Mr. Pinball Tip:

Here's an easy tip that works very well. Most of the time, lamp sockets will develop a whitish looking, powdery alkali on them. This can be quickly, and easily removed with a product called 'CLR'. This comes in a grey quart bottle from any hardware or department store. All you need to do is remove the lamp if there is one, take a cotton swab, and moisten the tip with the CLR. Move the swab around on the inside and outside of the socket. Take a clean, dry one, and do the same thing drying the socket out. If the lamp has been in the socket for a while run the swab over the base of the lamp. Re-install the lamp. The lamp will burn steady and bright. CLR removes the alkali and lime deposits, leaving a clean surface for better contact. Lasts a lot longer than using a cleaning stick. You can do this with the power ON for EMs. On SS models, I recommend that it be done with power OFF, making absolutely sure the socket is dry before powering back up. I have done this to all 14 of my games, and out of all of them, I only had to replace 8 sockets because they were loose in the first place.

Scott Bilot
pinwiz@prodigy.net
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