email.

Luckily, Mark G on Pinside had an idea for me. My Criterium was made by a Spanish company called Recel. Recel imported Gottlieb pinball machines from America, and then started making their own machines based on Gottlieb parts. Some parts are interchangable between the two companies, others are not. Mark compared the two companies' parts catalogs, and he might have found a match for my 9500 coil.

Recel's vari target uses the 9500 coil. Gottlieb's vari-target uses A-9740. The two diagrams look identitical. Maybe the coils are too? That would be great because Gottlieb coils are much easier to find.

I ordered a A-9740 coil from eBay yesterday, and I'm waiting for it to arrive. Recel used quite a few 9500 coils in my machine, and it would be nice to know I can replace them if I need to.

Update 3:

I have no clue what the conditions were where the previous owner stored this machine. I do know that the backbox didn't have a door covering its back, and a lot of the light sockets are rusty. Thankfully, most of the sockets will work again if I solder the power wire directly onto the tip of the socket.

That's what I've done with these two.

Rather than reroute the daisy chain power wire, I soldered a jumper wire to the socket's tip.

That fix doesn't work all the time. Sometimes you need to install a new socket. 

The old socket on the right is toast. It is rusty and the barrel of the socket spins freely. I took a new socket like the one on the left and bent its tabs to match the old socket. I cut off the extra length of tab and drilled a new hole in what was left.

The new socket is installed and soldered.

This is the first time this I've seen this bulb consistently lit.

By the end of the evening, I had all of the lights in the backbox working except one. The light sockets that are dark (player count, ball count, and 9 out of 10 match numbers) are supposed to be out when the game is not in operation.

Can you spot the one bulb that isn't working?

It's the light above the 100s reel on the bottom row. I blew a fuse every time I tried to solder it in place. I had to stop messing with it when I was down to my last 9 amp fuse. A package of fuses from Amazon should arrive soon.

While I am waiting for those fuses, I decided to do a modification. I'm excited that the lights are working, but they look a little stagnant. I thought some flashing bulbs behind the game's title might look cool.

The shape of flashing bulbs is different from regular bulbs. The flashing bulb is on the left.
Note: the machine does not make the bulb flash. The bulb does that on its own.

The round shape requires a hole that is countersunk. I bought a set of three countersink drill bits from Harbor Freight. 

I'm working on the light hole second from the left on the top row. I have already worked on the three holes on the right.

Self-explanatory.

Done. One more to go.

I like this mod because it is reversible. Well, I can't put the wood back, but I can still use the standard bulbs if I want.

Here are two short videos - one without the backglass, and one with the backglass.

The flashing bulbs aren't as dramatic as I thought they would be, but I do like this look better. 

Also, the bottom bulb that doesn't work isn't very noticeable with the backglass in place. I might let that slide for awhile. I have more lights to work on under the playfield.

Update 2:
My work isn't done, but I put the Criterium '75 together last weekend. I can't solder new connections if I can't tell what lights won't light up.

I was surprised when I stepped back and looked at it. The Criterium actually looks like a pinball machine! I know that sounds dumb, but I haven't had either the backglass or the playfield glass installed before, so I forgot what it could look like. This definitely gives me the momentum to keep at it.

Oh, and it plays like a pinball machine, too. I'll update this post with a video at some point, but I need to put my soldering iron to work first.

Update 1:

The Criterium '75 sat unaddressed all fall and winter. Since I sold the Palooka last month, I decided to use the extra room in the basement for the Criterium. It was time to get to work again.

I've spent about two hours each night using the flour/ rubbing alcohol method, and after two weeks I can celebrate that I have removed almost all traces of the adhesive.

It was so tedious. Sometimes two inches of glue took an hour to remove. The process also removed more of the original artwork than I had hoped... but look at that shine after waxing!

The ball used to bump around haltingly, but now it rolls freely down the playfield. I think this might be a fun machine to play.

After a winter in the garage, all the switches need to be cleaned again, and I need to resolder many of the light sockets, but that's just standard EM work. Removing all the glue from the playfield was the biggest hurdle on this project.

More updates to come.

May 2017:

There's still a lot left to do, but after being dormant for 37 years, the Criterium 75 is alive.

Here's a link to see it in "action": Criterium '75 start-up

December 2016:
I have no idea how a pinball machine from Europe ended up in Cascade, Iowa, and I will probably never know. The previous owner was a gentleman in his 80's, and his son-in-law was the person who handled the deal through eBay and email.

I was told the machine was in the owner's basement. I brought along a dolly and some straps, but the pin was waiting for me in the seller’s snow-covered driveway. Also waiting in the driveway were six family members - sons and grandsons, I presume. Inside the house, others were peeking through windows. It was uncomfortable having all those people staring at me, so I didn’t spend much time looking at the Criterium. 

I tried asking Grandpa some questions about the Criterium, but he snarled, "What you see is what you get!" What I got was a sense that he was angry at me for buying his pinball machine. I had already agreed to buy the machine for $50, so I handed him the money. With some help from the teenagers, I began loading it into the car. Grandma opened the door to the house to yell, "Make him move that heavy piece! That's the dangerous part!" The young guys helped me, anyway. Grandma sneered at them. Grandpa left to get the mail.

I thanked everyone for their hospitality and walked towards my car. Before I climbed in, Grandpa returned and looked me in the eye, "If you get it running, send a video to him." He pointed at his son-in-law with his thumb, and then curtly walked away. I replied to his back, "I will." 

Buyer's remorse sunk in at the first rest stop. The backglass was in great shape, but to say that the playfield’s top mylar layer had delaminated was an understatement. The plastic had warped over roll-over switches and entire light bulbs! As it sat, the playfield was useless. I did not take any pictures of the machine at that time, I was too bummed. 

Here is an example of how badly the plastic had lifted off the playing surface. You can see that it had covered that lightbulb in the middle of the picture. How is a pinball going to roll on that?

I have read about people using a freeze spray to get old mylar off playfields, so I kept the Criterium’s bottom cabinet in the garage, and on a cold, January night I was able to take advantage of the low temperature and break/ tear/ rip the warped plastic off the playfield. It was so brittle. I lost about 15% of the artwork, but I can live with that. Kids, they call these "player's machines."

I was able to get the Criterium to come alive, and that is a testament to the people who designed

I found this advice online:

"After you get the Mylar off, pat down the residue glue with white baking flour. Really press it into the glue, and let it sit a few minutes. Next, wet the flour with 91% or higher isopropyl alcohol, and allow it to sit until most of the alcohol has evaporated. Starting at the edge rub all the glue into little crumbs

Who discovered that you can remove glue with baking flour and alcohol? It amazes me what people come up with. I can tell you that this idea works, but it is really slow going. 

I sprinkle the flour over a patch of adhesive that is the size of a quarter. After a minute, I pour some alcohol from a spoon over the flour, and I wait for 5 - 7 minutes. I then scrape off the mess with a plastic razor blade.  I have to do this three or four more times to get the paint completely free of the glue. 

This isn't hard work, but it does get tedious. I quit after an hour or so. I then "wax" the spot with Novus 2, and I play the machine for awhile. The ball moves through the newly cleaned area much better, and it is cool to see how that changes gameplay. That helps me stay excited about this project.

Once the glue is gone, I still have paint to touch up, game glitches to fix, and about 20 light bulbs that won't come on. It's a good thing that my time is free.

I hope to be able to call the son-in-law sometime in June and tell him there's a video of Grandpa's pinball machine on my blog. That would be pretty cool.

PS: Charlotte, a $50 machine is never a $50 machine. So far, I've spent $173.36 $194.39 on a sticky mess.