About the Pinball Machine
Johnny Mnemonic is a WPC-S based pinball machine from Williams, released in 1995 and designed by George Gomez. Based on the movie of the same name, it delivers extremely fast gameplay and perfectly captures that gritty 90s sci-fi and hacker vibe. The game is known for its innovative “Cyber-Matrix” ball grabber (an interactive magnetic arm above the playfield) and cool callouts by rapper Ice-T.
The pinball machine after 'restoration'
Project Scope
Cabinet
- Cabinet completely sanded and fitted with new decals
- New lockbar & side rails
- New flipper buttons, “cabinet protectors” & leg protectors
Sanded down and ready for the new look
Applying the new decals
Looking fresh again
Electronics
- PDB Board: Reflowed cold solder joints, replaced “hacked” connectors
- MPU Board: Resoldered ASIC socket, replaced ribbon cables
- Replaced partially defective DMD with a Pin2DMD
One of the many wiring issues found
Checking the wiring harnesses
The original DMD had seen better days
Playfield
- Complete teardown & cleaning of all parts
- New rubbers, LED lighting (Inserts, GI, Flashers)
- Removed old, yellowed Mylar
- Installed a playfield protector
- Repaired damaged inserts using decals (not perfect, but much better than before)
- Replaced broken plastics
The long road of cleaning every single post
Deep cleaning in progress
Inserts after LED conversion — rich and even lighting
Mechanics
- Both flippers completely overhauled (except coils): new sleeves, plungers, links, coil stops, springs, and EOS switches
- Kickers and slingshots: Cleaned and coil sleeves replaced
- Hand mechanism completely disassembled, cleaned, relubricated, and adjusted
Miscellaneous
- New pinballs
- New apron decals
Status
Completed. Everything worked, looked great, and then it moved on to a new home…
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