Flippers not working (but everything else on machine is working...including ball shooter, I can start a game but I can't hit any balls!)

Hi guys, I thought I had finally got my machine working, but I have one last remaining problem.

When I turned the machine 2 fuses blow up on the Fliptronic II Controller Board

Fuses F903 and F904

and I get these errors on the DMD

Check switch F1 R flipper E.O.S.
Check switch F2 R flipper Button
Check switch F3 L flipper E.O.S.
Check switch F4 L flipper Button

I replaced the 2 fuses, and turned the game on, same 2 fuses blew up straight away just like before and I get same errors on DMD.

Everything else on machine works perfectly ?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

My initial thought would be that you have shorted/buggered diodes on a flipper coil, this can also cause a cascade effect which will blow the corresponding TIP's on the Fliptronic's board. If you have blown TIP's and replace them definitely replace the diodes on the flipper coils also.

That looks really nice!

Hi guys. Problem solved I had accidentally plugged the ribbon cable incorrectly into the dmd control board causing the flip tronics board to get fried !

Stupid mistake but at least I can fix it

Just finished my Fishtales. Picked up a very faded and dirty non working project and got stuck into it as soon as I got it home. Very happy camper here.

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Bravo...! Nicely done.

Nice salvage! That playfield is in amazing shape considering the state of then game.

Yes. The playfield was a very nice surprise under all that grime. This game had sat in a shed for at least 10 years. This was after a quick wipe down.

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Hello everybody,new castor here! I'm joining the club!!Question for you cab restorers; got the new set from BAA,mine is bleached out white! My question,is it necessary to sand off old paint before applying new cab decals??Other than faded side cab,my FT is excellent,except for the loud banging the fish tail topper makes when it flips:(Whats high score for this game??Leave a message,gone fishing!!

I outlined easy cab decal installation here... https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/retro-refurb-decal-installationjohnny-needs-a-new-suit#post-3773176
I used a different source for the decals but the installation is the same...

Also, I am building a new cab for my FT this weekend. I will document the decal installation in the next few weeks, https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-fish-tales-rebuild/page/2#post-4023259

OH,thank-you Cosmo,much help!!

Cosmo, will i see you at Banning Pinball Madness?

I will be out there tomorrow afternoon, but I cant stay very long at all. I will shoot you a text if you're there....

Is the dome installed over the fish? It's not that loud with the dome in place, and I enjoy that it shakes the pin similar to a shaker. If you want to kill it, you can unplug the inline connector for the coil.

Scores? I expect to have a 200mil+ game if I'm warmed up. A good Champion score is 1billion+, which is possible by earning all 3 fishing licenses in multiball, and then repeatedly hitting the captured ball for a 100mil per super jackpot in multiball.

Mine was looking sad next to modern Sterns, so I brightened it up a bit. Spotlights on the slings really helped.

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I really like those spots....its now on my to do list...

I added spots to mine this weekend. Here's before and after pics

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The nubs on my reel that fit into the pulley gear have apparently sheared off. Anyone know where to get a replacement reel? All the usual part suppliers don't seem to have any left.

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Building a new cabinet for mine...

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http://www.pinballspareparts.com.au/parts-by-machine/williams-parts/fish-tales/target-21.html

It's second hand so not sure what it's like condition wise but pretty sure it would still be fine, they wouldn't put it up for sale otherwise.

Does anybody have a spare side plastic with the fishing rod lure and guy in boat decal? They dont come in the plastic set, I need some for a restoration
Im also looking for the reel handle ball launch... thanks

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They claim they ship world wide:

http://www.pinball.center/en/shop/pinball-parts-by-game/fish-tales/8085/rod-reel-decals-for-fish-tales-a-15405

Would be nice if you found a spare.

I saw those, but I believe they are just the decals not the plastic base. I can recreate the base if I need to, but I'd rather just get the whole thing.

Ahh, looking for the plastic also.

Yes cosmo, that is decal only and sadly, they dont ship to usa anymore, ended Jan 1.

Only way around that is perhaps get someone outside the US to buy items and then ship to the US from there, costly exercise but if something can't be sourced locally may be the only option.

http://www.pinballspareparts.com.au/catalogsearch/result/?q=fish+tales+handle

Left side only though
or
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/21-6689-4

Also only left side. No idea why the right side is hard to get, seems a bit weird.

unobtainable! believe half of FT owners are looking for that plastic.....
Mine is only cracked but still would love to get one

Im going to remove the one from the game at the MoP and trace the pattern onto some paper. Then at home I can transfer the pattern, cut it out and shape it. A friend has offered to scan and print the decals. I will post the results here, success or failure.

How come left side only? What's the difference really? Please enlight me

I've also heard of people adapting a real fishing reel also but not seen one myself as yet.

The handle is split into 2 pieces vertically so they are not identical, rather, a mirror image, so you can't just use 2 left's to make a complete handle.

Is it possible the right side was more prone to tarnishing because of the way the hand hits it? I know the outside of Demolition man handles are worn more than the inside. Possibly people only needed the right side because it was the only side with wear. Just a shot in the dark.

Yeah most likely correct, i guess that proves there's more right handed people out there than left handed

Lol. I instantly thought that same thing. Then I realized you can only shoot with your right hand on fishtales. Well I guess you could shoot lefty but it would be incredibly awkward. Lol

Ahh true, for vid mode! If i remember correctly someone mentioned back in the previous pages that you can use the flipper buttons to do that, which i wasn't aware of at the time, i've always used the reel handle.

Well, according to the E mail I got from Dave at Marco the tooling for the right side of the handle does not exist. They are not expecting anything to be available in the near future.

Damn, that's a real bummer. Wonder if someone could make a resin copy (or something similar) using the two halves as a templates?

Anyone looking for a bronze CPR playfield? I picked one up today in a trade. I don't know if these are still available.

Price for playfield is $500. Thanks

Darn good price!

Damn...I would have bought that it a second for my restoration if this was available last month...

Wow that is super tempting.

Out of curiosity, do you know why it’s bronze? Is it color misregistration, flaws, or something else? Any pics?

I have a tentative buyer plus a backup, but there is an imperfection right where the spinner would be.

I have seen those from another pinsider, there is a picture somewhere...

Hey fellow Fishers. I am in the process of restoring a FT, and i want to put on some nice plastic protectors in yellow or green. Amazingly they are very hard to find in anything other than clear. I found a place in Germany but the sets are like 120.00 once shipped here. So Im making a custom run in neon yellow. These things are gonna look killer. Let me know if anyone is interested.

They will like like the picture below (this is not my photo, will add soon)

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I have seen fluorescent protectors on Metallica and they look sweet. Had not thought about using them on other pins.