I would use the red/white wires as they are 25 volt wires. The purple/yellow wires are 50 volt wires, this higher voltage is a lot harder on the control transistors.

Sets are open for preorder at
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/shops/1054-flashinstinct/09451-f-14-tomcat-target-decals-set

Save 20ish % now. Once the set is received from the printer and starts shipping the price will increase. Choose the EB options on the product page.
Thanks,
Guy

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I will wire the diverter using the red wires. Not sure what to do with the purple wires at this point. I can assume they went somewhere just not sure at the moment. Thanks

Here ya go.

Red wires are not used.

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to clarify - use the red wires for the 50v circuit.

use the purple wires to convert to 25v circuit.

Thank you! I wondered what was up with that.

It's a mod to make the diverter coils not melt.... I plan on doing it whenever I get to my F14 PF swap, in like a million years. Need to finish up the other 4-5 that are in progress first before starting something new

Is there a preferred method in which wire I use? I assume the lower voltage would be better for the board and components. Any drawbacks to using the 50v circuit over the 25v circuit?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/f14-tomcat-owners-club-fans-also-welcome/page/65#post-4331477

Give this a read.

So after plenty of testing I decided to use the red wires for the diverter coils. The red wires ended up being the 30 volts wires. My purple wires was reading 65 volts so I decided to use the lower voltage. Game is working as it should best I can tell and diverters are working great. Thanks to all the help and info that was given.

Hey everyone - Just got this as my first machine!
I did a thread search, but didn't see any obvious matches...so my question is: Whats the best way to adjust the centering of the plunger onto the ball? Even when pulling plunger fully back, the ball just barely makes it up the ramp. On closer inspection, it looks like the plunger is hitting above the center of the ball. I'm also not seeing any obvious ways to disassemble the plunger itself?

Thx!

When you lift the play field up, you will see 3 screws around the plunger. Loosen all 3 screws 1/2 to one full turn. Slightly move the plunger assembly and then snug the screws. Lower the play field and check the alignment, rinse and repeat until centered. Fully tighten the screws. A lot of other reasons for a weak plunger too.

Sorry, I couldn't resist this one. Several years ago at the NW Pinball Show, I was showing Steve Richie the new clear ramp I made for High Speed just before the show opened. After transporting from my home to the show, the game was slightly out of level which affected the plunger shot. Steve asked if I knew how they addressed that at the factory..... I replied, "No". He replied, "With a 2 by 4 and a hammer!"

Ahh ok, I did see those screws but couldn't tell if they were responsible for holding that assembly in.

Other random questions:
- How does it decide which lane to divert the ball into, on a new game... is it random?
- Sometimes I noticed on ball 2/3 that the next balls go to load the multiball lanes before play starts, pretty sure despite not yet having fully lit TOM CAT. I could be mistaken, or maybe I filled it and it reset TOMCAT when I hit one of them again.
- Is there any 'skill shot' for extra points when you send the ball into playfield?
- Links to a manual?

A lot of this depends on the game settings that are selected.
No skill shot.
https://www.ipdb.org/files/804/Williams_1987_F_14_Tomcat_Full_Manual.pdf

The first shot might be random to one of the 2 mid field lanes. After that, it puts the ball opposite of where you need more letters to complete so you can shoot at them from the opposite flipper on eject. It also tries to balance out shooting an existing ball vs. putting a new one there.

Ultimately it really doesn't matter which lane it goes in (except the lowest one, which is the first lock loaded unless another player put it there).

As in Firepower (Eugene Jarvis' other multiball game) he makes you put the balls in the locks that are open first, then ones you haven't filled but someone else did. In F14 that doesn't matter since all players who get their physical locks taken just reload them on their ball start..... for 25k each! That's kind of unfair to other players; it's been fixed to 10 points in a tournament rom or 2.

Ahh that makes some sense, thanks slochar

I got the new coil installed to upper flipper last night. Played it for an hour or so and never got the multiball...#isuck. lol
Unfortunately on my last game I was doing better, but then all the flippers stopped working. Probably blew a fuse, I'll open it up tonight. I assume these are compatible with the ones available at hardware stores?

Question: The fuse on the flipper power supply board blew. Its a 5a fuse, and the sticker on the board itself says 5a, but the tech chart says 4a??
https://www.pinballrebel.com/pinball/cards/Tech_Charts/Williams_F-14_Tomcat_Tech_Chart.pdf

The new flipper coil I just put in melted the sleeve, just like the one I replaced...so definitely something going on.

Your not adjusting the EOS switch correctly. You need to push on the plunger to check the EOS gap, nowhere else. Gap needs to be 1/8 inch gap, use a 1/8 drill bit as a gauge not your eye. If this correct then you don't have enough closing pressure on the contacts causing higher resistance that will blow the fuse after a long time.

Thanks GRUMPY , lots to learn as a 1st time owner!

I just got my F-14 this week. Replaced Alien Poker in the 80's corner

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There’s a snubber board back of playfield in the center near the standup tomcat targets. Can someone take a pic showing where the wires go to it?

Please?

And….does it have a cap on it?

This should be a A/C relay. A/C relays do not have a cap installed. ac relay (resized).PNG

The B+ wire should be a Red wire.

Thanks, Grumpy!

That’s how mine is wired.

So --ever have a small repair issue turn bad? Back Ground- basic skills. can use a volt meter for basic items not great. F-14 game that we have had for a few years. I was having a issue with the ball shooter lane feeder, not always ejecting all the way. Opted to replace the coil, plunger and eject assembly. un soldered wires from old coil and installed new coil, eject assembly, sleeve plunger etc. Soldered the new coil w diode in, new coil was different than the one i removed, but was the correct part number ae1-26-1200.. Here is where I made my error i think. when I soldered the wires back on the new coil I did not pay attention as to how the diode was oriented. turned the machine on and it must have been back feeding power making things act erratically. turned the machine off. switched the wiring around with no luck and no response in test mode. Installed the old coil and wired back to original (when all basically worked). nothing in for coils worked in test mode. Found two blown fuses, one in the upper cabinet -- a 2.5 amp slow blow and one under the playfield (top left when open). Replaced those and tested lane feeder ---still did not function. started to smell hot around power supply board along and coil ahead of the lane feeder was getting hot to the touch. This is also after i disconnected the lane feeder coil completely also. Any opinions on what I hurt or shorted out and how to start looking for issues? Thank you

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Anyone interested?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/fs-f-14-tomcat-translite-glass-and-trim-150

Your new coil is not the correct size, and now the diode on the new coil is bad too. Also you did damage to the cpu board, Q-25 is shorted and you may have damaged the diode on the old coil, Q-21 and U-20. I would replace Q-25, Q-21 and the diode on the old coil and retest it. There is nothing wrong with the old coil, most likely a mechanical issue that was solved with the new parts.

Also, don't forget to put two fuses in line with the bridge rectifiers in the backbox or use a Bridge Board.
If something goes wroung, the wires to the transformer will burn....

http://www.inkochnito.nl and click on the Bridge Board image for more information.

Peter

Thank you i will start there to see what i can do

very appreciated

So Tomcat needs fuses for Bridge Rectifiers like Pin*Bot needs?

This post probably belongs in the general S11 club thread rather than the F14 club thread. It does answer your question though.

Here's the rule of thumb that guides requirements for bridge rectifier AC side fuses.

• If your machine does not use a System 11 Auxiliary Power Driver board then it should have bridge rectifier AC side fuses for safety.
• If your machine uses a System 11 Auxiliary Power Driver board then it does not need bridge rectifier AC side fuses as those fuses are already on that board.

Here are the wiring diagrams that are the "receipts" for the above claim.

• Board absent (early S11 machines):00_s11_aux_pwr_drv_absent.jpg
• Board present (mid to late S11 machines):01_s11_aux_pwr_drv_present.jpg

If others think this should be posted in the S11 club thread then I can post it there or it can be linked here.

Short anwser, yes!

Great explanation DumbAss

Thanks guys.

My yagov switch isn't working and I found that the left gate on the loop isn't working either, it checked for broken wires but it seems like everything is intact.

Since its just those two switches it's got to be a broken wire right?

I need to check the upper C target and make sure the wire didn't break there...

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Check the upper TOM targets.
Those are near Yagov and the upper left loop gate...

Cleaning out some old boxes

For Sale used Diverter Assembly
As Found slight bend where the coil gets mounted but I’m sure it can’t be straightened out easy enough

$75 plus shipping
Don’t like the price make an offer

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I joined the club yesterday. Received an offer to trade for an arcade game I had listed and couldn’t say no. Seems to be in good shape overall with leds tastefully done. Only two issues I see are missing gate on the left lock and the two flashers (blue and clear) are always on. From reading a bit, I’m thinking it’s something on the flasher boards. Excited to see what it can do! Finally have a second game set up in house. I’m
going to change some of the GI lights I can see over to frosted lens as they are pretty bright with the clear lenses and order the ball lock gate from Marco.

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Locked on flashers will burn fast or melt plastics.
Usually the corresponding transistor(s) is dead/always on

Thank you, I think the person that installed the led flashers there may not have removed the resistor boards. I’ll check it out.

Ah, was not aware that led flashers are installed

I think that is flasher #9. If so then there are 2 flasher bulbs in the back box also connected to flasher #9. Since they are connected there is a resistor board in the back box too that will need to have the warming resistors removed also.

Thank you for the info, I’ll make sure to double check both sets of flashers. It looks like, in my picture, the explosion is pretty bright on the backglass (assuming that’s where flashers should be), so they may be on too, but I’ll have to check.

I’m ordering the missing ball gate lock parts and figured I’d order the extra flashers/holders for the playfield while I’m in there. For those of you that have added the red 1 and 2 flashers back, is 22awg wire sufficient or do flashers need 18awg?

Update from PINSOUND:

"We are excited to share that progress is underway in enhancing compatibility for our products with Capcom, Data East (first DMD), and System 11 A/B pinball machines. We are also exploring solutions to offer compatibility for Gottlieb pinball machines

Although these machines pose some challenges in terms of compatibility, our continuous work, aided by many helpful pinball collectors, has resulted in great progress.

The updates aren't ready at the moment, but they are expected in the near future."

For leds 22 awg is fine.

Not sure what you are talking about? Are you thinking bulb socket?

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https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/returning-f14-flashers-to-original-design-vids-guide

I’m adding the removed flashers back.

I did this a long time ago, I forgot you are going to need those #89 lamp sockets.

Thank you, Grumpy! I removed the ground wires from the resistor boards (7!), capped them and zip tied them to the harness so they can be added back in if someone wants incans in the flashers later. It is so much better now. There were 4 flashers locked on behind the translight and the clear and blue on the playfield that were just blinding. Now I can see what I’m shooting at in the upper playfield and the light show is great!

I’ve got the 89 flasher sockets in my Marco cart and they have white/violet wire but only in 22. The original is white/violet for the bulletin but they do have violet/white in 18 gauge. I guess that’s close enough just in case someone puts incans back in there.

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Playball!!

Ugh. So my game is missing the left ball lock gate that keeps balls from entering from the playfield. If a 2nd ball goes in because of the missing gate, I have to wait for three progressive sets of ball searches before it clears all locks. Can’t wait till my Marco package arrives with a new gate.

Should I have spares of these gates (or any other parts) to have on hand or are they fine once replaced and don’t really ever break?

Really having fun though!