Tim's Rollergames thread
- Thread starter tim.sanderson
- Start date
Here's a bit of gameplay using my camera rig. I've added a light source to it, to light up the playfield better.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAX_qc2XL9I&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAX_qc2XL9I&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
It's been a while since I've had to ask some advice, so I figure I might as well dip my toe into the PBrev experience pool. This ones got me stumped, although I am quite sure the fix is probably an easy one.
Under the alpha-numeric are the W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S lights. Since I've gotten the machine, the last two letters (M-S) haven't lit up at all.
After re-flowing a bit of solder, and fixing a few contact points, I've sort of fixed 50% of the problem.
In attract mode, they are still not lit while the lights are supposed to be on constantly. But as soon as the start their flashing sequence, they seem to work fine. This leads me to believe the problem must be somewhere before the connector that plugs into the board.
Here's a vid:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMON8VmGzOk&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
Under the alpha-numeric are the W-I-L-L-I-A-M-S lights. Since I've gotten the machine, the last two letters (M-S) haven't lit up at all.
After re-flowing a bit of solder, and fixing a few contact points, I've sort of fixed 50% of the problem.
In attract mode, they are still not lit while the lights are supposed to be on constantly. But as soon as the start their flashing sequence, they seem to work fine. This leads me to believe the problem must be somewhere before the connector that plugs into the board.
Here's a vid:
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMON8VmGzOk&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]
I was just going to say those won't light until you've collected the achievement within the game. Glad to hear you got it sorted.
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So, I had a flipper coil die on me. Starbusrt has matching coils available. The question is am I OK to change just the bad one, or should I replace both to prevent any possible lopsided performance? (i.e. will the new side be stronger than the old?)
I don't mind buying two if it helps performance.
I don't mind buying two if it helps performance.
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Vengeance
Well-Known Member
Just replace the one, a coil, is a coil, is a coil.
It either works or it doesn't, it doesn't get weaker or or produce more or less load unless something is wrong with it.
It either works or it doesn't, it doesn't get weaker or or produce more or less load unless something is wrong with it.
luch
Super Member
Before you just replace the coil you need to find and fix whatever the issue was that caused the coil to fail in the first place, otherwise the new coil will suffer the same fate. Coils just don't die, something else in the game causes the problem and the bad coil is the result.
My guess is your EOS wasn't working correctly and the coil overheated and caused it to swell. Make sure your EOS's are good and working correctly. And as long as the new one matches the old one part# wise you don't need to change both. You should also check the manual as not all games use the same coil for both flippers, and a previous owner could have installed an incorrect coil at some point!
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PS. Luch, can you give me all your old coils you've replaced? I'm guessing there are a bunch that are likely still good!
My guess is your EOS wasn't working correctly and the coil overheated and caused it to swell. Make sure your EOS's are good and working correctly. And as long as the new one matches the old one part# wise you don't need to change both. You should also check the manual as not all games use the same coil for both flippers, and a previous owner could have installed an incorrect coil at some point!
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PS. Luch, can you give me all your old coils you've replaced? I'm guessing there are a bunch that are likely still good!
I'll definitely do some tests before I put it in. I'd just like to buy one while I have the chance to hit Starburst during my day off.Menace said:
I'll explain how the coil died:
For quite a while (maybe as long as since I got RG up and running) the right flipper had that issue (albeit very minor) of when you catch a ball with the bat up, the momentum of the ball would push it down a bit before going back to it's fully extended position. The flipper still threw the ball with the same power as the other side. Then a couple of days ago, over 2 games or so, the flipper drastically lost power and then finally gave up the ghost.
I'll dig into it when I get home from SB.
Thanks again, guys. Best site ever!
I was just typing what Doug posted above regarding the EOS switches. Coils have two windings, one which is more powerful and uses HV and a weaker one. The more powerful one is used to swing your flipper bat up to hit the pinball away but if you cradle the EOS should breaking the higher voltage circuit and switch a lower voltage so you can keep your flipper bat up to cradle for a few minutes without damaging or overheating your coil.
If you are concerned about your other working coil, I would take it out for a visual inspection to make sure the coil sleeve and slide in and out easily. If it does not or seized inside there then you might have the same problem developing on that side too. Since you are replacing the coil sleeve on one side you might as well replace the other since it is such a cheap part.
If you are concerned about your other working coil, I would take it out for a visual inspection to make sure the coil sleeve and slide in and out easily. If it does not or seized inside there then you might have the same problem developing on that side too. Since you are replacing the coil sleeve on one side you might as well replace the other since it is such a cheap part.
Menace said:PS. Luch, can you give me all your old coils you've replaced? I'm guessing there are a bunch that are likely still good!
You don't own any modern 21st Century Sterns Doug and besides they are way more reliable then these old relic Bally/Williams games we have :lol:
tim.sanderson said:
You might also want to check your flipper bat bushing too while you have everything apart. It could be cracked or worn from old age and relatively cheap part for $0.85 from PBL or probably $3.00 from SB
mwong168 said:
Nope, no obvious problem with the other side. I just wasn't sure if it was possible for coils to fade over time, or something.
Hopefully I can fix the original, but it's always good to have a spare.
Grauwulf
Member
So, I haven't had much time to tinker over the past few days.
It turns out the actual coil is not the problem. I didn't realize until a couple of days ago that both flippers on the right side (upper and lower) have suffered the same fate. My buddy Mike was playing the game as the flipper was dying. He said the upper one was losing power, too. It too does not work anymore.
It's the gradual fade of both flippers that's got me a bit stumped. Any recommendations for where to start investigating?
It turns out the actual coil is not the problem. I didn't realize until a couple of days ago that both flippers on the right side (upper and lower) have suffered the same fate. My buddy Mike was playing the game as the flipper was dying. He said the upper one was losing power, too. It too does not work anymore.
It's the gradual fade of both flippers that's got me a bit stumped. Any recommendations for where to start investigating?
Chris Bardon
Well-Known Member
Did you check voltages at the flipper coils? If all the physical bits are moving normally, then wouldn't it make sense that the voltage at the coil was getting pulled down by something else, causing it to not pull as hard (or not at all)? Now, I'm not sure what would cause that (or why it'd be a gradual degredation)-sounds like a weird problem.
Cabinet switches, then move back towards the head and check the interconnect PCB for the flipper power connectors, and then from there back to the driver. My guess is there are bad header / connector pins that are causing the issue. They are "ok" when cold but as they warm up from use the resistance increases slowly choking off power.
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