I’m new the whole pinball realm but somewhat mechanically/electrically inclined. I just picked up a 1979 Flash pinball machine that is in need of some work. It was basically given to me for my son (avid pin head) and I to try and fix.

I am absolutely no expert but I am here to learn how to get this machine working for my son as a father/son project.

The known issue was that the F2 28 VDC 2.5 amp solenoid fuse would blow. This indeed was a problem and I noticed early on that the left slingshot solenoid was actuated constantly. I isolated the wires off of that solenoid and the fuse stop blowing. Shortly after that I noticed that the free game knocker solenoid was noticeably burnt and a wire was disconnected from that. I ordered a couple of solenoids from Marcos along with some more fuses and other items.

The free game knocker solenoid was definitely toast as it read almost a dead short across the two terminals. However, the left slingshot solenoid read about 4.6 ohms across it which is a nominal value. Regardless, I replaced the two solenoids.

Upon turning on the game after the parts replacement we started to test out the solenoids on the Playfield manually. Things were looking good. We had all the sound effects which we didn’t have before. At some point the 2.5 amp fuse blew again. However, it took some time unlike initially when it would blow almost immediately.

We replaced the fuse and tried it again. We noticed that when we dropped the 3 drop targets manually on the bank of 3 that the game crapped out and became unresponsive. We rebooted the game and we tried the three drop targets again. It died again and then we noticed (fortunately) some smoke coming from the driver board at the transistors just below the flipper relay. Immediately turned off power and unplugged the machine.

Upon removing the MPU board and the Driver board as 1 unit (that 40 pin connector looks like an accident waiting to happen) it was apparent that on the backside that the transistor area for the solenoids had gotten hot but more visually noticeable was the dark area around the large resistors for the lighting.

So, now I am at a loss. I’m not sure what I should do. I’ve heard/read a little about the Rottendog replacement board and that seems like a worthy purchase but I am a little concerned that I may have an underlying issue that might smoke that board and I wouldn’t want to do that.

Some items of note:

Reinstalled the boards and the game seems to be fine in attract mode. Lights flashing, looks pretty. Light resistors are getting quite hot to the touch. It also goes into play mode but I didn’t attempt to activate any solenoids for fear of letting out more smoke

When I test the power at the F2 fuse I read about 38 (not 28) volts DC and I think that is above a normal reading but I’m not 100% certain.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!!!

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I am considering sending out the MPU/Driver and power supply boards out for repair/overhaul.

Thanks! GMTA. Last night I was searching for a place to send the MPU, driver and power supply boards. I happened across a eBay listing that sounds promising. I send all three boards for a few of $239 plus $10 shipping and they repair, update and test them in a machine. I’m pretty confident that my MPU board is good but the driver board definitely has some issues and I will be much more comfortable that the power supply board is updated/tested as well.

Though it doesn’t say so in the listing I believe that it is Lenny’s Pinball World based on the address, similar wording on their site and the names of the folks who responded to my questions via eBay. (Jeff & Len). I believe that the website is pinballrepair.net.

The eBay listing is listed under the user name “pinball_services” and they have a 100% positive reviews but only about 9 or 10 so far.

I found one review in the pinside forums that was positive searching for “Lenny.” They indicate that they had a very good experience.

Any input or suggestions before I go ahead and purchase this service?

Thanks!

Thanks! I did post some things on the “Flash Owners Club” but I haven’t been able to locate the “Flash Pinball Club.” Maybe they are one in the same.

I’m pretty good at wiring, soldering, and using a meter but replacing IC’s on a circuitboard, testing logic, and transistors are not really up my alley.......yet.

I was comfortable replacing a couple of solenoids, but when I saw the heat damaged lighting resistors and I saw a puff of smoke come from the solenoid transistor area on the driver board I think I may be in a little over my head. That’s why I think sending out the 3 boards to a competent, experienced pinball board repair person would be a wise choice. I’m pretty sure the MPU board is working correctly as the game powers up with two LED’s flashing and then staying off.

I’m now trying to figure out who that person should be.

I send an inquiry to Chris Hibler to get his take on his recommendations.

He replied. I’m going to box the boards up and send them his way. Thank you for the recommendations!

Thanks! Yes, lots to learn for sure. I’ve boxed up all the boards and they’re on the way to Chris Hibler to work his magic as we speak.

It’s great that folks here are helpful on this site. It’s a refreshing change from the sarcastic and condescending attitudes I have experienced with other groups elsewhere.

Right now my biggest concern is how to go about making certain that nothing is going to damage the newly refurbished boards once they are reinstalled.

Thanks. I’ve been looking all of the wiring over closely and I’ll continue to do so.

Doing a slow systematic power up is a great idea and one I had in mind. Once I isolated the power wire on the left kick bumper all of the lighting was working in attract mode and in play mode at times everything on the playfield appeared to be working. At other times things would make the game act as if it had been tilted. The prime suspects were the left pop bumper, the spinner and the rollover star valued at 100. Activating any of these would “tilt” the game. This leads me to suspect components on the driver board as opposed to wiring issues.

The MPU board boots up, the two red LEDS flash and go out, it goes into game mode fine. The main power supply outputs are in line with what I should have, and the sound board apparently works appropriately. Once again pointing me towards a malfunctioning driver board.

Thanks again for the vote of confidence and the willingness to assist. Much appreciated.

Great input and much appreciated. I’ll definitely check that out. However, looking at the playfield switch location chart, my issues are with the left kicker, lower right star rollover, spinner and the left jet bumper which don’t exactly correspond with the matrix that you circled. Those items are marked 17,18, 23 & 41 on the switch matrix. The tilt plumb bob was working, it was whenever one of the above mentioned items were actuated that the game would die and the tilt sound was annunciated. However, there was a moment in time when I actually got all those to work for a short period of time which is strange. Since it all worked at least for a period of time I lean away from a wiring problem and more towards a component issue. Maybe my logic is faulty

Roger that, WILCO.