Hi guys, I've been playing away at my newly acquired Revenge From Mars for a couple of weeks now. and just last night, the right-flipper was suddenly stuck in the up position, making the game unplayable.. And at Christmas time too! Certainly not a Christmas miracle..

I had noticed the right flipper getting stuck for maybe a second or two previously (only a couple of times), but thought nothing of it.. Usually a press or two of the flipper button would set it right.

Upon powering the machine on, the flipper is down (as it should be), it's only after the Pinball 2000 PC has finished loading the game rom, that the flipper is suddenly stuck in the upright position. I took the glass off the machine, and with a bit of force, you can press the flipper back down, but can feel the flipper solenoid pulsing to push the flipper back up again.

The solenoid has a FL-11630/50 part number on it. The left flipper is working totally fine.

Help?
Thanks so much

Pinballomatic - how do I put it in switch test?

Okay I tried all that and the flipper isn't stuck on. I even pulled the flipper board off the machine and checked it directly - no issue there.

What's my next step?

I've got a multimeter to check things if required - just not sure what to check? Or is it time to start buying parts?

Thanks.

Yes. All that's correct. The diag menu has the switches going on and off (indicated by a green box) as expected. And opening the coin door switch makes the flipper drop as you mentioned.

Yes, I don't have to press the start button for the flipper to fully engage, it happens as the computer finishes booting - basically as the 'Loading your in-game experience' screen disappears..

Thanks for your expertise
What do I do next?

I've done a bit of further testing on this:

I can see that the EOS switch is working correctly for this flipper (lighting up in the switch tests, when activated).
If I run the the Right Flipper Hold test, nothing happens, but if I run the Right Flipper Power test, then force the flipper down, I can feel the solenoid getting the power to flip the flipper up, but this doesn't happen with the Hold test..

Any pointers on how to fix my flipper please?

I wonder how one of the transistors would have been shorted? Any thoughts? Perhaps it's not blown, but just shorted by something? Again, I'm only new to this, so perhaps I'm missing something obvious? Now that I know where I'm looking on the power board, I'll have another double-check tonight, perhaps pick up a can of air on the way home and see how I go.

You two say 'most likely a shorted transistor' as if this is a common issue??

From what I've found searching around the internet, this seems very similar to my issue:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/help-with-rfm-blowing-right-flipper-fuse

The manual says that the appropriate transistor is Q35 and Q36 on the power board for the right flipper. Any easy way to determine if it's the hold or power transistor? I'm guessing it's the power one..? (seeing as the flipper stays up fine..)

Following from what you guys have said and this link, I'll do some tests tonight, and if those transistors are actually busted, I'll order some new ones and hopefully get my game working again

I'll let you know how I go.
Thanks so far team

2016-12-28 12_23_09-Bally_1999_Revenge_From_Mars_Manual+OCR.pdf - Adobe Acrobat (resized).png

Oh thanks guys - I've got a couple of mates who are pretty decent at electronics & have some fancy equipment, so I'll ask them for some help on this one.

@Homepin, the flipper does bang straight to the top as soon as you shut the door or power the machine on - it's certainly not a slow flip as illustrated in the 'hold test' from the diagnostics menu.

Thanks everyone!

Hey guys, I've pulled the board out this afternoon to have a look and this is what I've found:

According to http://redspawn2k2.com/customfiles/crg/PINBALL%202000/#trans

FET 20N10L: Put the black lead of the DMM on the metal tab of the transistor. Put the red lead of the DMM on the right outside leg of the FET (as facing the transistor). A reading of .4 to .6 volts should be seen. Then move the red lead of the DMM to the left leg of the FET. A reading of 1.2 to 1.4 volts should be seen. Put the red lead on the center FET leg, and a zero reading should be seen. Any other value, and the FET is bad and will need to be replaced.

When i test each of the transistors in that bank, the left leg is reading only 0.9volts, instead of 1.2-1.4 state above.. Does that mean I've got a bigger issue? The transistors (Q35 & Q36) test exactly the same as the other transistors while in the board. The transistors for the left (working) flipper, output exactly the same readings as these transistors for the right (stuck up) flipper..

I've ordered replacement transistors, but I'm not sure if this is gonna fix it or not..?

Does anyone have any thoughts or advice?

Thanks.

Yes I'm on the diode setting.

(FYI - The manual lists this as part number 5220-15710-00 Transistor-FET, STP20N10L, N-Channel)

Each of the transistors from Q35-Q70 are all the same type (20N10L) and they all test roughly the same:
Black lead to the top metal tab of the Transistor
Red lead on the left leg - 0.965 - 0.996v
Red lead on the right leg - 0.475 - 0.495v
Red lead on the center leg - 0.000v

All tests were done with the power driver completely removed from the machine, so no power etc.

I've tested all of these type of transistor on the board and they're all in the same range.. Just the left leg is not in the 1.2v-1.4v range in the article I've linked to above.. Perhaps the article is wrong?? Or I've got a bigger/different issue?

Thoughts?
Does this indicate it's not a transistor issue??

I just get a reading of OL (Open Loop) if I swap the red/black multimeter leads over - but my understanding is that current only flows one way through these things, so that's expected - they all produce the same result.

What are the predrivers? I'm not quite sure how to find them?

So i finally received some new parts, I've swapped out both Q35(right-flipper power) and Q36(right-flipper hold) transistors with new 20N10L transistors. But when I plug everything back together, the flipper still pops up as soon as the coin door is closed or the game finishes powering up..

I've done a few more tests and despite my newbie-ness above, the issue is the flipper hold, not the flipper power... my mistake..

What's my next step??

How do I test whether they're good or bad?

image (resized).jpeg

Is that the model of diode I need? Ok great, I'll pick some up from my nearest jaycar tomorrow.

I know it's a bit crusty under there - I did a big cleanup of the above playfield parts progressively over the last 2 weeks. The other flipper solenoid looks similar, I'm thinking I might need to invest in a flipper rebuild kit at some point soon?