The Ups and Downs of Bally Hi-Lo Ace

This past weekend between the rains, we delivered and setup a restored Hi-Lo Ace for a customer. Made in 1973, Bally’s Hi-Lo Ace is a single-player, electro-mechanical pinball machine with a nice diamond pattern of jet bumpers.

Although the setups usually go smoothly, the humidity made for sweaty work, and in this case the game lit up, EXCEPT for the ballcount lights in the backbox. Older pinball machines use pin connectors to link the score wheels and relays in the back box to the electronics in the the rest of the game. A corroded pin will cause a game feature not to work and this was the case for the Hi-Lo Ace.

Cleaning Pin Connectors: With the power off, remove the metal door from the back of the backbox and gently pull each connector out of its socket one at a time for cleaning.  Use a light abrasive, like a wire brush or medium grit sandpaper to scour the pins. Clean all the way around each pin for the best connection. Reseat the connector and move on to the next one. Clean and reseat all connectors before turning the game back on.

Straight to the vault,

Pinball Rich