(Topic ID: 267112)

Williams Little Chief Flipper problems

By lincsled

4 years ago



Topic Stats

  • 7 posts
  • 4 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 3 years ago by lincsled
  • Topic is favorited by 1 Pinsider

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#1 4 years ago

My Little Chief is coming along pretty well after a 20 year sleep,I have replaced the rubbers,the flippers and solenoid slugs and links,the score reels reset most of the time now,the more I play it the better it works.
But now I'm noticing a couple problems,the biggest problem is the flippers jump when you try to catch the ball,they seem to have plenty of power but when I try to catch the ball the flipper jump,and almost aways flips the ball into the side chutes,I thought it was the wore out slugs causing the problems but even with all the new flipper parts it's still doing it.
I read where you can increase the voltage to the flipper. Is this safe and advisable? Both of the flipper solenoids have been replaced at some point in the machines life,but I don't know when,is there some way to test them? Should I check the voltage to them,what should that be?
I have cleaned all the contact points related to the flippers,that I know of,with so many in there I have a hard keeping track of what does what!
The other problem I am having is the center kick out hole score lights,they only light up once in a while and usually only 2-3 lights before they go out,so I never get the special to light up,again I have cleaned all the contacts I can find,on the advance unit and the relay,nothing seems to help,any suggestions much appreciated!

#2 4 years ago

The only way to increase the voltage to the flippers is to high tap the transformer, which will increase all voltages in the game. Fairly safe but as you said, the flippers are already strong.

Some amount of bounce back on Williams flippers seems to be inevitable. You can try to adjust the eos so it opens as little as possible to minimize it. New eos and cab switches might help.

#3 4 years ago

Thanks zacaj, I did notice those eos switches looked kind of burnt,may be they aren't passing enough voltage to keep the flipper stiff,I'll clean them a little better and double check the gap and tension.

#4 4 years ago

I have a couple 70's Williams EMs that have done that before.
Either replace the EOS switches or clean them up real good with a file. Then, do as Zacaj recommended and try setting them to open minimally (maybe 1-1.5 mm) when the flipper bat is fully up.

What was happening with my games, was that when the EOS would open up, the coil goes to the low power "hold" function. If I held the flipper up to trap or catch, a fast-moving ball would naturally bend the flipper bat down a little since the coil was now at low power function. After the bat bent down far enough, the EOS switch would close back up and re-engage the high power function of the coil and effectively "pogo" the ball back upwards with notable power. You want to experiment with the EOS switch to try and minimize that "pogo" travel. You are shortening the stroke, so to speak.

Lee

Or, you could try practicing soccer style traps to stop the ball dead on the bat

#5 4 years ago

Thanks,I looked at the switches a little closer today and found that they are pretty nasty so I'm going to order a set,I tried adjusting the one that looked a little newer and was able to remove some of the jump,but new ones adjusted properly should fix it.

#6 3 years ago

I just finished fixing up a Little Chief myself - for the Eject unit, there are two relays that control it, Eject Advance Unit and the Eject Unit Reset Relay. I'm wondering if the Reset relay is turning on early. Do you have the schematics? If not, they are available on IPDB along with the manual.

#7 3 years ago

I looked up the schematics when I started running down problems but my mind doesn't like stuff like that,I just can't follow those things,there is too much info!
But I'll look for that reset relay,most of the little tags are still present.
This machine sat in really dirty conditions for 20 years so hopefully it just needs some more cleaning!

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