I have a 1990 whirlwind and the 2 flippers on the right side (Top & Bottom) don't work. Could please assist me on how to repair this problem. Thanks Much!!!! 
(Topic ID: 2221)
Linked Games
Getaway: High Speed II, The
Williams, 1992
Topic Gallery
Grimsby, ON
Check here, it is a guide to troubleshoot all flipper problems. But start with checking under the playfield fuses.
http://www.pinrepair.com/sys11/index2.htm#flip0
Good luck.
Since both flippers don't work check the leaf switch contacts on the side pushbutton. Make sure they are connecting.
I checked the leaf switches and they are making contact. Do you know where the fuses would be located on this game? (The left flipper works fine.) Would there be an individual fuse for each flipper ? THX
Alot of time the flipper fuse is located on the underside of the playfield. It's not one of them down in the bottom of the cabinet etc where you would think to look.
Rocky Mt, VA
Im not positive but doesnt WH20 have a fliptronics board (flipper optos)? Those fuses will be in the backbox in the upper left hand corner. If you have a DMM pull the fuses and check for continuity and also check that the fuse holders are good. When you pull them they should seat snugly and if the holder is bad its going to be obvious. Pulling the fuse makes you check this and also just by looking at a fuse, sometimes they can "look" ok but be bad. I skipped that part once having a problem (I just looked at them) and it turned into a nightmare and a rather expensive fix. I kept changing things when all it was, was a bad fuse that "looked" ok. I went full circle and wound up starting back at the beginning. I pulled the fuse and it was seperated under the cap so it still looked ok. As soon as it got warm, my flippers would quit. Good luck and let us know what you find!
good point pintastic .. depending on the type of fuse and where the wire burns apart it can appear good via eyesight.
Thanks for all the feedback. The fuse indeed is in the back glass on the power drive board. It was a F5 (7amp SB 250v). This solved the problem temporarily. After around 2 hours of play time the fuse blew again. When you push the right flipper I noticed the leaf switch would spark. Do you think I have a problem with my coil, power control board, or my bridge rectifier? thx
Could be as simple as the 1N4004 diode across the coil(s). I'd try that first since the flipper coil(s) do/does work for a while.
brokedad where would I locate the diode and is there a way I can test it to see if it is good/bad? Also, when I turn on the machine it says adjust failure. Is this another problem or is this because the fuse is blown?
The diode will most likely be black with a silver or white banded end across one or both flipper coils. Since your fuse doesn't blow right away I'm guessing that is what is bad ... you have a "hurt" diode that is going more and more shorted. You can cut one end off temporarily. Don't run the machine forever though without the diode on the coil or coils.
If you have a voltmeter with a diode test function it should read a voltage drop of 0.6 volts for a 1N4004 in one direction and the meter will beep once. Reversing the leads should show infinite resistance in the other direction.
Do NOT put in a higher value fuse etc... that tiny spark is normal .. why that fuse is SB (Slow Blow). If you can clean the contacts as it would not hurt.
It looks like each coil has two diodes. Does the machine need to be on and Do you put the meter positive probe on one side of the diode and the negative probe on the other side? Do you push the flipper to get an accurate reading?
The machine needs to be off. The best thing to do is lift or cut one end of the diode when measuring or you will get the low coil resistance messing things up. Then though you will need to resolder after measuring. Just try both ways. One way you should get a beep and around 0.6V drop reading on the meter ... the other way should not beep. The band is the negative end btw so with the black on that end you should see the voltage drop. If you have any old coils with diodes just change them out.
I'm sorry to keep things so simply stated. You never know how much technical knowledge etc someone has.
To test a diode, the game does not have to be on. Put one probe on each end of the diode. Doesn't matter which probe as you will switch them and get a reading both ways. So the red probe will be on the banded end one way then on the non-banded side the other way. You should get a reading between .4 and .6 one way, and Double Zeros, Nil, Inifinity or similar reading the other way(depends on meter).
You really need to remove the the diode from the circuit to test it correctly. Unfortunately, this usually means you will need to replace that diode unless you have enough wire to solder it back in well.
Thanks for keeping this in lay mans terms. I don't have any knowledge in this field. Since my coils have 2 diodes, I disconnected the positive side (the side w/out the band) of both diodes and checked it with my meter. I received a .56 reading on both diodes. I changed the probes on the diode and received a 0 reading on the meter. PS I also checked the fuse holder and that seems to hold the fuse in securely. Now what? 
here is a schematic of the cabinet wiring for the flippers.
5P12 at the top is the 50 volts from the aux power driver board.
1P19 is the ground connection on the CPU board.
go through this chain and verify all the connections are good.
the second attachment is the grounding on the CPU board.
Q67 engages the K1 relay which activates the flippers.
this is all on the manual if you have it.
With the game on, playfield lifted, coin door closed, press in the flipper button and see if you are getting voltage to the coil.
1 week later
Excuss my ignorence, what should my test be set at? A/C or D/C. Should I check for voltage before the diodes or after? What kind of reading should I get?
Just put a new 7amp fuse in the F5 location. I tested the battery holder with new batteries and received a 1.5 reading @ the 1st battery, a 3.0 reading @ the 2nd and a 4.5 volt reading @ the 3rd. (so thats good). I tested the voltage going to the coil of the right flipper and received a reading of 75.5 (on all 3 post) which is the same as the left flipper. I tested the voltage going to the top flipper and it had a reading of 71.5. Should I just play it for several hours like I did last time and see If the fuse blows again? Thanks for being so patient!!
YOU are right!!!!!I looked at the manual and they recommend a 7 amp slow blow fuse for the power supply board and a 2 amp fuse for the aux pwr drive board. After playing the pin for approx. 1 hour the bottom flipper eventually became slow to respond. If you held the button in the flipper would slowly move up and when you released the button it would slowly fall down.
1 week later
Maybe this will help someone else. I think I may have found one of the problems with a little help from some the pin experts. There is a rubber sleeve on the flipper linkage (item 13 page 55) that may be damaged or missing........ the rubber on the metal leg that opens and closes the leaf switch wears out and then it shorts out. This also caused my coil to heat up and short out. Waiting for parts to see if the problem is fixed. Problem solved! EOS switch was bad and caused the coil to overheat. As a result, the coil sleeve melted inside the coil and The mushroomed flipper plunger was dragging against the coil sleeve. This is what caused the fuse to blow. New coil, sleeve, plunger, EOS switch, Linkage and stop and we're back in business,
Promoted items from Pinside Marketplace and Pinside Shops!
Reply
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Hey there! Welcome to Pinside!
Donate to PinsideGreat to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
