Hey There,

Happy FS owner here. Hoping to get a bit of tech help please.

Having a flip earlier this evening and noticed after I hit left loop to light "Bronto crane" It's all good then when I go for second shot at Bronto Crane ball passes straight through to DIG.

Seems that top ball diverter is not popping up to stop ball.

Ran a switch test and ball diverter plunger not registering.

Where to from here? I'm not too sure.

ANY help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks heaps

Gav

Make sure the spring isn't broken or hasn't popped off. Hooks on the gate and feeds down trough the playfield to the mech.

Jon9508 THanks for quick response.

Its not the gate. It's the Plunger that shoots up through PF to drop Ball down into volcano.
Hope this makes sense.
Cheers Gav

Ah miss read that. Check the coil. Power on the lugs?make sure it moves freely and not bound or burnt up.

Thanks. Yeah coil moves freely and doesn’t seem to be burnt out. Will check power on the lugs and maybe fuses?

Well this is a tricky one.

Have power to the Lugs 3.8 on the DMM. No loose wires I can see. Moves freely up and down. hmmmm

Have run a solenoid test and all fire except that one????

ANY Help would be great. Cheers Gav.

goes on the back of a microswitch. usually what the screws screw into.

Sounds like you have power. Might need to test the transistor now. I believe you can ground out the metal tab and it should fire.

https://techniek.flipperwinkel.nl/wpc/index2.htm#trans

Maybe this will help put you in the right direction.

Thanks heaps. Unfortunately link you sent is not working

Works on my side. Not sure why.

Link working now thanks. Lot of interesting reading. Will keep you posted Cheers

Yes it does same thing happen too me even with IJ and my Flintstones plugs with the transformer so when u open the coin door it doesn't have for power under the PF that's why there's the interlock switches

This is from my IJ same as Flintstones

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Pics are from my IJ same as Flintstones

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Ya it is ,it won't hurt too plug it in and find out for your self it should work ,my Flintstones is all apart right now so I can't show you that one but my IJ is going back together now and that's what the pics are from and it's the same wiring for both well good luck on this and post back if any luck on this

Thanks for your help.

I ended up replacing Coil and its working a treat!

Gav

Hey Guys,

Looking for some advice on Lighting. Just want to see what light set up you all have in the top 5 lamp sockets right behind the "rock tumbler"

If any one has any pics even better.

Thanks heaps Gav

No 4-ball MB on its own, but I had various modes/multiballs stacked yesterday and all four balls were in play.

Didn't last long unfortunately.

Thanks, Had a look. Very nice Mods. Do you have this? If so are you happy with it?
Gav

I went the Comet matrix route. A couple 6 led clusters led lights in the buildings, 1 6 inch strip in the dodo bird. A long 10 inch one in the Dino. One behind the plastic with the bosses. And one behind the plastic with the kids on the rock machine. With those 5 red bulbs on the rock machine I pulled a couple out and used the strip to light it up. Becareful replacing those bulbs. The bulb socket is only held on by 2 prongs on the board and easily breaks.

Sounds great! Yeah FS really allows you to light it up.
I've got mine lit up like a Christmas tree haha

It's such a fun pin

Hello friends,

I just purchased my first pinball machine and have started the journey of becoming a pinhead! I am learning a lot about the machine but have a few issues that i need help on. Bear with me if i get the terminology wrong.

1. Ball drop from "machine" ramp. Whenever i shoot a ball up the "machine" ramp the ball drops into the floor of the machine. Not sure where the ball should go after it goes up the ramp, but i have never seen any balls go up to the spinning black circle in the top left corner of the playfield.

2. Lots of dead led bulbs. I have confirmed that many LED's are dead. the brand is "comet 6.3v". Not sure if i should replace them with same manufacturer of different make. Also, what color would you suggest "white, soft white, etc."

thanks

Ash

Kinda confused when you say machine ramp. To get the machine mech you either shoot the brono shoot or the right orbit. The post will pop up and hit the ball into the vuk. That kicks the ball to the machine or the brono.

As far as the bulbs. They usually don't go bad. You can try and flare out the wires on the bulbs.

If you're referring to the left ramp as the "machine" ramp, this ramp only includes a 180 degree circular turnaround that returns the ball, under the left side buildings, back toward the flippers. Sounds like you may be missing a piece if the ball is actually dropping downward to the main playfield. Routes to the machine ("spinning black circle") are via left and right orbit lanes and are indicated by "machine" labeled playfield inserts that light up on them. Both orbits lead to vertical up kicker (VUK) mech at rear of playfield that kicks the ball up through a chute and out into the "machine" if that insert is lit.

As Jon9508 mentioned, LED bulbs tend to last a long time so seems suspicious that you have a lot of dead ones. Comet sells quality bulbs too. More likely faulty circuit(s) or sockets.

Sometimes it's just a matter of bending wires outward on bulbs, as also suggested, to improve electrical connection in socket, but again this seems suspect if a lot of bulbs are out.

Brand of bulbs isn't critical, but base type and voltage are. 6 volt w/ 555 wedge base for Flintstones and many others, bayonet bases and/or 12 volts on some other games (depends on manufacturer and when built). Whites are typically available in warm, sunlight, and cool intensities. Choice is subject to personal preference, but Comet has a ton of LED bulb info and suggestions on their website. Suggest you check that out.

dup

Sorry for not being clear. the "machine" ramp that i am referring to are the orbits that lead to the vertical up kicker (VUK) mech at rear of playfield that kicks the ball up through a chute and out into the "machine" if that insert is lit. This is where the ball falls through. When i lift up the playfield, there is a big hole around the the up-kicker mechanism that would easily allow a ball to fall through. Should there be a plate or something there to stop it? Can someone please post a picture of what the up-kicker should look like?

As for the bulbs, many of the posters were correct. I pulled the bulbs and reseated them which fixed all but 5 which were dead.

Also, one new issue. My colordmd does not power up with the machine. i can see that fuse f601 for the dot matix controller board is blown. Per the manual, i am using a 3/8a FB. Some other posts (for other williams pins) are saying that the FB spec is a typo and i need to use a 3/8a SB. Can anyone speak to that? Also, if i am using the right 3/8a FB is the right fuse, what can i do next to troubleshoot?

thanks

Ash

Hi All,

My Flinstones has just developed a screen issue and wondering if you have seen the issue and maybe pinpoint where to look. I am going through the schematics.

I have provided an image. The screen doesnt show a static image but seems to display corrupted graphics. Although I have a ColorDMD screen, if I go into the screens menu, it displays fine (just not game graphics)... Im thinking it might be the Display Board itself as I lost 12v on J117 of the main power board that feeds this board. I found F116 on the main power board (the 12volt rail) blown. Ive replaced the fuse (which didnt blow) but the graphics is corrupted.

Has anyone seen something similar?

Thanks,
Rob

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Referring to the dropped ball issue. here are some pics. For the VUK, there is a hole that the ball can go through. I am not sure if there should be something blocking this from happening? in addition, when i push on the VUK, all i can see is 1/8 inch of the bar, perhaps part of the VUK broke off?

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Correct. You are missing the black vuk top.

Your missing the vuk top. That catches the ball.

Screenshot_20211112-190358_Chrome (resized).jpg

Might be in the bottom of the cab?

Reseat the ribbon cable from the display to the DMD controller as well as the two ribbon cables that come from the MPU at the lower left. So also reseat the connector into the fliptronics and sound board.

thanks! I checked the cab and no go so i will order the parts. I also need the plunger and the screw. here are the part numbers from Marcos.

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The manual shows the sheet metal screw as 6-32 x 3/8".

Is it this one:

Machine Screw 6-32 x 3/8" p-flh
#4006-01041-06

In the manual, the part numbers do not seem to align correctly on this screw.

Screen Shot 2021-11-12 at 7.54.18 PM (resized).pngScreen Shot 2021-11-12 at 7.59.20 PM (resized).png

Thanks for that.. I will try that soon. I also found, that although the game seems to play, there is no sound when playing. I do here sound (the ding) when I turn it on though. Im thinking when the 12v fuse blew, it might have blown something else. I hope not.

Ill report back once played with the cables.

Thanks again,
Rob

Thank you for the correction. I will be acquiring the parts this week and doing the installation. Ill send an update after that.

Joined the club! Bought mine a while ago and went right to storage until i had the time to move it. It is home not. time for cleaning and mods. Missing a plastic and couple with tiny chips. will be replacing all the plastics that need it. going to replace the sideart for sure, cartoon version.

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Welcome to the club Flintstomes is a great fun game for sure ,I am doing.a full restore too my it's a keeper

Alright! The problem with the dropped ball has been fixed by replacing the broken components of the VUK, specifically parts # 9,8,5, and 13. Please see attached pics. THANK YOU mbelofsky for the schematic and CC (Captain's Auction Warehouse) for the reference photo of the assembled parts that needed replacing.

Since i just purchased the machine, this was my first repair and i learned so much! The process was straightforward and here it is for reference:

1. Power off the machine and unplug it from the electric wall socket so the unit has no power.
2. Open coin door, remove lockdown bar, then remove playfield glass and put it somewhere safe.
3. Remove all four balls! For me, i had to flick them up one by one through the trough into the launch lane then pull them out with my fingers.
4. There is a "handle" between the two flippers that you can use to lift the playfield up. Lift up the playfield then grab the 2 metal bars underneath and pull it towards you until you hear a click, then push the 2 metal bars vertically up and over in the air until it is touching the backboard. NOTE: make sure to protect the backboard and playfield by putting a towel or cardboard in between.
5. Remove the popper/VUK assembly from the playfield by removing the 4 hex head screws (see pic for screw locations).
6. Remove the two screws from the popper/VUK assembly so that the broken armature can be removed. (see pic for screw locations) Make a note of the how the parts are assembled before taking them apart so you understand the sequence for reassembly, especially part numbers 9, 8, 3, 6, 4, 5, 12, and 13.
7. Reassemble popper/VUK then reattach the screws removed during steps 6 and 5 to finish the repair. (see pic to see repaired VUK).
8. Follow steps 4,3,2,1 to put the machine back together.
8. Test the machine and confirm multiball, bronto crane, and VUK are working.

Thanks again to the team for helping me with my first repair! Now I need to fix a weak flipper. That's pinball for ya lol!!!

Ash

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VUK-installed (resized).jpg

Congrats on the successful repair - you're on your way to becoming a veteran pinhead!

I just "rebuilt" all three flippers on my Flintstones as they were somewhat weak. Well worth the effort as all are now strong shooting and game is even more fun!

Parts link FWIW:

https://www.pinballlife.com/flipper-rebuild-kit-williamsbally-081993-101998-spooky-2014-present-jjp-2012-present.html

Need to order "full" set PLUS 2nd right side flipper. Bushings are separate.

Thanks Tuna!

I just fixed the weak flipper issue!!! My right flipper was super weak. I couldn't even get the ball up any ramps with it! I started researching and I was disheartened because I thought it might require some work to get it fixed.

Believe it or not, simply cleaning the flipper optos completely fixed the issue! The flippers are super strong now.

I had to research the threads to find out how to do it but still had trouble finding the physical location of the flipper optos. Being new to pinball, there is so much to learn. With that said, here is how it is done for the next pinhead!

1. Power off the machine and unplug it from the electric wall socket so the unit has no power.
2. Open coin door, remove lockdown bar, then remove playfield glass and put it somewhere safe.
3. Remove all four balls! For me, i had to flick them up one by one through the trough into the launch lane then pull them out with my fingers.
4. There is a "handle" between the two flippers that you can use to lift the playfield up. Lift up the playfield then grab the 2 metal bars underneath and pull it towards you until you hear a click, then push the 2 metal bars vertically up and over in the air until it is touching the backboard. NOTE: make sure to protect the backboard and playfield by putting a towel or cardboard in between.
5. Locate the optos by each flipper. Please see pic. Note: there are 2 per flipper.
6. Use isopropyl alcohol and q-tips to clean the optos.
7. Simply hold down the flipper button and clean the opto sensor area with the qtip. Repeat for other flipper. Please see pic for the area i cleaned.
8. Once cleaned, reassemble the table then test the flipper strength. For me, there was a tremendous improvement!

If you want to understand optos better, and their function for the flippers, please see this thread:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/flintstones-weak-right-flipper

thanks

Ash

flipper-opto (resized).jpg

just finished my restoration, what do you guys think
thanks

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Great job bud I restore pins and after my IJ I am doing my Flintstones too