(Topic ID: 180712)

Elektra Wrong Flippers Firing

By ZeldaOoT

7 years ago


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  • 13 posts
  • 6 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 7 years ago by metalkatt
  • Topic is favorited by 5 Pinsiders

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#1 7 years ago

Hello everyone,

I'm hoping someone can help me out with this bizarre issue. I picked up an Elektra last week and am in the process of cleaning it up a bit, new rubbers, updating to LEDs, etc. Overall, everything is great, however... sometimes when I play, the game will randomly switch to controlling the lower playfield flippers instead of the main/upper flippers despite everything else on the main playfield being active. I'm guessing there must be some simple explanation. All boards in my game are new except the squawk and talk board, the lamp board, and the lamp auxillary board. I am replacing the lamp board on Thursday however because mine has battery acid damage on the back and I plan to do LEDs anyway. There isn't a way the bad lamp board could be impacting this, could it?

Any thoughts why these flippers swap when they shouldn't periodically? Could there be a bad connection somewhere or a switch that's slightly off? Sometimes if I bump the machine around enough it'll switch back, but may not stick for the duration of the ball. Other than that, all is well. Let me know if you need any other information.

Thank you in advance!

#2 7 years ago

Although I don't want to bias responses- the only reason I think the lamp board may have something to do with it is because I cleaned the back of it with contact cleaner to get some acid off it prior to ordering the new one and afterward it seemed like the issue wasn't occurring for a couple dozen games. Might be coincidental. The front of the boards look alright (some bad SRCs) but the back have traces almost completely vaporized. I know they impact some lights not working but wasn't sure if it could go beyond that, or if this will be caused by another issue.

#3 7 years ago

The playfield schematic shows there's a Solenoid Expander board that switches between lower and upper flippers. Looks like this board is located next to the main left flipper mechanism underneath the playfield.

There should be a lamp next to this board that actually forms part of the Solenoid Expander switching circuit. Try replacing that lamp first.

#4 7 years ago
Quoted from Quench:

The playfield schematic shows there's a Solenoid Expander board that switches between lower and upper flippers. Looks like this board is located next to the main left flipper mechanism underneath the playfield.
There should be a lamp next to this board that actually forms part of the Solenoid Expander switching circuit. Try replacing that lamp first.

Thanks for that. I was looking at the schematics last night and had no idea what that board did. I'll give that a try tonight and report back.

#5 7 years ago
Quoted from ZeldaOoT:

Thanks for that. I was looking at the schematics last night and had no idea what that board did. I'll give that a try tonight and report back.

Basically, it switches between the upper and lower flips.... The light socket next to it should have a bulb and be lit.... If not you have a problem either with the bulb being shot or the board not working properly. Also, there's a little test switch that you push to the left that triggers those little red flips to make sure they are firing. Good luck.

#6 7 years ago

If you had corrosion on the lamp driver you may have corroded connectors too. Reseating connectors from pulling the board out and putting it back in may have provided a better connection temporarily. You might have to repin the connectors and replace the header pins.

#7 7 years ago
Quoted from Quench:

The playfield schematic shows there's a Solenoid Expander board that switches between lower and upper flippers. Looks like this board is located next to the main left flipper mechanism underneath the playfield.
There should be a lamp next to this board that actually forms part of the Solenoid Expander switching circuit. Try replacing that lamp first.

As dotthedoo suggested, these boards in older Bally machines are notorious for having cold solder joints. Reflow solder on the header pins for that Sol. expander board and it will likely resolve your flipper problems.

#8 7 years ago

My Elektra just started doing the exact same thing, along with some twitchy flippers. I'll try a reflow and see if it helps.

#9 7 years ago
Quoted from dothedoo:

If you had corrosion on the lamp driver you may have corroded connectors too. Reseating connectors from pulling the board out and putting it back in may have provided a better connection temporarily. You might have to repin the connectors and replace the header pins.

The header pins/connectors look really clean, its only a big splotch on the back of the board. I'm thinking the new board should help on Thursday for the lamp board component anyway. I'll have to check out the solenoid expander piece tonight.

#10 7 years ago
Quoted from snyper2099:

As dotthedoo suggested, these boards in older Bally machines are notorious for having cold solder joints. Reflow solder on the header pins for that Sol. expander board and it will likely resolve your flipper problems.

Good point- I'll be sure to do that when I'm checking on it. I suspect the bulb mentioned above is probably in rough shape as well. Thanks!

#11 7 years ago

Status update:

1) Lamp: I verified the other lamp in the circuit was working, but put a new one in while I was at it anyway.
2) Solenoid Expander: I took it out and reflowed the solder on the header pins
3) Test Switch: Mine is actually a 'test button'. When I push it in, the lamp comes on and the small flippers function. When I let go, the lamp goes off, but it takes a moment to switch back to the main flippers.

At this point, it seems better than it was before, but not perfect. A played a few games, and each time after ending play on the lower playfield, I would have to wait about 5-7 seconds before the solenoid expander clicked back to main flippers working instead of the lower ones. I tested holding the flipper button down during that time frame and it takes about that much time to switch from the lower flipper being up to it falling down and the main flippers going up.

On a positive, doing the steps above stopped the flipper 'twitching' that Action53 mentioned between flippers, and the bottom flippers do seem stronger. Any other suggestions? Is there anything I can do to get rid of that up to 7 second delay period for it to switch back to the main flippers?

#12 7 years ago

I wanted to let you know I discovered the problem. I watched a video last night about how when you are in 'lamp test' mode, you should be able to see/hear the switch inside the solenoid expander clicking back and forth cleanly. I realized the plastic case around it was impeding the process, and when I held it with a little pressure it would fire as it should. I tried gluing it in place but it wouldn't hold well enough to work.

SO..... I came up with this solution (don't judge too hard, it works haha) to use an extra rubber ring I had to apply the pressure on it. The flippers function perfectly now! No delay, no unpredictability, works great. I could take another attempt at adhering it sometime or replacing it I suppose, but this works.

I appreciate all the help, thanks.

2017-02-09 10.39.00 (resized).jpg2017-02-09 10.39.00 (resized).jpg

#13 7 years ago
Quoted from ZeldaOoT:

I wanted to let you know I discovered the problem. I watched a video last night about how when you are in 'lamp test' mode, you should be able to see/hear the switch inside the solenoid expander clicking back and forth cleanly. I realized the plastic case around it was impeding the process, and when I held it with a little pressure it would fire as it should. I tried gluing it in place but it wouldn't hold well enough to work.
SO..... I came up with this solution (don't judge too hard, it works haha) to use an extra rubber ring I had to apply the pressure on it. The flippers function perfectly now! No delay, no unpredictability, works great. I could take another attempt at adhering it sometime or replacing it I suppose, but this works.
I appreciate all the help, thanks.

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