I know I've posted this on Pinside somewhere without success before, but does anyone have a source for the spring that controls the center post? I've been hacking old Bally drop target springs to make it halfway work, but I've reached a point where I just can't get the post to stay down and it's on the verge of driving me insane.

I just fixed my center post a few days ago after adjusting it caused it to stop working properly. It seems the correct spring isn't available anywhere and people recommend using 10-364. At first that didn't seem powerful enough, but then I completely cleaned the plastic guide that controls the position of the post and now it works perfectly. It doesn't need any lubricant of any kind.

Awesome, I'll give that a shot! Thanks!

Joining the club soon! Will post once I pick it up!

Chris

Recently joined the club. Only issue I need to resolve before I shop her out is the spring on the force field pop up. Manual shows it as part no. 10-401. Can’t find it at Marco. Anyone use anything else that works?

I just looked at the previous posts lol

Getting a Big guns back in shape. Almost there... 2 minor issues left.

1) As soon as I save the queen the first two digitis of the score starts to blink rapidly. Tried player 2, same issue.
It's brand new LED display.

2) The Troll lights have been replaced by LEDs as well and all work but only when i move the connector with my hand. As soon as I leave it alone 1 digit is off (happens on both sides). These are 5 pin connectors. Wouldn't mind swapping them but the cable is passthrough and guess taking it out and back in will create issues. Is there a way to improve connectivity in these connectors ?

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Reflow some new solder on those pins, and it'll be good as new.

That's normal, it just signifies that you earned the queen's rescue value.

Thanks. Strange they programmed it that way as it looks like something faulty

Yeah there are a handful of games that do that when you get the jackpot or similar, for bragging rights I guess. I know Comet does it too when you get the million point shot.

Woohoo!!!

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That is one nice Big Guns. Nice pick up.

Thanks. It's the nicest one I've ever seen in person.

Chris

I have an NOS playfield, plastic set and translite. Just waiting to find a game so I can install them.

Sorry if this has been asked before, does anyone have the schematics for this game?

I have the manual from IPDB but im not seeing any schematics.

Thanks.

Can someone snap me a couple photos of the coil for the post assembly between the flippers? Trying to get mine working properly.

Thanks.

If you can wait until tomorrow, I can get you both the schematics and the pic of the post.

Thanks! Much Appreciated!

I think I was able to get the post issue solved. Now I need to figure out the flippers. I have 77VDC at the flipper coils. Whenever I press the flipper button, the fuse blows immediately. Heres a few pictures of the wiring. I plan to clean up the twist wiring as soon as I figure out why the fuses are blowing.

Here's a few pictures of the flipper wiring, let me know if you see anything suspect.
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Also the big white switch inside the coin door is not wired up.

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Don't know why I clicked on this thread. I have a project Big Guns that I haven't touched since I picked it up about 1.5 years ago.

Unfortunately the PDF of the Big Guns manual is a little sparse. You can find the information in the F-14 manual.

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Yeah I know I can use other system 11B manuals. But the wire colors won't match up so jumping back and forth has been a pain. But Im finally getting pretty close now. Game is working and playing decent. One crappy thing I found is apparently the holes predrilled into this NOS playfield did not line up perfectly. I have a crappy pinch spot on the left outlane. But I'm slowly getting that resolved too.

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FLASHBALL Dude, I am so sorry that I didn't get these to you. I ended up having to work Saturday night and then spent most of Sunday trying to get all of my adult shit in order. See the next few posts for what you need.

There you go, that's all of Section 3, which is all of the schematics. If there's anything else you need scanned, or pics of anything specific let me know and I'll get to it when I can.

FLASHBALL I hope you can get your issues worked out. If Mr. Frog's photos dont assist let me know. I can always take some as well.

I have to say, I remember playing this back in the day and thinking it was an "ok" game. The arcade I played it in had Earthshaker, Whirlwind, and Black Knight 2000 as well, so Big Guns kinda got overlooked.

It is super fun and a great addition to the gameroom!

Chris

Im just fixing this one for a friend. I was stumped for a while because the old post coil had a diode so I assumed it needed one. But wanted to see orientation before powering up again. Turns out no diode. Whoever had this game before me installed 4 brand new flipper coils with the diodes all backwards. Flippers blew fuses and so did the post. Now its playing pretty well and after I resolve the left outlane problem I think it will be all finished and ready to go home.

Wish there was a way to upload those schematics to the IPDB manual file so the next guy looking can have them on hand.

I did notice one thing my right inlane switch fires the right slingshot. But the left does not do the same. I don't think it's supposed to do this, so I must have a short there someplace.

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I was going to ignore this but the above compels me to respond. Reason: it's bad information for someone else reading this thread. If someone reads this and assumes the information is correct then they will likely encounter problems that will result in another help request.

First to the post solenoid with an installed diode. It is true that Williams did not install diodes at the solenoid starting with games that use the Auxiliary Power board. As it turns out Big Guns is the first game (chronologically) that Williams used the Auxiliary Power board. The solenoid back-EMF (flyback) diode is installed on the Auxiliary Power board. It is acceptable to install a diode at the solenoid provided the voltage (power) wire is connected to the lug where the banded end of the diode is. If the wires are connected the other way around the diode is a direct short across the solenoid and that will blow the fuse. The general rule of thumb is if there is an Auxiliary Power board in the machine then a diode at the solenoid is not required.

Now to the flipper solenoid diodes. The diodes are installed CORRECTLY at the flipper solenoids. BOTH of them. Provided below are images of solenoids from Pinball Life and Marco. Note the banded end of the diodes are in the same configuration as the banded end on the solenoids in your image. This is standard for flipper solenoids. The same principle for wiring of the post solenoid applies here except that care must be taken because the flipper solenoids are required as there are no diodes elsewhere on any board to prevent the collapsing magnetic field reverse voltage spike.

If the person who bought this game in the way the image shows the flipper wiring then the seller should have disclosed the fuse blow. The way it is wired it will ALWAYS blow the fuse. It's a direct short from the voltage power supply to ground when energized. Guaranteed to blow your fuse. Every time. I have my own conclusions about the history but I won't document it.

The way to fix this problem is to install the flipper wiring correctly. The below image describes what to do. Removing the diodes and installing them "backward" will cause more problems. The flipper solenoid is a parallel wound solenoid and must be wired in a specific way. The diodes are placed across both the parallel windings in the solenoid.

The wiring diagram I originally provided (that was dismissed as irrelevant because it came from another manual) actually shows the problem. I even circled in red where to look. The wiring diagram shows that the GRY-YEL wire should be connected to the solenoid lug where the banded end of the diode is. For both left (GRY-YEL) and right (BLU-YEL).

Finally ... the flipper wiring problem exhibited here shows up on Pinside from time to time. I believe it happens because the person doing the flipper rebuild takes an image (photo/picture) of the wiring. The flipper solenoid lugs are placed at one side. When the new flipper solenoid is installed the lugs are placed at the opposite end. This effectively reverses the diode orientation which means the wires must be connected in a reverse orientation. The person doing the flipper rebuild either doesn't notice that the lug orientation is reversed or doesn't realize the polarity of the diodes and installs the wires in the same orientation as image shows (although the lug orientation is reversed). Instant fuse blow on energizing. With fliptronic machines it's even worse because then you blow the TIP36C and/or TIP102 transistors as well.

Why do I know this?!?!? I've helped at least two other people where this problem has happened. In real life and here on Pinside.

This is why I was compelled to comment. To prevent this mistake from happening again although I suspect it will continue to happen regardless. At least I tried.

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</TL:DR>

Pinball Life FL-11630.

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Marco FL-11630.

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Image as originally wired with text comment recommending correction.

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Wiring diagram originally provided showing voltage power wire and banded end of diode on flipper solenoid.

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Thank you for the informative post. I assumed the wiring being backwards might have done harm to the diodes. So trying to take a shortcut, I clipped the diodes and installed new ones in the opposite direction.

Are you saying that me doing this is going to cause more problems in the future? I'm happy to change the diodes back the way they were and then put the wires on appropriately.

*EDIT* I see now why this will not work. I had to really stare at the coil long enough to finally see the circuit in the picture. I am putting them back to original orientation.

It's possible. The original wiring as shown is a direct short across the solenoid windings. The 1N400* diodes are rated at 1A maximum so if the 2.5A solenoid fuse blew (which it did) then there was sustained 2.5A flowing through that diode. It probably failed. It probably failed as shorted. Diodes are so cheap ($0.02) that replacing them is a no brainer. The issue isn't the cost of the component it is the labor involved in de-soldering the wires and removing the old diodes and installing the new ones. You can piggy-back new ones after clipping out the old ones but you can only piggy-back so many times before all those clipped diode wires will leave no space for any future piggy-back fixes.

I am glad you can finally see how the circuit works. If you learned something then I achieved my goal.

I know it is not always easy for people to see how the "virtual" wiring diagram is reflected in the "physical" wiring in the machine. I generally start by assuming anyone messing with electronics and wiring has some basic understanding and can read wiring diagrams. In a public forum you cannot assume anything about anyone's knowledge and experience level but I tend to err on the side of assumption of more knowledge rather than less (to avoid insulting the more knowledged).

For those reading this at some point in the future and contemplating a flipper rebuild ... Williams parallel wound flipper solenoids can only be wired in one way otherwise damage will occur. Williams parallel wound flipper solenoids are FL-11753, FL-11722, FL-11630, FL-15411 and FL-11629. There is a common lug for both windings. It is the edge (or often referred to as right) lug that is at the banded end of both diodes. One winding (the power stroke winding) terminates at the center lug. The other winding (the hold power) terminates at the left lug. In non-fliptronic machines the voltage supply wire (GRY-YEL or BLU-YEL) connects to the right (common) lug. The ground wire (grounded through the cabinet switch and flipper relay) connects to the left lug.

So, correct me if I am wrong here. But I believe I have resoldered all of the coils correctly. With diodes in the appropriate directions.

The lower right flipper wants to lift but its very weak. The upper right works snappy and strong as it should. Here is a photo of the lower right flipper coil and the upper right flipper coil.

Did I do something wrong?

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Your wiring looks correct. The diode orientation is correct.

The symptom you are describing (weak power stroke) is possibly due to the absence of the power winding. If the hold winding is used the flipper bat may or may not move to the raised position. The hold winding is weak.

If you have flipper bat movement then you have power. You can be sure by measuring the DC voltage at the solenoid lugs. It should read ~75VDC under no load. If it does not measure in that range then you have a power supply problem. Unlikely as the other flipper works fine but diagnosing problems is about being systematic and not guessing wildly.

After that you need to have both windings with the correct resistance to function properly. Turn the power off. Don't measure resistance with the power on. I apologize if you already knew that but as I have previously mentioned it is impossible to know someone's knowledge and experience on a forum. With the power off measure the resistance of both windings. The power winding is right lug to center lug. The hold winding is right lug to left lug. The power winding should be in the range of 4 Ohms. The hold winding should be in the range of 130 Ohms. Both those numbers are from my memory so they may not be completely correct or accurate. The ballpark range is important.

If the diodes are new then you can assume they're fine. You cannot measure the diode in circuit. The solenoid windings interfere.

Please be aware that the EOS will interfere with resistance measurements as it provides another path for the current to flow. The above readings are what you should expect with the EOS open (i.e. out of circuit). If you get those readings then measure the resistance between the left lug and the center lug. With the EOS open it should be 130+4=134 Ohms. With the EOS closed it should be 0 Ohms (direct short = continuous).

Gotcha!! Man, thank you @DumbAss. I wish more people on here were as systematic at explaining these how to steps as you are.

Resistance across power winding was reading very low so I examined further and found this barely touching. I bumped it over just for the photo. Ill see if I can sand off the coating and solder it back to the lug there.

Thanks for taking the time to explain this to me. (And anyone else reading)

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Obviously I havent had this game long. Can anyone tell me if this behavior is normal for this game?

During gameplay, the background music is continuously playing, but when I hit the drop targets this music seems to quiet momentarily. None of my other system 11 games do this. So just curious if this is what it is supposed to do.

When the music quiets, you should be hearing speech or a sound effect play. The music gets loud again after the speech or sound effect ends.
Are you hearing speech and sound effects?

No sounds or speech. It turns out I'm missing sound chip U21.

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