Hey friends! I was in the LW3 club, then had to leave as a nice Getaway came my way. However I love the game and I was happy to find a project LW3 to try and get working 100%. I'll describe current state, hopefully some of you fine folks can help me along my journey. I'm excited to get this game playing

Good:
Game boots to attract mode. Thanks cabuford
It will start a game - back in action!
Sound is bright and clear
DMD bright and clear
All switches seem to work as they should
Most coils work

Bad:
Plunger coil doesn't fire
Flippers don't work
#2 hole VUK coil doesn't fire

When I start a game and hit the flipper buttons, the LEDs flicker on the flipper board under the playfield. However something interesting I noticed when I hit the flipper buttons, was that the fuses closest to the front of the cabinet glowed as I hit the button(corresponding to whichever flipper button I hit). Does this point to a particular problem area?

As far as the other coils not firing, seems like there are no loose wires etc going to those coils.

For what it's worth, the 5v and blanking LEDs on the CPU are solid lit as the repair manual says they should be.

Good question, those are two coils I didn't think to check. I'll report back this evening on those and the fuse status.

I still think it's odd that those fuses on the solid state flipper board would glow/blow even if the flippers weren't getting power. Hmmm

I found this thread that points in that direction, might give me some leads.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lw3-blowing-fuse-constantly

cabuford you're right, those fuses control the low power to the flippers. I'll replace the 50v fuse on the PPB and the two on the Flipper Board and see what I get.

Alrighty, confirmed that the 50v fuse was blown on F5 on PPB. Replaced with CN2 on Flipper Board plugged in. Blew the fuse on power up. Replaced F5 fuse again, unplugged CN2 on Flipper Board, powered up and immediately blew fuse.

Per the link I mentioned above, seems this indicates there's a problem with the other coils' circuit, not the flippers.

My next step is to remove connector J8 on the PPB, the return for that circuit. If the fuse still blows there's probably a ground short somewhere. If not, there's a problem with a coil, diode, or transistor most likely.

Edit: I disconnected J8 and the fuse did not blow - probably no ground shorts. I'll pull the PPB and test Q4 transistor. Wiring at coils looks good at first glance, but could definitely be coils or diodes causing the problem as well.

I watched the fuse and listened at power up. It blows instantly, and the general pop at power up masks any noise, if a coil did attempt to fire briefly. Next step to test all associated transistors to those coils. If I find a bad one, I'll replace it and test the associated diode/coil to make sure it's good(or replace).

Quick update on tracking down my LW3 issues. Replaced the Q2 and Q3 transistors that were bad . Also replaced the corresponding coils/diodes on kickback and VUK. F5 no longer blows and those coils work yahoo! Left flipper worked, Right flipper wasn't working correctly. The transistors and SCR on flipper board were bad. Flipper would be fine at boot, then when you flip for the first time it would stay up. I replaced flipper coil diode, tested coil, and ended up buying a new solid state flipper board to speed up the troubleshooting/repair process. I now have a flippable playable game which is fun! Just have some various adjusting to do. Thanks to cabuford for lending his power supply to help turn this from a non booting mess to a flippable game!

I do need a kickback nylon plunger tip - does anybody know what part that is? Do you buy just the tip, or a whole plunger and shaft? Marco wasn't able to help when I called them. Edit: think I found the part. $20! Lot to play for a little plunger, but guess it's better if the kickback works.

Congrats. LW3 is a ton of fun. Great music, lights, fun shots, fast orbits with spinners, and actually pretty balanced rules I've found

Diplomatic immunity revoked!