Creature from the Black Lagoon flipper problems!!

[v8racefan]

HELP!!

Just turned my creature pinball on this arvo, and flippers not working?? It probably hasn't been poweredup for over two weeks now.

When I powered it up it made alot of popping sounds like a ball is missing?? The test report suggest some switches need checking?

where to from here??

I have owned this pinball for over 4 years and its never missed a beat, until just now??

 

[Strangeways]

First thing to do is sit down and have a cuppa, these things happen.

Flipper problem - Check the fuses on the Fliptronics board and the connectors on that board. More likely a loses connector as each flipper has its own fuse, and all four could not blow at once !

Popping sounds could be the solenoids firing.

Write down the switches on the test report and post here.

[goodolddays]

Sorry .. can't help with your particular problem all my pins are 29+ years old .. but to cheer you up a bit let me share that last night I had 2 of my 6 pins break down one immediately after the other  .. and another 2 are already cactus waiting for me to get around to fixing em (again!).

Still faultfinding/repair is all part of the fun of this addictive hobby. Good luck with sorting out your fault, and as you know, plenty of guys (and girls ?) here with the experience to help you sort it

[ajlaird]

...It probably hasn't been poweredup for over two weeks now.
...The test report suggest some switches need checking? 

I believe some machines will report switches need checking if they haven't been triggered in a while. So I would run a ball or manually trigger all switches, then turn the machine off and back on again, and see if it is still reporting switch checking issues.

You should also be able to put the machine into maintenance mode via switches on the coin door, and test all switches are operating correctly using one of the test modes.

As for flippers, check connectors between main board and flipper board as stated above.

You can check at flipper coils for voltage on flipper button press, you should get a voltage spike of around 60V across the main coil terminals (if you check the number of the coil, you can find out what voltage it's meant to be fired at).

[v8racefan]

First thing to do is sit down and have a cuppa, these things happen.

Flipper problem - Check the fuses on the Fliptronics board and the connectors on that board. More likely a loses connector as each flipper has its own fuse, and all four could not blow at once !

Popping sounds could be the solenoids firing.

Write down the switches on the test report and post here.

Thanks for that, its been a warm day today on the coast,  should have taken your advice and had a cuppa, ended up having a few too many beers instead!!

I will have a look when I'm in a better state!!

[v8racefan]

I just thought I'd attempt to have another look at this flipper problem again.

I ran the flipper coil test and the left flipper is not holding when I've run the test. Right flipper is ok. See attached pics.

LED 7 to the left of the black capacitor is not going?, is this a power supply issue??

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

Leon

[v8racefan]

Just re-tested & left flipper Hold is not working, power is ok??

I'm a novice & this has me buggered????

[Strangeways]

LED 7 = TP1 is your 12 Volt supply to the optos. Check fuse 116.

Check the EOS on the flipper assemblies - Probably need adjustment

[v8racefan]

thanks for the advice

I'll check the fuses after tea tonight.

[v8racefan]

Just removed the 116 fuse it looks ok?? wire still intact

how do you adjust the EOS switches?, sorry for all the questions

[jpd]

Fuse may look ok but it still may be cactus - check it with a multimeter for continuity. EOS switches are on the flipper base and are copper coloured leaf switches about 4 cm long. Operate the flipper bat by hand on the playfield and while you are doing it watch the tab on the flipper pawl hit it. Switch should close contacts a little before full stroke of the bat. Incidentally - when was the last time you changed the 3 AAA backup batteries?.

[v8racefan]

3 backup batteries were replaced approx 3 months ago, thanks for the advice I will keep investigating

[jpd]

Sorry but I didn't want to sound blase' but I'm guessing it's a simple fix hence the battery suggestion. there probably isn't any reason why the game shouldn't boot up ok after only 2 weeks if you have good battery backup afterall these machines are robustlly built. No power surges in the area lately?Just another thought.

[v8racefan]

Hi,

Something bazzar happened late today with my creature pin, I decided to power it up to further diagnose the flipper problem, so I powered it up. Then I had a phone call and an old neighbour called in for a yarn of which all this time (some 1.5 hours later) the creature was powered up, and I've just run some credits and its playing fine?? 

This creature has a mind of its own??

any suggestions??

[ddstoys]

Might be a dry solder joint or looses conection once it warms up the pins expand and make contact??