Hello,

I am new to working on games, but I'm starting to tinker more and get better. Anyway, the issue I'm having is the right flipper solenoids are real weak on my Flash. They always have been since I bought it. If you hold the right flipper button down, they heat up pretty fast...mostly the bottom one. FYI, The left flipper coil never gets hot...its a little weak tho...not as bad as the bottom right but not good either.

All the flipper coils look replaced. They are blue, I think they were suppose to be orange? Anyway...

Both right coils heat up, but the bottom one was slow to cool where the top right was fast to cool. I ordered and installed a new bottom right coil from Marco and also the corresponding duel contact switch (it was bent up bad)...I went wire by wire to make sure I hooked up exactly as it was there. I left the upper right coil and switch alone. Now, the lower coil has a significant delay before it fires and its REAL weak! Upper coil has the same strength, its ok, but it still heats up a lot and worries me.

The old coil worked, but was noticeably weak and got real hot, I thought the sleeve was going to melt inside, that's why I changed it. The new coil does not get hot...but the delay is bad and its even weaker.

Was wondering if I got the right coil? If all the old coils are wrong. Blown diodes? Any ideas? Maybe the solenoid driver board? I was hoping that replacing the solenoid would do the trick, but it seems worse. I've been reading around and can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated...I'm going to include some pics.025.JPG
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Flyer666,

The EOS in the last picture is brand new, it should be adjusted just fine...right? its for the bottom right flipper. The EOS for the upper flipper does look a little bent but not bad, when it fires the flipper crank pushes the switch apart by at least 1/8", that should be enough I think.

If the EOS is not the issue on the upper solenoid, any other thoughts?

CNKay,
The delay is on the bottom solenoid, the new one I installed. So the long part of the EOS is going to the upper or other flipper. Not sure if I was clear on that. So the first solenoid is the slow one. Once it finally fires, the upper solenoid will fire and it seems to fire fine. But if I hold down the flipper button, the upper solenoid gets hot the lower one now does not. The EOS looks to be working fine on the upper one too.

I am going to take a short video and upload either later tonight or tomorrow morning to show exactly the symptoms.

So, does it look like I got the right solenoid? Does anyone know the original specs on the flipper solenoids? mine are all rubbed off...accept for the Marco one

I do what I can

I'll get that vid loaded soon.

having problems with the video...sorry...But to try and explain real quick

The issue is not with the flipper buttons. Once its pressed, the solenoid immediately fires, its just real Real sluggish which makes it seem delayed. Much more than when I had the old coil on.

I read all what vid1900 link had. Very informative, so thanks!

What I can add is that the EOS switch looks like it has good contact. I even manually held it together and then pressed the flipper button...its still real slow. Also, I did clean the heck out of the plunger, sleeve and bushing. After reading vid1900's link, I see that I should just replace it all, but I wanted to mention that it is super clean and polished. The spring is good, no mushrooming on plunger and the sleeve is nice...not new but no friction in the mechanics. Also after reading the link, I see that I have the diode side of the coil on the same side as the coil stop. It seems this should be reversed. This shouldn't be the issue either from reading.

Can anyone tell me if I have the right solenoid? or how to find out? All the pics I find show replaced ones
Are all 3 flipper solenoids suppose to be the same specs or is the upper weaker?

I have a DMM but am a novice at best. Should I be checking the solenoids for voltage when energized or maybe the resistance? Again, super noob here

Thanks for all the comments so far!

Vid, thanks for the flash manual and the confirmation on the coil!

I tried what I thought was a similar method to your alligator clip idea by just holding the EOS connectors together. That didn't work when I originally tried.

But...

seeing as how confident you seem that its the EOS, I was messing again with the lower flipper EOS(the new one), just pressing the contacts together and measuring the gap when it was open trying to get it right at 1/8". Not sure exactly what I did, but it works now!

I am still having the heat up issue with the upper flipper. So, with everyone's advice, it looks like the EOS is the problem again.

I lightly sanded down the contacts with 400 grit.

Then adjusted the gap to 1/8".

When I hold down the flipper button, top coil still gets hot...damn!

Am I understanding this correctly, if the gap on the EOS is open more than 1/8 "; shouldn't that keep it from heating up???

I'm taking the advice of Vid and others and just ordering the flipper kits...I just want to make sure I understand the logic here for future trouble shooting.

Thanks again to all! Love this site

Vid, I think its wired correctly. The 3rd pic I showed in my first post is of the upper coil. I can include another if that does not clearly show it. But from what I've been reading, mostly your "how to's" it seem like I do. On the coil, the stripped side of the diode (left) has the power. The EOS is wired to the middle lug and also the right lug. Ground to the right lug also.

Note: the pic does not show the diode, its on the other side of the coil.. so all my orientation is reversed. Sorry for the confusion. But I think its wired correctly...do you agree?

On a side note...when wiring the EOS to the coil, does it matter which lead goes to the middle and right on the coil...can they be reversed and still function correctly?

thanks Chris! Thats what I thought. Its nice when a little piece of this big puzzle becomes clear. Now its not so big

I haven't had time to mess any more with Flash, but I will hopefully in the next 2-3 days. I'll be back to post an update.