Just picked up a whirlwind yesterday. My second pin (first is an EM). Anyhow, I'm pretty sure the balls were never changed nor was the playfield ever cleaned. It's incredibly dirty so I'm in the process of clearing out the playfield. I am stuck with the ramp that is on the left side and then wraps around the back. I'm sure there is some easy trick to removing it. I've removed the two screws at the end and the couple on the side. It feels like it must be held on the back side and I feel like I can feel a couple of screws. However, I have no idea if there really are a couple of screws and, most importantly, how one would be able to get to them to remove them. So, what is the secret to removing that ramp?
Thanks

I tried to prop up the pf but that didn't seem to allow access. Maybe I'll have to bite the bullet and remove it

I surprised I'm having difficulty with this. I have fairly long arms, am a fan of the golden elixir and while I am no match for Ralphie's father, I have been known to toss out an expletive or two or three while working on my pinball machine

Yeah I have that piece loosened but it doesn't seem to help much

Dsuperbee's suggestion to prop it up did the trick. That being said, it's a lot easier to feel around and find the screws while somewhat blind than it is to reinstall when things have to be lined up right. So, I may well be using mac622's suggestion when it comes time to reinstall.

Another question. The playfield is dirty as the devil. One piece of mylar (left side by the yellow jets) had some significant lifting/bubbles, so I tried the freeze it with air technique and it worked surprisingly well. The playfield underneath it looks great. It only picked up part of the decal over the 50000 insert. (In the bottom of the box was the piece of mylar that is supposed to go over the compass area. Since it was never applied, several of those directional decals have warn off, so, I know I'm going to have to get new decals regardless. Meaning...if a decal lifts, it's no big deal.)

Anyhow, since this machine seems to fall in that midpoint (i.e., per Vids restoration thread, 90's and beyond go for it...pre 90's try at your own risk), I'm not sure if I should go ahead and try to remove the rest of the mylar or not. I'm guessing several of you have had this same dilemma. What did you do?

Interestingly, (or maybe this is the norm), all of the bubbles appear over the inserts. (There are also a couple of edges that are coming up.) I don't plan on clearcoating. The playfield appears to be in really good shape, so I am confident I would end up making things worse. Thanks for the info on the decals, as I was thinking a decal is a decal and was actually wondering if they were waterslide. So, can I infer you are recommending to leave it as it is and only attack it if, after cleaning, it looks like crap. Related to this, as I mentioned many of the directional arrows on the compass have worn away in whole or in part. Is there a best way to remove the residual bits and pieces on some of the inserts?

Well I had to remove part of another one since a good 1/2" was coming up from the edge already. Removing it back until I hit decent tack results in damage to one insert label plus a bit of paint. So, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that the rest of the mylar holds up.

Interesting on removal of the old decals. Since woodworking is my main hobby, I actually have a variety of scrapers and good bit of experience using them so I can control it fairly well (with scrapers, the blade is held at an angle beyond perpendicular to allow the tiny hook to cut/catch at the correct angle). Now that I think about it, seems like a reasonable approach to use. Thanks

So in between fighting an issue with the special solenoid for the top right jet (thread in the tech forum), I am cleaning up plastics. I have a replacement for one (broken) that has the sign riveted to it. I'm curious to know if people rivet or just use screws and nuts to attach the sign to a new plastic.

I need some expertise/info on the right ramp. Often, when I go into the diagnostics it will produce a right ramp err message. However, the coil test for up and down ramp work fine. I've only played a few games on it so far; however, the right ramp mechanism will click three or four times at the start of the game and occasionally during game play as if it is trying to raise the ramp. I've only had the ramp raise once or twice. So my question is whether this is normal, i.e., the ramp is down 99% of the time. I did look at the mechanism and tried to adjust the micro switch since it looks to me as though the 'bar' on the plunger is supposed to engage the microswitch when it is pulled in. (Not sure if I was completely successful and if there is a technique to adjusting the switch) My guess is that the micro switch engages the second coil, which locks the first but when the coil test occurs, it fires both coils without relying on the microswitch. Thoughts?
Thanks

I need some help/confirmation on some parts. First, I'm having an issue with the general illumination and have isolated it to the relay board on the backside on the backbox (the part that swings out). After fiddling with it, I think replacement is the way to go. Here is where it gets interesting. The board in the box is 5768-12243-00. On Marco, this is 12VDC board. According to the manual, the correct part is C-11902-1, which is a 24 VDC board. Hmm. Before I go ahead and order the C-11902-1, I thought I'd ask if anyone knows what they are running?

Second, per my previous post, the ramp doesn't always work. I'm pretty certain it is the microswitch. I've tried to adjust the leaf to make it work properly but with limited success...plus the switch appears to be a bit flaky anyhow. In any case, first, if anyone has a picture of the microswitch for the ramp, I'd love to see how it is supposed to work. Second, I can't seem to find the correct replacement part so was wondering if anyone had suggestions on an alternative switch that I can modify to fit.
Thanks

I had first checked the reerence on page 32; however, I found the footnotes to be confusing. So, I went by the reference or Solenoid 16 on page 53. It lists the part as C-11902-1. Now when I went back to doublecheck, I see a second reference to Solenoid 16, which is the C-11998-1 you have noted. So, I guess C-11998-1 is the correct answer. I have checked the solder on the relay board and all seems fine. The fact that I can get the lights to work by placing a jumper across two pins makes me think that the issue is not at the interconnect board or the pins. However, this may be flawed logic.

When I run through the coil test, both relays fire when testing sol 16. However, when I turn the machine on, they don't appear to fire. Is there is a different logic path used when running the diagnostics as opposed to normal startup? If so, where could I determine the source of the difference is and, therefore, a good place to start my search?

As I type this, I realize that I am moving from a Whirlwind specific question of 'what is the correct part?' to 'I have a technical question, which relates to any system 11' so I think I'll try to pick this thread up in the alpha-num technical section
Thanks

Per an earlier post, can someone tell me what the standard right side ramp movements are? For example, is the ramp up or down when you start a game? What action will then move it to the opposite position?

Secondly, when the ramp changes positions do the coils fire multiple times or just once? (On my game, the arm that moves the ramp up and down will fire several times, with nothing happening. I'm just trying to determine if this is normal...as in the system sends the signal multiple times to ensure it is at the proper state)

Thanks

Yeah, I've tried bending it about a dozen times and can't seem to get it. I'm thinking the tongue isn't long enough. It seems I need to have it run parallel and close to the switch, then go upwards to catch the pin on the plunger of the solenoid. However, doing that results in the pin not catching it. It appears that I should have three bends: one parallel, second rising up to catch the pin and the third parallel to the first. That having been said, for some stupid reason, I haven't done the switch edge test for that one...done it for others...not sure why I didn't think to do that. Thanks

Yeah and the fact it works properly in the coil test makes me think it has to be the switch

Thanks. This is exactly my problem. When you look at the manual, it shows the bend in the arm. Mine lacks that, so it is just barely long enough to contact the post on plunger when fully engaged, forget about it being long enough to trigger the switch. I had looked at Marco but could not find this part, so thanks for the head's up on PB resource.

Just to close out my ramp issue. I received the switch from PBR this afternoon and, viola, everything works fine. Thanks. Interestingly enough, when I first got the machine, there was another microswitch in the bottom of the cabinet. I also found two pieces of metal, about 3/4 of an inch long and 3/16" wide. I thought 'hmm, what could these be... I wonder if they are shims for some adjustment' I kept them in case I needed them for adjustment. Well, wouldn't you know, they are the exact size as the tongue on the microswitch from the point of the bend. Makes me think I maybe ought to buy another one the next time I order some things from PBR.

Anyhow, thanks FParker185. (down to only one problem...GI lighting posted in the general tech thread. But I can at least play the game fully now)

I've been trying to figure out an issue I have with the GI. It appears to be the 4 pin connector at the transformer for the GI wires. One of the pins is a lovely coffee color. Pretty fried to say the least. I've looked in the manual but can't seem to find part listed. Does anyone happen to know what the correct part number for this is?
Thanks

Well now, this is really, really bad news. When they were unobtanium, I would tell myself 'boy, if they were available, I'd jump all over it'. How does one tell the boss who plays the game and knows it plays perfectly fine that we really need a new playfield. Hmm, let's see you've got your gold, silver and bronze levels... maybe the aluminum or iron level?

On second thought
I've heard that the inks they are using are far superior to the last run. Oh and the clearcoating is amazing, makes the last run look like crap. You have to feel sorry for anyone that bought the old run. At least they got some enjoyment from it. However, imagine if you bought one and were hoarding it to resell. Those playfields probably aren't worth the wood they are printed on. I imagine most will end up in the landfill. However, because, I feel so very sorry for those people, I will offer $250 right now and that includes shipping of course. And, once officially announced, it will drop to $150, so you better hurry!

(Can you tell that I've been reading the threads on the remakes)

I have a general setup question. When you hit the ball on the far orbit, through the spinner and down through the lower jet bumpers, at speed, what is the interaction with the jet bumpers? Specifically, which bumper does the ball hit. It seems like the metal rail can be slightly adjusted (like the metal rail to launch a ball into play from the shooter lane) to ensure it does not pass cleanly through. However, it might simply be the age of the machine and force against the rail has resulted in a bit of play at that point. At one point, the ball would pass through and I've adjusted it so it glances off the bottom one of the three.

The outhole under the ramp has gotten progressively weaker to the point that I need to replace it. Interestingly, there is an AE-26-1500 in there now, however, when I look in my manual, it states that it should be a 23-800. Since I know the manuals are not always correct, I'm hoping someone can look and see what coil they have.
Thanks

This is the outhole under the right ramp, so no mini subway. Yes, because I am cheap, I had already replaced the sleeve and stop. I did not resolder since it all seemed fine, but will try that as well.
Thanks

It is very difficult to go through life as a moron. After resoldering things, I fired it up and it wouldn't even leave the outhole. Upon closer inspection the heavy pad on the 'stop' was just hanging on. Since the adhesive is shot, I took it off and, of course, everything worked fine. (Obviously, I'll need to reattach it to not tear up the balls). Moral of the story... I was so focused on an issue under the playfield, I never noticed the issue was on the playfield. Moron!

Tried double sided foam tape, but it looks like I need to get a new one. I think this is it: http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/23-6645

Anyhow, since shipping is 8x the cost of the part, I figure it makes sense to bump up my order. I can always get some coil sleeves or LED's; however, are there any parts on a Whirlwind that tend to fail fairly often and, therefore, would be a good thing to have on hand?

OK, I'm curious to know if anyone else got on the list for the new CPR playfield run. I'm hoping that it will be a relatively quick turnaround since it is a rerun.

Yeah, I've never done a playfield swap and admit that I am intimidated by the thought of it. Unfortunately, I tend toward ADHD as opposed to OCD so it's not an ideal project for me. However, my pf is not in great shape. To give you a feel for the wear, several of the compass points have worn off since they never put the mylar over that portion. Plus, it seems like these hold their value pretty well if I get it and chicken out.

Any idea how long it typically takes from this point?

I had the same thought since it really isn't intuitive that you have to change the switch to get it past the music test. I'm sure there is some logic there but I don't want to invest the brain cycles (too few to waste) to figure it out. I just toggle and fiddle when it is "stuck" in a given test mode

It's funny. If I make something (my other passion is woodworking), any and every flaw bothers me...maybe I see it as a reflection of my skill and/or attention to detail. However, if I didn't make it, minor imperfections don't bother me at all (with the exception of things not being level or plumb...that drives me crazy). It probably means I have some terrible psychological sickness lurking deep within my psyche.

On another, but related note, my wife wants us to trade out the WW for something new. So here I sit with a new pf coming next week, new plastics waiting in the closet and ready to do my first full pf swap. I started a thread on my dilemma here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sell-or-swap-then-sell

What to do...sell with new stuff included or jump in and do the swap...decisions, decisions. I really do like this game a lot, but then again when the wife is saying lets open up the wallet and get a new game, you need to strike while the iron is hot!

Interesting. My current, very original, pf has an orange shoot again insert. The one on my CPR appears to be the exact same color. It is certainly not yellow/amber as pictured on the one on the right. Similarly, the colors on the left one (and my CPR pf) appear to be closer to my original than the one on the right.

I suspect my WW is an early one since the translight has the sticker over the kids ballcap logo. It is my understanding that they corrected this fairly early on. Could it be that they also changed the colors?

So what color is your insert?
Here is my current pf...lighting isn't good so the color is off somewhat but it is definitely orange. (Yes I know from that picture it is hard to understand why I would want to replace it )

IMG_3755 (resized).JPG

Actually, my CPR pf insert looks to be the same color as my existing pf definitely orange, not yellowish

Now the blue of my pf is much more tourqouiseish than the CPR pf; however, based on the pics, my CPR looks closer to the current color than the first run CPR does. Actually, it looks like the restored mbaumle pf is very close to the color of mine. Captain Neo did an excellent job with that!

OK, I decided to go ahead and list my Whirlwind for sale with all the extras. Here is the ad:
https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/ad/54642

Apologize for the long description, but there is a lot there...working WW with LED's, extra boards, CPR gold pf, plastics, even a nice rotisserie.