I'm slowly working through this thread again. I'm getting held up on a No Fear where no matter what I do the flipper sticks up in game.
Symptoms:
When engaged stays up until you flip the right flipper or tap it gently
Will not stick by hand

What I've done:
All new everything (coil, rebuild kit, sleeve, bushing, bat, EOS)
Switched the flipper PCBs in the cabinet. same problem.

I think something is magnetize but I don't know how to track that down.

I’ll try those things. It does stay up when off which was my first hint to check mechanics. There is some play and everything is square (I am going to try a new stop tonight as well).
The thing that really stands out to me is it won’t stick when I move it manually when every other stuck flipper I’ve had I can recreate by hand.
This is the first of about a dozen rebuild and It’s never gotten to this point.

Hey Vid. Learning a lot from this guide. I'm restoring a Sorcerer and in addition to re-capping the PS, I also want to re-cap the flipper PS. I noticed earlier in this thread you said to look at the power wiring page to get the value of the caps for my game. I'm including pics of what I found in the schematics, plus what I found online as replacements. Just wanted to double check with your expertise before ordering. Thanks!

Yopp
FR01 (resized).JPG
FR02 (resized).JPG
FR03 (resized).JPG

Rookie owner seeks advice.

I have owned The Addams Family game for a month now, facing my second repair and first on flippers. I have no previous experience so please bear with me if I am asking stupid questions.

My right flipper suddenly went very weak. When I hold the flipper button and it is up, it is as strong as the other. But if I add resistance in the stroke it just retreats with the weight of the ball.

I read the basic sections of this brilliant post and some additional sections and checked the potential culprits. I found the plunger, coil sleeve, coil stop and EOS switch almost brand new, which I guess rules them out? The EOS makes contact just before end of stroke, similar to the left, and I guess that is ok too? What I DID find was some sewere play (rocking 2-3 mm) in the flipper and given the fact that it is strong in end position, I conclude the blame lies on the flipper bushing and I just put in basket to order new ones.

My main question now is: Can I expect adding new flipper bushing solves the problem or is there something else I should check (coil or...)?

Thank you in advance to all friendly people in here.

TAF flipper too much play (resized).jpg

I had a weak flipper recently and it turned out one of the diodes on the coil was bad (2 diodes on each coil in F-14)

1976 Fireball home edition. How to make the flipper strength more powerful? Any suggestions other than a complete rebuild?

640A2E29-7684-4F63-838F-E1DF5F3FED50 (resized).jpeg

92B7080D-223C-44C4-9138-21284E02B84F (resized).jpeg

AFD78F25-3CEE-475F-AD43-C5715DD47A88 (resized).jpeg

Thanks, I'll try switching coils to se if problem moves to left flipper.

I get the idea thank you, and will order full rebuild kit. During shipping time, I will try to switch coils to see if problem moves to the left. Apart from solving the problem I am eager to learn what is wrong to give me a better understanding of how it all works - for future use.

Are the wires properly connected to the flipper coil and the end-of-stroke switch? Is the end of stroke switch clean and correctly adjusted? Has the flipper assembly been rebuilt yet?

Yes to all but flipper rebuild. Don’t even think it needs one to be honest. Just wanted to know other options before I throw 50 at flipper rebuild kits

Have you taken them apart and looked and the coil sleeves and bushing? Those can wear and cause binding you may not be able to see without a proper inspection.

I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure the lug side of the coil should NOT be on the coil stop side. Look at one of the first pages of this thread....

Yes I’ve taken them apart, everything cleaned and polished. This is a home model that hasn’t seen a lot of play compared to other pins of this age. I know about the coil lugs facing the other way but that isn’t making the flippers weak.

Show us a picture of the EOS gap when the flipper is engaged.

Better now, cleaned contacts on flipper buttons and flipper switches

Noticed the fish paper has broken off on one switch. Does anyone know any cheap places to get some so I could make a new piece?

6C35431F-4359-40EE-87C5-ECEB12FFED89 (resized).jpeg

Switch fishpaper is here:

http://www.pbresource.com/pfswitch.htm#common

I tried switching flippers, and the problem moved to the left flipper. I did not unsolder though, but at least now I know that I must troubleshoot an electrical issue.

So, I'm restoring a Game Plan Agents 777 and would like to upgrade the flipper mechs to Williams style. Problem: the flipper coils on this game are real small, the same length as the coils in the pop bumpers or slings. So, it would seem I can only do this the way I intended if I also change the coils, but they would have to be something compatible. The manual with this game is a total mess and I haven't been able to sleuth out what value the coils are.
Alternatively, I could simply rebuild these flippers with the original parts, if such a kit exists. I've only ever done Williams games in the past so I don't know what other configuration would be compatible. Advice?

Just want to chime in with my own experience. A flipper on a Williams system 11 can chatter or machine gun if you reverse the wires on the primary coil. I soldered my Pinbot left flipper primary coil backward and the symptoms were a huge spark from the EOS contact and occasional chatter at the end of stroke. The holding coil worked fine.

VID
I am sure this has been answered before and I think I may have asked before as well, But I need to know on the EOS switch the middle lug on the coil, does that wire go to the short blade or the long blade? I have seen it both ways and was not sure if there is a right or wrong way and why. The game I am doing at present has three flippers and two are one way and the third is not. Wanted to stay consistent.
Mike

It doesn't matter. I usually go whichever way leads to the wires sitting nicer with less twists/crossing, etc.

Yes, they are original, they are a shorter coil than on flippers I'm accustomed to.
I didn't check the voltage.

Easy answer: use classic Stern rebuild kit instead. Practically identical. I will likely switch to outboard springs as the springs in the kit are pretty small; they work, but the flipper kind of bounces upon return to its resting position. Learn something new on every project...

Hey vid1900 thanks so very much for creating this tutorial. After reading it numerous times i think my brain has turned to mush.

I have 2 System 11s that i want to update: 1st is an F14 Tomcat and the 2nd a Pin-bot.

I saw the image you posted that showed the full flipper assembly you can order from Pinball life and that to me seems the way to go! I would rather spend the money and order all new parts to be 100% certain they work well. I save every penny to buy my pins and want to make sure they work well so am willing to spend the extra money on repairs when required.

If I order 2 of each (Left & Right) will those assemblies work for both my machines? Thanks again and sorry to ask a question that's probably been answered 20 times.

flip (resized).jpg

Hey Vid I have a flipper mod question. I’m currently restoring a Sorcerer and I feel that the top flipper coil is too strong (airball City!). Any suggestions on making the flipper a little weaker?

Thanks. I had a feeling that might help, but then I thought “nah, nothing in Pinball is that simple.”

So those assemblies will work for me then,?

Thanks Vid. Much appreciated.

Found this when I checked out the flipper coils on my Pinbot. Looks like someone removed one of the diodes on the right flipper coil. Left mech has same coil and both diodes.

Makes no sense to me. Is there a reason someone would do this? Doesnt matter to me as I plan on ordering all new parts I was just wondering.

20190108_191015 (resized).jpg

I have rebuilt all 4 flippers on my Gottlieb Star Race. I still have problems making the figure 8 loop at the top left corner. The current flipper coils are A-17875, is there a replacement coil with a little more "umph" ?

pasted_image (resized).png

Vid, is your picture flipped or rotated?

Reason I ask is that I am having a heating issue with an upper flipper coil on my D&D machine. The coils on all three of my flippers are A-24-570/34-3600's. Not the PinCoil brand. I have never had to deal with the lower flippers. The upper flipper coil is new, installed a couple of months ago due to a similar over-heat issue, which at that time actually did blow the fuse (more on that a bit further down in this post). I suspect wiring, but as I look at it, oriented in the same manner as your picture shows, the bands are reversed on the diodes relative to your picture, as you can see here

208_0808 (resized).JPG

I'm trying not to overthink this, and I hope I am being somewhat clearer than mud but it is perplexing. And I am beginning to wonder whether it is wired properly, although color wise, the other two flippers and the respective wires are soldered to the coils in the same orientation as the upper flipper.

But only that upper flipper is getting hot. No other coil on the game, not one, even gets warm under extended play. Or if they do, by the time I lift the playfield to check them they have cooled off. The upper coil does not cool off quickly. It's almost as though there is a continuous current feed.

It got so hot last night that the game threw a fuse message on the display and stopped. After checking all of the fuses visually and with a DMM, not one fuse in the backbox or under the playfield was bad. Power off brought the game back up in a ready to play status.

Anyway, the thick/thin 43 volt tab looks like it's in the middle, the thin is definitely as your picture displays, and the thick wire is on the left. Does that sound right? I have looked and looked and looked, and I can not see any indication that the thick/thin wires on these coils are oriented as your picture shows.

Oh btw, disregard that chewed up wire, I did that last night (slipped with the iron in my hand) when I put a new switch in. It was getting late and I called it for the night. That wire is going to be replaced today.

Looks like your diodes are reversed from the picture, and notice that your thin, thick, and dual wire terminals are not in the same location.

Is the eos switch supposed to be normally open? Looks like it’s not making contact in that pic.

It won't fire if it's closed. I thought the same thing. When I put that switch in last night, it was closed, it's a brand new switch. So I spaced it a bit, the old one was really spaced, and didn't even make contact when it fired :O

Anyway, here is a picture of the new wiring just completed. As I stated, all three flippers are wired the same way color-wise, save the replacement red wire I just put on.

208_0809 (resized).JPG

Here is a picture of another flipper coil I have. As you can see, it's the same configuration as the flippers in D&D
208_0810 (resized).JPG

Indeed. And based on the configuration being the same as that spare pincoil picture I posted, the +43 terminal is at the thin wire on the right. And the thick and thin wire is on the middle lug :O

eta for Chuckwurt

As I understand upper flipper configurations, the EOS is normally closed, but my upper flipper will not fire if the switch is closed. So I'm really beginning to think: Houston, I have a situation

Just as an FYI, and with no intent to clog this thread with off-topic stuff, I am not ruling out an issue with my 6803 MPU board. I have another issue with XPIN's not displaying on this machine, except in test mode, while the original displays are working fine. I have not tracked down that problem, but maybe both issues originate somewhere from the backbox and not under the playfield. Or maybe not. I just don't know atm.

The EOS needs to be closed when the flipper is at rest. You must have something wired wrong. CPU can't effect the flippers.

I should have worded that last sentence a bit better than I did. Sorry about that. Anyway, after lifting the playfield and examining the lower flipper wiring, the upper flipper, as you stated, was wired incorrectly.

It's a double leaf setup on the lower flipper and I had the upper switch wired emulating the wrong leaf in the lower switch configuration. That's where I made my mistake.

It now works properly, that being the coil fires when it's in resting position, which is closed.

It still heated up though, but maybe that's normal. I'm just not sure why it would heat up as much as it did last night, and get a blown fuse warning, but not actually blow any fuse. As I said, when this same issue occurred last summer, I got that same message and it did blow the fuse. First thing I did then was to turn it off and then turn it back on. However, unlike last night, the fuse warning message did not go away nor would the game play.

That incident last summer also left a quite obvious electrical burning smell, which ended up being the old coil that this one replaced.

So, I am still not sure that I have resolved that particular issue, but at least the wiring is corrected.

Can you post a picture of your new wiring?

I've got it locked down and closed now, sitting in attract mode. It makes a nice night light when not being played, in that room. I had planned to take shots of all three flipper setups tomorrow, so look for them then.

eta

if you go back up a couple of posts, you'll see what the wiring looked like prior to the change I just made. That red wire runs to the middle leaf on the switch, and the orange wire in the background now runs to the 43 volt lug with the brown wire. Prior to that it was on the low/ground lug, on the left. It's not the best picture, but it will give you an idea of what I was talking about.

I'll post better pics tomorrow.

right flipper
208_0812 (resized).JPG

upper right flipper
208_0814 (resized).JPG

left flipper
208_0813 (resized).JPG

Does it matter which eos wire goes to which lug as long as you have one wire going to the center lug and one to the power return lug?

If I remove the wrappers from Flipper coils, or any coils for that matter, can I soak them in a cleaner?