I had a customer bring in his Williams Magic City Pinball for a tune-up. He listed a few problems that he was having and wanted them resolved.
- Ball Count unit wouldn’t advance periodically. The game would play normal at times and other times would not move to the next ball. He could play a game that had anywhere from 5-15ish balls.
- The “C” light in Magic would not go out when ball rolled over the lane.
- One-thousand score reel was sluggish and took sometime to advance from 1000 to 2000.
- Replace a few bulbs with LEDs and check lights that were intermittent.
- Set free play scores to the correct values so they match the card in the front of the machine.
Problem 1 and 2
I started to look at the first problem and looked at the schematics that controlled the ball unit step-up.
Ball Unit Step Up Relay
This part of the schematic shows that the outhole relay along with the ball index relay need to be activated for the ball unit step-up to fire. I cleaned and adjusted both switches and found the problem to be that ball index relay was not engaged.
The ball index relay needs the 100 point relay to engage before it kicks in. I went through and cleaned and adjusted all of the switches in the MAGIC rollovers at the top of the game. The ball needs to score 100 points before the ball unit will step-up. This fixed problem one along with problem two (I also cleaned and adjusted the “C” relay).
Problem 3
Moving on to the third problem, I dissembled the score reel, cleaned, re-lubed, and add a new coil sleeve. As a result, the score reel was now working.
Problem 4
Next on the list was the fourth problem. I “tightened” a few sockets, replaced one socket, and add LED bulbs to the match and ball in play displays. All lights were now working on the game.
Problem 5
The fifth problem was adjusting the free score to match the card on the front of the machine. The card on the machine showed 1500, 2000, 2700, and 3300. I adjusted the Jones plugs on the back of the machine to match these numbers.
Conclusion
I thought Magic City was a great game to play. Absolutely love the pop bumper at the bottom of the playfield. I’m amazed how the ball will look like it is going to drain just to bounce back into play from the bumper. I will definitely keep an eye out for one of these machines 😊.
Good post..I’m picking up one of these machines this Saturday. I was told that it doesn’t work..that’s all I know at this time. Maybe you will allow me to pick your brain?
Congrats on the game! Feel free to reach out if you need any help.
Hi there..Well I picked up the Magic City machine and got it in my basement in one piece. I then realized I had no keys to open it up. Waited for the keys to be mailed and received them. I then opened her up and found the schematics inside. I must admit that it is a little intimidating looking at all the wiring and circuits. I do know that once plugged in the lights on the machine only come on when I hit the left flipper button. A red and a purple wire at the left flipper switch makes contact when you push the flipper button. It shows that switch is open until the flipper is used. Then it closes which then lights up the machine. I haven’t spent much time yet, but I will see what voltages I have on some of the feed wires. I will check the fuses, etc..I hope I’m not over my head with this machine..this will be a project! I will try to get you more accurate info as I progress with this repair.
Hitting the left flipper, adding a coin, or hitting the start button (with a credit on the machine) will bring power to the game after it’s been powered on. Keep me updated on your progress and/or if you have any questions I can help you with.
Magic City is a great game, and my friend made a great mod for it.
Love the Mod on Magic City. How cool is that. I signed up for a clinic to share some of the problems with this machine. It will be a challenge!
Magic City is such a fun game and Mark did a great job on the color wheel. I don’t think I can make the repair session this time, but the other coaches will help. Thanks for signing up!
Well all I can say is thanks to you and the coaches that run the clinic. I now have a Magic City pinball machine that is an absolute blast to play! I was able to make the repairs by basically just cleaning and some minor solder and switch adjustments. I’m waiting on a rubber ring kit and some bulbs to freshen her up.
Thanks for the kind words. Glad to hear that Magic City is up and running. It’s such a fun game.