Bally Flip Flop restore in progress. Just replaced flippers and the springs. Replaced the two pop bumper plastic parts, lamp holders and springs. Replaced everything the way it was. New fuses. When I turn power lights come on. I had to manually turn credit wheel to 1 credit. When I press start button, the coil fuse blows and everything shuts off. I replaced the fuse, turned it on again and this time no lights, just blew the 15a coil fuse right away. I would like to determine the cause before I waste another fuse. Help?

Does anyone know specifically what fuses to use? I have all 250v and the amps according to the schematic. Should they be fast blow or slow blow?

Can a short cause the fuse to blow without a game actually starting? I hear the motors resetting and all like it is about to start a game, thats when it blows.

Thank you. Regular blow fuses now in place. Coin door unplugged. 1) Power on with playfield disconnected results in Backglass lights on. 2) Power on with playfield connected results in both Backglass and Playfield lights on. So far so good. However, I suspect once I reconnect the Coin Door then power on the fuse will blow, if not immediately then as soon as I press the START button, the fuse blows. That has been the pattern. Depositing a Quarter produces the two KNOCKS indicating two plays. However, the credit wheel does not move; no credits indicated. So I manually move the credit wheel to show credits. Then I press the START Button to start the game and the COIL fuse blows.

I manually set the credit wheel to 5 credits. Started game with COIN door connected, Playfield disconnected. Result: lights on in Backbox, 1 credit removed from credit wheel, motors audibly reset. No blown fuse. Conclusion cause of problem likely somewhere in Playfield? Next test????

Photo of Credit Wheel (3 black wires were not connected when I acquired Flip Flop) All three now clipped to coil as shown. Credit wheel does not display credits when coin is inserted.

Photo of Coin Door (after an intensive overhaul) Anything appear incorrect? The lockout coil was quite fried. I removed it thinking it may be causing the fuses to blow.

Creditwheel2_(resized).jpg

Coindoor6_(resized).jpg

Coindoor5_(resized).jpg

I have a new Digital Multi meter. How could I use it in troubleshooting this issue? (Other than testing the fuses that blow).

Thank you for a thorough and essential overview regarding the coils. After the initial intensive cleaning and once over of Flip Flop, it did power up and most of the playfield components functioned with the exception of the lower left flipper. (Which hopefully I have resolved. I won't know until I get it running again.) Now, only the lights function. So I will pursue the coil analysis. Does one bad coil prevent the game from starting?

OK, I have tested all the coil and sure enough, the Lower Left Flipper Coil (which has not functioned since I acquired the game) is at about 0hms. Great! We've determined a probable cause, or at least discovered another item needing attention. My enthusiasm however is diminished by the fact that I have no replacement coil. Too bad one cannot just walk into their local hardware or home store and pick up a pinball coil. I am aware of the options for ordering the parts online but the time factor is unfortunate.

Are there any retail alternatives where I might be able to obtain the Flipper Coil? I live in a fairly large metropolitan area; Minneapolis.

The DMM reads .6 on the LL Flipper coil. Can I just remove it, cap the wires and start the game to see if everything else works? Or do I have to wait for the new coil before I will be able to start the game?
Thanks for the tip on a local contact. I'll check it out!

Thank you Texas. Could you elaborate on clipping a lead from the coil? Clip to which part of the coil, and to where?

UPDATE:
Without doing anything with the left flipper, I just tried to start a game with the following results:
1) Credit Wheel and all score wheels on zero.
2) Plugged in machine, playfield and backbox lights came on.
3) I deposited a Quarter, and heard the two knocks indicating two credits.
4) No credits were added to the credit wheel (still shows 0).
5) I manually set the credit wheel to 1 credit.
6) Pressed start button.
7) Game sounded like it was resetting.
8) Nothing on playfield functioning (except lights).
9) Game apparently did not start.

Indeed! I surely would not have made it this far without the comprehensive material provided by Pinrepair.com. Flip Flop came to me in disastrous condition. Although I acquired it from the original owner the game had been stored in a most inhospitable environment for the past 22 years, (including at least one Hurricane). The transformation has been remarkable, particularly my emphasis involving the appearance it deserves. And although I feel I have been on track in terms of the mechanical restoration, when the game doesn't start progress comes to a halt. There is much yet to learn. That I like. The joy that comes from solving the mysteries is even more gratifying. Once this adventure settles, I will be ready for the next one. A Gottlieb I think!

Now at the point where I manually place 1 credit on the credit wheel, press start button. Game resets but still nothing works (except lights).

We have successfully resolved the coil fuse issue. Most grateful to all!